Customer Reviews

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fifth Annual Collection (Year's Best Science Fiction)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

David Moles, "Finisterra". Unsavory traders butcher floating, mountainous organisms in this ominous but perhaps overly detailed slice of far future life. B-

Ken MacLeod, "Lighting Out". Neatly capturing the feel of life when humanity has morphed into a blend of reality, virtual reality, and bioengineered reality. C

John Barnes, "The Ocean is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away". The third straight far future, hard science story with thick atmosphere and rather thin plot. This time the star is the dazzling landscape of Mars as it undergoes terraforming. C

Gwyneth Jones, "Saving Tiamaat". As human ambassadors assist two hostile races from a distant planet in settling their political dispute, cutthroat tactics abound, figuratively and literally. B-

James Van Pelt, "Of Late I Dreamt of Venus". The author weaves a tender love story into this riveting, millennium-spanning saga about a plutocrat, her quest to terraform Venus, and her quiet male companion. A+

Ian McDonald, "Verthandi's Ring". Alas, much of this epic tale of all-out intergalactic war was wasted on me due to its epic amount of scientific terminology and concepts. NR

Una McCormack, "Sea Change". From lots of science to hardly any in this chilling depiction of growing pains for the rich and snobbish in the near future. C

Chris Roberson, "The Sky is Large and the Earth is Small". In an alternate world with no Western civilization and dominated by a vast Oriental empire, an aspiring bureaucrat believes an obscure political prisoner who visited a civilization across the ocean holds the key to advancement. A haunting yet entertaining demonstration of how the pace of scientific progress is relative. A+

Greg Egan, "Glory". A couple of aliens try to unearth a profound secret on the distant planet of a glorious but dead civilization. Subtle philosophical insight, but surprisingly little action, follows the aliens' mind blowing grand entrance. B

Robert Silverberg, "Against the Current". With the waking nightmare atmosphere of a Twilight Zone episode, a Bay Area car dealer and his trusty Prius are propelled backward in time, about two decades a day. Superb execution of the "it could almost happen to you"motif. A+

Neal Asher, "Alien Archeology". A thrilling space adventure and battle of wits unfold following the discovery of an invaluable and dangerous relic. Grotesque and violent images punctuate the narrative, along with fascinating embellishments, including a race of talking beasts that never repeats the same word twice. A+

Ted Chiang, "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate". Exotic metaphors add dreamy texture to this tapestry of time travel, a story within a story within a story, set in ancient Baghdad. A

Justin Stanchfield, "Beyond the Wall". An enigmatic wall on a Saturn moon, designed by an alien M.C. Escher, tests the mettle of a band of explorers from Earth. Suspenseful, with a fittingly enigmatic flavor. A

Bruce Sterling, "Kiosk". Technology advances but politics, business, and human nature remain the same when a shop owner in a broken-down future Eastern Europe launches a breakthrough enterprise. Truth rings loudly in this tragicomic morality play. A

Stephen Baxter, "Last Contact". The end of the universe poignantly experienced by a mother and daughter in an English garden. A

Alastair Reynolds, "The Sledge-Maker's Daughter". Villagers in a far future, medieval like England grapple with privation, brutality, and alien combat slightly beyond their comprehension. B

Ian McDonald, "Sanjeev and Robotwallah". An Indian youth, robotics wars, and rampant confusion are all I gleaned from this jargon laden whirlwind of adventure. C

Michael Swanwick, "The Skysailor's Tale". A brilliantly composed alternate history, set in the British colony of America in the early 1800's, in which an old man tells the tale of his amazing journey aboard a vast military airship. A

Vandana Singh, "Of Love and Other Monsters". The sad but lyrical autobiography of a damaged and lonely alien, trapped on Earth in more ways than one. B

Greg Egan, "Steve Fever". An ailing scientist unwittingly lets loose a determined nanovirus that is infecting and steadily destroying mankind - without even trying. Subtly spine tingling. A

Kage Baker, "Hellfire at Twilight". A sense of impending doom fills the air when a bookish, time traveling cyborg infiltrates the secret rites of a princely pagan in 1774 England. B

Brian Stableford, "The Immortals of Atlantis". A down and out slum dweller gets a visit from an icy immortal on a recruiting mission. Bio science with dramatic punch! B+

Pat Cadigan, "Nothing Personal". Slow developing combination whodunit and character study of an aging cop suffering from the mother of all midlife crises. (A brush with alternate realities will do that to you.) B

Elizabeth Bear, "Tideline". In the aftermath of a devastating war, a dying robot soldier asks a boy to complete her rather peculiar mission. B

