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

~ Gardner Dozois (Editor)
Key Phrases: listening party, commerce square, outer system, Captain Groton, Williams Ford, Big Ice (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Like a giant sequoia towering over a copse of maple trees, Hugo-winner Dozois's annual shelf-bending collection of the year's best SF continues to overshadow all other anthologies. Highlights include Greg Egan's Riding the Crocodile about two immortals who yearn to do something grand and audacious before they consciously end their lives; Cory Doctorow's I, Row-Boat which chronicles a theological dispute between an artificially intelligent boat and a sentient coral reef; and Alastair Reynolds's Signal to Noise an unexpectedly intimate story about a scientist's attempt to contact his recently deceased wife across quantum realities. This yearly anthology is required reading for every serious SF fan.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

In assembling the twenty-fourth edition of this celebrated annual, veteran editor Dozois stuck to the formula he has used for all the previous 23 volumes by picking personal favorites. The lack of any stricter editorial guidelines may be surprising, but Dozois' keen eye for craftsmanship has helped him compile superior collections year in and year out, and it doesn't fail him now. Volume 24 presents more than two-dozen authors expanding on themes ranging from the loss of culture on a postapocalyptic Earth to life on a terraformed Mars. In the opening story, by Cory Doctorow, an AI-enhanced rowboat is unsettled enough by a religion called Asimovism to contemplate electronic suicide. Michael Swanwick's Tin Marsh recounts the fate of two isolated Venusian miners who begin to loathe each other. Other tales describe a human child's alliance with an alien assassin, explore humanity's fate in neighboring universes, and more, much more. Veterans and rising stars alike ensure the continued vitality of a series that is the standard-bearer of sf's leading edge. Hays, Carl --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312363354
• ISBN-13: 978-0312363352
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 5.7 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #305,691 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strongest collection in years!, July 27, 2007

By	Brad Shorr "Word Sell, Inc." (Geneva, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"I, Row Boat," by Cory Doctorow. In this homage to Asimov, a battle of wits between a sentient coral reef and a sentient rowboat raises mind-bending questions about the nature of intelligence in a digitized future. B

"Julian: A Christmas Story," by Robert Charles Wilson. A gloomy future America reverts to 19th century conditions thanks to the excesses of science and the deficiencies of religion. C

"Tin Marsh," by Michael Swanwick. "The Shining" goes to Venus. Two weary prospectors, one well past the end of his rope, battle the elements, each other, and insanity. B

"The Djinn's Wife," by Ian McDonald. Against the exotic backdrop of Delhi, a disastrous romance flares up and out between a famous dancer and a diplomat who happens to be an ethereal artificial intelligence. B+

"The House Beyond Your Sky," by Benjamin Rosenbaum. A haunting glimpse behind the curtain reveals that being the Creator ain't all it's cracked up to be. B

"Where the Golden Apples Grow," by Kage Baker. The stark, inhospitable terrain of Mars almost comes alive as two stranded young colonists struggle to get home. B+

"Kin," by Bruce McAllister. Elegant vignette about a boy and a roach-like alien assassin explores the mysteries of personal relationships and the nature of good and evil. B

"Signal to Noise," by Alastair Reynolds. Albeit touching and romantic, the plot doesn't quite measure up to the fascinating premise of a man who crosses over into a parallel universe to reconnect with his dead wife. B

"The Big Ice," by Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold. A frozen ocean of ice plays host to a scorching battle of wits between two politically powerful sibling rivals. B

"Bow Shock," by Gregory Benford. Frustrated astrophysicist on verge of losing bid for tenure observes an object in space that grows curiouser and curioser. Masterful blend of science, subtlety, sensitivity and suspense. A+

"In the River," by Justin Stanchfield. Unfathomable (no pun intended) squid-like aliens welcome a genetically altered human scientist aboard their six-kilometer long, liquid-filled ship. B

"Incarnation Day," by Walter Jon Williams. Some things never change. In a future society where parents raise virtual children, a rebellious digital teenager plays a high stakes game of chicken with her controlling mother. B

"Far as You Can Go," by Greg Van Eekhout. In a broken down future world, a scavenger and his profoundly human robot companion risk what little they for a place in the sun. Simultaneously tender and terrifying. A

"Good Mountain," by Robert Reed. A richly textured portrait of the distant future, in which worried travelers hope to outrun the fire and earthquakes that are consuming what little is left of their world. A

"I Hold My Father's Paws," by David D. Levine. Several stories herein explore genetic engineering, but this one goes whole hog, as Americans change species for reasons ridiculous and--at least in one case--sublime. B

"Dead Men Walking," by Paul J. McAuley. Rousing adventure pits one genetically engineered assassin against another on a prison in a remote corner of the solar system. B

