The Year's Best Science Fiction

Starred review from July 3, 1995
Dozois's Year's Best, like any successful representative of a large constituency, sometimes suffers from blandness and inconsistency. As usual, it's oversized--23 stories, nearly 600 pages--and includes a variety of types of SF as well as near-horror, fantasy and humor. Five of the stories are final nominees for Nebulas, and two new ``Hainish'' stories by Ursula LeGuin were nominated for Tiptree Awards; ``The Matter of Segrri'' won. No story here is less than competent and professional; but, with a few exceptions, there is a voiceless sameness in the writing, practically a house style, that over so many pages grows tedious. (Nearly half the stories, by page count, come from the Dozois-edited Asimov's Science Fiction.) A number are flawed (``hard'' SF stories about ``aliens'' that think just like humans) or unremarkable, but these are outweighed by many fine pieces and by standouts such as LeGuin's ``Forgiveness Day,'' perhaps the best story in the book; Eliot Fintushel's ``New Wave''-like ``Ylem''; William Sanders's ``Going After Old Man Alabama'' and Terry Bisson's ``The Hole in the Hole,'' both of which are winning and funny; Katherine Kerr's chilling ``Asylum''; and Michael Bishop's grand and humane ``Cri de Coeur.'' Dozois's intelligently and ably put-together anthology does its stated job as well as any one book or editor could. Even with competition, it would still be the best of the Best.

July 1, 2014
The Dozois annual is as hefty, excellent, and nearly indispensable as ever. How not, when it contains stories by Stephen Baxter, James Patrick Kelly, Nancy Kress, Ian R. MacLeod, Robert Reed, Geoff Ryman, Melissa Scott, Allen Steele, Michael Swanwick, Carrie Vaughan, and a score of others perhaps less well known but not less gifted? Short stories are the bulk of this volume (and clearly Dozois' main interest), but the coverage in the Year in Review section includes novels, alternative print media, e-media, and visual media. The last indicates that sf/fantasy/horror have gone in one lifetime from being a fringe element on the cinematic scene to being among its most popular (and profitable) categories. Some of this is due to modern special-effects technology, and there are still clunkers on the screen, but the dark days of The Brain Eaters and its ilk are past. So, alas, are many seminal figures in the sf community, a list headed by Frederik Pohl and Jack Vance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

Starred review from July 31, 2000
As in previous volumes in this series, Dozois, who has won the Hugo for Best Editor 11 times, again presents a large helping of stellar short SF. Nine of the 27 stories are, quite appropriately, from his own magazine, Asimov's, which continues to dominate the various genre awards. Dozois also includes four stories each from Fantasy and Science Fiction and the British Interzone. Also represented are Analog, Amazing, Science Fiction Age, and two semi-pro magazines, Absolute Magnitude and the Australian Altair, as well as such original anthologies as Moon Shots, Not of Women Born and the Canadian Tesseracts. Among the high points are two time-travel pieces, Kage Baker's story of San Francisco before the great earthquake, "Son Observe the Time," and Michael Swanwick's pre-historic time-paradox tale, "Scherzo with Tyrannosaurus"; Eleanor Arnason's understated story of alien gender-role reversal, "Dapple"; Kim Stanley Robinson's "A Martian Romance," which is set not in the world of his Mars trilogy but in a subtly alternate universe; and Greg Egan's "Border Guards," hard-SF that imagines a future in which immortality is a given and soccer is played using the principles of quantum physics. Also included is quality fiction by such luminaries of the field as James Patrick Kelly, Frederik Pohl, Ben Bova, Robert Silverberg and Paul McAuley, plus such rising stars as David Marusek, Alastair Reynolds and Sage Walker. As usual, the anthology begins with a detailed survey of the year in SF and ends with a long list of Honorable Mentions. Dozois's annual volume remains a standard by which the field of SF should be judged.

