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Il futuro di vetro e altri racconti
IL FUTURO DI VETRO Arrivata alla maggiore età, la serie antologica di David G. Hartwell continua a raccogliere il meglio del racconto fantascientifico senza cedimenti e senza compromessi. In questo volume, ventotto racconti di autrici e autori come Pat Cadigan, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Linda Nagata, Catherin H. Shaffer, Gregory Benford, Paul McAuley, Lewis Shiner, Michael Swanwick e Bruce Sterling offrono un campionario a 360° della miglior fantascienza dell'anno e fanno il punto sulla salute del genere. C'è un'avventura di Holmes Sherlock, un vero e proprio "Mistero hwarhath" impostato da Eleanor Arnason; c'è la storia degli spiriti di Natale (se poi saranno spiriti) di Paul Cornell; c'è un'"Elettrica" avventura di Sean McMullen e la "Sinfonia della Struttura Sigma" di Gregory Benford. Secondo Paul McAuley "L'Antartide comincia qui", proprio in mezzo a noi, mentre Michael Swanwick ha la terrificante visione della "Donna che scosse l'albero del mondo". Visioni provocanti ma sempre originali, all'insegna della Year's Best SF.
Indice:
Megan Lindhom - Vecchia vernice (Old Paint, 2012)
Paul Cornell - Gli spiriti del Natale (The Ghost of Christmas, 2012)
Robert Reed - Preghiera (Prayer, 2012)
Yoon Ha Lee - La battaglia di Candle Arc (The Battle of Candle Arc, 2012)
Gene Wolfe - Dormanna (Dormanna, 2012)
Eleanor Arnason - Holmes Sherlock: Un mistero hwarhath (Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mistery, 2012)
Sean McMullen - Elettrica (Electrica, 2012)
C. S. Friedman - Giornata perfetta (Perfect Day, 2012)
John Barnes - Rapido come un sogno e fugace come un sospiro (Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh, 2012)
Naomi Kritzer - La figlia di Liberty (Liberty's Daughter, 2012)
Indrapramit Das - Lacrime-per-il-giorno (Weep for Day, 2012)
Pat Cadigan - In piena vista (In Plain Sight, 2012)
Lewis Shiner - Domanda di lavoro (Application, 2012)
Kathleen Ann Goonan - A love supreme (A Love Supreme, 2012)
Andy Duncan - Incontri ravvicinati (Close Encounters, 2012)
Aliette De Bodard - Due sorelle in esilio (Two Sisters inn Exile, 2012)
Ken Liu - Onde (Waves, 2012)
Catherine H. Shaffer - La North Revena Ladies Literary Society (The North Revena Ladies Literary Society, 2012)
Paul McAuley - L'Antartide comincia qui (Anctartica Starts Here, 2012)
Gregory Benford - La Sinfonia della Struttura Sigma (The Sigma Structure Symphony, 2012)
Deborah Walker - Il futuro di vetro (Glass Future, 2012)
Tony Ballantyne - Se soltanto... (If Only..., 2012)
Michael Swanwick - La donna che scosse l'albero del mondo (The Woman Who Shook the World Tree, 2012)
Linda Nagata - Nahiku West (Nahiku West, 2012)
Joe Pitkin - Mosche (Houseflies, 2012)
Nikki J. North - Rami sulla schiena, passeri nell'orecchio (Branches on My Back, Sparrows in My Ear, 2012)
Bruce Sterling - Il Picco della Luce Eterna (THe Peak of Eternal Light, 2012)
Copertina di Franco Brambilla
Indice:
Megan Lindhom - Vecchia vernice (Old Paint, 2012)
Paul Cornell - Gli spiriti del Natale (The Ghost of Christmas, 2012)
Robert Reed - Preghiera (Prayer, 2012)
Yoon Ha Lee - La battaglia di Candle Arc (The Battle of Candle Arc, 2012)
Gene Wolfe - Dormanna (Dormanna, 2012)
Eleanor Arnason - Holmes Sherlock: Un mistero hwarhath (Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mistery, 2012)
Sean McMullen - Elettrica (Electrica, 2012)
C. S. Friedman - Giornata perfetta (Perfect Day, 2012)
John Barnes - Rapido come un sogno e fugace come un sospiro (Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh, 2012)
Naomi Kritzer - La figlia di Liberty (Liberty's Daughter, 2012)
Indrapramit Das - Lacrime-per-il-giorno (Weep for Day, 2012)
