Product Description
This is the best short form science fiction of 2005, selected by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, two of the most respected editors in the field. The short story is one of the most vibrant and exciting areas in science fiction today. It is where the hot new authors emerge and where the beloved giants of the field continue to publish. Now, building on the success of the first nine volumes, Eos will once again present a collection of the best stories of the year in mass market. Here, selected and compiled by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, two of the most respected editors in the field, are stories with visions of tomorrow and yesterday, of the strange and the familiar, of the unknown and the unknowable. With stories from an all-star team of science fiction authors, "Year's Best Sf 11" is an indispensable guide for every science fiction fan. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Thoughtfully-Collected Set of Science Fiction Stories
David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have done fine work collecting these 31 stories from authors who have also done some fine work.I enjoyed most of these stories very much.Although there were some that didn't work for me, there are none which I regret the time spent reading.I always appreciate well-written introductions with author bios, brief descriptions of their other work, and web addresses that point to more information.This volume met this expectation well--as I have come to expect from these editors.I had to do some winnowing to get my favorites down to these five:

Ken MacLeod's "A Case of Consilience" is a rare beast--a science fiction short story that treats religion with respect without sinking into either sarcasm or apology.A missionary's message that seems to go unheard by an alien fungal intelligence is accepted, slowly digested and finally understood.

Neal Asher's "Mason's Rats" describes a farmer's high-tech war with unwelcome invaders.And reminds us that winning allies can be as important as winning battles.

Paul McAuley's "Rats of the System" is space operate in the most complementary sense.Along with the action, readers learn about transcendent intelligences and two very different cultures' ways of dealing with them.

Bud Sparhawk's "Bright Red Star" describes the last mission of a squad of specialized commandos who will sacrifice their lives to keep human colonists from being captured and horribly used by an alien enemy.This is a particularly well-written story.

Alastair Reynolds' "Beyond the Aquila Rift" gives me one more reason to consider him a favorite author with a story outside of his usual universe.We learn a couple of things about how to help a space traveler who wakes up from "an unusually long hypersleep."

The collection does contain an unusually large number--ten of the thirty-one--of short science fiction stories that originally appeared in "Nature."I suppose this might irritate "Nature" subscribers who feel they aren't getting enough new material.I think all ten are good stories.None are among my favorites because a personal preference for longer stories.The editors' distribution of these stories among the longer stories has a positive effect on the reader's pacing through the collection.My favorite among these shorts is Peter Hamilton's "The Forever Kitten" for its sly wink at the difficulties of being a parent.

As always, I am grateful to be able read this collection on my iPhone Kindle app.Nothing beats reading great science fiction surreptitiously while in a meeting with other researchers, supposedly doing great science.I'm not sure it hurts the science all that much.It's a great collection.Enjoy it in your own way.

Not Free SF Reader
The editors certainly seem enamored of the rather short stories found in Nature magazine, and again I think that may hamper a rating, including lots of them, although it certainly adds to a variety.31 stories here, which is more than the equivalent Dozois volume, although the book is probably only 55% of the length, or something like that.

As such, a standard type edition of one of these Hartwell and Cramer volumes, with a 3.79 average.Only three standouts in the 31, McAuley, Reynolds and Doctorow.However, only 2 average stories, despite all the short pieces, so rather well done there, so along with the Year's Best SF 10 they have done a fine job avoiding stories of not much interest.

Apart from actual real natural disasters, they mention one anthology - Constellations by Peter Crowther, in the introduction, which would appear to have a lot of British SF talent in it, with stellar based stories the theme.

With all that, pretty much a 4.75 I think, and given this scale, may as well be a 5 given the consistency.


Year's Best SF 11 : New Hope for the Dead - David Langford
Year's Best SF 11 : Deus Ex Homine - Hannu Rajaniemi
Year's Best SF 11 : When the Great Days Came - Gardner R. Dozois
Year's Best SF 11 : Second Person, Present Tense - Daryl Gregory
Year's Best SF 11 : Dreadnought - Justina Robson
Year's Best SF 11 : A Case of Consilience - Ken MacLeod
Year's Best SF 11 : Toy Planes - Tobias S. Buckell
Year's Best SF 11 : Mason's Rats - Neal Asher
Year's Best SF 11 : A Modest Proposal - Vonda N. McIntyre
Year's Best SF 11 : Guadalupe and Hieronymus Bosch - Rudy Rucker
Year's Best SF 11 : The Forever Kitten - Peter F. Hamilton
Year's Best SF 11 : City of Reason - Matthew Jarpe
Year's Best SF 11 : Ivory Tower - Bruce Sterling
Year's Best SF 11 : Sheila - Lauren McLaughlin
Year's Best SF 11 : Rats of the System - Paul McAuley
Year's Best SF 11 : I Love Liver: A Romance - Larissa Lai
Year's Best SF 11 : The Edge of Nowhere - James Patrick Kelly
Year's Best SF 11 : What's Expected of Us - Ted Chiang
Year's Best SF 11 : Girls and Boys Come Out to Play - Michael Swanwick
Year's Best SF 11 : Lakes of Light - Stephen Baxter
Year's Best SF 11 : The Albian Message - Oliver Morton
Year's Best SF 11 : Bright Red Star - Bud Sparhawk
Year's Best SF 11 : Third Day Lights - Alaya Dawn Johnson
Year's Best SF 11 : RAM Shift Phase 2 - Greg Bear
Year's Best SF 11 : On the Brane - Gregory Benford
Year's Best SF 11 : Oxygen Rising - R. Garcia y Robertson
Year's Best SF 11 : And Future King - Adam Roberts
Year's Best SF 11 : Beyond the Aquila Rift - Alastair Reynolds
Year's Best SF 11 : Angel of Light - Joe Haldeman
Year's Best SF 11 : Ikiryoh - Liz Williams
Year's Best SF 11 : I Robot - Cory Doctorow


EGAN electronic eternal existence expensive.

4 out of 5


Baby deity a bother, makes me want to kill some

4 out of 5


Rat's eye armageddon.

3.5 out of 5


Zen and the art of personality maintenance.

4 out of 5


Soldier Unit.

4 out of 5


Genetic message.

3.5 out of 5


I dread to blow off my head.

4 out of 5


James Herbert book, and the natives are arming, if not as numerous.

3.5 out of 5


Not much left.

3 out of 5


Brane-assisted painter time-snatch.

3.5 out of 5


Kid stasis.

4 out of 5


A Better Way would be Highly Fantastic.

4 out of 5


Physics commune advances.

4 out of 5


Supercomputing antimeat plot.

4 out of 5


Transcendent hunter-killer chase experiment.

4.5 out of 5


Escape organ.

3 out of 5


Bad dogs and old stories.

4 out of 5


Simon already Says.

4 out of 5


Godmaking and removal, squid variety included.

3.5 out of 5


Star wrapping investigation.

3.5 out of 5


Sometimes it is just old directions.

4 out of 5


Conflict kill choices.

3.5 out of 5


Human revival project.

3.5 out of 5


Robot review parody.

3.5 out of 5


Counter-Earth trip.

3.5 out of 5


Greenie peace preferred.

4 out of 5


Programmed government's Arthurian overlord.

3.5 out of 5


Lost In Space.

"Space," it says, "is big. Really big. You just won't believe how
vastly hugely mindboggingly big it is.

4.5 out of 5


Thrilling Wonder Stories alien xmas deal.

4 out of 5


Kappa bad kid bit minder.

3.5 out of 5


Baby arrival brings brainy Big Brother bot researcher's defection and later reunion desires in multiple.

4.5 out of 5

Nice collection of SF.
You'll find very nice SF stories, although some might seem a little too short, they nevertheless reflect recent themes.

A very good science fiction book
I had a lot of fun reading this book.It has number of great stories that make you think about current political and social makings of the world and US.These stories raise number of questions and possibilities.
Overall, a very enjoyable book.

too many too short stories
It seems that Hartwell took one too many of the nano short stories
from the magazine 'nature' for this book. They are cute and clever,but a one page story from Ted Chiang? Come on, get real.
Most of the stories are good to very good, especially 'shelia',
'on the brane','oxygen rising'. It seems some of the stories are
begining to suffer from the rudy ruckner school of protoplasmic
farm tractors, something that stross and doctorow have been mucking around in for awhile. For some reason these 'organic fiction'novels have as much of a tendency to sicken one as to excite one. I enjoyed the majority of the book, I just wish
this tendency to publish really short stories would lighten up a
bit. ... Read more

Product Description
This title contains the best short form science fiction of 2006, selected by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, two of the most respected editors in the field. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Year's Best SF 12 is Good Enough
David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have assembled 26 science fiction stories from those published in 2006.As usual, the introductions to each story contain author bios, web sites, brief descriptions of other works, and a non-spoiler characterization of the story in this collection.It is a good, but not a great collection.Three of the stories also appear in Gardner Dozois's [The Year's Best Science Fiction Twenty-fourth annual collection].

My five favorites:

Mary Rosenblum's "Home Movies" introduces a member of one of the world's newest professions, a trained rememberer who stores experiences to be sold and lost completely to her employer.Until she experiences some things worth remembering.

Alastair Reynolds' "Tiger, Burning" sends an investigator to solve a mystery in a different brane where physics is different, but human motivation is much the same.The guilty party is certain to be executed.

Michael Swanwick's "Tin Marsh" comes off a little like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.Two prospectors get on each other's nerves while searching for metal deposits on Venus.

In Robert Reed's "Rwanda" a father and son discuss a failed alien invasion of Earth and its aftermath.Some humans found opportunities to be merciful.

In Charlie Rosenkrantz's "Preemption" an fleet of alien assassins arrives to scour the earth of an ambitious species before it can become a galactic threat.

This isn't the best of the Best of SF series, but it is worth reading and provides a measure of enjoyment.I wonder why this book and the Year's Best SF 13 are the only recent books in the series that are not available on the Kindle?It makes reading them surreptitiously a lot more challenging.

Not even close to the best
It is really very hard to understand how these editors have managed to survive their own ineptitude. These stories are cliche efforts by minor voices in science fiction.As a reader I feel deceived, robbed, and worst of all, bored.If I were a top notch science fiction writer (Brin, Card, etc.) I would be pissed.Calling this the "best" of the year is a gross insult to the truly talented folks working the field. For someone new to the genre it would be very likely to cause them to decide SF is not their thing. Criminal neglect.I gave it two stars rather than zero because there are a couple of good stories by real SF writers (why did those authors allow their stories to be published alongside hack amateurs?)MOST IRRITATING is that the editors have the gall to tell us, in the preface, that they have careful chosen only true science fiction stories, rather than crossing the line into fantasy. If you can't fix it, lie about it....

Nice to be in print
As usual, David & Kathryn have assembled some of the best short SF of the year [for those stories first appearing in 2006].

This anthology includes the Hugo-nominated "Dawn, and Sunset, and All the Colours of the Earth" by Michael F. Flynn, his moving tale of love, loss, and fortitude of spirit in the face of an inexplicable disaster.

[Honesty compels me to confess that myself and a few other regulars of Mr. Flynn's AOL community made small contributions to the story at his request.]

The similarly themed "Rwanda" by Robert Reed and Gardner R. Dozois' dazzling "Contrafactual" also stand out.

Not Free SF Reader
An excellent anthology found here, with a story average of 3.90, and nothing that I didn't like at all, which is very nifty.

The editors also give a short intro/overview of the year in SF short stories, and point out they could have filled several volumes, especially with novellas.If you are talking about 4 star plus stories in a given year for a particular person, sounds reasonable to me.

Also each story intro has a little more interest than some other styles of doing this, so all in all, a great job.

If you ignore the always interesting Dozois novella-summaries in his Year's Best, on fiction alone this is the best Year's Best of the year, with the highest story average of the four (Dozois, Hartwell/Cramer, Horton, Strahan).

