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Title: Year's Best Science Fiction: Twentieth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0-312-30860-4 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 23 July, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.6 (10 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A handful of greatness, a boatload of mediocrity.
Comment: This collection is a resource both for readers and writers of contemporary science fiction. Emerging and established writers are assembled with an emphasis on the diverse range of styles and forms being utilized. From brief, nearly mainstream literary shorts to sprawling pulpy novellas, there is something to appeal and to repel nearly every taste. This book serves as a window into the personal tastes of Mr. Dozois, who offers a critical survey of the year in movies to the year in reprints, to the state of the genre publishing industry. In addition to any "writer's market" books, this collection provides insight into what writing is selling at most of the professional sci-fi markets. If you don't have the money to subscribe to every magazine or website you are considering submitting to, or more likely, don't have the time to read absolutely everything from each magazine, this book is a good alternative and a worthy aid when deciding which market best suits your length, style, etc. Finally, if the 26 stories within leave you wanting more (admittedly, Dozois seems to have included a disproportionate number of stories from his own periodical), Dozois offers a daunting list of honorable mentions, some of which he discusses briefly in his introductory summation. As for the stories themselves:
"Breathmoss" is a fairly well told coming of age tale of a girl in a patiently detailed exotic world.
"The Most Famous Little Girl In The World" has a distinctly literary tone, and despite its mixture of post 9/11 paranoia and confusing possibly-alien-caused apocalyptic scenarios, it remains solidly character driven. The first person narrative restricts our understanding of this world in the near future (the story spans decades detailing the interaction of two cousins who dislike each other), which may or may not be a good thing.
"The Passenger" hints at issues of class disparity without being heavy-handed, and uses "hard science" (i.e. descriptions of technology) to further the plot rather than just create a "futuristic" atmosphere. Well done.
"The Political Officer" features several macho characters, and intrigue based on competing ideas of who has legitimate control of the ship and the mission. Its not surprising something goes terribly wrong. Despite the author's efforts to redeem them, none of the characters are likeable...and the lengthy "tension-building" scenes seem largely extraneous.
"Lambing Season" is tightly written, and at barely 10 pages its concise style is reflected in its brevity. Molly Glass has honed her literary style quite well, and she presents a rancher's encounter with an alien with fine realism and emotional resonance. Wonderful.
"Coelacanths" is set in the far future, where humans, despite all their adaptations and technological accouterments, struggle to survive let alone understand the multi-dimensional world that has evolved around them. Other characters emerge, ranging from adventurous/fatalistic sub-atomic dust motes to some sort of evolved yet imprisoned humanoids. In telling the story of each of the numerous beings permeating or failing to permeate the boundaries of each other, "Coelacanths" offers a message seemingly against the infinite proliferation of humankind across the cosmos. While the story is neither the best written or the most entertaining in the collection, it does present ideas that merit at least cursory perusal if not careful scrutiny.
"Presence" by Marueen F. McHugh is a moving portrait of a wife tending to her husband who has a fairly aggressive case of dementia. When presented with a potential curative, her husband recovers quite a bit, but loses most of his pre-existing scrupulous personality. If not for the existence of the sci-fi element of the Alzheimer's drug, you would think you were reading one of the better entries in Glimmer Train Stories or Prairie Schooner. This is easily one of the best stories in the collection.
"Halo" is by Charles Stross, who has taken the sci-fi world by storm, publishing a flurry of stories in quick succession in the top magazines, not to mention a novel and more. I think his style will be polarizing, his distinctive fervent voice entertaining or distracting depending on the reader. I fall into the latter camp, finding his use of present day neologisms and pop culture highly annoying, especially when he ignores the actual meaning of words new to our cultural lexicon by recontextualizing them as flippant jargon. "Blog," "otaku," and many other words suffer this fate. The writing is a strange hybrid of technology the science and pseudo-science mashed together depending on if it is an area Stross has a grip on (e.g. computers, networks, trans-human singularity theory, avatars) or not (e.g. statistics). Also the relationships between the characters are quite interesting; however, the characters themselves are shot through with self-conscious quirky-ness. I have yet to read his story "Lobster" which should probably be read before this so I should probably reserve judgment of such an energetic and evolving (albeit somewhat schizophrenic) writing style. Despite being high concept, "Halo" has the breezy mania of a television program for young children. I have yet to finish it.
"In Paradise" by Bruce Sterling is a superlative brief love story (no really) set in an all to believable American security dystopia in the near future, told with a humorous and tireless tone.
"The Old Cosmonaut And The Construction Worker Dream Of Mars" is a surreal story, with out of body experiences, disruptions in time and space, virtual-reality intergalactic construction, incontinent dogs, and much more. The writing is imagistic which works quite well at dispensing wonder and reflecting the multiple meanings of "dream" with regard to exploration of the inner self, one's connection to community, and one's connection with place (in this case Mars). When presenting the grand myth of heroic idealistic space travel, the writing gives the narrative a bit of a breathless tone, which is somewhat off-putting; though, overall this is an enjoyable read for anyone who shares the feelings of the characters.
...
Rating: 3
Summary: Not up to some of the earlier offerings.
Comment: Some years I've finished Year's Best Science Fiction within a week of it being published. This year's edition took me seven months to plod through. That word, "plod," captures the problem I had with the book. Some of the stories in this collection ("A Flock of Birds," "The Potter of Bones," "V.A.O.," and "Turquoise Days") are over far too soon. Others end up dragging on for weeks (real time). There often just wasn't a spark in them that captured my interest. The overall effect, unfortunately, is a bit leaden. It is, as always, a must for anyone looking for a thorough survey of the year's short SF, but overall I found Hartwell and Cramer's _Year's Best SF 8_ to be a much more enjoyable take on the year.
Rating: 5
Summary: Always a good read
Comment: I consider this THE definitive anthology for science fiction short stories, and I make it a point to get it every year. There are always some stories that don't necessarily blow my socks off, but I can appreciate why they were selected, and value the variety the editor always includes in these volumes. There are some quiet stories, some far-ranging space adventures, a novella or two, and always something for everyone. Before each story, the editor gives a little synopsis of the writer's career, and never fails to mention some other works that you can pursue if you like the author's style. That's how I've found some of my favorite sci-fi authors. Definitely worth getting.
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Title: Year's Best SF 8 by David G. Hartwell, Kathryn Cramer ISBN: 006106453X Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 27 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Nebula Awards Showcase 2003 (Nebula Awards Showcase, 2003) by Nancy Kress ISBN: 0451459091 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Year's Best Science Fiction: 2001 : Nineteenth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0312288794 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 23 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Sixteenth Edition by Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling ISBN: 0312314256 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 23 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois ISBN: 0312274785 Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 18 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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