Keith Brooke, "The Accord".The delicate balance of a far future world where life and afterlife commingle is disrupted by an anomalous stranger. B

Nancy Kress, "Laws of Survival". A woman is abducted by aliens to train dogs, for purposes that grow more mysterious even as they become more clear. Spellbinding portrayal of what it might be like to confront the complete unknown. A+

Tom Purdom, "The Mists of Time". History comes alive as two time travelers observe a naval skirmish between a slaver and a British warship. The time travel subplot is somewhat contrived, but the historical narrative is rich beyond measure. A

Kristine Kathryn Rusch, "Craters". Terrifying and tragic extrapolation of life after several more decades of escalating Islamic terrorism. Surprised this theme isn't more prevalent this year. B

Ted Kosmatka, "The Prophet of Flores". One form of zealotry is exchanged for another in this sideways world (as editor Dozois calls it) where Creationists have the upper hand. C+

Benjamin Rosenbaum & David Ackert, "Stray". Omnipotent immortal is sorely tempted as he tries for a humble human life in Depression Era America. C

Robert Reed, "Roxie". Heartwarming celebration of life about an ordinary family man's relationship with his dog, set against the backdrop of a perilous future. A

Gregory Benford, "Dark Heaven". A homicide cop in Mobile follows a murder trail to colonizing amphibious aliens, and learns far more than he bargained for. B

As always, this yearly collection of short and novella-length science fiction is superbly selected and edited by Gardner Dozois. BUT THIS YEAR THE PUBLISHER, ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN, ALLOWED THE FIRST EDITION, PAPERBACK, TO BE RELEASED WITH A COMPLETE SECTION (PAGES 109 TO 140) MISSING. The missing section includes (or should have included) parts of stories by Una McCormack and Greg Egan and all of "The Sky is Large and the Earth is Small" by Chris Roberson. This is not simply a problem with one copy of the book; there's no physical gap between pages 108 and 141. Another printing may include the missing section, but I'd advise looking the book over before you purchase it.

I have several of Dozois' collections, and this one is--as reviewer Brad Schorr also said--above average. I didn't love every one of its thirty-two stories, and I couldn't even bring myself to finish two of them, but that's par for the course. In my experience, about 25 percent of a decent edited volume is really enjoyable, 25 percent is a chore to read, and the middle fifty percent falls between "blah" and "not bad." In this collection, I'd say that only the two aforementioned stories were really a chore to read, and though several stories were "blah," most fell between "not bad" and "pretty good". That's not too shabby if you subscribe to Sturgeon's Law ("Ninety percent of everything is crap").

I'm not going to run down all of the stories since Brad Schorr's done that for us already, but I do want to point out that there's plenty of room for disagreement with his take on them. Two stories that Schorr graded "A" -- "Roxie" and "The Skysailor's Tale" -- were the two that I couldn't read, the former because it was so drippingly sentimental, and the latter because it was so mannered and slow. Most of the stories he graded "C" fall into my "not bad" category, including Ken McLeod's "Lighting Out", which is a decent if pretty standard McLeod/Stross "singularity" tale, and McDonald's "Sanjeev and Robotwallah," which is a craftsmanlike near-future piece about how new technologies disrupt traditional life in the underdeveloped world. On the other hand, we agreed about several of the stories, including Chris Roberson's "The Sky is Large and the Earth is Small," a subtle alternate history piece that appears to be the most anthologized story of the year.

Bottom line: If you're in the mood for some stories and you don't need them all to be absolutely amazing, this collection is a good deal.

P.S. If you've read Dozois' THE NEW SPACE OPERA anthology, you should be aware that three of the stories collected here are drawn from there ("Saving Tiaamat," "Verthandi's Ring," and "Glory"). On the other hand, if you haven't read that anthology, I recommend it. Don't judge the book by the quality of those three stories -- they are NOT the best of the bunch.

Sure is a pity that such anthologies no longer put the year on the cover. This used to be common till the 80s and then died out. Probably because editors worried that the year would make the book seem quickly outdated, because a year really can go by quickly.

Anyhow, Dozois has completed his usual annual massive compendium of worthy stories. Worthy in his opinion, true. But all such collections have a natural subjectivity. As usual, Dozois has a lengthy preface, where he summarises the passing year in science fiction, as well as fantasy and [slightly] horror. If you are a SF fan, seriously consider reading his introduction, even if you peruse nothing else in the book. Dozois found a gap in what is available in the field. Think of it as a State of the Union message, if you will. It's a valuable service he performs for his field, and no one else does this to the same extent. He covers novels, magazines and websites. As well as scuttlebutt about the various publishers, and a listing of those noteworthies who died during the year. This year, we lost Clarke and Saberhagen.

