Buy new:
$17.99$17.99
Arrives:
Tuesday, March 14
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Buy used: $14.99
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the Authors
OK
The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Two Paperback – April 4, 2017
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial | |
Enhance your purchase
First contact with a mysterious race of aliens reveals an unusual request; a family’s pet dog comes to grips with the newly bestowed gift of human-like intelligence; a poet, in danger and alone on a distant world, makes unlikely allies; hundreds of years in the future, a famous hermit lives in the sea above the now-underwater Harvard University; former friends navigate unsteady peace between human refugees and the technologically superior race that saved them; in a future where human life can be infinitely extended through cybertronic rebirth, one woman declines immortality.
For decades, science fiction has compelled us to imagine futures both inspiring and cautionary. Whether it’s a warning message from a survey ship, a harrowing journey to a new world, or the adventures of well-meaning AI, science fiction inspires the imagination and delivers a lens through which we can view ourselves and the world around us. With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Two, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and twenty-seven of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2016.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
“The Visitor from Taured” by Ian R. MacLeod (Asimov’s, September 2016)
“Extraction Request” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld, January 2016)
“A Good Home” by Karin Lowachee (Lightspeed, June 2016)
“Prodigal” by Gord Sellar (Analog, December 2016)
“Ten Days” by Nina Allan (Now We Are Ten, edited by Ian Whates)
“Terminal” by Lavie Tidhar (Tor.com, April 2016)
“Panic City” by Madeline Ashby (CyberWorld, edited by Jason Heller and Joshua Viola)
“Last Gods” by Sam J. Miller (Drowned Worlds, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
“HigherWorks” by Gregory Norman Bossert (Asimov’s, December 2016)
“A Strange Loop” by T.R. Napper (Interzone, January/February 2016)
“Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse” by Xia Jia (Invisible Planets, edited by Ken Liu)
“Pearl” by Aliette de Bodard (The Starlit Wood, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe)
“The Metal Demimonde” by Nick Wolven (Analog, June 2016)
“The Iron Tactician” by Alastair Reynolds (Newcon Press)
“The Mighty Slinger” by Tobias S. Buckell and Karen Lord (Bridging Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
“They All Have One Breath” by Karl Bunker (Asimov’s, December 2016)
“Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, February 2016)
“And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices” by Margaret Ronald (Clarkesworld, June 2016)
“The Three Lives of Sonata James” by Lettie Prell (Tor.com, October 2016)
“The Charge and the Storm” by An Owomoyela (Asimov’s, February 2016)
“Parables of Infinity” by Robert Reed (Bridging Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
“Ten Poems for the Mossums, One for the Man” by Suzanne Palmer (Asimov’s, July 2016)
“You Make Pattaya” by Rich Larson (Interzone, November/December 2016)
“Number Nine Moon” by Alex Irvine (F&SF, January/February 2016)
“Things with Beards” by Sam J. Miller (Clarkesworld, June 2016)
“Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts” by Ken Liu (Drowned Worlds, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
“Touring with the Alien” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Clarkesworld, April 2016)
- Print length624 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherNight Shade
- Publication dateApril 4, 2017
- Dimensions6 x 2 x 9 inches
- ISBN-109781597808965
- ISBN-13978-1597808965
Frequently bought together

- +
- +
Products related to this item
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 1597808962
- Publisher : Night Shade; First Edition (April 4, 2017)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 624 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781597808965
- ISBN-13 : 978-1597808965
- Item Weight : 1.65 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 2 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #541,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #276 in Science Fiction Short Stories
- #1,280 in Science Fiction Anthologies (Books)
- #4,669 in Short Stories Anthologies
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Neil Clarke (neil-clarke.com) is the editor of the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning Clarkesworld Magazine and several anthologies, including The Best Science Fiction of the Year series. He has been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Editor, Short Form ten times (winning in 2022), won the Chesley Award for Best Art Director three times, and received the Solstice Award from SFWA in 2019. He currently lives in NJ with his wife and two sons.

Lettie Prell is a science fiction writer whose more recent work has appeared on Tor.com, and in Clarkesworld, Analog, and Apex Magazine. Several of her stories have been reprinted in anthologies. She is also the author of Dragon Ring (2008), which is currently out of print. A life-long Midwesterner, she currently lives in Des Moines.
Her website is www.lettieprell.com, where you can view her current and past blog posts, and keep abreast of her publications and appearances.
Related products with free delivery on eligible orders Sponsored Hide feedback | Try Prime for unlimited fast, free shipping
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on October 6, 2020
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
2. The Charge and the Storm (An Owomoyela) Petra is a human accepted into an alien hierarchy that rules the planet. She has the ability to save Nash from being executed as Nash becomes another burden that Petra does not need.
