Reviewing short SF since 2000
Bill and Ted meets O Brother Where Art Thou? meets The Dukes of Hazzard as in a near-future dustbowl America, two young chancers turn up and try to run a con, but have the local sherrif and his daughter to factor into the equation.
An excellent story from Swanwick, and I’m putting it into the Pot of Contention for the Best SF Short Story Award 2014.
A smoothly told story from Unca Mike, gliding along nicely, describing an underworld not that far different from some of the seamier parts of some of the seamier cities of the world.
Deceptively clever little story from Swanwick, suggestive of traditionally fantasy, but full-on SF.
Clever story of alien oppression and response to it, cunningly done by setting the story in Ireland.
A short but exquisite love story, as a man deals (or not) with heartbreaking loss, to find that there are other universes where things are quite different.
A young man with a neat motorcycle that can run on grass and water, and a gun that will only work in his hand, leaves Moscow behind. With the wind in his hair, he has the freedom of the road.
The relationship between a house owner and the house AI is the crux of a missing person investigation…
If you like playing Bioshock, you’ll lurve this entertaining yarn.
A collection of excellent stories.
A 20th Anniversary issue, with Guest Editors Nick Gevers and Keith Brooke of the InfinityPlus
Albert E. Cowdrey. Inside Story. Retired Detective Sergeant Alphonse Fournet finds the lure of work,
Robert Silverberg. Against the Current. A car salesman leaves work early after a sudden but
Michael Swanwick. From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled… The opening paragraph is a doozy –
Brian Stableford. The Trial. Stableford explores a drugs trial that proves too successful. There’s a
A 30th Anniversary issue with some pretty Big Names on the cover. But does it flatter to deceive?…
Paolo Bacigalupi. Yellow Card Man. Bacigalupi’s ‘The Calorie Man’ appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction’s
Real physical versions of Asimovs are to hand, which I find I read much more quickly than the e-versions of late (having spent most days at work in front of a screen, reading off a screen is not much of a relaxation!) – so I expect to be up to date with the US mags by the end of the month!
An excellent issue.
PDF version reviewed. Daniel Grotta. RAW. A professional photographer, courtesy of some hi-tech kit and
Charles Stross. Survivor. The penultimate Accelerando series, in which Manfred Mancx finally makes a corporeal
Walter Jon Williams. The Green Leopard Plague. A very skilfully crafted short story. Set in
A list of authors on the front cover which promises a lot! Charles Stross. Nightfall.
Robert Silverberg. With Caesar in the Underworld. Over the past fifteen years Silverberg has been
Eleanor Arnason. Knapsack Poems. A tale of the Goxhat, an interesting multi-bodied entity with a
A pretty damn good collection. Steele and Martinez were a tad below an otherwise high standard.
Michael Swanwick. Slow Life. Standard Analog fayre from an author whom you wouldn’t immediately associate
Hearts in Darkness. H.G. Stratmann. A most peculiar story. The International Space Station a few
As has been the case with others in his take on the year’s best SF there is less I agree with than is the case with the other year’s best volumes.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Aliette de Bodard, Charles Coleman Finlay, Daryl Gregory, Dominic Green, Elizabeth Bear, Garth Nix, Geoff Ryman, Gord Sellar, Greg Egan, Gwyneth Jones, Hannu Rajaniemi, Ian McDonald, James Alan Garner, James. L. Cambias, Jay Lake, Karl Schroeder, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mary Rosenblum, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paolo Bacigalupi, Paul McAuley, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Ted Kosmatka
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Ann Halam, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, Jason Sanford, Jeff VanderMeer, Karl Schroeder and Tobias S. Buckell, Kathleen Ann Goonan, M Rickert, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Swanwick, Neil Gaiman, Paolo Bacigalupi, Robert Reed, Rudy Rucker, Sue Burke, Ted Chiang, Ted Kosmatka, Vandana Singh.
Stories by : Ted Chiang, Peter S. Beagle, Charles Stross, Greg Egan, Daryl Gregory, Jeffrey Ford, Holly Black, Ted Kosmatka, Alex Irvine, Daniel Abraham, Nancy Kress, Bruce Sterling, Theodore Goss, Neil Gaiman, Stephen Baxter, Ken Macleod, Susan Palwick, Michael Swanwick, M. Rickert, Tony Daniel, Elizabeth Hand, Chris Roberson, Elizabeth Bear, Kelly Link.
Stories by : Howard Waldrop, Larry Niven, Michael Swanwick, Isaac Asimov, George R. R. Martin, Edward Bryant, James Tiptree Jr., Naomi Mitchison, Gene Wolfe, Suzy McKee Charnas.
