Ann Leckie. The Endangered Camp. (The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2010)
A story which asks a lot with regard to suspension of disbelief, and doesn’t really give much back by way of return.
Robert Kelly. The Logic of the World. (The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2010)
Sir Parsifal, noble knighte, happens upon a dragon in a valley.
Mercurio D. Rivera. In the Harsh Glow of its Incandescent Beauty. (Interzone #226 Jan-Feb 2010).
Set in the same world as ‘Longing for Langalana’ from Interzone, which won the readers poll for 2006.
Andy Duncan. The Night Cache. (The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year #4)
A well written lesbian love story with a touch of something that qualifies it for inclusion in a fantasy anthology. Just.
Tyler Keevil. Hibakusha. (Interzone #226 Jan/Feb 2010).
A bleak landscape which is a disturbing one if you are familiar with London.
Asimovs. August 2010.
Not the strongest issue, with Bossert’s story the pick of bunch.
Gregory Norman Bossert. Slow Boat. (Asimovs August 2010).
The pick of the issue.
Nick Wolven. On the Horizon. (Asimovs August 2010)
A dark, intense, near-future psychological thriller
Mike Resnick and Lezli Robyn. Report from the Field. (Is Anybody Out There?)
Golden Age sf tropes being trodden, as aliens who are protecting earth from the rest of the universe are about to welcome us to the galactic fold, but upon closer investigation find some of our behaviours particulary worrying, report their concerns.
Yves Maynard. Good News from Antares. (Is Anybody Out There?)
A struggling ‘scientifiction’ author bemoans the loss of his genre, following the finding of the solution to the Fermi Paradox.
Michael Arsenault. Residue. (Is Anybody Out There?)
A cute solution to Fermi is discussed.
J.M. Sidorova. The Witch, the Tinman, The Flies. (Asimovs August 2010).
Nicely written story, giving a strong sense of setting through the eyes of a young child in a tenement in Russia, but whilst there is science, there isn’t any SF.
Alexander Jablokov. Warning Label. (Asimovs August 2010).
An interesting look at how technology (‘intelligent’ RFID, social media) can impact on local politics, elevating an unlikely local government official to their 15 minutes of fame.
Alex Irvine. The Word He Was Looking For Was Hello. (Is Anyone Out There?)
Short piece to start the Fermi Paradox themed collection, as we look inside one man’s mind, courtesy of his psychiatrist, at the relationship between intergalactic and interpersonal loneliness.
Keith Brooke. Sussed. (Conflicts.)
The story nips along quickly, with a vivid image of a scarred city to start with, but doesn’t quite hit the heights.
Jason Sanford. Into the Depths of Illuminated Seas. (Interzone #226, Jan/Feb 2010).
Sanford provides some vivid imagery that lingers in the mind.
Nebula Awards Showcase 2010. (ed Bill Fawcett, Roc 2010).
Even with three of the really good stories of 2007/2008 instead of the three chosen, there wouldn’t be whole lot of bang for your buck if it’s just a read of good SF that you’re after.
Theodora Goss. Child-Empress of Mars. (The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2010).
ERB’s Barsoom gets a metafiction workover.
Robert Charles Wilson. This Peaceable Land. (Year’s Best SF 15)
..intelligent and powerfully, and a story I’m glad I read.
Michael Cobley. The Maker’s Mark. (Conflicts)
The story doesn’t ask anything of the reader other than to keep turning the pages. Even that was a chore!
The Hugo Award Showcase 2010 Volume. (ed Mary Robinette Kowal, Prime Books 2010).
If you likes your SF to be SF (and if you’re a guy of a certain age), or if you know one such guy and want to buy him a book, the Hugo Awards would be a great choice.
Pamela Rentz. The Battle of Little Big Science. (Asimovs August 2010).
..an intriguing combination of time travel and bingo on an Indian reservation.
Ian Creasey. Crimes, Follies, Misfortunes and Love. (Asimovs August 2010).
Post-apocalypse, is the past somewhere best left as a foreign country?
Vandana Singh. Infinities. (Year’s Best SF 15)
..believable characters with human frailties in a sadly believable environment devasted by the impact of those frailties.
Vylar Kaftan. I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno. (Lightspeed Magazine, June 2010).
It’s a very clever conceit, very adeptly handled.
Carol Emshwiller. The Lovely Ugly. (Asimovs August 2010).
Emshwiller explores the relationship between the native species on a planet, and the humans who arrive to explore.
Alan Wall. Superluminosity. (Asimovs August 2010).
A first Asimovs story for Wall, featuring love and betrayal, time travel and handbags.