3. They Have All One Breath (Karl Bunker) James lives in a world run by omnipresent AI's. He is still coping with his wife, Lisa, leaving him. Through his sadness he creates a work of art.
4. Ten Days (Nina Allan) Dora uses a time machine created by a watchmaker to investigate and solve a murder that happened before she was even born.
5. And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices (Margaret Ronald) Ma is an esteemed pundit in a world where intelligent life has been found off of Earth. A generational story of mothers and sons trying to find common ground.
6. The Three Lives of Sonata James (Lettie Prell) Sonata decided to upload her life to become immortal. The world changes over her long lifetime and 'people' like her become resented. When all seems lost, she is given a second chance.
7. Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit - Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts (Ken Liu) Asa gave up her worldly possessions to live off of the grid. With most of the planet now underwater, she invites a journalist to write about her secluded life. The journalist discovers that Asa, as with everyone, is trying to discover who she is.
8. Ten Poems for the Mossums One for the Man (Suzanne Palmer) Davin is working for the Project and lives alone on an alien world called Eyke. He is a valued asset as he learns more about Eyke. His loneliness is cured by befriending the Mossums.
9. Touring with the Alien (Carolyn Ives Gilman) Avery lands a job transporting a member of an alien race that has landed on Earth. She learns that the aliens desire as much from us as we do from them.
10. Terminal (Lavie Tidhar) Mei is part of a caravan of jalopies that are flying away from Earth. The journey to Terminal is so long that many of her caravan will not make it.
11. A Good Home (Karin Lowachee) Tawn adopts a wounded war veteran named Mark. The two of them become friends as the world around them has trouble understanding their friendship.
12. Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea (Sarah Pinsker) Bay lives alone on an island when Gabby washes up on shore. As they become friends, what has happened to their world is slowly revealed.
13. The Visitor from Taured (Ian R. MacLeod) Lita and Rob had a love for books and each other in a world where literature was becoming more and more obsolete.
14. The Iron Tactician (Alastair Reynolds) Merlin is alone in his massive spaceship. He finds a damaged ship in the cosmos and rescues a survivor. They try to come to terms with their long histories by helping a planet in the present.
15. Astrange Loop (T. R. Napper) Irving continues to erase his past in order to have wealth in his present. He soon loses control and becomes stuck robbing Peter to pay Paul when he is actually both.
16. Number Nine Moon (Alex Irvine) Steuby leads a three person team that salvages resources off of Mars. The evacuation of Mars leaves the planet ripe for salvage but more dangerous than ever.
17. Parables of Infinity (Robert Reed) No one knows how old the Great Ship is. It seems that many worlds have been cultivated then destroyed since its inception though.
18. Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse (Xia Jia) A robotic Dragon-Horse is awakened after a long period of being dormant. A lonely tale as the Dragon-Horse travels through a dying world.
19. The Mighty Slinger (Tobias S. Buckell, Karen Lord) The Mighty Slinger is a rock star leading a revolution. He tours then sleeps for decades. When he becomes the leader of the revolution, after being asleep for decades, he is forced to lead while learning what he missed while asleep.
20. Things with Beards (Sam J. Miller) MacReady returned from Antarctica as a changed man. Taking place in 1983, Things with Beards seems to be a sequel to 1982's The Thing by John Carpenter.
21. Panic City (Madeline Ashby) An automated city protects its human inhabitants. In trying to protect its people, suffering occurs.
22. The Metal Demimonde (Nick Wolven) Tipper works for a traveling carnival. She falls for a local boy that uses her to achieve his own selfish quest for retribution.
23. Pearl (Aliette de Bodard) Da Trang tries to free himself from feelings of loss by impressing the Empress. He ends up losing more in a sad tale of loneliness.
24. Extraction Request (Rich Larson) A military unit is on an alien planet when they discover an aggressive predator. Elliot is the leader and his tortured past becomes another enemy the unit is fighting.
25. You Make Pattaya (Rich Larson) Dorian is an ultra-modern scammer who becomes the victim of a scam.
26. Higherworks (Gregory Norman Bossert) A spy infiltrates the drug culture to catch a criminal.
27. Last Gods (Sam J. Miller) Adze lives in a world ravaged by climate change. She goes on a quest with the deceitful Kelb and meets the last gods.
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2020
2. The Charge and the Storm (An Owomoyela) Petra is a human accepted into an alien hierarchy that rules the planet. She has the ability to save Nash from being executed as Nash becomes another burden that Petra does not need.
3. They Have All One Breath (Karl Bunker) James lives in a world run by omnipresent AI's. He is still coping with his wife, Lisa, leaving him. Through his sadness he creates a work of art.