Stories by : Bob Leman, Charles L. Harness, Connie Willis, Gardner Dozois, George Alec Effinger, John Varley, Kim Stanley Robinson, Lee Montgomerie, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Octavia E. Butler, Pamela Sargent, Tanith Lee
Stories by : Barry Malzberg, Bob Leman, Clifford D Simak, F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, George R. R. Martin, Howard Waldrop, James Tiptree Jr, John Varley, Michael Swanwick, Philip K. Dick, Suzy McKee Charnas, Zenna Henderson.
Stories by : Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross, David D. Levine, George Saunders, Howard Waldrop, James Patrick Kelly, Jeffrey Ford, Lucius Shepard, Michael Swanwick, Neil Gaiman, Paolo Bacigalupi, Stephen Baxter, Susan Mosser, Ursula K. Le Guin, Vernor Vinge.
Stories by : Dan Simmons, Gregory Benford, Ian Watson, James Patrick Kelly, Jim Grimsley, Michael Blumlein, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Richard Wadholm, Robin Wayne Bailey, Stephen Baxter.
A very strong volume, IMHO, with only the Palwick story being the one to which I would object to (although with the proviso that the Sterling and Cadigan stories were for my more towards the fantasy end of the spectrum than the SF, especially for an editor who does have a complementary fantasy collection).
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Daniel Kaysen, Douglas Lain, Howard Waldrop, James Patrick Kelly, James Van Pelt, Joe Haldeman, Leah Bobet, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Swanwick, Robert Reed, Stephen Leigh, Susan Palwick, Tom Purdom, Wil McCarthy.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Carol Emshwiller, Charlie Rosenkrantz, Claude Lalumiere, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, Edd Vick, Eileen Gunn, Gardner R Dozois, Gregory Benford, Heather Lindsley, Ian Creasey, Ian R. Macleod, Joe Haldeman, Kameron Hurley, Liz Williams, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Flynn, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Reed, Rudy Rucker, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Wil McCarthy.
Stories by : Adam Roberts, Alastair Reynolds, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Bruce Stirling, Bud Sparhawk, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, David Langford, Gardner R Dozois, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Hannu Rajaniemi, James Patrick Kelly, Joe Haldeman, Justina Robinson, Ken MacLeod, Larissa Lai, Lauren McLaughlin, Liz Williams, Matthew Jarpe, Michael Swanwick, Neal Asher, Oliver Morton, Paul McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, R. Garcia y Robertson, Rudy Rucker, Stephen Baxter, Ted Chiang, Tobias S. Buckell, Vonda N McIntyre.
Stories by : Allen M. Steele, Angelica Gorodischer, Charles Stross, Cory Doctorow, Gene Wolfe., Geoff Ryman, Gregory Benford, Joe Haldeman, Kage Baker, M Rickert, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Nigel Brown, Octavia E. Butler, Richard de la Casa and Pedro Jorge Romero, Rick Moody, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Tony Ballantyne.
Stories by : A.M. Dellamonica, Bruce Sterling, Carol Emshwiller, Charles Sheffield, Charles Stross, Eleanor Arnason, Gene Wolfe., Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, J.R. Dunn, Jack Williamson, Ken Wharton, Michael Moorcock, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Neal Asher, Paul Di Filippo, Richard Chwedyk, Robert Onopa, Robert Reed, Robert Sheckley, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Brian W. Aldiss, David Morrell, Edward M. Lerner, Gene Wolfe., Gregory Benford, James Morrow, James Patrick Kelly, Lisa Goldstein, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Richard Chwedyk, Simon Ings, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Terry Dowling, Thomas M. Disch, Ursula K. Le Guin.
Stories by : Barry N. Malzberg, Brian Aldiss, Brian M. Stableford, Chris Beckett, Chris Lawson, Cory Doctorow, Curt Wohleber, Elisabeth Malartre, Fred Lerner, G. David Nordley, Gene Wolfe, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Hiroe Suga, Kim Stanley Robinson, Lucy Sussex, Mary Soon Lee, Michael Bishop, Michael Swanwick, Robert J. Sawyer, Robert Reed, Sarah Zettel, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Tom Purdom
Stories by : Alexander Jablokov, Bruce Sterling, David Brin, David Langford, Dominic Green, Gregory Benford, Jean-Claude Dunyach, Mark S. Geston, Mary Rosenblum, Mary Soon Lee, Michael F. Flynn, Michael Skeet, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Norman Spinrad, Rob Chilson, Robert Reed, Ron Goulart, Stephen Baxter, Ted Chiang.