Year's Best SF 12 : Nancy Kress - Nano Comes to Clifford Falls
Year's Best SF 12 : Terry Bisson - Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Year's Best SF 12 : Cory Doctorow - When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth.
Year's Best SF 12 : Heather Lindsley - Just Do It.
Year's Best SF 12 : Gardner R. Dozois - Counterfactual.
Year's Best SF 12 : Edd Vick - Moon Does Run.
Year's Best SF 12 : Mary Rosenblum - Home Movies.
Year's Best SF 12 : Rudy Rucker - Chu and the Nants.
Year's Best SF 12 : Ian Creasey - Silence in Florence.
Year's Best SF 12 : Kameron Hurley - The Women of Our Occupation.
Year's Best SF 12 : Claude Lalumiere - This is the Ice Age.
Year's Best SF 12 : Eileen Gunn - Speak, Geek.
Year's Best SF 12 : Joe Haldeman - Expedition, with Recipes.
Year's Best SF 12 : Liz Williams - The Age of Ice.
Year's Best SF 12 : Michael Flynn - Dawn, and Sunset, and the Colours of the Earth.
Year's Best SF 12 : Gregory Benford - Applied Mathematical Theology.
Year's Best SF 12 : Carol Emshwiller - Quill.
Year's Best SF 12 : Alastair Reynolds - Tiger, Burning.
Year's Best SF 12 : Paul J. McAuley - Dead Men Walking.
Year's Best SF 12 : Daryl Gregory - Damascus.
Year's Best SF 12 : Michael Swanwick - Tin Marsh.
Year's Best SF 12 : Ian R. MacLeod - Taking Good Care of Myself.
Year's Best SF 12 : Stephen Baxter - The Lowland Expedition.
Year's Best SF 12 : Wil McCarthy - Heisenberg Elementary.
Year's Best SF 12 : Robert Reed - Rwanda.
Year's Best SF 12 : Charlie Rosenkrantz - Preemption.

Nano technology is available to all, so people that don't want to work innasty jobs, like, say, sanitation, or underpaid jobs like teaching and the police don't have to.

3.5 out of 5


If the future is nice, stay.

4 out of 5


Biowar makes geekfu and gruntwork a necessary combination afterwards.

5 out of 5


Behaviour modification commercialisation.

4 out of 5


Twenty year civil war coverage.

4.5 out of 5


Memory recording transfer rejection.

4.5 out of 5


Singularity reversal upload boy.

4 out of 5


Pisspot poor alien discovery speech recovery.

3.5 out of 5


Big bad brutal biatches.

3 out of 5


Quantum Cross creep.

3.5 out of 5


Smart mutt choice.

4 out of 5


Surviving undesirable cuisine.

3.5 out of 5


Incarceration escape avatar library retrieval liberation deal.

4 out of 5


Ferry removal machine.

3 out of 5


Microwaving g0d.

4 out of 5


Dino alien discovery.

3.5 out of 5


Brane circle future message creator inspiration warning investigation.

4.5 out of 5


Clone killer uncovered confrontation.

4 out of 5


Jaysus, that's a hell of an idea to spread around.

3.5 out of 5


"Naughty girl. Papa spank!" I wish! Wahhh!

4 out of 5


Disposing of yourself.

3.5 out of 5


Gutsy building time.

3.5 out of 5


Time Patrol lesson.

4 out of 5


Takeover migration rejection massacres.

4 out of 5


Alien canine annihilation education evolution protection.

4 out of 5

I sure hope that wasn't the best the year had to offer
There are about 3 or 4 good stories in this anthology. It leans heavily toward aimless, perfunctory end-of-the-world scenarios and bland conceits, and there are the usual "science diction" stories that take standard SF formulas and insert the pop-science buzzwords of the day ("nano" comes up a lot). I think the sense of "best" here is "best story by each author that appeared in some venue somewhere" and I guess a lot of them weren't really concentrating on short fiction that year or something. I will single out the Liz Williams story as memorably worthy.
In short, it could be worth 8 bucks, but don't let the "best" in the title fool you into thinking that this is the "best" in the sense in which we Earthlings normally use the term. ... Read more

Product Description
Once again, the year's finest flights of speculative imagination are gathered in one extraordinary volume, compiled by acclaimed editor and anthologist David G. Hartwell. From some of the most renowned visionaries of contemporary SF -- as well as new writers who are already making an indelible mark -- comes an all-new compendium of unparalleled tales of the possible that will enthrall, astonish, terrify, and elate. Stories of strange worlds and mind-boggling futures, of awesome discoveries and apocalyptic disasters, of universes light years distant and deep within the human consciousness, are collected here as SF's brightest lights shine more radiantly than ever before.

Customer Reviews (6)

The Best SF of Nearly a Decade Past
I've been working my way backward in time, reading progressively older editions of David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer's annual collection of the best science fiction stories.This edition did not disappoint.As usual, the story introductions were superbly-written.They contain the right mix of introduction to the author, samples of his or her work, and non-spoiling teasers for the story itself.An unexpected prize in this year's introductory material was a pointer to Thomas Disch's The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of: How Science Fiction Conquered the World, a critical and intelligent examination of science fictions influences and influence.

My favorite five of the nineteen stories are:

Nancy Kress's "Computer Virus" throws together a rogue artificial intelligence and a mother and two children who are held hostage by it.The outcome depends on human qualities rather than rational ones.

Michael Swanwick's "Under's Game" serves up a wry answer to a question that always nagged at me about Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.

Edward Lerner's "Creative Distruction" follows Justin Matthews as he solves his friend Alice's murder and uncovers the inter-stellar conspiracy behind it.The long-distance communications between civilizations are interestingly similar to those in Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon The Deep.

Ursula Le Guin's "The Building" takes an anthropologist's view of two races, the Aq and the Adaqo, who are slowly recovering from the Adaqo's "explosive expansion of population and technology" that decimated their planet.The cultures are ingeniously conceived, the writing admirable, and the moral somehow both understated and heavy-handed.

Alastair Reynolds' "Glacial" was both new and familiar.It stands alone as a classic science fiction mystery.We look over Nevil Clavain's shoulder as he puzzles out the reason everyone on a remote, ice-covered planet suddenly died.As a fan of other Nevil Clavain stories, I have conflicting feelings about encountering Nevil, Galiana and Felka as an odd, but close-knit little family.

All of the stories are good and worth reading.I may not be giving them the full praise they deserve because I am distracted.The prepaid Kindle version of Year's Best SF 15 has just appeared in my iPhone Kindle app.Forgive me as I quickly abandon the past in a leap to new visions of the future in the present.

Not Free SF Reader
The editorial pair here single out the 'Red Shift' anthology by Al Sarrantonio for mention a number of times, so likely worth a look.

Overall, it seems 2001 was a really good year for SF stories, and this volume starts brilliantly, and ends almost as well.This anthology averages a hugely impressive 3.97, and that is good enough for full marks.Four standout stories, and only two are average.

Year's Best SF 07 : Computer Virus - Nancy Kress
Year's Best SF 07 : Charlie's Angels - Terry Bisson
Year's Best SF 07 : The Measure of All Things - Richard Chwedyk
Year's Best SF 07 : Russian Vine - Simon Ings
Year's Best SF 07 : Under's Game - Michael Swanwick
Year's Best SF 07 : A Matter of Mathematics - Brian Aldiss
Year's Best SF 07 : Creative Destruction - Edward M. Lerner
Year's Best SF 07 : Resurrection - David Morrell
Year's Best SF 07 : The Cat's Pajamas - James Morrow
Year's Best SF 07 : The Dog Said Bow-Wow - Michael Swanwick
Year's Best SF 07 : The Building - Ursula K. Le Guin
Year's Best SF 07 : Grey Earth - Stephen Baxter
Year's Best SF 07 : The Lagan Fishers - Terry Dowling
Year's Best SF 07 : In Xanadu - Thomas M. Disch
Year's Best SF 07 : The Go-Betweens - Lisa Goldstein
Year's Best SF 07 : Viewpoint - Gene Wolfe
Year's Best SF 07 : Anomalies - Gregory Benford
Year's Best SF 07 : Glacial - Alastair Reynolds
Year's Best SF 07 : Undone - James Patrick Kelly


House arrest.

5 out of 5


Killer robot case definitely not supernatural.

4 out of 5


Killer robot case definitely not supernatural.

4.5 out of 5


Illiterate people are easy, if you are aliens with territorial designs on Terra.

4 out of 5


Space Force firing performance needs junk food.

4 out of 5


Short cut.

3 out of 5


Alien nanotech radio plot.

4 out of 5


Father-son freeze.

4 out of 5


Brain in a jar down on the farm political ethics.

4 out of 5


Canine anti-tech adventures.

4 out of 5


Stonewalling.

3 out of 5


Alternate reality Big Whack human lack.

3.5 out of 5


A UN veteran, honored for his work in fighting a dangerous outbreak in the past, now lives with a new, strange botanical that is very valuable, and not very well understood.

4 out of 5


Welcome To the Pleasure Dome, not Frankie, not alive.

3.5 out of 5


Alien canine diplomacy.

"But you know, the dogs like us. That's got to count for something."

4.5 out of 5


Cash keepings off, rifled.

4 out of 5


Error observation religion.

4 out of 5


Clavain investigates why it is cold and almost all dead on a base.

4 out of 5


Future escape a problem of many dimensions.

4.5 out of 5

The Measure of All Things Worth the Price of the Book
SF 7 is a good compulation worth reading.However, "The Measure of All Things" by Richard Chwedyk is exceptional and worth the price of the book all by itself.It has made me want to track down and read more Chwedyk to see if The Measure is a fluke or indicative of his usual work.Read this story!Especially if you are involved in animal rescue.

A Nice Anthology, But I Prefer The Dozois' Year Best.
I'm not a person who has the funds (and probably time) to keep up with all or most of the f/h/sf magazines and original anthologies. I could buy one (or more), certainly, but then I want to receive the others too. Also, I trust that most of the best stories will eventually make their way into book format, anyway. There's always a number of books that collect best stories of a given year; I settle for one of these and all the stories I then read will be brand-new to me.

Each year there are the gems waiting to be read. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer (editors of reviewed book) and Dozois (editor of the huge Year's Best SF Stories) are three of the finest editors around, each with his/her own ideas of what are the best stories of a given year.

But, I'm not an admirer of mass-market paperback books (such as the reviewed book is), as they are often made of cheap paper. Worse still is the binding.

Buy the Dozois Best of the Year if you want more stories for a somewhat higher price (but all packaged in trade paperback format). If only Hartwell's and Cramer's Best of the Years would come out in trade paperback, I would add them to my library without hesitation.

I love this annual collection
I just love this collection.I tend to not read sci-fi because so much of it is poorly written, but this series is wonderful, full of so many great things, and for the most part well-written"The Measure Of All Things" is the real stand out this year but even the slower moving stories end up with something that really stretches the mind.This series of anthologies bring back the wonder of the stories I was introduced to in my youth.My favorite yearly anthology. ... Read more

Product Description
Get Ready To Expand Your Mind...

Acclaimed editor and anthologist David G. Hartwell is back with the sixth annual collection of the year's most impressive, thought-provoking, and just plain great science fiction.

Year's Best SF 6 includes contributions from the greatest stars of the field as well as remarkable newcomers -- galaxies and into unexplored territory deep within your own soul.

Here are stories from:

Product Description

Unique visions and astonishments—new stories by:

Tobias S. Buckell and Karl Schroeder
Cory Doctorow
Neil Gaiman
Kathleen Ann Goonan
Alastair Reynolds
Michael Swanwick

Last year's best short-form SF—selected by acclaimed, award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer—offers stunning new extrapolations on what awaits humankind beyond the next dawn. The art of the story is explored boldly and provocatively in this powerful new collection of Year's Best speculative fiction.

Customer Reviews (8)

excellent scifi readin
Another fantastic book in the most consistently outstanding scifi short story series that I've encountered.I like rich, interesting, mind-bending scifi with good character development.This book delivers.