April 30, 1989
Gathering some 600 pages of short fiction, Dozois's best-of-the-year collection has become a landmark of the genre, due as much to the editor's eclectic taste as to the unrivaled amount of space at his disposal. Although this year's selections tend to be intelligent and well written, there is a general lack of dramatic impact--seen at an extreme in Bruce Sterling's ``Our Neural Chernobyl,'' about the bioengineering equivalent of computer hackers, a fascinating synopsis that never develops into a story. The pick of the volume introduces us to vividly imagined other worlds, for instance, what it is like to live on and inside a magically paralyzed mile-long dragon in Lucius Shepard's ``The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter.'' Kim Stanley Robinson persuasively limns a boy's everyday life in a near-future Boston that is half overrun by a ``Glacier.'' In ``The Man Who Loved the Vampire Lady,'' Brian Stableford returns to the epic alternate history of his novel The Empire of Fear , wherein medieval Europe is ruled by an aristocracy of predatory creatures. Also among the 28 tales are works by Robert Silverberg, Connie Willis, Pat Cadigan and George Alec Effinger.

Starred review from June 9, 2003
Drawing from his own magazine, Asimov's, as well as a wide range of other publications from the U.S., U.K. and Australia, Hugo-winner Dozois presents SF that is both provocative and literate in this respected annual anthology. In Michael Swanwick's powerful "Slow Life," alien life turns up where it's least expected. "The Political Officer" by Charles Coleman Finlay is a taut cloak-and-dagger tale of the search for a double agent aboard a military spaceship on a crucial mission. Richard Wadholm's "At the Money" extrapolates the wheeling and dealing of a distant future where ultradense elements manufactured in the heart of stars form the basis of an unpredictable interstellar economy. "The Old Cosmonaut and the Construction Worker Dream of Mars" by Ian McDonald is simultaneously an elegy for both manned space flight and the pristine worlds those astronauts dreamed of exploring. Back on Earth, "The Most Famous Little Girl in the World" by Nancy Kress shows how a single event can warp the fates of millions, while Maureen F. McHugh reminds us that the most advanced medical science may not be enough to restore true "Presence." Geoff Ryman's "V.A.O.," in which an elderly hacker takes on a criminally deficient health care system, offers a bit of black comedy. Exotic settings, memorable characters and challenging themes are par for the course here. Once again Dozois has gathered together a stunning array of the best in shorter SF.

June 2, 1997
Dozois again exhibits unswerving judgment in selecting the best SF writing in this 14th annual collection. Maureen P. McHugh shares a peek at her new novel, Mission Child, in which an interplanetary Peace Corps-like project runs amok with bloody consequences. Robert Silverberg tells the reassuring story of lasting wedded bliss among humans who take immortality for granted, while Gwyneth Jones depicts cyberspace as just another hot spot for cheap but necessary sex. The perennial topic of alien invasion is freshened in stories by Cherry Wilder and Walter Jon Williams, both of which are set in the past. The limits of humanity are probed by Pal Park, who envisions a near-future U.S. where politics steers science for its own patriotic purpose, and by Nancy Kress, who imagines a distant cousin of Homo sapiens left to confront the terror and loneliness of the human condition. On a lighter note, Bruce Sterling shows cyberpunk as an unlikely but delightful venue for a witty and comic romp. There's plenty more to be savored in the 28 stories here (and the long list of honorable mentions); where Dozois's nose leads, SF fans will want to follow.