Pat Cadigan - In piena vista (In Plain Sight, 2012)
Lewis Shiner - Domanda di lavoro (Application, 2012)
Kathleen Ann Goonan - A love supreme (A Love Supreme, 2012)
Andy Duncan - Incontri ravvicinati (Close Encounters, 2012)
Aliette De Bodard - Due sorelle in esilio (Two Sisters inn Exile, 2012)
Ken Liu - Onde (Waves, 2012)
Catherine H. Shaffer - La North Revena Ladies Literary Society (The North Revena Ladies Literary Society, 2012)
Paul McAuley - L'Antartide comincia qui (Anctartica Starts Here, 2012)
Gregory Benford - La Sinfonia della Struttura Sigma (The Sigma Structure Symphony, 2012)
Deborah Walker - Il futuro di vetro (Glass Future, 2012)
Tony Ballantyne - Se soltanto... (If Only..., 2012)
Michael Swanwick - La donna che scosse l'albero del mondo (The Woman Who Shook the World Tree, 2012)
Linda Nagata - Nahiku West (Nahiku West, 2012)
Joe Pitkin - Mosche (Houseflies, 2012)
Nikki J. North - Rami sulla schiena, passeri nell'orecchio (Branches on My Back, Sparrows in My Ear, 2012)
Bruce Sterling - Il Picco della Luce Eterna (THe Peak of Eternal Light, 2012)
Copertina di Franco Brambilla
490 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 10, 2013
43 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
About the author
David G. Hartwell
112 books90 followersDavid Geddes Hartwell was an American editor of science fiction and fantasy. He worked for Signet (1971-1973), Berkley Putnam (1973-1978), Pocket (where he founded the Timescape imprint, 1978-1983, and created the Pocket Books Star Trek publishing line), and Tor (where he spearheaded Tor's Canadian publishing initiative, and was also influential in bringing many Australian writers to the US market, 1984-date), and has published numerous anthologies. He chaired the board of directors of the World Fantasy Convention and, with Gordon Van Gelder, was the administrator of the Philip K. Dick Award. He held a Ph.D. in comparative medieval literature.
He lived in Pleasantville, New York with his wife Kathryn Cramer and their two children.
He lived in Pleasantville, New York with his wife Kathryn Cramer and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 18, 2021
Very nice anthology; one of his best in this series.
TOC & story notes:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?4...
2021, partial reread. Highlights this time:
• Old Paint (2012) • novelette by Megan Lindholm. Grandad's old car comes back, saves the kids! Hartwell thinks it's one of her best, and one of the best of that year. I agree. Solid 4 stars. Lucky you: online here, http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/lindh...
• Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh (2012) • short story by John Barnes. A coal-mining story from a future Wy0ming and a romance. With a very clever (if not wise) AI counselor. This story is pretty nearly perfect in every way. Easy 5 stars! You are doubly lucky: online at http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/barne...
• Liberty's Daughter [Seastead] (2012), novelette by Naomi Kritzer. I think I missed reading this one first time through because I'd never heard of Naomi Kritzer. It's a terrific opener to her Seasted series, of 6 connected shorts published 2012-2015. Sadly, they remain uncollected. A pity, since they are her take on RAH Podkayne-style YA. She had planned to self-publish the series as a (fix-up?) novel, but hasn't. Pity.
• In Plain Sight (2012), short story by Pat Cadigan. Goku Maru, a British-Japanese Interpol cop, is on the case of Pretty Howitzer (real name!), a NY bunco artiste specializing in fleecing old folks. Hijinks ensue. 'Victim' Emmy Eto's techno-magic glasses! 4+ stars, maybe 4.5? Excerpt from an unfinished novel, which I hope emerges someday. Not online (I looked).