As far as the stories go, Australian recluse Greg Egan stands out for having 2 entries. One of which shows his deep understanding of advanced physics. He gives a very original and plausible account of 2 explorers from starfaring civilisation replicating themselves to investigate a newly technological world, whose dominant species is still planetbound. Sure, at some level it is indeed fictional handwaving. But his scientific verisimilitude is far better than your average SF story. I would compare Egan to Vinge in this regard.

I'll keep it short, as there are other lengthy and informative reviews here.

I don't read a ton of sci-fi novels. I do love sci-fi short stories, and this series is the place to go for that.

This collection runs the gamut from more literary to more purely entertaining works. I never got the urge to skip a story, each held my interest. At least half the stories in the book were memorable and drove me to seek out other works by their authors, but even the other half were worth reading.

Some reviewers suggest that Dozois has a taste for depressing, "downer" works. I suspect these reviewers are perhaps not used to reading serious literature. Dozois clearly prefers more weighty, artful, and serious work, and tends to minimize the inclusion of more breezy, "entertaining" stories. If you are looking for the written equivalent of a Star Trek episode, you won't find too much of that here. Rather, most of these authors aim higher, aspiring to, and much of the time attaining, the status of art.

Gardner Dozois shows us that 2007 was a better-than-average year for science fiction. Per expectations from previous anthologies, this volume includes more than the selected stories. The "Summation 2007" chapter reviews the state of science fiction for the year in exhaustive detail. And the introductions to each of the 32 stories are particularly effective in highlighting other work by the respective authors.

My favorite five stories focus on emotional themes:

James Van Pelt's "Of Late I Dreamt of Venus" is an off-key story about love, patience and centuries-long dedication as two very different people work to change the face of Venus.

Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" explores the intertwining stories of time travelers and shows us several ways to find meaning from our losses.

Elizabeth Bear's "Tideline" traces the parental relationship between a boy and a damaged robot struggling to remember the past with honor.

Robert Reed's "Roxie" compares human denial in the face of an incoming asteroid to human denial of the failing health of a man's best friend.

Gregory Benford's "Dark Heaven" shows us death from many perspectives, from a coroner's detachment from the bodies in a homicide investigation, through a detective's feelings about his late wife, to the very different views held by a visiting alien race.

The collection as a whole is highly recommended. My hope is that future collections will also appear in Kindle format, to allow surreptitious reading on my iPhone during the inevitable solemnly unimportant meetings of my life.

Another strong collection in the series, although a lot of the best stories were at the start of the book and it becomes a little more mixed thereafter. Some of my favorite stories are the McDonald, the MacLeod, the Kosmatka and the Sterling.