Starred review from June 1, 1998
There's little doubt that Dozois (Dying for It) is to the 1980s and 1990s what John W. Campbell Jr., was to the 1940s and 1950s--the finest editor in the world of short SF. Asimov's, which he edits, routinely earns half or more of the short-fiction nominations for the Hugo and Nebula awards each year, and his anthologies are equally strong. This collection features nine clearly deserving stories from Asimov's, plus 19 other excellent pieces from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Analog, Science Fiction Age, Interzone and a variety of original anthologies and less well-known magazines. The stories range widely in type, from the highly literate work of John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly to the hard SF of G. David Nordley and Geoffrey A. Landis; from the alternate history of William Sanders and Howard Waldrop to the upscale space opera of Walter Jon Williams and Robert Reed. Among the best-known writers represented are Robert Silverberg, Nancy Kress and Gregory Benford. Of particular interest is the large number of non-American writers. Brits Paul J. McAuley, Stephen Baxter, Peter F. Hamilton, Gwyneth Jones, Ian McDonald and Brian Stableford, along with the hot Australian writer Greg Egan (represented by two stories), contribute nearly half the volume. Also included are Dozois's usual summation of the year in SF and his valuable list of honorable mentions. This anthology represents contemporary SF at its very best. (June) FYI: Dozois is a nine-time winner of the Hugo Award for best editor.

June 28, 1999
Dozois, the most celebrated editor in SF (10 Hugo Awards and counting) and himself a story writer of great distinction, has for the 16th time gleaned some of the most interesting and literate short fiction of the year for this most respected of best-of's. The 25 chosen works encompass pyrotechnic cyberpunk in dystopic future worlds, alien landscapes and transgalactic politics rigorously extrapolated, cutting-edge physics, metaphysics, comedy low and high, and a touch of fantasy, all of it carried off with wonderful style. And many are the styles. Ursula K. Le Guin is represented by a fantasy in the classic mode, "The Island of the Immortals," a meditation on a theme of Swift's: the true consequences of immortality. Allen Steele's comic Martian Christmas story, "Zwarte Piet's Tale," reads like a Reader's Digest essay, and that is part of its art--to make the alien seem utterly familiar. By contrast, Robert Charles Wilson's "Divided by Infinity" implies the existence in things most familiar of something deeply alien. There are hard SF stories by Greg Egan, Geoffrey Landis and the prolific Robert Reed. Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life," one of only four ever published by him, typifies Dozois's editorial aesthetic, offering genuine scientific insights in an emotionally rich context--the nature of causality itself is illumined through a careful dialogue with extraterrestrials and the tragic death of a child. Some of the stories trace modern trends to their horrible future conclusions--the evil results of genetic engineering, the continued evolution of weaponry, the depletion of world resources. Others point to solutions outside Earth: the colonization of other worlds, the mining of the asteroids or the branching proliferation of whole quantum universes. Once again, Dozois delivers an exemplary volume of exemplary SF.

May 23, 2011
This venerable annual series continues in its usual mode, emphasizing print magazines and anthologies and highlighting such established authors as Alastair Reynolds, Michael Swanwick, and Robert Reed (who actually has two stories in the anthology). However, relative newcomers like Yoon Ha Lee and Hannu Rajaniemi inject fresh blood, and more stories are drawn from online venues than in previous years. Carrie Vaughn's "Amaryllis" quietly imbues a semidystopian future with optimism, while Allen M. Steele's "The Emperor of Mars" explores one man's attempt to stay sane in the face of devastating news. "Sleeping Dogs" by Joe Haldeman is a cynical look at postwar trauma and government manipulation. Rachel Swirsky's multigenerational "Again and Again and Again" shows that some things never change. This series remains an excellent resource for those who can't keep up with the field's increasing annual output.

Starred review from June 27, 2016
Legendary science fiction editor Dozois delivers another excellent and provocative annual anthology of the best in the field. Aliette de Bodard, one of several authors whose work appears twice in the collection, explores the dynamics of far future broken families in "Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight" and "The Citadel of Weeping Pearls." Authors find epic adventure on Venus and Mars with Victorian steampunk style in Chaz Brenchley's "The Astrakhan, the Homburg, and the Red Red Coat," rip-roaring frontier outlawry in Michael F. Flynn's "In Panic Town, on the Backward Moon," and Chaucerian intricacy in Ian McDonald's "Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathagan." "Another Word for World" by Ann Leckie and "The Children of Gal" by Allen M. Steele examine colony worlds, and John Kessel's "Consolation" offers a darkly wry future in which New England and the West Coast states have become part of Canada. "The Game of Smash and Recovery," by Kelly Link, "The First Gate of Logic" by Benjamin Rosenbaum, and Kelly Robson's chilling "The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill" explore inhuman perspectives. Dozois is always reliable, and his latest annual is a particularly excellent and illuminating examination of the depth and breadth of current science fiction.

