Nectar of the SF Gods

I admit, I've always been a bit awed by Gardner Dozois. He's a mythic figure within the realm of speculative fiction, a man with legendary ability to recognize and nurture elite writing talent. I grew up reading Asimov's Science Fiction (as well as Asimov's science fiction... the author, not the magazine ;-). I eagerly awaited each annual installment of The Year's Best Science Fiction and gobbled every collection in the series when I had the chance. So, upon spotting a lone copy of The Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction on a shelf at the local bookstore, I couldn't help grabbing it and carrying it reverently to the checkout line with trembling hands.

Okay, this wasn't exactly what I expected. It surprised me, caught me a bit off-guard. It wasn't just a "greatest hits" volume. Mr. Dozois specifically eschewed that approach, as he explains in his preface:

"I was still left with the most difficult problem, though — how do you decide what the word "Best" means in this context? Do I go for the best-known stories... which have been reprinted very widely and which most people have already seen, or do I go with other good stories by the same authors that haven't been as ballyhooed? If I didn't use the most famous stories, many people were going to be disappointed that they weren't there. On the other hand, if I used them exclusively, I'd produce a book full of stuff that everyone's already read and that's largely duplicable elsewhere. The only solution I could see was to walk a tightrope between the two, putting in some of the most famous stories and in other cases picking more obscure and unfairly overlooked alternatives instead..."

So what's the verdict on this jaunt along the tightrope? Imagine a tasting for gourmet wines. No, wait — I admit, I live in a place that boasts countless fine craft brews and am more of a beer guy, so let's go with a beer tasting.

You saunter into that remote pub with the arcane but fascinating decor, the one with the mysterious barkeep who seems knowledgeable on every subject. He's hosting a tasting that features his own hand-picked selection of master brews, some renowned and some relatively unknown. He doesn't pour you a pint. Instead, he proffers a paddle containing a flight of small glasses, each filled with a different example of the brewer's art. There are pale ales, lagers, stouts, porters, wheats, blondes, ambers, reds, creams, and goldens. Not all of them are to your taste, of course. Still, it's great fun to sample them. You enjoy your favorites... but it's even more satisfying to discover something unique and unexpected.

That, in a nutshell (because nuts go great with beer! ;-), describes The Best of the Best. Its pages overflow with every kind of SF variety — from short-short stories to novellas, from hard SF to fantasy, from widely acclaimed to underappreciated. One thing is undeniable. The roster of included authors is exemplary: Greg Bear, Gene Wolfe, Lucius Shepard, Nancy Kress, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, William Gibson, Mike Resnick, Robert Silverberg, Terry Bisson, Connie Willis, and on and on. Every writer featured in this volume is an immense talent; collectively, they've given me more reading enjoyment over the years than I can measure. It's amazing that Mr. Dozois could fit so much SF brilliance into one collection... but he managed.

If variety is the spice of life, then this book is a veritable ghost pepper. You're bound to find something memorable, something that generates more heat than you ever anticipated. Enjoy it, and feel the burn! Just make sure you have plenty of those craft beers handy to quench the fire.

#SFWApro