Brian Stableford, Gene Wolfe., Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Jack Williamson, James Patrick Kelly, John C. Wright, Katherine McLean, Kim Newman, Michael Moorcock, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul Levinson, R. Garcia y Robertson, Ray Bradbury, Robert Silverberg, S.N. Dyer, Terry Bisson, Tom Cool., Tom Purdom, William Gibson
As ever, chock full of high quality SF, with the annual summation providing SF with an ongoing reference and reading tome which we should not take for granted. Here’s to the next 25 years! Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Benjamin Rosenbaum and David Ackert, Brian Stableford, Bruce Sterling, Chris Roberson, David Moles, Elizabeth Bear, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Gwyneth Jones, Ian McDonald, James Van Pelt, John Barnes, Justin Stanchfield, Kage Baker, Keith Brooke, Ken MacLeod, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Neal Asher, Pat Cadigan, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Stephen Baxter, Ted Chiang, Ted Kosmatka, Tom Purdom, Una McCormack, Vandana Singh
Stories by : A.M. Dellamonica, Alastair Reynolds, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Bruce McAllister, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Cory Doctorow, Daryl Gregory, David D. Levine, Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette, Greg Egan, Greg van Eekhout, Gregory Benford, Ian McDonald, Jack Skillingstead, Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold, John Barnes, Justin Stanchfield, Kage Baker, Ken MacLeod, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Swanwick, Paolo Bacigalupi, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Charles Wilson, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Walter Jon Williams
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Bruce Sterling, Chris Beckett, Chris Roberson, Daryl Gregory, David Gerrold, David Moles, Dominic Green, Elizabeth Bear, Gene Wolfe., Gwyneth Jones, Hannu Rajaniemi, Harry Turtledove, Ian McDonald, James Patrick Kelly, Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold, Joe Haldeman, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams, Mary Rosenblum, Michael Swanwick, Neal Asher, Paolo Bacigalupi, Peter Watts and Derryl Murphy, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Stephen Popkes, Vonda N McIntyre, William Sanders
Stories by : Charles Stross, Dominic Green, Geoff Ryman, Geoffrey A. Landis, Harry Turtledove, Howard Waldrop, Jack Skillingstead, James Van Pelt, John C. Wright, John Kessel, John Varley, Judith Moffett, Kage Baker, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, M. Shayne Bell, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Nick DiChario, Paolo Bacigalupi, Paul Di Filippo, Paul Melko, Robert Reed, Steven Popkes, Terry Bisson, Terry Dowling, Vernor Vinge, Walter Jon Williams, William Barton, William Shunn.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Alex Irvine, Bruce Sterling, Charles Coleman Finlay, Charles Stross, Chris Beckett, Eleanor Arnason, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, James Van Pelt, John Kessel, John Meaney, Kage Baker, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Swanwick, Molly Gloss, Nancy Kress, Paul McAuley, Richard Wadholm, Robert Reed, Steven Popkes, Walter Jon Williams
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Allen M. Steele, Andy Duncan, Brenda W. Clough, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Charles Stross, Chris Beckett, Dan Simmons, Eleanor Arnason, Geoff Ryman, Howard Waldrop and Leigh Kennedy, Ian R. Macleod, James Kelly, Jim Grimsley, Ken MacLeod, Michael Blumlein, Michael Cassutt, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul Di Filippo, Paul McAuley, Robert Reed, Simon Ings, William Sanders.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Albert E Cowdrey, Brian Stableford, Charles Stross, Eliot Fintushel., Greg Egan, Ian McDonald, John Kessel, Lucius Shepard, M. Shayne Bell, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul J. McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, Rick Cook and Ernest Hogan, Robert Charles Wilson, Severna Park, Stephen Baxter, Steven Utley, Susan Palwick, Tananarive Due, Ursula K. Le Guin.
Stories by : Alastair Reynolds, Ben Bova, Charles Sheffield, Chris Lawson, David Marusek, Eleanor Arnason, Frederik Pohl, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Hal Clement, James Patrick Kelly, Kage Baker, Karl Schroder, Kim Stanley Robinson, M. John Harrison, Michael Swanwick, Mike Resnick, Paul J. McAuley, Richard Wadholm, Robert Grossbach, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Sage Walker, Sean Williams, Stephen Baxter, Tanith Lee, Walter Jon Williams.