• Waves, short novelette by Ken Liu. Nominated for 2103 Nebula award. A journey from Earth to posthumanity aboard a lightsail generation starship, with a surprise at its destination. Liu packs a lot into this one! He lost me a bit at the end. 4+ stars. Not online (I looked). The author's story notes are here: https://kenliu.name/blog/2012/10/01/s... He has a spoiler tag, but I saw none serious.
• Bricks, Sticks, Straw, short story by Gwyneth Jones. Her best short, I think. Software agents on Jupiter's moons get lost in a solar storm. Go mad, really. But then.... 4.5 stars! Don't miss. Online at http://www.gwynethjones.uk/BricksStic...
• The Sigma Structure Symphony , novelette by Gregory Benford. Wonderful hard-SF story, the most recent in his SETI Library series, which he planned (at some point) to turn into a fix-up novel. I wish he would. Some aliens broadcast remote AIs to negotiate terms. The ones from the Galactic Core are the most complex, and largely incomprehensible to mere humans. Librarian Ruth Angle unpacks a particularly nasty one..... Her predecessor, a junior assistant, was driven to suicide by this alien AI. But her boss thinks Ruth is tough enough to take it on.... Real Library Science! An easy 5 stars, for me, but YMMV. First published online here, http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/03/th... Don't miss! One of Benford's best shorts, I think.
And here's a complete review of the book, story by story, with links to quite a few: http://bestsf.net/years-best-sf-18-ed...
Thanks to Best SF, a reliable source.
TOC & story notes:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?4...
2021, partial reread. Highlights this time:
• Old Paint (2012) • novelette by Megan Lindholm. Grandad's old car comes back, saves the kids! Hartwell thinks it's one of her best, and one of the best of that year. I agree. Solid 4 stars. Lucky you: online here, http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/lindh...
• Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh (2012) • short story by John Barnes. A coal-mining story from a future Wy0ming and a romance. With a very clever (if not wise) AI counselor. This story is pretty nearly perfect in every way. Easy 5 stars! You are doubly lucky: online at http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/barne...
• Liberty's Daughter [Seastead] (2012), novelette by Naomi Kritzer. I think I missed reading this one first time through because I'd never heard of Naomi Kritzer. It's a terrific opener to her Seasted series, of 6 connected shorts published 2012-2015. Sadly, they remain uncollected. A pity, since they are her take on RAH Podkayne-style YA. She had planned to self-publish the series as a (fix-up?) novel, but hasn't. Pity.
• In Plain Sight (2012), short story by Pat Cadigan. Goku Maru, a British-Japanese Interpol cop, is on the case of Pretty Howitzer (real name!), a NY bunco artiste specializing in fleecing old folks. Hijinks ensue. 'Victim' Emmy Eto's techno-magic glasses! 4+ stars, maybe 4.5? Excerpt from an unfinished novel, which I hope emerges someday. Not online (I looked).
• Waves, short novelette by Ken Liu. Nominated for 2103 Nebula award. A journey from Earth to posthumanity aboard a lightsail generation starship, with a surprise at its destination. Liu packs a lot into this one! He lost me a bit at the end. 4+ stars. Not online (I looked). The author's story notes are here: https://kenliu.name/blog/2012/10/01/s... He has a spoiler tag, but I saw none serious.
• Bricks, Sticks, Straw, short story by Gwyneth Jones. Her best short, I think. Software agents on Jupiter's moons get lost in a solar storm. Go mad, really. But then.... 4.5 stars! Don't miss. Online at http://www.gwynethjones.uk/BricksStic...
• The Sigma Structure Symphony , novelette by Gregory Benford. Wonderful hard-SF story, the most recent in his SETI Library series, which he planned (at some point) to turn into a fix-up novel. I wish he would. Some aliens broadcast remote AIs to negotiate terms. The ones from the Galactic Core are the most complex, and largely incomprehensible to mere humans. Librarian Ruth Angle unpacks a particularly nasty one..... Her predecessor, a junior assistant, was driven to suicide by this alien AI. But her boss thinks Ruth is tough enough to take it on.... Real Library Science! An easy 5 stars, for me, but YMMV. First published online here, http://www.tor.com/stories/2012/03/th... Don't miss! One of Benford's best shorts, I think.