Excellent collection of "new" shorts
I usually make it a (sometimes hurtful) habit to ingest these yearly anthologies.I grabbed this one at the library last week and, as tropish as it sounds, haven't been able to put it down.Reynold's "Fury" is a fun, entirely interesting little space opera with a universe paradoxically well fleshed out for a short; it had me wishing there was an entire saga out there, somewhere.Certainly more upbeat than Reynold's usually plodding fare."The Scarecrow's Boy", rightly compared to "The Littlest Toaster" I went into with lowered expectations and came out deeply impressed."N-Words", while a fairly typical story of its type, I enjoyed.Those were the stories that really stuck out to me.The rest were certainly good.

Excellent Stories, Helpful Introductions
I read and enjoyed each of the 21 stories in David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer's collection from 2008 science fiction stories.The introductions were just the right mix of author bios and pointers to other works.I particularly appreciated the inclusion of web addresses for most authors so I could find out more about them immediately after enjoying one of their stories.

My favorite six stories all had a strong character focus, using future settings and new technologies as background to the concerns of interesting people.

Carolyn Ives Gilman's "Arkfall" is a planetary romance that follows the developing relationships between crewmembers of a living submarine as it drifts through unmapped territory under an alien ocean.

Kathleen Ann Gooman's "Memory Dog" shows how the right dog can be a woman's best friend--and her best link to the past and future.

Alastair Reynolds' "Fury" reminds us that our oldest, darkest debts are sometimes paid by those we hold close.

Jeff VanderMeer's "Fixing Hannover" shows a castaway engineer's value to those who pull him from the sea--and those who come to take him home.

Mary Rickert's "Traitor" and Sue Burke's "Spiders" are each enjoyable on their own, but more so as a contrasting pair.Taking a darker and lighter view, respectively, they illustrate how a child, awash in too much information from the world, can muster the wisdom to focus on what is important.We wonder what becomes of them.

I offer my gratitude for the Kindle version that allowed me to read these stories unobtrusively during a series of boring monologues by the senior executives in my agency.Their collective misunderstanding of the smile on my face during their orations is certain to benefit my career.This collection is worth your time in similar or better circumstances.

good gift for a sci-fi reader
I purchased this as a gift for my son-in-law who is a sci-fi enthusiast.My daughter said that as soon as it arrived he sat right down that evening and began reading it. He found it an interesting book of short stories as he could finish one in a sitting; also, he was able to read some of the new offerings for the year this way.

Well Chosen
This is a well chosen collection. I enjoy the format for the SF## series. The short introductory bios, with web addresses, allow me to further explore the authors of stories I liked. I have to agree with those that have said the price it right. In contrast to the negative reviewer, I am buying the book so that I *don't* have to explore the internet, reading everything published to find the gems. I am paying for the curatorial effort and for the story in print so I can read it wherever and whenever I care to, and to have someone recommend new authors I may like. This years collection is very satisfying and entertaining. ... Read more

Product Description
Contains Daphne Du Maurier's "Don't Look Now," Robert A. Heinlein's "They," Madeline Yale Wynne's "At the Mountains of Madness," Peter Straub's "The Blue Rose," and other horror novellas, featuring the contributions of women to the genre, and an introduction. Reprint. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Science Fiction Archeology
This collection of fifty stories stretches from 1989 back to the 1930's.It includes stories from great names in science fiction and lesser-known authors from non-English markets.It's worth picking up at the library or your local used book store.Five of my favorites are described below.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "Harrison Bergeron" is possibly the best political commentary disguised as science fiction I have ever read.It takes legally enforced "equality" to its ridiculous extreme.How far can we go down the path of handicapping those who might be smarter or stronger than average?

In Avram Davidson's "The Golem" a newly-created robot confronts the superstitious past of the human beings it is destined to replace.

Robert Heinlein's "The Green Hills of Earth" is the story of Rhysling, the Blind Singer of the Spaceways--but not the official version.It captures the feel of the author's future history series perfectly.And has the odd distinction of being a science fiction musical.

Larry Niven's "Inconstant Moon" paces through the long, sleepless night after its protagonist figures out the puzzle of the evening sky's too-bright moon.One of his very best tales, it is not connected to Larry Niven's Known Space, nor to any of his other sets of related stories.

Theodore Sturgeon's "The Man Who Lost the Sea" is a rambling, hard-to-follow story that comes eventually and finally to its end.

Dated, but highly recommended.

A must for Sci-Fi fans
This is a collection of science fiction short stories, some of which are outstanding and brilliant.If you love science fiction, you must have this book in your collection.

50 Science Friction Stories in one book
A real gem of a book for science fiction readers. 50 of the best stories of all time in one BIG book 1083 pages. Writers who can be found in this book are: Kurt Vonnegut Jr___John Campbell___Arthir C Clarke___Gene Wolf___Larry Nieven___Robert Sheckley___Boris Vian__Walter Miller__Isaac Asimov__Fredrick Pohl and so may others. Wonderful stories that and reader will enjoy.

An entertaining mix
A wonderful collection of short stories and novella from around the world.For each story, the editor gives us a well written introduction on the author and also his comparisons to other authors.Some of the stories go back to the 30's and 40's where science fiction began to take off, then on into the 50's and 60's where it really established itself; a few are taken out of the 70's and 80's.

We think of science fiction as flying around in outer-space searching for other life forms.We do have countless books written on this theme; science fiction is much more complicated than that, it is not always what we think it to be, or where we think we might find it.And these 49 short stories in a thick book represent a diverse combination.The ones that stood out for me are from:

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
J. G. Ballard
Theodore Stergeon
Rene Rebetez-Cortes
Gene Wolfe
Alfred Bester
C. M. Kornbluth
Larry Niven
Frederik Pohl
Boris Vian
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Tor Age Bringsvaerd
Philip K. Dick
Stanislaw Lem
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore

Wish you well
Scott

huge book makes for good variety
With over 50 stories, this collection is sure to give you a good helping of stories you'll like(provided that you are a science fiction fan, of course). No, there's not any order to them, and yes, the introductions to the stories are stale, but how can these possibly detract from the quality of the stories themselves? I've read approximately half of them since I started reading a week or so again, and so far have disliked only three, and only two of those I skipped over(I couldn't stand the Italo Calvino stories).

It's a good deal, that's for sure. Pick this up if you're a scifi fan looking for some fun reading material. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not Free SF Reader
Something of an introduction here by Hartwell to suggest that science fiction is the literature of the twentieth century, and stands in opposition to modernism.Sounds pretty dumb to see 'SF is anti-modern' of course, when he means it in the 'literature' sense.

He mentions the beginning of this as an argument between H. G. Wells and Henry James about that sort of thing.Something like 'Hey, H. G., how dare you write something good that isn't all depressing and deathly', in a nutshell.Apparently Forster agreed with James, which may explain the extremely tedious nature of The Machine Stops.

Apart from that and the junk C. S. Lewis story this is a high quality anthology.Pointing out that you used Clarke, Asimov etc. in a previous bigarse volume is one thing, but at least put something better in their place.

I think the point might be to skip the most famous, most well known stories though, perusing this lineup.How Johnny Mnemonic snuck in then, not sure.

A Century is correct though, from around 1890 to 1990, or Kipling to Kress if you prefer alpha to numeric.

Still, a very nice volume and absolutely a major anthology, with a 3.73 average, over such a broad timespan, with some gems you aren't too likely to come across in other places.

The other thing Hartwell has included is a smattering of non-English originally stories from Europe (although none from Asia, or South America or Africa) as other examples, and these are also pretty reasonable selections.He points out that the major centre of SF is America, something which is undeniable except maybe to some bizarre holdout extremely parochial poms perhaps.

If you get a chance to pick this over 1000 page monster up, do so.

Science Fiction Century : Beam Us Home - James Tiptree Jr.
Science Fiction Century : Ministering Angels - C. S. Lewis
Science Fiction Century : The Music Master of Babylon - Edgar Pangborn
Science Fiction Century : A Story of the Days to Come - H. G. Wells
Science Fiction Century : Hot Planet - Hal Clement
Science Fiction Century : A Work of Art [Art-Work] - James Blish
Science Fiction Century : The Machine Stops - E. M. Forster
Science Fiction Century : Brightness Falls from the Air - Margaret St. Clair
Science Fiction Century : 2066 Election Day - Michael Shaara
Science Fiction Century : The Rose - Charles Harness
Science Fiction Century : The Hounds of Tindalos - Frank Belknap Long
Science Fiction Century : The Angel of Violence - Adam Wisniewski-Snerg
Science Fiction Century : Nobody Bothers Gus - Algis Budrys
Science Fiction Century : The Time Machine - Dino Buzzati
Science Fiction Century : Mother - Philip Jose Farmer
Science Fiction Century : As Easy as A.B.C. - Rudyard Kipling
Science Fiction Century : Ginungagap - Michael Swanwick
Science Fiction Century : Minister Without Portfolio - Mildred Clingerman
Science Fiction Century : Time in Advance - William Tenn
Science Fiction Century : Good Night Sophie - Lino Aldani
Science Fiction Century : Veritas - James Morrow
Science Fiction Century : Enchanted Village - A. E. van Vogt
Science Fiction Century : The King and the Dollmaker - Wolfgang Jeschke
Science Fiction Century : Fire Watch - Connie Willis
Science Fiction Century : Goat Song - Poul Anderson
Science Fiction Century : The Scarlet Plague - Jack London
Science Fiction Century : Drunkboat - Cordwainer Smith
Science Fiction Century : Another World - J. H. Rosny-Aîné
Science Fiction Century : If the Stars Are Gods - Gregory Benford and Gordon Eklund
Science Fiction Century : I Still Call Australia Home - George Turner
Science Fiction Century : Liquid Sunshine - Alexander Kuprin; trans. by Leland Fetzer
Science Fiction Century : Great Work of Time - John Crowley
Science Fiction Century : Sundance - Robert Silverberg
Science Fiction Century : Greenslaves - Frank Herbert
Science Fiction Century : Rumfuddle - Jack Vance
Science Fiction Century : The Dimple in Draco - Philip Latham
Science Fiction Century : Consider Her Ways - John Wyndham
Science Fiction Century : Something Ending - Eddy C. Bertin
Science Fiction Century : He Who Shapes - Roger Zelazny
Science Fiction Century : Swarm - Bruce Sterling
Science Fiction Century : Beggars in Spain [SS] - Nancy Kress
Science Fiction Century : Johnny Mnemonic [SS] - William Gibson
Science Fiction Century : Repent Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman - Harlan Ellison
Science Fiction Century : Blood's a Rover - Chad Oliver
Science Fiction Century : Sail the Tide of Mourning - Richard A. Lupoff

Dogstar biowar ending.

4 out of 5


Space escort barrel scraping.

2.5 out of 5


An elderly survivor of some nuking lives in a museum, and one day comes across a couple of primitive kids, nascent musicians.

4 out of 5


Giving the past lifestyle a try.

3 out of 5


Vulcan solution.

3.5 out of 5


Composer impression.

4 out of 5


Can't do anything ourselves.

3 out of 5


Bird people buried.

3 out of 5


This is a job for eight of us man, Uncle Sam?

4 out of 5


This is a book about science and art, and how people view such things might have an impact on human evolution and the development of a new species, homo superior. Also sarcastic commentary on authorities that want to hamper or censor such things.

3 out of 5


Author's drug doom by dimension dogs.