Stories by : Bruce Sterling, Cherry Wilder, Chris Lawson, Cory Doctorow, Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, Gwyneth Jones, Howard Waldrop, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, Jim Grimsley, Liz Williams, Michael Swanwick, Paul J. McAuley, Rob Chilson, Robert Charles Wilson, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Tanith Lee, Ted Chiang, Tony Daniel, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Barton, William Browning Spencer
Stories by : Bill Johnson, Brian Stableford, Carolyn Ives Gilman, David Marusek, G. David Nordley, Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford and Elisabeth Malartre, Gwyneth Jones, Howard Waldrop, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Paul J. McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Sean Williams and Simon Brown, Simon Ings, Stephen Baxter, Walter Jon Williams, William Sanders.
Stories by : Bruce Sterling, Bud Sparhawk, Charles Sheffield, Cherry Wilder, Damian Broderick, Gene Wolfe., Gregory Benford, Gregory Feeley, Gwyneth Jones, Ian McDonald, James P Blaylock, Jim Cowan, John Kessel, Jonathan Lethem, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Cassutt, Michael Swanwick, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Paul Park, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Stephen Baxter, Steven Utley, Tony Daniel, Walter Jon Williams, William Barton.
Stories by : Allen M. Steele, Brian Stableford, Dan Simmons, David Marusek, Geoff Ryman, Greg Egan, Ian R. Macleod, James Patrick Kelly, Joe Haldeman, John Kessel, Mary Rosenblum, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael F. Flynn, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Pat Cadigan, Paul J. McAuley, Poul Anderson, Robert Reed, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Sanders.
Stories by : Arthur C. Clarke, Bradley Denton, Connie Willis, Frederik Pohl, Greg Egan, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, Ian Watson, Joe Haldeman, Jonathon Lethem, Kate Wilhelm, Kathe Koja, L. Sprague de Camp, Lukas Jaeger, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Swanwick, Nancy Kress, Neal Barrett Jr, Pat Cadigan, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Steven Utley, Terry Bisson, Tom Maddox.
Stories by : Alan Brennert, Alexander Jablokov, Avram Davidson, Brian Stableford, Bruce Sterling, Charles Sheffield, Connie Willis, Gregory Benford, Janet Kagan, John Crowley, Judith Moffett, Kathe Koja, Lucius Shepard, Megan Lindholm, Michael Swanwick, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Neal Barrett Jr, Robert Sampson, Robert Silverberg, S.P. Somtow, Steven Popkes, William King.
Stories by : Brian Stableford, Bruce McAllister, Bruce Sterling, Connie Willis, D. Alexander Smith, Eileen Gunn, George Alec Effinger, Harry Turtledove, Howard Waldrop, James Lawson, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Judith Moffett, Kathe Koja, Kim Newman, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Lewis Shiner, Lucius Shepard, Michael Swanwick, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Pat Cadigan, Robert Silverberg, Steven Gould, Steven Kraus, Walter Jon Williams.
Stories by : Bruce Sterling, Connie Willis, Damon Knight, Greg Bear, Harry Turtledove, Howard Waldrop, Jack Dann, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Judith Moffett, Karen Joy Fowler, Kim Stanley Robinson, Lewis Shiner, Lucius Shepard, Michael Swanwick, Neal Barrett Jr, Orson Scott Card, Pat Cadigan, Richard Keans, Robert Silverberg, Scott Baker, Somtow Sucharitkul, Tanith Lee, Tim Powers, Tom Maddox, Walter Jon Williams, William Gibson.
Bruce Sterling, Connie Willis, Elizabeth A. Lynn, Frederik Pohl, Gene Wolfe., Jack Dann, Jack McDevitt, James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel, John Varley, Kim Stanley Robinson, Lewis Shiner, Lucius Shepard, Michael Swanwick, Molly Gloss, Nancy Kress, Octavia E. Butler, Pat Cadigan, R.A. Lafferty, Rena Yount, Richard Cowper, Robert Silverberg, Tanith Lee, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson
I can recommend this year’s ‘Showcase’ as being chock full of good stuff – a marked improvement over last year’s issue which didn’t have a whole lot of fiction in it to read
All in all, and excellent volume – one which I would be happy to give to anyone who is sniffy about SF, confident that there is a lot of mature, high quality (science) fiction therein.
Stories by : Jane Yolen, James Patrick Kelly, Nancy Kress, Gregory Feeley, Nelson Bond, James Alan Gardner, Michael Swanwick, Karen Joy Fowler, Jerry Oltion.
Stories by : Charles L. Grant, Clifford D Simak, Howard Waldrop, Michael Swanwick, Philip K. Dick, Suzy McKee Charnas.
All in all, an interesting varied collection, and well worth the shelf-space.
Following Stanley Schmidt’s editorial in which he muses on children’s play and the role of