4. Ten Days (Nina Allan) Dora uses a time machine created by a watchmaker to investigate and solve a murder that happened before she was even born.
5. And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices (Margaret Ronald) Ma is an esteemed pundit in a world where intelligent life has been found off of Earth. A generational story of mothers and sons trying to find common ground.
6. The Three Lives of Sonata James (Lettie Prell) Sonata decided to upload her life to become immortal. The world changes over her long lifetime and 'people' like her become resented. When all seems lost, she is given a second chance.
7. Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit - Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts (Ken Liu) Asa gave up her worldly possessions to live off of the grid. With most of the planet now underwater, she invites a journalist to write about her secluded life. The journalist discovers that Asa, as with everyone, is trying to discover who she is.
8. Ten Poems for the Mossums One for the Man (Suzanne Palmer) Davin is working for the Project and lives alone on an alien world called Eyke. He is a valued asset as he learns more about Eyke. His loneliness is cured by befriending the Mossums.
9. Touring with the Alien (Carolyn Ives Gilman) Avery lands a job transporting a member of an alien race that has landed on Earth. She learns that the aliens desire as much from us as we do from them.
10. Terminal (Lavie Tidhar) Mei is part of a caravan of jalopies that are flying away from Earth. The journey to Terminal is so long that many of her caravan will not make it.
11. A Good Home (Karin Lowachee) Tawn adopts a wounded war veteran named Mark. The two of them become friends as the world around them has trouble understanding their friendship.
12. Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea (Sarah Pinsker) Bay lives alone on an island when Gabby washes up on shore. As they become friends, what has happened to their world is slowly revealed.
13. The Visitor from Taured (Ian R. MacLeod) Lita and Rob had a love for books and each other in a world where literature was becoming more and more obsolete.
14. The Iron Tactician (Alastair Reynolds) Merlin is alone in his massive spaceship. He finds a damaged ship in the cosmos and rescues a survivor. They try to come to terms with their long histories by helping a planet in the present.
15. Astrange Loop (T. R. Napper) Irving continues to erase his past in order to have wealth in his present. He soon loses control and becomes stuck robbing Peter to pay Paul when he is actually both.
16. Number Nine Moon (Alex Irvine) Steuby leads a three person team that salvages resources off of Mars. The evacuation of Mars leaves the planet ripe for salvage but more dangerous than ever.
17. Parables of Infinity (Robert Reed) No one knows how old the Great Ship is. It seems that many worlds have been cultivated then destroyed since its inception though.
18. Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse (Xia Jia) A robotic Dragon-Horse is awakened after a long period of being dormant. A lonely tale as the Dragon-Horse travels through a dying world.
19. The Mighty Slinger (Tobias S. Buckell, Karen Lord) The Mighty Slinger is a rock star leading a revolution. He tours then sleeps for decades. When he becomes the leader of the revolution, after being asleep for decades, he is forced to lead while learning what he missed while asleep.
20. Things with Beards (Sam J. Miller) MacReady returned from Antarctica as a changed man. Taking place in 1983, Things with Beards seems to be a sequel to 1982's The Thing by John Carpenter.
21. Panic City (Madeline Ashby) An automated city protects its human inhabitants. In trying to protect its people, suffering occurs.
22. The Metal Demimonde (Nick Wolven) Tipper works for a traveling carnival. She falls for a local boy that uses her to achieve his own selfish quest for retribution.
23. Pearl (Aliette de Bodard) Da Trang tries to free himself from feelings of loss by impressing the Empress. He ends up losing more in a sad tale of loneliness.
24. Extraction Request (Rich Larson) A military unit is on an alien planet when they discover an aggressive predator. Elliot is the leader and his tortured past becomes another enemy the unit is fighting.
25. You Make Pattaya (Rich Larson) Dorian is an ultra-modern scammer who becomes the victim of a scam.
26. Higherworks (Gregory Norman Bossert) A spy infiltrates the drug culture to catch a criminal.
27. Last Gods (Sam J. Miller) Adze lives in a world ravaged by climate change. She goes on a quest with the deceitful Kelb and meets the last gods.
Top reviews from other countries
1. Extraction Request— Rich Larson;
2. Last Gods— Sam J. Miller;
3. Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse— Xia Jia;
4. Pearl— Aliette de Bodard;
5. The Iron Tactician— Alastair Reynolds;
6. Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea— Sarah Pinsker;
7. And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices— Margaret Ronald;
8. Number Nine Moon— Alex Irvine;
9. Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts— Ken Liu;
10. Touring with the Alien— Carolyn Ives Gilman.
There were too many overlong works which seemed to have forgotten plot and dialogues while trying to emphasise ideas. Nevertheless, if you are in the mood of spending a lot of time with sff, then this massive anthology would be a good choice.


