The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, 2005

Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy (MirrorDanse)

by Bill Congreve (Editor), Michelle Marquardt (Editor)

Science fiction looks into the future, or at what could exist, given what the human race knows or can imagine about the universe; or it looks at different versions of our past and present. Horror looks at the supernatural, or at particularly disturbing versions of what can exist, given the perversions of human nature. Fantasy looks at worlds or subject matter which can't exist, which we acknowledge as impossible. All are literature of ideas, with Australian writers drawing on the vast, often unforgiving, landscape we live in, the multi-cultural nature of the society around us and the lessons we're trying to learn from our history. The best stories provoke, inspire and entertain. The best stories . . . The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Heather S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories missed the mark and didn't feel like scu fi or fantasy, a few were so wildly fantastic I struggled to follow. However, some absolute gems are tucked away in here. There's definitely a few writers I'll have to find more from.

[Meran · Rating 4 out of 5]

review later

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked
The Dreaming City by Ben Peek and
Birds of the Bushes and Scrubs by Geoffrey Maloney.
Both were what I'd call social science fiction.

The 2 star rating is because there were 9 other stories that really didn't appeal to me. There was a lot of fantasy and just something strange happening. (Even my 2 favorites could be described that way.)

Authors: Ben Peek, Geoffrey Maloney, Lynette Aspey, Deborah Biancotti, Terry Dowling, Kim Westwood, Rjurik Davidson, Brendan D. Carson, Cat Sparks, Damien Broderick, and Brendan Duffy.

[Alan Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great collection of Australian spec fic. Highlights for me in this one were Terry Dowling's "Flashmen" and Rjurik Davidson's "Bones". Other high points are Margo Lanagan's "Singing My Sister Down" and Cat Spark's "Home By The Sea", although I'm still trying to get my head around that little time twisting yarn. Well worth a look, this one.

[Capella]

Maybe Australia isn't so good at sci-fi....