And here's a complete review of the book, story by story, with links to quite a few: http://bestsf.net/years-best-sf-18-ed...
Thanks to Best SF, a reliable source.
March 13, 2014
I think it's wonderful that science fiction has become so very mainstream since I first started reading it in the very early 1970s, and writing about it in the 1980s. That wasn't always the case. In fact, one of the better essays I wrote in high school was about the then-prevalent marginalization of SF, entitled "We Have Always Lived in the Ghetto." No longer can litterateurs dismiss SF out of hand, though—although the genre's critics still exist, of course, they have to be much more creative these days to get any traction.
But that broader acceptance did come at a price. From a mainstream perspective, SF appears to be made up mostly of novels—and of novels with cinematic potential, at that. And graphic novels, I guess, although those are often halfway towards being movies as well. But a perspective that ignores short science fiction—the novellas, short stories, even short-shorts that form so much of the genre's history and current output—is overlooking more than half the field.
David G. Hartwell doesn't make that mistake. For Year's Best SF 18, Hartwell has chosen dozens of excellent short works published in 2012, from both online and print venues. Not one of them is a clunker, and some of them are likely to stand with the best the field has ever had to offer.
Hartwell does constrain himself by drawing a hard line between his definitions of science fiction and other types of fantastic fiction. My own definition is much more... expansive. I prefer to think of "sf" (preferably lowercase) as standing for speculative fiction, that vast field of literature that includes fantasy, magical realism, surrealist and slipstream works, horror, and—yes—even Science Fiction... in other words, every fiction other than those mimetic works that confine themselves—intentionally!—to the here-and-now, or the there-and-then. And even with those, it usually doesn't take much divergence from consensus reality for me to consider a work sfnal in essence.
Hartwell's net is made of much finer mesh... but I have to admit that the stories he catches in it are some of the finest in the field.
Start with the first piece as an exemplar: "Old Paint," by Megan Lindholm, a story which Charles de Lint also made a point of calling out (though from its appearance in a different best-of-year anthology) in a recent column in Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine. It's a poignant tale of an autonomous vehicle which—as seems entirely plausible to me—comes to exhibit traits we've come to associate with our beloved pets. I agreed with Hartwell that this story is reminiscent of Connie Willis "at her best," and it's an excellent choice to lead off the book.
The rest of the stories in this volume—too many good ones to call out individually here—maintain this high level of emotional involvement. Gone are the days when "hard" science fiction meant only puzzle pieces about intrepid engineers (if indeed that was ever really true)... these stories are all nuanced, introspective and intelligent examinations of the impact of technology on real people—or at least on people who feel real.
Gone too are the days when such hard-nosed SF was considered to be a male province. Just about half of the stories collected here were written by women, and I don't think Hartwell picked them out of any sense of obligation, either, other than the simple obligation to choose worthwhile fiction. Which is as it should be, of course, but so rarely occurs even today that I think it's worth mentioning.
I was also glad to see at least a few names that aren't Anglo-Saxon in an anthology like this one—there are strong stories here by Yoon Ha Lee, Indrapramit Das, Aliette de Bodard and Ken Liu, in and among the Cornells, Reeds, Walkers and Duncans who might be expected to populate these pages.
One thing I didn't like—which really seems to be more a function of recent SF trends as a whole than of this anthology in particular—is a strong streak of fatalism. Stories like "The Ghosts of Christmas" (Paul Cornell) and "Glass Future" (Deborah Walker) take the stance that our future is deterministic and unchangeable, a bleak notion of reality on rails that seems at odds with the fundamental optimism of SF, at least to me, though I'm sure it's tempting to adopt such an attitude of "realism" when considering the nature of time.