Starred review from June 28, 2004
With stories that run the gamut from alternate history to strange admixtures of SF and fantasy to bizarrely inexplicable worlds, and with authors ranging from big names to first-timers, Hugo-winner Dozois shows off the dazzling range of the genre in his annual compendium. Several authors deal with the loneliness of humans in the galaxy. In William Barton's "Off on a Starship," young Wally accidentally leaves Earth on an automated spaceship, only to discover that there are no other people out there—and when he finally comes home, it's not as a boy but as a god. Walter Jon Williams's bittersweet "The Green Leopard Plague" explores the economic and social consequences of conquering world hunger. Geoff Ryman's timely "Birth Days" follows a gay researcher as he finds a way to "cure" homosexuality, with unexpected results. Other standout stories include Kage Baker's rollicking "Welcome to Olympus, Mr. Hearst," where the Company takes on Hearst, and loses; and Michael Swanwick's fantastic "King Dragon," where the dragon's lackey strikes back. This hefty tome has enough content for a summer of reading, and the range of stories indicates that SF still doesn't know the meaning of the word "boundaries." Agent, Jim Frenkel.

Starred review from June 25, 2001
This annual anthology is quite simply the best, most comprehensive look at today's SF, with 22 stories of consistently excellent caliber, some displaying gonzo writing and others displaying dizzyingly fabulous premises. Dozois has chosen stories that define the genre and its trends today—tales that show that SF continues to fruitfully forge across new boundaries.The alternative/parallel history is growing as a subgenre, with a sophisticated premise of the nature of alternative realities from Greg Egan's "Oracle" suggesting that humans can learn to control their destinies. Charles Stoss's "Antibodies" follows operatives working in parallel realities to stop artificial intelligences from attaining consciousness, with a surprise ending that ties the story up neatly and unexpectedly. And Rick Cook and Ernest Hogan show some impressive world-building in "Obsidian Harvest," a murder mystery set in a strange, beautifully worked alternative reality in Mexico, years after the natives drove away the Spanish invaders. The soldier-battling-evil story, a staple of SF, has grown sophisticated, with Alastair Reynolds's "Great Wall of Mars," Stephen Baxter's "On the Orion Line" and Stoss's "A Colder War" exploring the ambiguities and compromises inherent in warfare. Reynolds considers a soldier who realizes that the enemy may be in the right. Baxter's heroes fight inexplicable aliens attempting to slow human expansion. And Stoss's government operatives engage in battle via doors to other planets in an entry that contains a wryly amusing alternative-history take on the Oliver North scandal. Technology's impact on biology remains a rich vein as well. Ian McDonald considers an Africa being eaten by alien machines that may give humans amazing powers and control over their lives in "Tendeléo's Story"; Brian Stableford's "Snowball in Hell" considers a world in which animals can be tinkered with to create humans, thus complicating the nature and superiority of humanity; and Susan Palwick's oblique "Going After Bobo," the story of a boy whose cat runs away, turns into a delicate consideration of the role of electronic surveillance and how it comes to define a family.Finally, a few entries are remarkable for their excellent writing. Standouts include Stoss's two stories; Ursula K. Le Guin's first-contact yarn, told from the point of view of aliens, "The Birthday of the World"; Albert E. Cowdrey's hilarious "Crux," a time-travel adventure with a screwup protagonist; and Eliot Fintushel's amazing "Milo and Sylvie," about a young shape-shifter who painfully comes to learn about himself and his powers.(July 20)FYI: There's also a simultaneous paper edition ($18.95, ISBN 0-312-27478-5).