"Home Movies," by Mary Rosenblum. Memory seller strikes deal with a manipulative client, forcing her to make a supremely difficult choice. B

"Damascus," by Daryl Gregory. Creepy, well-constructed story about a bizarre religious cult gives new meaning to the concept of forced conversion. B+

"Life on the Preservation," by Jack Skillingstead. "Groundhog Day" with scant uplifting tonic and a cataclysmic twist. B+

"Yellow Card Man," by Paolo Bacigalupi. Squalid Bangkok is particularly hellish for its former Chinese masters, and I felt every ounce of pain and humiliation while accompanying a fallen tycoon on his way to rock bottom. A+

"Riding the Crocodile," by Greg Egan. A virtually immortal couple's efforts to contact a mysterious life form span hundreds of thousands of years. Long tunnel, precious little cheese. C

"The Ile of Dogges," by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette. Queen Elizabeth's censor gets a supernaturally rude awakening. C

"The Highway Men," by Ken MacLeod. Frozen Scotland, ravaged by terrorist-inspired war and global climate shift, receives a glimmer of hope from an unlikely hero. Highly effective use of local idiom. A

"The Pacific Mystery," by Stephen Baxter. In 1950, victorious Nazis attempt to circumnavigate the globe in an immense aircraft, and encounter something unexpected in any alternate universe. A

"Okanoggan Falls," by Carolyn Ives Gilman. When alien conquerors occupy a Wisconsin hamlet, the line between friend and foe becomes blurred. Superlative plot and characters, with a perfect ending. A+

"Every Hole Is Outlined," by John Barnes. Mathematicians aboard an interstellar cargo ship encounter ghosts. C

"The Town on Blighted Sea," by A.M. Dellamonica. Sick goings-on between the vanquished and their squid "allies" in a human refugee camp. C

"Nightengale," by Alistair Reynolds. By far, the most amazing character in this page-turner about adventurers invading a deserted hospital ship to retrieve a war criminal is ... the ship itself! A+

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Collection in a While, August 6, 2007

By	Jack M. Walter "Jack M. Walter" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

I agree with the previous review - this is the best Dozois collection in some time. Some of the highlights: "The Djinn's Wife" deals with a future India, where a young superstar marries a man who isn't actually real; Paolo Bacigalupi's "Yellow Card Man" involves a formerly successful Chinese businessman struggling to stay alive in a future Bangkok; "Incarnation Day" by Walter Jon Williams shows us what may happen if adults have the ultimate say on whether or not a child reaches maturity; Robert Charles Wilson's "Julian: A Christmas Story" is my favorite, a story set in the near future with two boys from very different types of families; Robert Reed's "Good Mountain" takes us so far into the future we see a group of people who may literally be outrunning the destruction of the Earth.

Alastair Reynolds has two stories here. "Signal to Noise" is silly and uninteresting, but "Nightingale" is a fantastic space opera with a devestating shot of horror for a finale. John Barnes' "Every Hole is Outlined" ends up being a tender, but odd, love story. There is much to enjoy in this collection. I suggest you get this book and do just that.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good stories, just maybe too much of the same, February 27, 2008

By	Nicole Lowery (WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Dozois best science fiction anthology is always a doorstop, and I can't complain that they skimp on word count. He always includes a number of novellas as well as the many short stories. But I've noticed in the past few years, and this year is no exception, that the stories tend to take on a certain sameness toward the end. Those last few stories get to be a slog, and it doesn't really matter whose stories they are.

The stories here merit inclusion, but there are too many of similar theme and tone, and most are grim. Few pages are devoted to short fiction by women, and you see the same authors year after year. They are good authors, but I would think that in any given year the best stories should come from a more diverse group. Possibly not -- I haven't read all of them.

But of the stories that did stand out to me:

Kage Baker's "Where the Golden Apples Grow" is an affecting, stark, city mouse/country mouse-type story about two martian-born boys trying to grow up in difficult times.

"The Djinn's Wife," by Ian McDonald, starts slow but builds as it chronicles a dancer's infatuation with an artificial intelligence in a future India.

"I Hold My Father's Paws," by David Levine, is a rare spot of humor in the anthology, although the humor is pretty dark. It is about a man relationship to his absentee father, and to say any more would probably just ruin it.

Best of all (and yes, I'm biased, since I live in a very small town in Wisconsin) is Carol Ives Gilman's "Okanoggan Falls." It may be that loving this story requires understanding how thoroughly Gilman nails small town life, but trust me, it's accurate. It's also a nice little story of alien invasion.

Altogether, a lot of end-of-the-world (in one way or another) going on in this anthology. It may be best taken in small doses.