4 out of 5



4.5 out of 5

Where are the aliens?
This book purports to survey the evolution of science fiction over the course of the twentieth century, and in this regard is a fairly educational tome. It's nice, for example, to know that E.M. Forster and Rudyard Kipling(!) wrote short stories that could fairly be called science fiction, andthat there was a controversy among serious writers at the beginning of thecentury regarding whether inexorable technical progress would bring utopiaor dystopia, and I feel richer for knowing that. However, this vast(>800 pages!) anthology baldly ignores stories which explore twofavorite subjects of mine (and, I assume, many other readers): theimplications of interstellar travel, and speculation on the nature of alienintelligence. There are a few stories here which investigate these topics,but only a few, and I was left with the suspicion that either (a) Hartwellsimply doesn't like/"get" aliens and space opera, and likes timetravel and noodlings on dystopia a whole lot more, or (b) there wereserious copyright or reproduction problems with enough of the major shortstories and novellas which classically treat these subjects that the entiresubgenre was ignored...there's one particular example in which theintroductory abstract for a story glows *about another story by the sameauthor*, and then treats us to one of his lesser works. There aredefinitely some gems here which I haven't seen elsewhere (e.g. Farmer's"Mother"), and the works chosen are unquestionably among thebest-written of the genre, but after plowing through the dozens of storiesI found myself missing a treatment of the aspects of science fiction that Ipersonally enjoy the most. It might be a good gift for that special someonewhom you've never been able to turn on to SF -- these are good transitionstories; some so good that you don't even know you're reading sciencefiction.

Where's Heinlein?
I wrote my original review before I had finished reading this book and liked a couple of the stories.

I was wrong. It is terrible. Just check out who is in there and who isn't. No Heinlein? Arguably the most significant sci-fi writer of the last century was left out, perhaps because he has been "anthologized too much".

I almost always re-read a book I've read. This one, however, is going to become an important resource. It's pretty large so I'm going to hollow out the center and use it as an inconspicuous storage 'safe' for my bookcase. I used to use a 20-year old Guiness Book of World Records for that, but it's gotten too battered. This large, hard-cover monstrosity will be a welcome addition.

Sci-fi for grownups
This wonderful collection offers a wide variety of the very best science fiction, not of the "square-jawed-heroes-and-beautiful-princesses" kind, but the kindof fiction that leads you to ponder about deep philosophical matters. Ionly do not rate it with the full rating of 5 stars because of a few ratheruninspired choices, for example H.G.Wells's "A Story of the Days toCome." I like Wells but it is no mystery that some of his stories arenot up to scratch, and this is one of them: preachy and curiouslyunvisionary (sometimes comically so, like, why on Earth did Wells believethat the quaint institution of the chaperone would survive so many yearsinto the future? But then, probably all of Wells' good stuff has alreadybeen overanthologized). Others have apparently been included just for thesake of representing a particular author, rather than because of theirquality. However, the selection has been mostly made based on excellence,and the few not-so-goods are largely compensated by the sterling quality ofthe rest of the stories, some of which are true masterpieces, like PoulAnderson's "Goat Song," a beautiful and haunting recreation ofthe myth of Orpheus, the deeply disturbing "Mother" by PhilipJosé Farmer and "Consider Her Ways" by John Wyndham, the originaland fairy-taleish "The King and the Dollmaker" by WolfgangJeschke, the poetic "Riding the Tide of Mourning" by RichardLupoff, and many others, in fact too numerous to mention. Of special meritare the inclusions of modern classics like Gibson's "JohnnyMnemonic" and Ellison's "Repent, Harlequin!" and otherswhich are excellent but hard to find, like the exquisite but out of print"The Rose" by Charles Harness. A truly indespensable item for thesci-fi serious fan. ... Read more

Product Description
In The Dark Descent, hailed as one of the most important anthologies ever to examine horror fiction, editor David G. Hartwell traces the complex history of horror in literature back to the earliest short stories. The Dark Descent, which won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, showcases the finest of these ever written--from the time-honored classics of Edgar Allan Poe, D.H. Lawrence, and Edith Wharton to the contemporary writing of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Ray Bradbury.
Amazon.com Review
If you could have only one anthology of dark stories, thiswould be the one to have. Having observed that "fans of horror fictionmost often restrict their reading to books and stories given a horrorcategory label, thus missing some of the finest pleasures in thatfictional mode," David G. Hartwell assembles here 56 important taleswithin an insightful critical framework; his purpose is to "clear theair and broaden future considerations of horror." Several well-knownclassics are included, but there are also dozens of lesser-knownhorror tales, including many by science fiction and literarywriters. Get one copy for yourself. Get another for that friend orrelative who doesn't understand why you like to read horror. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Five Stars as a Gift for the Horror and Weird Fiction Fan

I have not read this book, but I gave it to a dear friend and teaching colleague who has been a horror afficianado for years, and who once taught a class on the development of "ghost stories."Scott, however, is definitely a more "M. R. James - Lovecraft" fan, someone who really appreciates the tales and "weird fiction" of the time around the turn of the century which spawned the modern "horror" genre.So, apart from the selections of people like LeFanu and Lovecraft which he had already digested ad nauseam, I was honestly not sure he would enjoy the book since much of it is written by more modern authors.Further, he is, like all devoted readers in any genre, more than aware that anthologies can often be real disappointments.

I am pleased to report that he absolutely loved the book, especially the short stories from Shirley Jackson and Clive Barker.And Scott is not a man who minces words over fiction he finds displeasing or amateurish. He was especially taken with the two little-known Jackson offerings which, he says, are as frightening as "The Lottery."I also asked him about the binding, since books of this size on glue spine tend to fall apart pretty easily, and he reports that he encountered no problems.He did note, though, that any hardback would be "well worth shelling out for," and that's about as high a compliment I suppose anyone could pay.He gave it an unequivocal "five stars."

So, while I have not taken "The Dark Descent," I thought it might be helpful for prospective purchasers to know that a true horror fan of many, many years did, and found the trip more than merely enjoyable.It is indeed rare that I would offer someone else's opinion as a review unless I had the highest regard for it.And I hope Scott's thoughts are indeed helpful.

As a gift for the horror fan, I can definitely recommend it.

Recommended
This book was published in 1987 and contained 56 short stories by 47 writers. There were 30 authors from the United States, 14 from Great Britain, plus Ireland's Sheridan LeFanu and Fitz-James O'Brien and Russia's Turgenev. Of all the writers, nine were women.

The pieces ranged from 1835 (Hawthorne) to the 1980s (Dennis Etchison, Michael Shea, Stephen King, Tanith Lee, Clive Barker), covering virtually each decade. Three-quarters of the stories were from the 20th century. Nearly a third were from the 1970s and 80s.

From the early or mid-19th century, there were Hawthorne, Poe, LeFanu, O'Brien and Dickens. From the late 19th century up to World War II, there were Turgenev, Bierce, Gilman, Chambers, James, Wharton, Lovecraft, Faulkner, Leiber, Bloch and Bradbury, among others. And from England, M. R. James, Hichens, Blackwood, Onions, De La Mare, Lawrence and Collier. Those after World War II included Sturgeon, Shirley Jackson, O'Connor, Matheson, Dick, Ellison, Oates, Disch, Shea and King. And from England, Aickman -- called the best English writer for that period -- Campbell, Lee and Barker. For Aickman and King, three stories each were included.

The editor's introduction discussed how horror fiction had been a vital element of English and American literature for at least 150 years. Three great traditional English writers -- M. R. James, Algernon Blackwood and Walter De La Mare -- plus the Anglo-Irish Lord Dunsany were cited; all but the latter were represented. In the 20th century, U.S. influences included Weird Tales, the magazine founded in 1923, which concentrated on the florid and antiquarian; H. P. Lovecraft -- called the most important American writer of horror fiction in the first half of the 20th century; the pulp fantasy magazine Unknown, founded in 1939, which offered more contemporary settings and clearer prose and helped broaden the category of horror by crossing it with SF; a number of anthologies in the 1930s and 40s; and the trend toward SF horror in the 1950s that included Matheson, Sturgeon and Bradbury. The editor said that the dominant form of horror until the 1970s had been the short story and novella, but this had changed thereafter with the success of novels by Ira Levin, William Peter Blatty and Stephen King.

The editor argued that in horror fiction there were three types of emphasis, often interlinked but with one usually foremost: (1) the moral allegorical, the most popular type, which involved the intrusion of supernatural evil into reality, through things like haunting, possession, ghosts or witchcraft (typically, Lovecraft and Stephen King); (2) the study of aberrant human psychology, which might be either supernatural or psychological, as in The Heart of Darkness, Psycho and -- though he wasn't mentioned -- Poe; and (3) the fantastic, which generally avoided either a supernatural or psychological cause, emphasizing foremost the ambiguous nature of reality and encompassing the surreal (Poe, Kafka, De La Mare, Aickman). The editor's categories were a useful frame for many of the stories.

There were some great stories in the collection. Most enjoyed were the piece by Michael Shea that described a confrontation between two worlds in an original way, and one by Harlan Ellison that showed NYC in a new light. One of these contained the collection's only vampire story, imagined in a new way. There were also tales by Blackwood, De La Mare, Jackson, Aickman and Barker that powerfully suggested supernatural, psychological or other menace ("The Willows," "Seaton's Aunt," "The Summer People," "The Hospice," "Dread"). There was one of Lovecraft's best tales ("Rats in the Walls"). The best combination of supernatural intrusion and aberrant psychology, for this reader, was the one by Onions ("The Beckoning Fair One"). And finally, there was a good though non-horrific description by Disch of a stranger's alienation in a foreign land ("The Asian Shore"). The selections overall made clear the stylistic connections between writers like Blackwood and Lovecraft, and De La Mare and Aickman.

On the other hand, many of the stories after World War II, especially the most recent ones, contained more SF than real, atmospheric horror. Nothing was selected from writers like Irving, Twain, W. W. Jacobs, Lord Dunsany, Paul Bowles, Gerald Kersh, William Sansom, E. C. Tubb or Angela Carter. The editors included a ponderous story by Turgenev, claiming him as one of the few masters of supernatural horror fiction outside the English language in the 19th century, passing over writers like Hoffmann, The Brothers Grimm, Pushkin, Merimée, Gogol, Gautier, Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Maupassant and Garshin.

Other large anthologies of horror fiction include The Supernatural Omnibus (1931), A Century of Creepy Stories (1934), A Second Century of Creepy Stories (1937), Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (1944), Dark Forces (1980), The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural (1981), The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories (1984), The Penguin Book of Horror Stories (1984), Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural (1985), The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories (1989), The Mammoth Book of Terror (1991), The Omnibus of 20th Century Ghost Stories (1991), Final Shadows (1991), Masterpieces of Terror and the Unknown (1993), The Oxford Book of 20th Century Ghost Stories (1996), The Oxford Book of Victorian Ghost Stories (2003), The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (2005), The Mammoth Book of Modern Ghost Stories (2007), American Supernatural Tales (2007) and The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories (2008).

Smaller volumes -- below 300 pages or so -- include The Ghost Book (1926), Great Ghost Stories (1930), Great Tales of Horror (1933), Best Ghost Stories (1945), The Second Ghost Book (1952), The Third Ghost Book (1955), The Supernatural in the English Short Story (1959), The Pan Book of Horror Stories, Vols. 1-30 (1959-88), The Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories, Vols. 1-20 (1964-84), The Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories, Vols. 1-17 (1966-84), The Thrill of Horror: 22 Terrifying Tales (1975), Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories (1984), Weird Tales: Seven Decades of Terror (1997) and Haunted Houses: The Greatest Stories (1997).

Scary stuff
Comprehensive collection of horror stories.Lots of familiar authors here, perhaps some writers will gain new fans as a result of reading them for the first time.Would like to see more current authors included in the book, many of the stories are dated.It's a huge book, so it's worth the price for all the reading.

A surprising anthology of horror classics
I originally ordered this book thinking it was just a small collection of short stories. However, the total in this book is a whopping 56 stories, and only acouple under 10 pages. Keep in mind though, this is no small book. It's more on the size of a dictionary then a novel, weighing in at almost 3 pounds and clocking over 1000 pages.

The book contains a massive collection of stories by about 50 authors, everyone from dickens, poe, lovecraft, to king. very few authors have more then one story in the book, with the exception being stephen king who has three (one I've never read before [The Reach], the others have been released in his other collections of short stories [The Monkey, from Skeleton Crew, and Crouch's End from Nightmares and Dreamscapes, i believe]), and h.p. lovecraft with two stories.

