Year's Best SF 2 [Mass Market Paperback]

David G. Hartwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 1997 | Series: Year's Best SF (Science Fiction) (Book 2)

Building on the unprecedented success of last season's Year's Best, award-winning editor David G. Hartwell has once again scoured the magazines and anthologies to bring together the very best of today's edgy, audacious, and innovative SF. Here are machines that dream and stars that sing; tales from notable pros and heretofore unknowns;wondrously diverse stories that share the sense of wonder that is the mark of great science fiction. "

Includes stories by:

Gregory Benford, Terry Bisson, James Patrick Kelly, Damon Knight, Joanna Russ, Bruce Sterling, Connie Willis, and many others!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Editor David G. Hartwell started this annual anthology series because he felt that the "other" best science fiction anthology (The Year's Best Science Fiction) included stories that weren't quite science fiction. Now in its second year, this anthology is proving that there is plenty of great "traditional" work being published in the field, and enough good stories to go around for both anthologies (although there is some overlap between them). In this edition Hartwell showcases talents such as Terry Bisson, James Patrick Kelly, Gene Wolfe, and Allen Steele. No matter how you define science fiction, you'll find something of interest in this excellent collection.

About the Author

David G. Hartwell is a Senior Editor at Tor/Forge Books. He is the proprietor of Dragon Press, publisher and bookseller, which publishes The New York Review of Science Fiction. He is the author of Age of Wonders and the editor of many anthologies, including The Dark Descent, Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment, The World Treasury of Science Fiction, Northern Stars, The Ascent of Wonder (co-edited with Kathryn Cramer), and a number of Christmas anthologies. Recently he edited his sixth annual paperback volume of Year's Best SF and co-edited the new Year's Best Fantasy. He has won the Eaton Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Science Fiction Chronicle Poll and has been nominated for the Hugo Award twenty-four times to date.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager; 1- edition (May 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061057460
• ISBN-13: 978-0061057465
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #872,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still very good, January 20, 2003

By 

papaphilly (Bayonne, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Year's Best SF 2 (Mass Market Paperback)

The second in a series for Hartwell. Once again he gathers an eclectic group of Science Fiction writers that cover a wide variety of sub-sections to the genre. He has included two tributes to science the fiction forefathers Well and Verne. My personal favorite of this anthology was 'The Bride of Elvis', a tongue and cheek look at a religion developed around the death of the King. I also loved 'Counting Cats in Zanzibar' by Gene Wolfe. A robot story about a contract killing. If you are looking for easy reading that can also provoke thought, this is a good place to start.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'd rather like it to be "Month's best SF", January 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Year's Best SF 2 (Mass Market Paperback)

It opens with a tribute to H.G. Wells and ends with an homage to Jules Verne.In the middle are 18 more stories that span from side to side of the SF spectrum and, even though they might not be all in the reader's preferences, are sure worth reading, if not thought-provoking. Talking about preferences, I can't help mentioning Terry Bisson's "In the upper room" and Damon Knight's "Life edit" as the best of the lot. Look forward for number 3, and 4, and...

4.0 out of 5 stars Hartwell the Second, January 27, 2011

By 

John M. Ford "johnDC" (near DC, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Year's Best SF 2: Vol 2 (Year's Best SF (Science Fiction)) (Kindle Edition)

This is the second volume of David Hartwell's annual anthology of science fiction stories. It contains twenty stories, each with an introduction to the story's author and the author's other works. The first volume in Hartwell's series was a good beginning; this one sets the pattern for a great series.

My five favorite stories are listed below.

Dave Wolverton's "After a Lean Winter" is very consciously H. G. Wells's content written in the style of Jack London. There's more to it than a mid-winter dog fight.

Sheila Finch's "Out of the Mouths" is about the language and culture that both human and alien children learn as part of growing up. Even when the adults who love them don't quite understand.

Gene Wolf's "Counting Cats in Zanzibar" is about a woman on the run from her past. When it catches up with her, she embraces it.

Bruce Sterling's "Bicycle Repairman" has become a cyberpunk classic. More than anything it is a portrait of a low-key, high-tech social outcast. Well, there is more than one, actually.

Connie Willis' "Nonstop to Portales" pays homage to a Grand Master of science fiction and his vision of the future. And it's a good story about an ordinary man deciding whether to spend time in a little time where nothing seems to happen.

The introductions in this volume, while adequate, are briefer than those found in later volumes. I am glad that this early form changed into the more extended treatment of each author and their other works that is characteristic of later books in this series. Hartwell's longer introductions add a great deal to the reader's enjoyment. This collection is recommended for its well-crafted stories and the editor's good taste in selecting them.