But that's a minor quibble, really—and even the more depressing stories in this anthology are fascinating and well-written. As an overview of the strong and healthy state of short science fiction in the 21st century, the Year's Best SF series and this entry in particular live up to their name.
But that broader acceptance did come at a price. From a mainstream perspective, SF appears to be made up mostly of novels—and of novels with cinematic potential, at that. And graphic novels, I guess, although those are often halfway towards being movies as well. But a perspective that ignores short science fiction—the novellas, short stories, even short-shorts that form so much of the genre's history and current output—is overlooking more than half the field.
David G. Hartwell doesn't make that mistake. For Year's Best SF 18, Hartwell has chosen dozens of excellent short works published in 2012, from both online and print venues. Not one of them is a clunker, and some of them are likely to stand with the best the field has ever had to offer.
Hartwell does constrain himself by drawing a hard line between his definitions of science fiction and other types of fantastic fiction. My own definition is much more... expansive. I prefer to think of "sf" (preferably lowercase) as standing for speculative fiction, that vast field of literature that includes fantasy, magical realism, surrealist and slipstream works, horror, and—yes—even Science Fiction... in other words, every fiction other than those mimetic works that confine themselves—intentionally!—to the here-and-now, or the there-and-then. And even with those, it usually doesn't take much divergence from consensus reality for me to consider a work sfnal in essence.
Hartwell's net is made of much finer mesh... but I have to admit that the stories he catches in it are some of the finest in the field.
Start with the first piece as an exemplar: "Old Paint," by Megan Lindholm, a story which Charles de Lint also made a point of calling out (though from its appearance in a different best-of-year anthology) in a recent column in Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine. It's a poignant tale of an autonomous vehicle which—as seems entirely plausible to me—comes to exhibit traits we've come to associate with our beloved pets. I agreed with Hartwell that this story is reminiscent of Connie Willis "at her best," and it's an excellent choice to lead off the book.
The rest of the stories in this volume—too many good ones to call out individually here—maintain this high level of emotional involvement. Gone are the days when "hard" science fiction meant only puzzle pieces about intrepid engineers (if indeed that was ever really true)... these stories are all nuanced, introspective and intelligent examinations of the impact of technology on real people—or at least on people who feel real.
Gone too are the days when such hard-nosed SF was considered to be a male province. Just about half of the stories collected here were written by women, and I don't think Hartwell picked them out of any sense of obligation, either, other than the simple obligation to choose worthwhile fiction. Which is as it should be, of course, but so rarely occurs even today that I think it's worth mentioning.
I was also glad to see at least a few names that aren't Anglo-Saxon in an anthology like this one—there are strong stories here by Yoon Ha Lee, Indrapramit Das, Aliette de Bodard and Ken Liu, in and among the Cornells, Reeds, Walkers and Duncans who might be expected to populate these pages.
One thing I didn't like—which really seems to be more a function of recent SF trends as a whole than of this anthology in particular—is a strong streak of fatalism. Stories like "The Ghosts of Christmas" (Paul Cornell) and "Glass Future" (Deborah Walker) take the stance that our future is deterministic and unchangeable, a bleak notion of reality on rails that seems at odds with the fundamental optimism of SF, at least to me, though I'm sure it's tempting to adopt such an attitude of "realism" when considering the nature of time.
But that's a minor quibble, really—and even the more depressing stories in this anthology are fascinating and well-written. As an overview of the strong and healthy state of short science fiction in the 21st century, the Year's Best SF series and this entry in particular live up to their name.
March 6, 2014
Stories of note in this collection that I haven't called out in other reviews: Sean McMullen's "Electrica", Naomi Kritzer's "Liberty's Daughter", Ken Liu's "Waves", and Michael Swanwick's "The Woman who Shook the Worldtree".
July 19, 2014
Individual stories rated as follows:
5* - A classic.
4* - A really good story, recommended reading.
