Best Science Fiction of the Year 14

by Terry Carr (Editor), John Varley, Octavia E. Butler

This fourteenth annual "Best of the Year" collection includes John Varley's "Press Enter," Octavia E. Butler's "Bloodchild," Pamela Sargent's "Fears," Connie Willis's "Blue Moon," and Michael Swanwick's "Trojan Horse"

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley from 1954 to 1959.

Carr discovered science fiction fandom in 1949, where he became an enthusiastic publisher of fanzines, which later helped open his way into the commercial publishing world. (He was one of the two fans responsible for the hoax fan 'Carl Brandon' after whom the Carl Brandon Society takes its name.) Despite a long career as a science fiction professional, he continued to participate as a fan until his death. He was nominated five times for Hugos for Best Fanzine (1959–1961, 1967–1968), winning in 1959, was nominated three times for Best Fan Writer (1971–1973), winning in 1973, and was Fan Guest of Honor at ConFederation in 1986.

Though he published some fiction in the early 1960s, Carr concentrated on editing. He first worked at Ace Books, establishing the Ace Science Fiction Specials series which published, among other novels, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin.

After conflicts with Ace head Donald A. Wollheim, he worked as a freelancer. He edited an original story anthology series called Universe, and a popular series of The Best Science Fiction of the Year anthologies that ran from 1972 until his death in 1987. He also edited numerous one-off anthologies over the same time span. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Editor thirteen times (1973–1975, 1977–1979, 1981–1987), winning twice (1985 and 1987). His win in 1985 was the first time a freelance editor had won.

Carr taught at the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University in 1978, where his students included Richard Kadrey and Pat Murphy.

Reviews

[Lucy Takeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Blued Moon when it first came out, and remembered that I adored it. I tracked down this collection to reread it. I still adore it, and appreciate Varley’s Press Enter. I wasn’t terribly jazzed about any of the other stories. The cost of the book was worthwhile for the first two stories.

[Clod McPete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved my first read by Nancy Kress. Bloodchild by Octavia Butler was also phenomenal.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

13 stories from 1984.

**** Press Enter • John Varley
* Blued Moon • Connie Willis
**** Summer Solstice • Charles L. Harness
*** Morning Child • Gardner Dozois
*** The Aliens Who Knew, I Mean, Everything • George Alec Effinger
**** A Day in the Skin (or, The Century We Were Out of Them) • Tanith Lee
**** Instructions • Bob Leman
**** The Lucky Strike • Kim Stanley Robinson
*** Green Hearts • Lee Montgomerie
***** Bloodchild • Octavia E. Butler
** Trojan Horse • Michael Swanwick
* Fears • Pamela Sargent
** Trinity • Nancy Kress

Hugo and/or Nebula Award Winners: Varley, Butler, Dozois

Hugo and/or Nebula Award Finalists: Willis, Harness, Effinger, Robinson, Swanwick, Kress

I would bump this up to four stars if my bottom rated four weren't so long ... those middle eight stories would make an excellent better-sized collection, beginning with Harness's thoroughly entertaining Eratosthenes meeting alien story and culminating with Butler's short creepy masterpiece ...

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains more award winners and nominees as a proportion of the total than just about any other year's best collection --all three Nebula winners, two of which also won the Hugo, and in total something like ten or eleven of the fourteen stories ended up being nominated for some kind of award.

See here on Suite 101 for a review.

[Andy]

1ST BRITISH EDITION. IMCLUDES 3 1985 NEBULA AWARD WINNERS.