"Finisterra" - David Moles 4/5
Poachers are killing multi-kilometer long animals floating in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Good concept and exciting.
"Lighting Out" - Ken MacLeod 4.5/5
A young woman tries to gain independence from her mother while avoiding a "fast-burn" singularity. Fun singularity stuff, although there is not much really new.
"An Ocean Is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away" - John Barnes 4/5
A filmmaker captures the orbital insertion of a comet that will terraform Mars.
"Saving Tiamaat" - Gwyneth Jones 4/5
A diplomat faces hard choices while representing one faction of a species that has destroyed its homeworld. Interesting ideas on the limits of politics.
"Of Late I Dreamt of Venus" - James Van Pelt 4/5
The founder of a Venus terraforming project tries to oversee its very long duration. Nicely meshes the founder's personality with the project as a whole.
"Verthandi's Ring" - Ian MacDonald 5/5
Two huge galactic cultures fight a war of extermination. Great space opera with a lot of ideas in a fairly short story.
"Sea Change" - UnaMcCormack 3/5
In a restrictive, heavily class-divided future Britain, a teenage girl has to deal with the bad influence of the friend she is living with. Not bad, but didn't excite me.
"The Sky Is Large and the Earth Is Small" - Chris Roberson 3/5
In an alternate history, an old prisoner in the dominant Chinese empire is questioned about his time among the Mexica.
"Glory" - Greg Egan 3.5/5
Representatives from a galactic civilization are sent to a more primitive world to study the mathematical theorems of a vanished race. Has some interesting concepts.
"Against the Current" - Robert Silverberg 4/5
A man starts moving backwards through time at a rate of a couple of decades per day. Nice concept and an enjoyable story.
"Alien Archaeology" - Neal Asher 3/5
"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" - Ted Chiang 4/5
Stories of people in Middle Ages Baghdad who use a gate that can move them 20 years forward or backward in time. A very interesting handling of a number of time travel paradox situations.
"Beyond the Wall" - Justin Stanchfield 3.5/5
An alien artifact on Titan causes space-time distortions. Interesting.
"Kiosk" - Bruce Sterling 4/5
A street vendor's use of a nanotech fabricator leads to an economic revolution. A funny, somewhat satirical view of how change happens.
"Last Contact" - Steven Baxter 3.5/5
A mother and daughter spend time together as a space-time anomaly threatens the Earth. A different take on the end of the world.
"The Sledge-Maker's Daughter" - Alastair Reynolds 3/5
A girl on an Earth suffering from a new ice age gains some high technology. Didn't seem like anything new.
"Sanjeev and Robotwallah" - Ian McDonald 3.5/5
A street urchin becomes a helper to the handlers of robot soldiers. Minor story with an interesting setting.
"The Skysailor's Tale" - Michael Swanwick 3/5
A boy runs away from home and sails across timelines on a flying ship from an alternate British Empire.
"Of Love and Other Monsters" - Vandana Singh 4/5
An alien with the ability to manipulate human minds comes to terms with his existence on Earth. Main character is interesting in all the internal conflicts he has to deal with.
"Steve Fever" - Greg Egan 4/5
Nanotech bots infect the world in an attempt to resurrect their creator, Steve. A fun twist on the out-of-control nanotech story.
"Hellfire at Twilight" - Kage Baker 3/5
A Company operative looks for an ancient Greek scroll at an 18th century English estate. Average Company story.
"The Immortals of Atlantis" - Brian Stableford 3/5
An ancient race's DNA is hidden inside the mitochondria of modern humans.Interesting concept.
"Nothing Personal" - Pat Cadigan 3/5
A policewoman investigates a crime with suspects who seem to appear in the world with no previous history.
"Tideline" - Elizabeth Bear 4/5
An AI war machine tries to memorialize it's dead platoon. A very good, moving story.
"The Accord" - Keith Brooke 3/5
Agents of the controlling anomaly in a VR afterlife chase an anomaly that threatens its existence. Very Matrix-like.
"Laws of Survival" - Nancy Kress 3.5/5
A woman in post-nuclear America is kidnapped by aliens to serve as a dog trainer.
"The Mists of Time" - Tom Purdom 3/5
Time travelers watch a British raid against slave traders. Didn't really get the point of this one.
"Craters" - Kristine Kathryn Rusch 3.5/5
Terrorists find a nasty new way to send bombs through security.
"The Prophet of Flores" - Ted Kosmatka 4/5
Archeology in a world where intelligent design is scientific fact.
"Stray" - Benjamin Rosenbauam and David Ackert 3/5
A powerful immortal being tries to live in the regular world.
"Roxie" - Robert Reed 3/5
The life of a dog and the end of the world.
"Dark Heaven" - Gregory Benford 3.5/5
A detective investigates murders that seem to be tied to an alien embassy. Good, but I could pretty much see where it was going.

I really enjoyed reading this anthology. A couple of my favorite stories were "Finisterra" and "Of Love and Other Monsters" One thing i enjoy about anthologies is that it is easy to skip around in order to keep yourself interested. I must admit that i skipped a story here and there to more entertaining ones, but i went back to see what i missed. I was not disappointed. If you like to read scifi, check this out.

First things first: the content is fine, and about what I've come to expect from Gardner Dozois. If you like his other best-of-the-year collections, you'll like this one.

Unfortunately, the appearance of the text in the Kindle version is atrocious. The AZW1 file seems to have been created from a bad optical scan. In some places the look of the text is merely distracting--often it appears that every other word is bolded--while in other places things are so bad that you find yourself guessing at just what word you're reading.

I've bought a handful of Kindle books that came from scans. Page turns tend to be a lot slower than with character-based files, and file sizes are much larger. Neither of these deficiencies is a deal-killer. But crummy-looking text on an electronic reader is unacceptable, and does nothing to promote the worthiness of the Kindle or the book in question.

I am not going to review the content of this book as others have done so quite well. I thought the stories were quite good and worth 4-5 stars. However I wanted to comment on the poor quality of the Kindle version. I have no idea how they produced the Kindle version, but it looks like a poor xerox copy of the book or like it was typed on an ancient dirty typewriter. The font actually appears smudged in numerous places, the "e"s look like "c"s and vice versa, there are small blotches between words, some print is light and some dark, and so forth. Very very strange. Particularly with a book this huge a nice clean copy would have been appreciated. So for the price I think I'd buy the hard copy.