Starred review from June 20, 2005
The latest in Dozois's definitive, must-read short story anthology series takes the pulse of science fiction today, revealing it to be a genre of breathtaking scope and imagination. Classic SF situations take on a new twist: observation/first-contact stories "The Ocean of the Blind" by James L. Cambias and standout "The Clapping Hands of God" by Michael F. Flynn follow humans as they disastrously make contact with alien species that they cannot comprehend; in Stephen Baxter's generation-starship story, "Mayflower II," someone has to stay awake to tend the humans throughout the millennia of travel; and in the postapocalyptic world of Brendan Dubois's "Falling Star" we mourn the loss of our civilization. Several stories first appeared online, including Christopher Rowe's Hugo nominee, "The Voluntary State," which outrageously plays with Tennessee icons, and Vernor Vinge's "Synthetic Serendipity," about boys' virtual reality games. A comprehensive summation of the field and a list of honorable mentions make this book indispensable as a reference volume. The range of stories and styles means there's something here for everyone. Agent, Vaughne Lee Hansen at the Virginia Kidd Agency.

May 26, 2008
The 25th installment of editor extraordinaire Dozois's annual collection packs a wallop. Standout selections include Stephen Baxter's “Last Contact,” a decidedly understated hard SF tale wherein an astrophysicist and her elderly mother prepare for the looming end of the universe; “Sanjeev and Robotwallah” by Ian McDonald, a meticulously detailed coming-of-age story in a future India where a young boy learns firsthand the realities of war; and Ted Chiang's Nebula-winning “The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate,” a powerfully emotional—and edifying—story about a Baghdad merchant who travels back in time to seek redemption for the errors of his youth. In a detailed introduction, Dozois credits online magazines, small press collections and several new annual original anthology series with making it a banner year for short science fiction.

May 25, 2009
Veteran editor Dozois, 15-time Hugo winner, offers 30 stories, several of them Hugo-nominated. The table of contents is dominated by familiar names like Michael Swanwick and Greg Egan, but occasionally leavened with relative newcomers like Hannu Rajaniemi and more obscure authors like James Alan Gardner. Settings range from the present-day (Nancy Kress's “The Erdmann Nexus”) to the distant future (Ian McDonald's “The Tear”) and alternate history (Aliete de Bodard's “Butterfly, Falling at Dawn”). Similarly the moods range from relatively upbeat (Dominic Green's “Shining Armour”) to pessimistic (Swanwick's “From Babel's Fallen Glory We Fled”). In some entries the SF elements appear to be almost an afterthought, but most earn their inclusion. Dozois also provides short biographies, a detailed overview of the year in SF and a lengthy list of honorable mentions. This is a worthy addition to a venerable series.

May 31, 2010
Continuing the annual tradition, award-winning editor Dozois selects 32 of 2009's strongest short fiction pieces from print and online venues. The authors of these stories are almost all experienced and prolific, with many award winners and few surprise newcomers to be found. The offerings run the gamut of science fiction: for example, Nicola Griffith's "It Takes Two" explores love through chemical attraction, John Barnes's "Things Undone" is a time-blurring exploration of alternate history, and John Kessel's "Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance" is a far-future adventure. This smorgasbord of thought-provoking fiction ensures that any reader will likely find something appealing. Rounding out the collection is Dozois's writeup of all things 2009 SF: fiction, nonfiction, media, awards, and obituaries.

