Paul McAuley. Rats Dream of the Future. (Asimovs June 2016)
Some science goes terribly, terribly wrong in a story that works well.
Mercurio D. Rivera. Unreeled. (Asimovs June 2016)
Short, tight and excellent sf chiller from Rivera.
Sam J. Miller. Things with Beards. (Clarkesworld Magazine #117, July 2016)
Miller follows Watts in mining the cult 1980s Antarctic horror movie…
Suzanne Palmer. Ten Poems for the Mossums, One for the Man. (Asimovs July 2016)
A clever story from Palmer, told in ten (actually 11) sections, each opening with a piece of poetry.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2016
Stories by John P. Murphy, Marc Laidlaw, Cat Rambo, Juliette Wade and Sheila Finch, Sarina Dorie, Nancy Kress, Justin Barbeau, Chris De Vito, N.J. Schrock, James L. Cambias. Nothing in the issue really grabbed me.
James L. Cambias. Golden Gate Blues. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2016)
Tongue in cheek yarn about a world in which caped crusaders and Evil Scientists exist, and a detective has to find out who has killed a Giant Octopus and a Macro-Shark.
Sarina Dorie. A Mother’s Arms. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2016)
I struggled with the alien-point-of-view, as I did in Dorie’s previous story in this setting.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Jan/Feb 2016
Three SF stories set on Mars start the issue, other good SF, and Raffalon and Jimmie and Morrie return to grace the F&SF pages.
Mary Robinette Kowal. Rockets Red. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Jan/Feb 2016)
Story in the same setting as Kowal’s Hugo winning ‘Lady Astronaut of Mars’
Interzone #262, Jan-Feb 2016
Fiction by Mercurio D. Rivera, Rahul Kanakia, Carole Johnstone, T.R. Napper, Philip A. Suggars, and Ian Sales. Cover art by Vincent Sammy.
The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016 (ed Rich Horton, Prime 2016)
The Horton net is cast far and wide, with something for almost everyone.
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Volume Ten. (ed Jonathan Strahan, Solaris Books, 2016)
As ever, a wide range of sources to choose from, which the normal reader will have struggled to embrace
Nebula Awards Showcase 2016 (ed Mercedes Lackey, Pyr 2016)
Succeeds in presenting what the members of SFFWA voted for in their ballot for the best science fiction and fantasy of the year in question.
Alex Irvine. Number Nine Moon. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Jan/Feb 2016)
The theme of the story is humanity pulling in on itself, a turtle withdrawing it’s head into it’s shell (Irvine’s imagery), and it’s a good read.
N.J. Shrock. The Silver Strands of Alpha Crucis-d. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2016)
A human science team have landed on Crucis-d and admire the titular silver strands, which put on an amazing show every morning and evening.
Chris DeVito. Diamond. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2016)
A short baseball story with the identity of the protagonist a key issue.
Juliette Wade and Sheila Finch. The Language of the Silent. (Fantasy and Science Fiction, Mar/Apr 2016)
A linguist loses her hearing in an accident, which of course makes the xenoliguistic process more problematic.