3* - A decent story
2* - Not a good story, something seriously inhibited any enjoyment
1* - Unreadable and/or a complete waste of time
Lindholm, Megan: “Old Paint”
**
Cornell, Paul: “The Ghosts of Christmas”
***
Reed, Robert: “Prayer”
***
Lee, Yoon Ha: “The Battle of Candle Arc”
**
Wolfe, Gene: “Dormanna”
***
Arnason, Eleanor: “Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mystery”
***
McMullen, Sean: “Electrica”
***
Frieman, C.S.: “Perfect Day”
***
Barnes, John: “Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh”
****
Kritzer, Naomi: “Liberty’s Daughter”
**
Das, Indrapramit: “Weep for Day”
***
Cadigan, Pat: “In Plain Sight”
**
Shiner, Lewis: “Application”
***
Goonan, Kathleen Ann: “A Love Supreme”
***
Duncan, Andy: “Close Encounters”
***
de Bodard, Aliette: “Two Sisters in Exile”
***
Liu, Ken: “Waves”
****
Shaffer, Catherine H: “The North Revena Ladies Literary Society”
***
McAuley, Paul: “Antarctica Starts Here”
***
Jones, Gwyneth: “Bricks, Sticks, Straw”
***
Benford, Gregory: “The Sigma Structure Symphony”
***
Walker, Deborah: “Glass Future”
***
Ballantyne, Tony: “If Only…”
***
Swanwick, Michael: “The Woman Who Shook the World Tree”
****
Nagata, Linda: “Nahiku West”
***
Pitkin, Joe: “Houseflies”
***
North, Nikki J: “Branches on My Back, Sparrows in My Ear”
**
Sterling, Bruce: “The Peak of Eternal Light”
**
5* - A classic.
4* - A really good story, recommended reading.
3* - A decent story
2* - Not a good story, something seriously inhibited any enjoyment
1* - Unreadable and/or a complete waste of time
Lindholm, Megan: “Old Paint”
**
Cornell, Paul: “The Ghosts of Christmas”
***
Reed, Robert: “Prayer”
***
Lee, Yoon Ha: “The Battle of Candle Arc”
**
Wolfe, Gene: “Dormanna”
***
Arnason, Eleanor: “Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mystery”
***
McMullen, Sean: “Electrica”
***
Frieman, C.S.: “Perfect Day”
***
Barnes, John: “Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh”
****
Kritzer, Naomi: “Liberty’s Daughter”
**
Das, Indrapramit: “Weep for Day”
***
Cadigan, Pat: “In Plain Sight”
**
Shiner, Lewis: “Application”
***
Goonan, Kathleen Ann: “A Love Supreme”
***
Duncan, Andy: “Close Encounters”
***
de Bodard, Aliette: “Two Sisters in Exile”
***
Liu, Ken: “Waves”
****
Shaffer, Catherine H: “The North Revena Ladies Literary Society”
***
McAuley, Paul: “Antarctica Starts Here”
***
Jones, Gwyneth: “Bricks, Sticks, Straw”
***
Benford, Gregory: “The Sigma Structure Symphony”
***
Walker, Deborah: “Glass Future”
***
Ballantyne, Tony: “If Only…”
***
Swanwick, Michael: “The Woman Who Shook the World Tree”
****
Nagata, Linda: “Nahiku West”
***
Pitkin, Joe: “Houseflies”
***
North, Nikki J: “Branches on My Back, Sparrows in My Ear”
**
Sterling, Bruce: “The Peak of Eternal Light”
**
July 23, 2014
The Year's Best SF 18, edited by David G. Hartwell, was a distinct pleasure to read. The pleasure began with the very first story, "Old Paint." Megan Lindholm tells the story of a family that inherits grandpa's old car, a woody-style station wagon, whose technology is way behind the times. Mom even makes her teenager learn to drive it, rather than just tell it where to go. Very uncool. When the youngster takes it to a shady nano-paint place, and the car catches a nasty virus, well, this tale starts taking unexpected turns.
John Barnes's "Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh" struck my fancy, and since I haven't read much Barnes in the last decade, it also brought back old times. "Two Sisters in Exile" by Aliette de Bodard, "Waves" by Ken Liu, and "Nahiku West" by Linda Nagata (whom I've also missed) were other favorites.
