I’ve been reading Gardner Dozois’s yearly Year’s Best Science Fiction anthologies for decades. The Best of the Best distills 20 years of great fiction down to these 36 stories. There’s a wide range of stories: time travel, alien contact, far future, etc. Dozois has been honored with “Best Editor” awards. He shows why he deserves them with this excellent anthology. Copies are plentiful on the Internet. I bought my copy for a penny (plus Shipping & Handling). What a bargain!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 – BLOOD MUSIC, Greg Bear
2 – A CABIN ON THE COAST, Gene Wolfe
2 – SALVADOR, Lucius Shepard
2 – TRINITY, Nancy Kress
3 – FLYING SAUCER ROCK AND ROLL, Howard Waldrop
3 – DINNER IN AUDOGHAST, Bruce Sterling
3 – ROADSIDE RESCUE, Pat Cadigan
3 – SNOW, John Crowley
4 – THE WINTER MARKET, William Gibson
4 – THE PURE PRODUCT, John Kessel
6 – STABLE STRATEGIES FOR MIDDLE MANAGEMENT, Eileen Gunn
6 – KIRINYAGA, Mike Resnick
7 – TALES FROM THE VENIA WOODS, Robert Silverberg
8 – BEARS DISCOVER FIRE, Terry Bisson
10 – EVEN THE QUEEN, Connie Willis
11 – GUEST OF HONOR, Robert Reed
12 – NONE SO BLIND, Joe Haldeman
13 – MORTIMER GRAY’S HISTORY OF DEATH, Brian Stableford
13 – THE LINCOLN TRAIN, Maureen F. McHugh
13 – WANG’S CARPETS, Greg Egan
13 – COMING OF AGE IN KARHIDE, Ursula K. Le Guin
14 – THE DEAD, Michael Swanwick
14 – RECORDING ANGEL, Ian McDonald
14 – A DRY, QUIET WAR, Tony Daniel
15 – THE UNDISCOVERED, William Sanders
15 – SECOND SKIN, Paul J. McAuley
16 – THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE, Ted Chiang
17 – PEOPLE CAME FROM EARTH, Stephen Baxter
17 – THE WEDDING ALBUM, David Marusek
17 – 10 to the 16th TO ONE, James Patrick Kelly
17 – DADDY’S WORLD, Walter Jon Williams
18 – THE REAL WORLD, Steven Utley
19 – HAVE NOT HAVE, Geoff Ryman
19 – LOBSTERS, Charles Stross
20 – BREATHMOSS, Ian R. Macleod
20 – LAMBING SEASON, Molly Gloss
George, I know almost nothing about contemporary science fiction, certainly from the eighties onward, and I’d be keen to read some of these stories. That’s a nice cover.
Prashant, Gardner Dozois’s yearly YEAR’S BEST SF anthologies are the Gold Standard for excellence. I highly recommend all his tomes!
That is indeed a bargain. The Dozois-edited books I’ve read have all been quality.
Jeff, I started out buying all the Dozois YEAR’S BEST SF anthologies. After about a dozen years, I stopped and started reading them from my local public Library. But, when I find a copy I don’t have in a thrift store or at a library sale, I pick them up. This distillation volume is the crème-de-la-crème.
I’m tempted to snap up a copy right now.
Bill, THE BEST OF THE BEST is worth every penny!
I’m disappointed with the contents you list, I’ll bet there are a lot of better stories he didn’t pick. I’ll kip this one.
Rick, the stories Dozois chose for this anthology are “representative” of the SF published in that 20-year time period. Robert Silverberg’s Introduction is worth reading, too!
Even as spotty as my reading has been of the annuals, too often, there are stories here that leap back into memory, such as Marusek’s “The Wedding Album”…I’d certainly take if for $4, which is what an Amazon penny works out to in the US.
Todd, it’s amazing to me that great books like THE BEST OF THE BEST can be had for a pittance.
Unlike Todd, I don’t recognize any of the titles. I think Richard may be right, that there are better ones Dozois didn’t pick — probably on purpose. I’ll bet they’re all good, though.
But you can’t get me to buy this one this week. I already own it! (I haven’t read it, though, so there’s that oversight to fix.)
Your last Friday’s book arrived here from some Amazon seller yesterday. It’s HUGE.
Steve, you’re really going to enjoy EXPLORING THE HORIZON. Almost a 1000 pages of great stories! And the John Berkey cover is fabulous!
The Marusek, the Chiang and others are among the most widely-hailed stories of the last couple of decades…you might see why.
Todd, Dozois appreciates quality and uniqueness in his anthologies. That’s why I’m buying them!
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