It also contains a rather interesting introduction to the whole anthology that sheds a bit of light on not only the book, but the history and importance of short stories; as well as very short, interesting and informative introductions to the stories themselves and the authors.

If you're a fan of horror stories, and enjoy the oddities that come from the short stories then this book is highly recommended. The stories range from everything horror and spread almost the entire history of the genre.

I must be missing something
Why all the 5 star reviews?Am I really that picky or is everyone else that easy?Did we read the same book, I mean the WHOLE over 1,000 big pages?Well enough questions, there were some really excellent stories in this compilation namely "The Crowd", "The Autopsy", "Sticks", "Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper", "Dread", "How Love Came To Professor Guildia", "MacIntosh Willy", sadly those were in the minority.Some stories as in most compilations this vast were from early 1900's and the language requires careful reading to interpret the words or phrases used in those times.Also so many stories stacked side by side with winners like those mentioned above seemed to have almost nothing at all to do with horror and left me completely bored such as "The Asian Shore", "night side", others were just about unreadable and must have been included on a bet or a favor of some sort such as "The Jolly Corner" and "Larger Than Oneself". Glad I only paid over $6 from an Amazon Marketplace shop instead of the $29.95 cover price. ... Read more

Product Description
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!Amazon.com Review
Editor David G. Hartwell started this annual anthology seriesbecause he felt that the "other" best science fictionanthology (The Year'sBest Science Fiction) included stories that weren't quitescience fiction. Now in its second year, this anthology is provingthat there is plenty of great "traditional" work beingpublished in the field, and enough good stories to go around for bothanthologies (although there is some overlap between them). In thisedition Hartwell showcases talents such as Terry Bisson, James PatrickKelly, Gene Wolfe, and Allen Steele. No matter how you define sciencefiction, you'll find something of interest in this excellentcollection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Another mediocre sci-fi collection
I found this book at a used book store. Some of the entries listed on the dust cover intrigued me so I bought it for a buck. Money well spent? Hardly.

Many of the authors in this collection apparently thought that writing in the present tense somehow makes their work seem "experimental" and "edgy" or that it "blurs the line" between story and reality. Bull. For me, and surely if I feel this way then there must be others (there's about 1 in 6,000,000,000 odds that I'm wrong) I cannot read a book that is written in present tense without being instantly disconnected from the work. I still read through all of these stories somehow, but it was painful. Here's a hint for any future writers: You don't want to do ANYTHING that disconnects your reader from your book. If they are asking questions like "Why did they write this way?" instead of "What will happen next?" then you've failed.

Anyway, "Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland" reads like something you might see if Lifetime bought out the Sci-Fi channel. The moral actually is that men want control of sex and we don't care how we get it, and if that means that we are "forced" into raping, then hey, that's just how the cookie crumbles. Don't even get me started on "The Bride of Elvis." "Thinkertoy" was probably the best one of the bunch, but that's not exactly a high compliment, and I wouldn't blame it for being so good so much as everything else being so bad. "In the Upper Room" is about a guy who apparently likes to rebel against authority and do what he can if he won't get caught, never mind the fact that there is no characterization explaining how this behavior began or why he seems unable to stop even when his life is clearly in danger. I couldn't make much sense out of "Tobacco Words." "Zoomers" tries to be some cutting edge, Blade Runner-esque ultra-sleek story. Key word: tries.

A serious disappointment from start to finish.

Not Free SF Reader
A pretty standard entry for the series.Of course, a standard entry for one of these is basically better than any other SF anthology you could come across, barring the odd rare beast like New Legends or The New Space Opera, or excellent retrospective reprint anthologies like, say, the Best of the Nebulas or the Hard SF Renaissance.This should in no way to be taken to mean that it is an average book.

The average per story is 3.78, which is close to what all the volumes I have come across come out to, overall.

Plenty of good stories, but the one I like the most is Bisson's.Some light-hearted tales to be found here for a change of pace, as well.While of the over 4s there is only 1, there are only 2 under 3.5's to balance that out.

Sometimes it stands out that writers are a bit of an older crowd, you get stories about the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and others in various volumes, so while they are speculating about technology, it isn't often with current media stars involved in the future, in the same way these are done, it seems.

Year's Best SF 02 : After a Lean Winter - Dave Wolverton
Year's Best SF 02 : In the Upper Room - Terry Bisson
Year's Best SF 02 : Thinkertoy - John Brunner
Year's Best SF 02 : Zoomers - Gregory Benford
Year's Best SF 02 : Out of the Mouths - Sheila Finch
Year's Best SF 02 : Breakaway Backdown - James Patrick Kelly
Year's Best SF 02 : Tobacco Words - Yves Meynard
Year's Best SF 02 : Invasion - Joanna Russ
Year's Best SF 02 : The House of Mourning - Brian M. Stableford
Year's Best SF 02 : Life Edit - Damon Knight
Year's Best SF 02 : First Tuesday - Robert Reed
Year's Best SF 02 : The Spear of the Sun - David Langford
Year's Best SF 02 : Counting Cats in Zanzibar - Gene Wolfe
Year's Best SF 02 : Bicycle Repairman - Bruce Sterling
Year's Best SF 02 : Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland - Gwyneth Jones
Year's Best SF 02 : Doblin's Lecture - Allen M. Steele
Year's Best SF 02 : The Bride of Elvis - Kathleen Ann Goonan
Year's Best SF 02 : Forget Luck - Kate Wilhelm
Year's Best SF 02 : Nonstop to Portales - Connie Willis
Year's Best SF 02 : Columbiad - Stephen Baxter


Jack London's War of the Worlds.

3.5 out of 5


VR bug underwear girl, dead like me.

4.5 out of 5


Marmaduke repair.

3.5 out of 5


Body network trading.

4 out of 5


Talk like a Venatixian.

3.5 out of 5


Colony life change.

4 out of 5


Dealing with sinners.

4 out of 5


The trouble with Ulpians.

3.5 out of 5


Addicted to hos and pros.

4 out of 5


Timeline change machine.

4 ou to f5


Presidential projection dinner.

3.5 out of 5


Father Brown in Space, GKC.

4 out of 5


Android associate sharkfood.

4 out of 5


Celibate cycle geek bags black bag babe burglar thanks to baton boo-boo.

4 out of 5


Sword and sorcery virtual sex therapy.

4 out of 5


Serial killer speech.

4 out of 5


The King has left the planet. Still plenty of mutants around though.

3 out of 5


Survival trait study.

3 out of 5


The Williamson time tour.

4 out of 5


From the Earth To Mars.

3.5 out of 5





4.5 out of 5

Still very good
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.

Awesome, simply awesome.
I love the way this collection was put together.All of the stories were well-written and easy to follow, and most of them were quite thought-provoking.One of the best books I've ever read!

I'd rather like it to be "Month's best SF"
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'spreferences, are sure worth reading, if not thought-provoking. Talkingabout preferences, I can't help mentioning Terry Bisson's "In theupper room" and Damon Knight's "Life edit" as the best ofthe lot. Look forward for number 3, and 4, and... ... Read more

Product Description
The best of Christmas--past, present, and yet to come

Christmas is a time for miracle, scientific and otherwise, and for surprises that can only occur at this time of the year. But what marvels will the holidays bring to the far future--or to alien worlds light-years from the North Pole?

In this celebratory collection, many of today's finest writers of fantasy and science fiction unwrap startling visions of the future of Christmas. An unusual Christmas spirit brings confusion-and romance-to a modern young woman.A father's gift opens up the universe for all humanity. And a devout researcher uncovers the shattering secret of the original Star of Bethlehem. These and other stories shine like sparkling, unearthly ornaments on a fresh green tree of holiday traditions.

'Twas the night before tomorrow, and all through the galaxy, nothing burns as bright as... Christmas Stars.
... Read more

Product Description

The thirteenth annual collection of the previous year's finest short-form sf is at hand. Once again, award-winning editors and anthologists David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer have gathered together a stunning array of science fiction that spans a veritable universe of astonishing visions and bold ideas. Hitherto unexplored galaxies of the mind are courageously traversed by some of the most exciting new talents in the field—while well-established masters rocket to remarkable new heights of artistry and originality. The stars are closer and more breathtaking than ever before—and a miraculous future now rests in your hands—within the pages of Year's Best SF 13.

Customer Reviews (12)

Love this Anthologies
This #13 may not be the greatest of the series,
i mean there are years and there are Years if you know
what i mean. But this one i liked better than #11
and it has got some very good stories, for example
End Game by Nancy Kress, she is a regular,
The Tomb Wife by Gwynesth Jones
No more Stories by Stephen Baxter i will never forget "Timeships"
Baby Doll by Johanna Sinisalo
Memorare by Wolfe was pretty ok

and many others...

I think i liked almost all the stories

Again compared to Great Years like in the late 1990's
it looks a bit poorer but still pretty good SF

Anyway, I guess it is a matter of taste, and i just happen to
like this anthology by Hartwell and Cramer

so give it a try

Now i am gonna start #14 and cant wait for June when #15 comes out..
This #13 I did not read when it came out
i had too many books those years, in which i took a 2 years vacation
from SF, and started reading other topics.

Good selection...
The collection started slow, with the first few stories actually disappointing me. However, somewhere along, the stories got better and I started liking most of the rest. A few of my favorites include "Memorare" by Gene Wolfe, "End Game" by Nancy Kress (this one was particularly scary), and "The Bridge" by Kathleen Ann Goonan. One especially disturbing story I didn't like for its theme was "Pirates of Somali Coast" - not because it was not well written, but because it's just plain disturbing. All in all, it's a book with a good selection.

Enough good stories to get by
The collection was rather disappointing for a "best of" and got off (to me) with a terrible start with the somewhat offensive "Baby Doll", which doesn't even seem to qualify as SF and is very heavy-handed in its message. The start wasn't helped by "Memorae", by Gene Wolfe, in the fourth slot, a story with excellent potential marred by the romantic and anti-romantic interactions of the characters.

"Plotters and Shooters" may be the best, snappy and amusing. Another favorite, "How Music Begins", was a very fresh (to me) take on alien abduction with an unusally dominant role for music for a SF story.

The others range from a few that are pretty good to some with no appeal, leading to an overall average rating. Don't be afraid to skim or abandon some of the stories if they don't engage fairly early.

Waste of Time
I did not consider most of the stories to be Sci-Fi. Worst stories I have ever read.

Not Very Interesting Stories
I don't know. Maybe I'm spoiled by John Varley, but none of the stories in this collection were that interesting, including the Gene Wolfe one that they felt was "the best sci-fi story of the year."

Very 'meh' collection, my opinion.Very disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description
An insider's view of the strange and wonderful world of science fiction, by one of the most respected editors in the field.

David G. Hartwell has been editing science fiction and fantasy for over twenty years. In that time, he has worked with acclaimed and popular writers such as Robert A. Heinlein, Poul Anderson, Frank Herbert, Roger Zelazny, Robert Silverberg, Gene Wolfe, Nancy Kress, L.E. Modesitt, Terry Bisson, Lisa Goldstein, and Philip Jose Farmer, and discovered hot new talentes like Kathleen Ann Goonan and Patrick O'Leary. Now in Age of Wonder, Hartwell describes the field he has loved, worked in, and shaped as editor, critic, and anthologist.

Like those other American art forms, jazz, comics, and rock 'n' roll, science fiction is the product of a rich and fascinating subculture. Age of Wonder is a fascinating tour of the origins, history, and culture of the science fiction world, written with insight and genuine affection for this wonder-filled literature, and addressed to newcomers and longtime SF readers alike.

