Reviewing short SF since 2000
A short look at scientific rigour – is having a rationalist approach to everything at risk of blocking out the possibility of something beyond what is scientifically observable and provable and replicable?
A neat little story with, as ever, some good characterisation from Kress,
Kress brings her trio of stories, and this trilogy/triptych to a satisfactory conclusion.
A decade or more on from the first installment, things on Earth have gone to hell in a handcart, and the generation of non-aggressive children have grown up…
A neat story that starts with ‘It was a dark and stormy night’…
Another classy Kress story, with getting the voice of the working class single mom protagonist spot on.
A short story looking at the potential to do things differently.
Kress does what she does best – creating some believable, flawed characters, and puts them in a believable, flawed setting.
A YA story with a teenage protagonist, and it fairly breezes through in traditional YA style.
A classy story from Kress, as is often the case. It’s a story that could have been written by James Tiptree Jr., and there’s no finer praise I can give.
Crackling little story from Kress, who has been producing quality near-future socio-political stories for a l-o-n-g time (it’s over 20 yrs since ‘Beggars in Spain’!).
A teenage boy struggles to complete a school essay on metaphor following his father’s psychiatric admission after his response to seeing Zeus in a pop-up breakfast toastie.
A short but effective story on the desertification of the USA.
As ever, a strong collection of stories, albeit fairly ‘safe’ in terms of a relatively narrow range of sources.
It’s a good issue, without being a classic. Stories by Barzak, Broderick, Lindsey, Malcolm, Creasey, Kress, Garcia y Robertson, Reed, Kosmatka, Poore, Barton
An excellent issue, as you might expect with authors of the standing of Stableford, Reed, Wilhelm, Swanwick, Kress and Rusch. Those without that standing (yet) similarly provide top quality. Well, you only have a 400th issue once.
Nancy Kress. Act One. More of an Analog story than an Asimovs. Genetic modification is
Mary Rosenblum. Lion Walk. Science thriller set in an African game reserve where the second
Nancy Kress. The Erdman Nexus. Kress on top form with a strong story to start
Nancy Kress. Call Back Yesterday. Ahh, a copy of Asimovs which opens with a Nancy
Michael Swanwick. From Babel’s Fall’n Glory We Fled… The opening paragraph is a doozy –
Connie Willis. All Seated on the Ground. I normally have a beef at having to
Robert Reed. The Caldera of Good Fortune. Reed further mines The Great Ship in his
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?…
Nancy Kress. Safeguard. A classy piece of writing from Kress, who cleverly intertwines story and
For me a -much- stronger issue than the previous one, which feels like it should be a double-issue, as so much quality is squeezed into it. The more experienced writers provide quality of the highest order, with Preston, Kosmatka and Pratt just a slight bit below that standard.
Nancy Kress. My Mother Dancing. Originally published in 2000 in ‘Destination 3001’, published by Flammarion.
Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling. Junk DNA. An eminently accessible, enjoyable story, looking at a
Eleanor Arnason. Knapsack Poems. A tale of the Goxhat, an interesting multi-bodied entity with a
Has there been a better issue of Asimovs in recent years?
At Tide’s Turning. Laura J. Moxon. The ice-cold Brimstone has been settled by clone groups
Feel the Zaz. James Patrick Kelly. Jim Kelly takes us to a near-future in which
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
As with #1, another handsome collection of short SF from some of the biggest names in SF. Praise especially for making room for the lengthy Rosenbaum/Doctorow story.
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.
This is a very strong collection. Adams has trawled 25 years worth of high quality SF to put together the volume, and there’s an awful lot of good reading to be had.
This has quite simply got to be the strongest original collection in SF in recent years. If you are a regular visitor to Best SF and tend to concur with what I see as being the best in short SF, then this volume is a must have.
not as much boggle for my buck as I had hoped, but still a lot of boggle in there!
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 : Robert Silverberg, Bruce Sterling, Joanna Russ, William Gibson, Frederik Pohl, Bill Johnson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Thomas M. Disch, Gregory Benford, Connie Willis, O. Niemand, Nancy Kress, Bruce McAllister.
Stories by : Carol Emshwiller, Charles Stross, Christopher Rowe, Gene Wolfe., James Patrick Kelly, Jeff VanderMeer, Joe Haldeman, M. John Harrison, Nancy Kress, Paolo Bacigalupi, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Walter Jon Williams.
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.
Stories by : Bruce Sterling, Gene Wolfe., Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Gwyneth Jones, Ian McDonald, James Van Pelt, Johanna Sinisalo, John Hemry, John Kessel, Kage Baker, Karen Joy Fowler, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Ken MacLeod, Marc Laidlaw, Nancy Kress, Palle Juul Holm, Peter Watts, Robin Hitchock, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Tim Pratt, Tony Ballantyne, William Shunn.