June 15, 1992
While generally sound, this collection is badly in need of a trimming. It is hard to see, for example, why Dozois thought to include Geoffrey A. Landis's uninspired throwback to the time when manned lunar landings were still the stuff of science fiction. And Dozois's breathless introductions to these 28 stories are annoying distractions. Still, there is more than enough material here with real merit. Outstanding are Nancy Kress's story about children genetically altered to require no sleep and Connie Willis's chillingly restrained tale of an ancient evil haunting the rubble-strewn streets of World War II London. Gregory Benford finds a new world at the intersection of particle physics and Eastern mysticism. Unsurprisingly, computers appear frequently in these pages but, in what may be a telling example of the late Isaac Asimov's benign influence, they pose no threat to humans--none, that is, beyond their ability to capture our sympathy, as they do in Chris Beckett's tale of an Italian macchina , or robot, and our love, as illustrated by Mark L. Van Name and Pat Murphy's customized Home Information and Appliance Network.

Starred review from July 10, 2006
The 23rd entry in this acclaimed anthology series from SF maven Dozois, who has won 15 Hugo Awards, showcases 30 tales that demonstrate that the lifeblood of science fiction lies less in new themes than in fresh approaches to old themes. Outstanding selections include Robert Reed's splendid story of a world-sized interstellar spacecraft, "Camouflage"; Liz Williams's "La Malcontenta," set on a most unusual Mars; David Moles's "Planet of the Amazon Women," which puts a new spin on the all-female society; and Mary Rosenblum's "Search Engine," which exploits cyberpunk in unexpected ways. Harry Turtledove pays homage to John James Audubon in "Audubon in Atlantis," an off-beat alternative-world tale, while David Gerrold spins time into "timequakes" in "In the Quake Zone." Dozois provides his usual cogent summation of the year as well as a list of honorable mentions for 2005.

Starred review from June 17, 2002
This annual anthology remains the best one-stop shop for short fiction, and it's a must for fans of literary SF. The notion of intelligence links several stories. Nancy Kress, in "Computer Virus," posits an intelligent computer program trying to save its life, but it does so by risking that of a child. The dense and busy "Lobsters" by Charles Stross considers the implications of denying intelligent uploaded constructs—here, of lobsters—human rights or autonomy. Michael Blumlein's zany "Know How, Can Do," easily the best story, posits a self-aware worm linked to a human brain, told from the point of view of the worm, "Flowers for Algernon"–style, as it acquires human intelligence, language and emotions. Alternative realities remain a productive theme. In "The Two Dicks," Paul McAuley posits an alternative reality where Philip K. Dick, who in this world wrote mainstream fiction instead of SF, meets Nixon. Ken MacLeod's ambitious, character-driven "The Human Front," set in an alternative reality just a little different from ours, describes a man's growth toward adulthood in a war-torn Britain. Dan Simmons, Alastair Reynolds, Maureen F. McHugh and Paul Di Filippo also contribute especially memorable tales. Although one could quibble with Dozois's choices—and there are one or two clunkers in here—this anthology is an enjoyable read that overall maintains high standards of quality and variety. It's essential for SF fans who simply don't have time to separate the wheat from the chaff on their own.

Starred review from April 29, 1996
Once again, Dozois serves up a pleasurable mix of established luminaries as well as the newer stars of the SF realm. In Dan Simmons's "Looking for Kelly Dahl," an elementary school teacher journeys from despair to love with a former student who has the ability to teleport to parallel earths where dinosaurs never fell, no one else exists or the 1970s never ended. Maureen McHugh also offers a tale of redemption in an alternate Civil War era, but this time, the underground railroad rescues white former slave owners who have relocated by the thousands to die of exposure on the frontier. In the tradition of the best SF, Geoff Ryman explores homelessness in a credibly violent future where beggars are routinely crucified by hungry mobs. Fans will especially appreciate Dozois's introduction of talented young writers who have yet to publish their own collections or novels. Notable among these is David Murasek, whose novella, "We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy," imagines the couple of the next century almost having it all--that is, until they are issued a permit to have a child. But the truth is that all of the 24 short stories or novellas are rewarding, which is really the most outstanding feature of this collection.