Newly revised for the 1990's, Age of Wonder remains "the landmark work" Roger Zelazny called the first edition. Hartwell has revised the body of the book to take into account the past twelve years' changes in the literary landscape and the publishing marketplace, and added substantial new sections that contain advice on teaching courses in science fiction, disquisitions on the controversial subgenre of hard SF, and practical explanations of the economics of publishing science fiction and fantasy.Age of Wonder still lives up to Hugo and Nebula Award winnter Vonda McIntyre's description: "An entertaining and provocative book that will insprie discussion and argument for years to come."
Amazon.com Review
Do you know what the term "fannish" means?How about "filk"or "fen"? Or "Twonk's Disease"?If not, there's a good chance you'rea mundane, which is to say you're not a hardcore SF fan. For you,David G. Hartwell--one of the field's finest editors and moststalwart champions--has written Age of Wonders, a book aboutthe inner workings of the SF cognoscenti.It is an intriguing lookinto the rabid subculture spawned by science fiction that also offersinsights into why some people give up reading SF in their teens, whilefor others it becomes a lifelong passion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An thorough look at science fiction!
Hartwell, who is obviously a great lover of science fiction, explores (in an academic manner) major issues of the SF genre in his AGE OF WONDERS.From discussing why some fans fall out of SF at teens while others stay for the duration of their entire lives to the recent decline of SF to great recommendations--it's all there.

Although it's not 14 years after the revised publication of AGE OF WONDERS, Hartwell's book still provides a comprehensive look at the genre that can be appreciated by the SF veteran, neophyte, and stranger alike. -- Although, I contend that the neophyte will get the most use out of the book, the veteran the next most, and the stranger the least.I'll explain my reasoning as I go on.

AGE OF WONDERS is written in essay format.The 12 essays (plus 6 appendices) are divided into three categories: "The Source and Power of SF's Appeal", "Exploring the Worlds of SF", and "Writer's, Fans, and Critics".As someone who probably falls into the 'very dedicated, but antisocial neophyte' class of SF fan, I found that I was mildly interested with most of the "Source and Appeal" section, ravenous for "Exploring the Worlds" and more or less uninterested in the "Fans, Critics" section.Strangely enough, my absolutely favorite portions of the book were the appendices.Throughout the entire book I found myself jotting down titles and author names from the different recommendations Hartwell made from many categories.He really approaches nearly every topic (to include my pet: feminist writings) within the span of these essays.Then I got to the end and saw the most beautiful appendices: "Sixty Books Important to the Development of SF, Published Before the Name was Invented", "The Best 105 SF Books Since the Invention fo the Field in the Twenties", and "Teaching SF".If anyone is looking to bring themselves up to speed through SF's history and best works, not only are Hartwell's lists well thought, but he explains his selections and even puts together a "Introduction to Science Fiction" and "A Course in the Literary History of SF".I plan to cover both 'courses' in my reading.

In fact, I've referenced AGE OF WONDERS several times already for recommendations and information.Most of my notes come from the following essays (beloved appendices not included):
- "Running Away From the Real World"
- "When it Comes True, It's No Fun Anymore"
- "SF Writers Can't Write for Sour Apples"
- "Let's Get SF Back in the Gutter Where it Belongs"
- "New Wave: The Great War of the 1960s"

Just as a note, Hartwell's focus is definitely on hard science fiction.By which I mean the real technology and science-driven sort of SF.Although there's an essay or two that includes fantasy or soft SF or the many other variations, it's the hard SF that's Hartwell's strongest (and best loved) topic.

Not Free SF Reader
This is apparently a mid 90s update to a mid 80s book.

Divided into three major sections :-

The Source and Power of SF's Appeal

Exploring the Worlds of Science Fiction

and

Writers, Fans and Critics

He also has some short appendices about important early works, including pre-20th century, a bit about the development of commercial fantasy, on editing, and his list of best books.

It is quite interesting.He looks at why people like SF, pointing out that such people do seem to think a bit differently, and the problems 'outsiders' have in coming in cold to SF work, and the fact that if you read a lot - he calls these people 'omnivores or chronics' that you will have your assumptions and beliefs challenged and lots of people absolutely do not want that.Also the fact that academic or literary critics that are 'outsiders' will have read far less material than such people.

He looks at the influence of 'fans' in the 'keen convention or discusser of' sense, and also the 'New Wave War', after SF moved out of the golden age, as well as some leading critics.

As far as style of writing goes, he mentions that a disagreement between H. G. Wells and Henry James could be seen to be at the heart of it, early on.Or, ornate style and character over a 'clear, journalistic style of prose' and having a plot and story.Of course pointing out that some SF writers do have both.

Anyway, well worth a look, and it would be interesting to know if his opinions are the same around ten years later, given the digital influence now.

Want to know what SF is all about?
David Hartwell has written a magnificent book here - he covers everything from the various fandom activities that have been taking place since science fiction was in it's infancy, to the cyberpunk/humanist debate in the mid-80s. This is truly the best guide for those who don't know what science fiction is. SF has remained undefined, and although Hartwell is also unable to pin a truly accurate definition on it, he paints a broad picture with Age of Wonders, and manages to represent all the various sub-genres and activities going on within SF. He explains why science fiction fans, science fiction readers and science fiction writers are the way they are, and manages to make it very interesting at the same time. It is one of the best critical examinations of SF, and it's the book I recommend to people who want to know what science fiction literature is all about.

Useful for explaining to friends and family why you read SF
It was bound to happen. As I sat down to type up this commentary, I paged through my Day-Timer to find the notes I had written on the books I had read. I came across the reference to this...and a blank page. So what do I remember, now over two months later? I picked up this book long ago in paperback, read the first chapter or so, and sent the book to my mother. My parents have been quite understanding of my interest in science fiction, but I don't believe they've ever quite understood it. The first chapter, and indeed the rest of the book, is a wonderful introduction to science fiction and the culture it engenders. I don't know if my mother has ever read this, but I'm glad that it was there to send to her. I picked up this book again three years ago from an ad in Locus. It sat on my bookshelf until this past semester, when I did a study of science fiction fandom for my sociology class. Hartwell's excellent study then came in quite handy as a reference tool and quotebook for the paper that I wrote. Useful? Quite. I recommend it as probably the best study so far on science fiction fandom, mainly because it is the only one. Other books make reference to the subculture; only Hartwell dedicates an entire book to it. If you've ever wondered why fans are as they are, this might be your answer.

Why The Golden Age of SF is 12 years old (and male).
I grew up during the age of the Mercury and Apollo projects, a time before space launches, except for one disaster, become so routine I doubt they'll be any HBO specials about them.My fascination with the Cronkited-narrated adventures over my tiny black and white tv led to a fascination about outer space and, in particular, science fiction.Which is why David G. Hartwell titles his book, "Age of Wonders," noting the pre-adolescent's awe of emerging technical feats (in my time it was space travel, today it is cyberspace) that gets him (and it's usually male) hooked on reading science fiction to the exclusion of school and girls, which he's too nerdy to attract anyway. Hartwell's subject here is "hard science fiction," generally defined as imaginative postulations as how technology will be used in the future to solve a problem and how the subsequent changes wrought affect human behavior.This excludes Tolkien elves, McAffery dragons, or Gibson cyber cowboys, although there is a chapter on fantasy as well as the New Wave literary movement of the 60s that sought to transcend "space opera."But if you're interested in Robert Heinlein, watch Star Trek reruns, or go to fan conventions, this is the book for you. This is accessible literary criticism that any 12 year old can comprehend, even though it's written by an English professor.It's also quite funny, at times, as a review of the Table of Contents will tell you with chapters such as, ""Science fiction Writers Can't Write for Sour Apples" and "Let's Get SF Back in the Gutter Where It Belongs."In addition to the essays, there's a recommended reading list and an appendix about the business of SF publishing (Hartwell is an editor for TOR).An interesting read for fans, and a way for them to interest their friends who wonder what the fascination is all about. ... Read more

Product Description
Experience New Realms

Acclaimed editor and anthologist David G. Hartwell returns with this fifth annual collection of the year's most imaginative, entertaining, and mind-expanding science fiction.

Here are works from some of today's most acclaimed authors, as well as visionary new talents, that will introduce you to new ideas, offer unusual perspectives, and take you to places beyond your wildest imaginings. Contributors to The Year's Best SF 5 include:

Small, light, and less costly than most anthologies, Hartwell's fifth collection is one of the series' strongest; almost every one of the 24 stories (plus one poem) makes an enjoyable read. --Bonnie Bouman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Fifth Year of Hartwell
Working backward, issue by issue, I have arrived at the fifth installment of David Hartwell's annual review of science fiction.The volume contains 25 well-chosen stories, each preceded by an informative introduction to the author, the author's other works, and the story to come.My five favorites are described below.

Robert Reed's "Game of the Century" achieves impressive characterization of the coaches, genetically-engineered players, and parents involved in the most physically--and emotionally--intense game of college football ever.

Greg Egan's "Border Guards" skillfully braids the stories of a game of quantum soccer, the lives of those who compete in it, and the future history which gives them their burdens and releases.

Mary Soon Lee's "Lifework" is an artistic depiction of a woman's life and the support her society provides to change it.

G. David Nordley's "Democritus' Violin" is set in a charming little college with an authentic cast of eager students and self-absorbed faculty.It's hard to believe they invent a down-to-the-molecule matter duplicator.It isn't hard to believe what they do with it.

Michael Swanwick's "Ancient Engines" is a bar conversation between an aging robotics engineer and his two dissimilar children.Each of the three ends with a different perspective on the future.

Fred Lerner's "Rosetta Stone" gets an honorable mention for the story with the best idea that stops short of fulfilling its potential.The main character's expertise in library and information science reveals the path to understanding unseen aliens through the method they use to catalog their large collection of Earth's books.The story would have been my favorite of the collection if it had continued after this insight to intuit a description of these aliens and their society.The abrupt ending left me feeling that the story's characters went on to have all the fun without me.

The book is highly recommended to fans of science fiction, both new and experienced.

Not Free SF Reader
Hartwell notes in his introduction that stories from New Horizons were contractually not allowed to be in this volume.Bastards to be one of you people, then.

This volume is down a bit in quality for a Year's Best, only a 3.5 average.It starts really well, with the two best stories, Egan's outstanding Border Guards and Reed's excellent Game of the Century to be found.Then the middle has a whole batch of decent but not good work that slows it down.

Year's Best SF 05 : Everywhere - Geoff Ryman
Year's Best SF 05 : Evolution Never Sleeps - Elisabeth Malartre
Year's Best SF 05 : Sexual Dimorphism - Kim Stanley Robinson
Year's Best SF 05 : Game of the Century - Robert Reed
Year's Best SF 05 : Kinds of Strangers - Sarah Zettel
Year's Best SF 05 : Visit the Sins - Cory Doctorow
Year's Best SF 05 : Border Guards - Greg Egan
Year's Best SF 05 : macs - Terry Bisson
Year's Best SF 05 : Written in Blood - Chris Lawson
Year's Best SF 05 : Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon? - Gene Wolfe
Year's Best SF 05 : The Blue Planet - Robert J. Sawyer
Year's Best SF 05 : Lifework - Mary Soon Lee
Year's Best SF 05 : Rosetta Stone - Fred Lerner
Year's Best SF 05 : An Apollo Asteroid - Brian Aldiss
Year's Best SF 05 : 100 Candles - Curt Wohleber
Year's Best SF 05 : Democritus' Violin - G. David Nordley
Year's Best SF 05 : Fossil Games - Tom Purdom
Year's Best SF 05 : Valour - Chris Beckett
Year's Best SF 05 : Huddle - Stephen Baxter
Year's Best SF 05 : Ashes and Tombstones - Brian M. Stableford
Year's Best SF 05 : Ancient Engines - Michael Swanwick
Year's Best SF 05 : Freckled Figure [1992] - Hiroe Suga
Year's Best SF 05 : Shiva - Barry N. Malzberg
Year's Best SF 05 : The Queen of Erewhon - Lucy Sussex


Fun family.

3.5 out of 5


Attack of the killer chipmunks.

4 out of 5


Women, men, pretty similar most of the time. Boobs float differently while swimming, apparently.

4 out of 5


Animal girls and boys are in a football league of their own.