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 : 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 : Brian Stableford, Brian W. Aldiss Steppenpferd, Charles Dexter Ward, Chris Beckett, Dan Simmons, Darrell Schweitzer, David Brin, David Langford, Greg Egan, Howard Waldrop, Joan Slonczewski, John M. Ford, Ken MacLeod, M. Shayne Bell, Michael F. Flynn, Nancy Kress, Norman Spinrad, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Charles Wilson, Robert Reed, Robert Sheckley, Robert Silverberg, Stephen Baxter, Stephen Dedman, Tananarive Due, Ted Chiang, Ursula K. Le Guin
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
Stories by : Gene Wolfe, Gregory Benford, James Patrick Kelly, Joan Slonczewski, Joe Haldeman, Nancy Kress, Patricia A. McKillip, Robert Sheckley, Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, Stephen Baxter, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Barton, William Browning Spencer
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 : Albert E Cowdrey, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Brendan Dubois, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Christopher Rowe, Colin P. Davies, Daniel Abraham, David Moles, Eleanor Arnason, James Patrick Kelly, James. L. Cambias, Kage Baker, M. John Harrison, Mary Rosenblum, Michael F. Flynn, Nancy Kress, Paolo Bacigalupi, Pat Murphy, Paul Di Filippo, Paul Melko, Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Vandana Singh, Vernor Vinge, Walter Jon Williams, 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 : 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 : Brian Stableford, Eliot Fintushel., Geoff Ryman, George Turner, Greg Egan, Howard Waldrop, Joe Haldeman, Katherine Kerr, Lisa Goldstein, Mary Rosenblum, Maureen F. McHugh, Michael Bishop, Michael F. Flynn, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Pat Cadigan, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Walter Jon Williams, William Sanders
Stories by : Brian W. Aldiss, Bruce Sterling, Charles Sheffield, Connie Willis, Dan Simmons, Don Webb, G. David Nordley, Greg Egan, Ian R. Macleod, Jack Cady, Joe Haldeman, Jr, Mark Rich, Maureen F. McHugh and David B. Kisor, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Neal Barrett, Pat Cadigan, Rebecca Ore, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Steven Utley, Walter Jon Williams, William Browning Spencer
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 : Alexander Jablokov, Brian W. Aldiss, Chris Beckett, Connie Willis, Geoffrey A. Landis, Greg Egan, Gregory Benford, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, Jack Dann, James Patrick Kelly, Karen Joy Fowler, Kathe Koja, Kim Newman, Kim Stanley Robinson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Lois Tilton, Mark L, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Pat Cadigan, Paul J. McAuley, Rick Shelley, Robert Reed, Robert Silverberg, Walter Jon Williams, William Gibson
Stories by : Alexander Jablokov, Bruce Sterling, Charles Sheffield, Connie Willis, Greg Egan, Ian McDonald, Ian R. Macleod, James Patrick Kelly, Joe Haldeman, John Brunner, John Kessel, Jonathan Lethem, Kate Wilhelm, Lewis Shiner, Lucius Shepard, Michael Moorcock, Molly Gloss, Mr. Skunk, Nancy Kress, Pat Murphy, Robert Frazier, Robert Silverberg, Ted Chiang, Terry Bisson, Ursula K. Le Guin.
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 : Avram Davidson, Bruce Sterling, Frederik Pohl, George R. R. Martin, Howard Waldrop, James Patrick Kelly, James Tiptree Jr, Joe Haldeman, John Crowley, Karen Joy Fowler, Kim Stanley Robinson, Lewis Shiner, Lucius Shepard, Michael Swanwick and William Gibson, Nancy Kress, Orson Scott Card, Pat Cadigan, R.A. Lafferty, Robert Silverberg, S.C. Sykes, Walter Jon Williams
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
The latest volume in the handsome Nebula Award series is in the extremely capable hands of Ellen Datlow, and a publisher who knows how to present a book to extremely good effect.
A must for anyone seriously into short SF, but if only the SFFWA could tighten up the rules to choose material from a given calendar year, and pick some more Science Fiction!
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 : Connie Willis, Gregory Benford, James Morrow, Kim Stanley Robinson, Michael Bishop, Nancy Kress, Pamela Sargent, Paul Di Filippo, S.N. Dyer
Stories by : Alan Brennert, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Karen Joy Fowler, Mike Conner, Nancy Kress, Susan Shwartz, Terry Bisson, W. Gregory Stewart
Stories by : George R. R. Martin, Howard Waldrop, James P Blaylock, Joe Haldeman, Nancy Kress, Orson Scott Card, Robert Silverberg.
The longer than usual gap since my last review can now be revealed as being