4.5 out of 5


Stuck in space sooicide staving-off.

3 out of 5


Switched off Grampa.

3.5 out of 5


It is about human immortals, and how they deal with people and society when living so long. One man joins back into life, and meets the best quantum soccer player going around, and loses a friend.

The discovery is made is that she is one of the earliest immortals, instrumental in posthuman travel to other planets, and knows what death is actually like, and has to work out how to relate to the new people.

Now, I can't get this story out of my head, like happens with songs sometimes, so, I am upgrading this, 5 stars, given I reread it recently and hadn't read it for quite a while.

And, as far as Australian goes, as far as pixel-stained technopeasant wretches, well, I'd hate to be caught paraphasing the Devil Went Down to Georgia, but, he's the best there's even been.

5 out of 5


Victim gets clone crim delivery punishment.

4 out of 5


Religious DNA transcription is a killer vulnerability.

4.5 out of 5


Weighty loss.

3 out of 5


People probes are better.

3.5 out of 5


Divorce counselling.

3.5 out of 5


Alien library organisation.

3.5 out of 5


New mode.

3 out of 5


Old tapes.

3.5 out of 5


Replication dupe.

4 out of 5


Even for poor man's posthuman asteroid ship bailout, politics is problematic.

4 out of 5


Alien bloody philosophy.

3.5 out of 5


Cold, furry and Bullish.

4 out of 5


Survival payloads.

3.5 out of 5


Immortality breakdown.

4 out of 5


Model character.

3.5 out of 5


Extradimensional calculations.

3 out of 5


Sexual politics in a civilisation in New Zealand after a technological crash.

4 out of 5




4.5 out of 5

Curl Up Reading
At first glance, the cover may not be as appealing as the other volumes. The collection of authors is formidable though, as one takes a glance at the back cover. The book is cheap, and you get more than your share of reading material. It's a pity that only a dozen of the stories are worth much notice.

Robert Reed's "Game of the Century" and Stephen Baxter's "Huddle" are geniuinely engaging, and struck me as two of the best in the anthology. Michael Bishop's poem "Secrets of the Alien Reliquary" is worth a read too. Some, frankly, were dissapointing. Perhaps some tried a notch too hard to be imaginative.

Nevertheless, a pedant of SF would enjoy this throughly, so snap the paperbacks up.

Missed the mark
Beginning in the mid nineties and running at least to the present, David Hartwell produces the alternative "year's best" anthologies. The primary series is of course the similarly titled one edited by Gardner Dozois. In some years the Hartwell selection is at least as good as the generally larger Dozois version. In the fifth year of his endeavours though he missed the mark and this book is not so good. Certainly it is not up to the standards of some of the earlier anthologies.

Of course, there are some good stories in here. A competant editor could hardly gather together 25 tales and disappoint with them all but the truth is that less than a dozen of them are better than average for current SF and that hardly counts as "year's best" even if you take into account the fact that there is no overlap with Gardner Dozois' book which presumably gets first choice with the authors.

I think that the best story here is Steven Baxter's "Huddle" which tells of a future Earth stricken in an ice age and populated by people genetically engineered to survive the bitterly cold conditions. Perhaps it is a sign of the times but all of the best stories here deal with the alteration of humans in order to deal with the pressures of life in the future. Terry Bisson's "Macs" introduces the ides of creating clones of criminals just so that they may be killed by the families of their victims while Curt Wohleber's "100 Candles" and Tom Purdom's "Fossil Games" are set in futures in which it is normal for people to be extensively altered and those who have no, or few, alterations feel increasingly excluded from their worlds.

If you are the kind of fan who just cannot get enough short SF then this is worth getting as you will find some interesting stories but otherwise, you might as well give this a miss and hope for a better effort next year.

Not a good selection
The choices of stories in this book are not very good. Some of them are repeats of other anthologies. Others are do not present very original ideas. I couldn't really get into any stories in this book. It's average at best. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Pretty good, not great.
This book was okay, I especially like the parts concerning Ender's Game and Orson Scott Card. Keep it up! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Not Free SF Reader
A reasonable collection of fantasy, with a 3.55 average.The best stories being Garth Nix's very funny and clever giant monster short, and Laird Barron's horror piece.

There is a quite brief piece by the editors about the state and source of stories in general, and each individual tale is prefaced with further info.

A solid 4, this book

Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Eating Hearts - Yoon Ha Lee
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : The Denial - Bruce Sterling
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : The Fraud - Esther Friesner
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Sunbird - Neil Gaiman
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Shard of Glass - Alaya Dawn Johnson
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : The Farmer's Cat - Jeff Vandermeer
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Crab Apple - Patrick Samphire
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : The Comber - Gene Wolfe
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Walpurgis Afternoon - Deliah Sherman
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Monster - Kelly Link
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Robots and Falling Hearts - Tim Pratt and Greg van Eekhout
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Still Life with B00bs - Ann Harris
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Heads Up Thumbs Down - Gavin J. Grant
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Newbie Wrangler - Timothy J. Anderson
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Being Here - Claude Lalumière
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Mom and Mother Theresa - Candas Jane Dorsey
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : The Imago Sequence - Laird Barron
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Magic in a Certain Slant of Light - Deborah Coates
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Single White Farmhouse - Heather Shaw
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Read It in the Headlines! - Garth Nix
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Niels Bohr and the Sleeping Dane - Jonathon Sullivan
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Mortegarde - Liz Williams
Year's Best Fantasy 6 : Inside Job - Connie Willis


Perfect magician, belt up and bonk.

3 out of 5


We're dead, stupid.

3.5 out of 5


Pregnant unicorn variation end.

4 out of 5


"I have a presentiment of doom upon me," ..."And I fear it shall come to us with barbecue sauce."

4 out of 5


Racist memory power runaway.

4 out of 5


Moggie ursa major makes troll mob minor.

3.5 out of 5


Dryad heart dump.

3 out of 5


Swiftly tilting city.

4 out of 5


Witchiness good for gardens.

3.5 out of 5


Hey, Bungalow Jim
I Might Eat Him

3.5 out of 5


Reality altering with replicating rodent robots. With a bit of mechanical criticism of the critical literary abilities of people.

3.5 out of 5


Mendicant mammaries.

4 out of 5


Sound of music is Matchless.

3 out of 5


Gud is bloody lazy, Zep Boy.

3.5 out of 5


Can't see this one, maybe that's us.

2.5 out of 5


No Aunt, just gimme shelter.

3 out of 5


Awful art lust trephination escape cave meld.

4 out of 5


Predicting dirigible desperation.

4 out of 5


Architectural pr0n, same?

3.5 out of 5


Very large Daikaiju font.

4.5 out of 5


Statue sword-slinger saves scientist.

4 out of 5


World Tree gatespeaking wyvern blood lecture dissection decision.

3.5 out of 5


Making monkeys of mediums.

4 out of 5



4 out of 5

Bizarre and beautiful
YEAR'S BEST FANTASY 6, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, is an engaging anthology of the absurd, the fantastic, the beautiful, and the horrifying, comprising twenty-three stories written by some of the best in the industry. The tales range from light and whimsical, as in "Still Life with Boobs" by Anne Harris, to dark and chilling, as in Laird Barron's much-acclaimed novella, "The Imago Sequence," which has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award in the long fiction category for 2005.

The book comes in with a tiger in Yoon Ha Lee's elegant parable "Eating Hearts," and goes out with a tiger, in Connie Willis's smartly crafted homage to H. L. Mencken entitled "Inside Job." Kelly Link's outstanding "Monster" is a tongue-in-cheek modern-day version of Beowulf in a boys' summer camp; and Bruce Sterling's satirical "The Denial" brings to mind the genius of Isaac B. Singer. Authors include Esther M. Friesner, Neil Gaiman, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Jeff VanderMeer, Patrick Samphire, Gene Wolfe, Delia Sherman, Tim Pratt and Greg van Eekhout, Gavin J. Grant (husband to Kelly Link), Candas Jane Dorsey, Timothy J. Anderson, Claude Lalumière, Deborah Coates, Heather Shaw, Garth Nix, Jonathon Sullivan, and Liz Williams.

Award recipient David G. Hartwell is the senior editor at Tor/Forge Books, the publisher of THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION, and the author of AGE OF WONDERS.

World Fantasy Award winner Kathryn Cramer is an editor at THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION. She has also co-edited the outstanding anthologies, THE ASCENT OF WONDER, THE HARD SF RENAISSANCE, and the YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION series.

YEAR'S BEST FANTASY 6 is highly recommended reading for anyone who enjoys variety in the fantastic.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Best Fantasy Anthology series
I have all of the books in this anthology series. I only wish they came out more predictably time wise. The editors do a very good job of selecting material and introducing you to new writers. ... Read more

Product Description
omething exciting has been happening in modern SF. After decades of confusion, many of the field's best writers have been returning to the subgenre called, roughly, 'hard SF'-science fiction focused on science and technology, often with strong adventure plots. Now, World Fantasy Award-winning editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer present an immense, authoritative anthology that maps the development of this form, argues for its special virtues and present pre-eminence-and entertains us with some spectacular storytelling along the way. Included are major stories by contemporary and classic names like Poul Anderson, Stephen Baxter, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Arthur C. Clarke, Hal Clement, Greg Egan, Joe Haldeman, Nancy Kress, Paul McAuley, Frederik Pohl, Robert Reed, Charles Sheffield, Brian Stableford, Bruce Sterling, and Vernor Vinge. The Hard SF Renaissance will be an anthology that SF fans will treasure-and argue over!-for years to come.Amazon.com Review
Edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, The Hard SF Renaissance (2002) is a thematic sequel to their 1994anthology The Ascent of Wonder. The first anthology argued that "[t]here has been a persistent viewpoint that hard [science fiction] is somehow the core and the center of the SF field." The Hard SF Renaissance asserts that hard SF has truly become the heart of the genre and supports its assertion by assembling nearly a thousand pages of short stories, novelettes, and novellas originally published between the late 1980s and early 2000s. A different theory says hard SF stories are engineering puzzles disguised as fiction; The Hard SF Renaissance repudiates this theory in regard to modern hard SF. Most of the selections have strong prose and rounded characters, several are classics, and gadget-driven clunkers are mercifully few.

Contributors to The Hard SF Renaissance range from SF gods like Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, and Frederik Pohl; to promising newcomers like Alastair Reynolds, Karl Schroeder, and Peter Watts; and to acclaimed SF writers not usually associated with hard SF, like James Patrick Kelley, Kim Stanley Robinson, Bruce Sterling, and Michael Swanwick.

You may have noticed the lack of women in that list. It reflects the book: the 30-odd contributors (some with two stories) include only three women (Nancy Kress, Joan Slonczewski, and Sarah Zettel, with one story each). Some eyebrow-elevating omissions are Eleanor Arnason, Catherine Asaro, Nicola Griffith, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Connie Willis, all of whom have written hard SF stories in the period covered by The Hard SF Renaissance. They've certainly written SF harder than the book's implicit definition (the book reprints Kim Stanley Robinson's fine story "Sexual Dimorphism," in which fossil DNA serves as a metaphor for the protagonist's failing relationship; a few cosmetic changes and this SF story would be mainstream). The absence of several crucial authors makes The Hard SF Renaissance a less-than-definitive anthology of late-20th-century hard SF. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Hard SF of the `90s Defined and Demonstrated
This edited volume assembled by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer contains 41 "hard science fiction" stories sampled from the best writers of the 1990s.It stands alone as a collection, but is best seen as a continuation of their previous anthology, The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF.Their similarly-themed Space Opera Renaissance is a logical next read.

My favorite stories are:

Greg Egan - Wang's Carpets.A new kind of life is both hard to detect and understand.
Robert Reed - Marrow.A long-term mission on a generation ship redefines long-term.
Joe Haldeman - For White Hill.Just another love story on home planet Earth.
Karl Schroeder - Halo.A fight-against-terrorism story with characters who never meet.
Vernor Vinge - Fast Times at Fairmont High - Convinces you to read--or not read--Rainbows End, depending on your taste.
Sarah Zettel - Kinds of Strangers.How do marooned astronauts respond to stress?

This is a particularly good collection--there was not a single story I didn't like.SF readers should scan the table of contents before buying, however, since these stories have all appeared elsewhere.The book's preface and brief introductions to each story add significant value.They contain the usual author bios and pointers to other story collections, novels and series.Each intro also presents each author's definition of "hard SF" and excerpts informatively from the authors' own descriptions of their work.The editors' inclusive definition of hard SF as technology and concept-driven science fiction allows entry to an intriguing variety of stories and perspectives.The authors' definitions enrich this definition and teach us interesting lessons about the evolution of science fiction during the 1990s.

I recommend the book to science fiction readers who enjoy solid stories in this genre.I further recommend it to Kindle and iPhone users who want something good to read during the snippets of found time in their hectic schedules.

Hard SF of the `90s Defined and Demonstrated
This edited volume assembled by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer contains 41 "hard science fiction" stories sampled from the best writers of the 1990s.It stands alone as a collection, but is best seen as a continuation of their previous anthology, The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard SF.Their similarly-themed Space Opera Renaissance is a logical next read.

My favorite stories are:

Greg Egan - Wang's Carpets.A new kind of life is both hard to detect and understand.
Robert Reed - Marrow.A long-term mission on a generation ship redefines long-term.
Joe Haldeman - For White Hill.Just another love story on home planet Earth.
Karl Schroeder - Halo.A fight-against-terrorism story with characters who never meet.
Vernor Vinge - Fast Times at Fairmont High - Convinces you to read--or not read--Rainbows End, depending on your taste.
Sarah Zettel - Kinds of Strangers.How do marooned astronauts respond to stress?

This is a particularly good collection--there was not a single story I didn't like.SF readers should scan the table of contents before buying, however, since these stories have all appeared elsewhere.The book's preface and brief introductions to each story add significant value.They contain the usual author bios and pointers to other story collections, novels and series.Each intro also presents each author's definition of "hard SF" and excerpts informatively from the authors' own descriptions of their work.The editors' inclusive definition of hard SF as technology and concept-driven science fiction allows entry to an intriguing variety of stories and perspectives.The authors' definitions enrich this definition and teach us interesting lessons about the evolution of science fiction during the 1990s.

I recommend the book to science fiction readers who enjoy solid stories in this genre.I further recommend it to Kindle and iPhone users who want something good to read during the snippets of found time in their hectic schedules.

Fantastic collection
Excellent collection of varied and interesting hard science fiction stories.Skip the introductions (they are mostly quotes cribbed from an encyclopedia of SF with a weird political fixation); go right to the stories.There are some astonishing pieces here and only a couple of clunkers.

Excellent selection of stories, great introductions
Don't underestimate the size of this volume! It's almost 1,000 large pages in small print.
Excellent selection of real hard SF stories. An inspiring and challenging read. I found myself alternating between dictionary, encyclopedia and video searches (google video and youtube) in order to try and wrap my head around many of the concepts.
The editors did a truly masterful job in selecting, introducing and ordering the stories to achieve a full immersion into science, politics and futurism. The introductory notes that precede each story are brief, but do a great job of placing the author into the proper scientific and political context. I never realized just what a tight knit club hard SF is.
The focus of most stories is not science alone, however. Most take place in the near future, and in imagining the future, the authors cannot and do not ignore the politics, economics and sociology that would be required to achieve it. Make no mistake, these guys are hard core Libertarians for the most part. Thanks to this book, I am giving money to the Ron Paul campaign!
I also never quite realized that hard SF doesn't confine itself to physics alone. There are stories by biologists, statisticians and geneticists.
If i were a natural sciences teacher, I would require my students to get this book.
I recommend taking your time with this anthology. I paused in my reading of it to check out novels and other stories by a number of the authors included here.
I think of this anthology as a text book, or maybe a syllabus, for the hard science fiction fan.

Not Free SF Reader
A really fine, top quality selection of stories. The other writing by the editors is also really good, talking about the SF, the politics, and a piece about each writer, that is enough to boost it to the 5 level, give the stories themselves average 3.8 out of 5. Or, call the whole thing 4.8 out of 5 if you like, rounded up.

Hard SF Renaissance : Gene Wars - Paul J. McAuley
Hard SF Renaissance : Wangs Carpets - Greg Egan
Hard SF Renaissance : Genesis - Poul Anderson
Hard SF Renaissance : Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
Hard SF Renaissance : On the Orion Line [Xeelee] - Stephen Baxter
Hard SF Renaissance : Beggars in Spain [Beggars in Spain] - Nancy Kress
Hard SF Renaissance : Matters End - Gregory Benford
Hard SF Renaissance : The Hammer of Gud - Arthur C. Clarke
Hard SF Renaissance : Think Like a Dinosaur - James Patrick Kelly
Hard SF Renaissance : Mount Olympus [Return to Mars] - Ben Bova
Hard SF Renaissance : Marrow - Robert Reed
Hard SF Renaissance : Microbe - Joan Slonczewski
Hard SF Renaissance : The Lady Vanishes - Charles Sheffield
Hard SF Renaissance : Bicycle Repairman [Chattanooga] - Bruce Sterling
Hard SF Renaissance : An Ever-Reddening Glow - David Brin
Hard SF Renaissance : S3xual Dimorphism - Kim Stanley Robinson
Hard SF Renaissance : Into the Miranda Rift - G. David Nordley
Hard SF Renaissance : The Shoulders of Giants - Robert J. Sawyer
Hard SF Renaissance : A Walk in the Sun - Geoffrey A. Landis
Hard SF Renaissance : For White Hill - Joe Haldeman
Hard SF Renaissance : A Career in Sexual Chemistry - Brian M. Stableford
Hard SF Renaissance : Reef - Paul J. McAuley
Hard SF Renaissance : Exchange Rate - Hal Clement
Hard SF Renaissance : Reasons to Be Cheerful - Greg Egan
Hard SF Renaissance : Griffins Egg - Michael Swanwick
Hard SF Renaissance : Great Wall of Mars - Alastair Reynolds
Hard SF Renaissance : A Niche - Peter Watts
Hard SF Renaissance : Gossamer [Xeelee] - Stephen Baxter
Hard SF Renaissance : Madam Butterfly - James P. Hogan
Hard SF Renaissance : Understand - Ted Chiang
Hard SF Renaissance : Halo - Karl Schroeder
Hard SF Renaissance : Different Kinds of Darkness - David Langford
Hard SF Renaissance : Fast Times at Fairmont High - Vernor Vinge
Hard SF Renaissance : Reality Check - David Brin
Hard SF Renaissance : The Mendelian Lamp Case - Paul Levinson
Hard SF Renaissance : Kinds of Strangers - Sarah Zettel
Hard SF Renaissance : The Good Rat - Allen Steele
Hard SF Renaissance : Built Upon the Sands of Time - Michael F. Flynn
Hard SF Renaissance : Taklamakan [Chattanooga] - Bruce Sterling
Hard SF Renaissance : Hatching the Phoenix [Heechee (Robinette Broadhead)] - Frederik Pohl
Hard SF Renaissance : Immersion - Gregory Benford



Gene Wars - Paul J. McAuley

4 out of 5


Wangs Carpets - Greg Egan

5 out of 5


Genesis - Poul Anderson

3.5 out of 5


Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson

4 out of 5


On the Orion Line [Xeelee] - Stephen Baxter

4 out of 5


Beggars in Spain [Beggars in Spain] - Nancy Kress

4 out of 5


Matters End - Gregory Benford

3.5 out of 5


The Hammer of God - Arthur C. Clarke

3.5 out of 5


Think Like a Dinosaur - James Patrick Kelly

4.5 out of 5


Mount Olympus [Return to Mars] - Ben Bova

4 out of 5


Marrow - Robert Reed

3.5 out of 5


Microbe - Joan Slonczewski

4 out of 5


The Lady Vanishes - Charles Sheffield

3.5 out of 5


Bicycle Repairman [Chattanooga] - Bruce Sterling

4 out of 5


An Ever-Reddening Glow - David Brin

3.5 out of 5


Sexual Dimorphism - Kim Stanley Robinson

4 out of 5


Into the Miranda Rift - G. David Nordley

4 out of 5


The Shoulders of Giants - Robert J. Sawyer

3.5 out of 5


A Walk in the Sun - Geoffrey A. Landis

3 out of 5


For White Hill - Joe Haldeman

2.5 out of 5


A Career in Sexual Chemistry - Brian M. Stableford

3.5 out of 5


Reef - Paul J. McAuley

4 out of 5


Exchange Rate - Hal Clement

3.5 out of 5


Reasons to Be Cheerful - Greg Egan

4.5 out of 5


Griffins Egg - Michael Swanwick

3.5 out of 5


Great Wall of Mars - Alastair Reynolds

4.5 out of 5


A Niche - Peter Watts

4 out of 5


Gossamer [Xeelee] - Stephen Baxter

4 out of 5


Madam Butterfly - James P. Hogan

3 out of 5


Understand - Ted Chiang

4.5 out of 5

Halo - Karl Schroeder

4 out of 5


Different Kinds of Darkness - David Langford

4 out of 5


Fast Times at Fairmont High - Vernor Vinge

4 out of 5


Reality Check - David Brin

3.5 out of 5


The Mendelian Lamp Case - Paul Levinson

4 out of 5


Kinds of Strangers - Sarah Zettel

3 out of 5


The Good Rat - Allen Steele

3.5 out of 5


Built Upon the Sands of Time - Michael F. Flynn

3 out of 5


Taklamakan [Chattanooga] - Bruce Sterling

4 out of 5


Hatching the Phoenix [Heechee (Robinette Broadhead)] - Frederik Pohl

4 out of 5


Immersion - Gregory Benford

4 out of 5 ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of stories, compiled by a World Fantasy Award-winning anthologist and a Canadian scholar, displays the talents of William Gibson, Charles de Lint, Spider Robinson, and many other Canadian fantasy writers, and includes introductory essays and notes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Canadian SF? Who knew?
This is a great collection of science fiction stories by Canadians, many of whom you will recognize as pioneers in the genre. The stories are entertaining and original, and the introduction is fun and educational. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
Northern Suns is the second anthology of Canadianscience fiction from Hartwell and Grant (following NorthernStars). Grant's introductory essay describes the anthology's21 stories "ranging from hard science fiction to visionary fantasy,from the horrific to the hilarious. Plus an essay by John Clute, andan updated reference list of the winners of the major Canadian SF andfantasy awards." Writers include Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies,and W.P. Kinsella, all of whom are better known for mainstreamfiction; Nalo Hopkinson, Geoff Ryman, and Cory Doctorow, whose namesare most connected with SF and fantasy; and writers like Eric Choi,Sally McBride, and Alain Bergeron, known to Canadians but not yetfamiliar to American readers.

Grant argues that Canadian SF isdistinctive for three reasons. First, unlike British or American SF,Canadian SF didn't evolve from commercial pulp fiction but waspublished by literary presses. Second, French Canadian authors bringthe influence of French and other European SF--"tending towardsurrealism, allegory, and folktale"--to bear. And finally, becauseCanadian SF has been shaped equally by men and women. In his essay,Clute suggests that it's a genre of solitary survivors who transcendhuman boundaries, unanchored in communities or extrapolated scienceand technology. Certainly it provides well-written, genre-bendingentertainment, which will leave the reader eager to samplemore. --Nona Vero ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Illuminating
This book is a prize.As As an American (or as I've heard Canadians say it, "United Stateser") who has only recently started to explore science fiction written by Australians, Canadians, etc., it is refreshing to encounter the subtle difference in viewpoint that suffuses these stories.

Not to mention that they are great stories, well-written, varied and imaginative.

This sun really brightens the horizon.I'm really excited to have a whole new body of world literature to explore. ... Read more