Finally, Nikki J. North's story "Branches on My Back, Sparrows in My Ear" is a strong piece on communication between generations. I liked the punch it didn't pull.
I found the collection both entertaining and inspiring.
John Barnes's "Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh" struck my fancy, and since I haven't read much Barnes in the last decade, it also brought back old times. "Two Sisters in Exile" by Aliette de Bodard, "Waves" by Ken Liu, and "Nahiku West" by Linda Nagata (whom I've also missed) were other favorites.
Finally, Nikki J. North's story "Branches on My Back, Sparrows in My Ear" is a strong piece on communication between generations. I liked the punch it didn't pull.
I found the collection both entertaining and inspiring.
April 25, 2014
Old Paint: very creative
The ghosts of Christmas: wow, crazy
Dormanna: makes you wonder about those so-called "imaginary" friends kids have
Holmes Sherlock: very creative. Interesting and comprehensive social development of an alien world within a short story
Electrica: gothic, Victorian, steampunky. Good story
Perfect Day: You can totally understand how this story might be prescient
Liberty's Daughter: greatly enjoyed;
Weep for Day very creative
In plain sight I had a hard time following this one, but the story was good
Application HA!! Read it and you'll agree. Clever
The North Ravena Ladies Literary Society Reminds me of the movie Red, which I loved.
If Only If I could make any story come true in this book, it would be this one. SO PERFECT! :D
This isn't all the stories in the book, just the ones I enjoyed the most.
The ghosts of Christmas: wow, crazy
Dormanna: makes you wonder about those so-called "imaginary" friends kids have
Holmes Sherlock: very creative. Interesting and comprehensive social development of an alien world within a short story
Electrica: gothic, Victorian, steampunky. Good story
Perfect Day: You can totally understand how this story might be prescient
Liberty's Daughter: greatly enjoyed;
Weep for Day very creative
In plain sight I had a hard time following this one, but the story was good
Application HA!! Read it and you'll agree. Clever
The North Ravena Ladies Literary Society Reminds me of the movie Red, which I loved.
If Only If I could make any story come true in this book, it would be this one. SO PERFECT! :D
This isn't all the stories in the book, just the ones I enjoyed the most.
August 12, 2014
A much more interesting and carefully curated set of stories than in the last anthology I read (The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year (Volume 7) , also a 2013 collection). Favorites included: "Old Paint," "Perfect Day," "Swift as a Dream and Fleeting as a Sigh," "Liberty's Daughter," "Waves," and....several others. I also realized how much I liked "Close Encounters," one of the stories featured in both anthologies, after reading it a second time. Such a great collection!
May 8, 2014
While this book had a number of very good stories, I ranked it number 3 of the four anthologies I read for the 2013-2014 year. The stories I liked a lot were (ranked):
- Week for Day (also in the Dozois anthology)
- Electrica
- The Battle of Candle Arc
- The Peak of Eternal Light
- The Woman Who Shook the World Tree
- Waves
- Week for Day (also in the Dozois anthology)
- Electrica
- The Battle of Candle Arc
- The Peak of Eternal Light
- The Woman Who Shook the World Tree
- Waves
October 5, 2015
While there were a couple of stories in this collection that I didn't care for, there were several stories that I loved so much that I knew I would need to read them a handful of times before I had gotten all that I wanted out of them. After the first read my mind was whirling and wondering what I had missed, at hidden layers of insight. What a wonderful feeling.
March 10, 2014
Another outstanding entry in this excellent series. All the stories take the reader to new and interesting places, sometimes by provoking deeper thought and sometimes with laughter. The sheer amount of diversity among the authors is carried through in the stories themselves. Highly recommended.
July 23, 2014
Being an SF reader for over 50 years, it's sometimes hard for me to find really original stories. David Hartwell has done that. A good collection, ranging from Good to Excellent. I've read a Christmas SF anthology of his, and I certainly plan to seek out his other "Year's Best" books.
January 6, 2016
Some amazing stories to be found here, and mostly hard sci-fi, which suits me well.
"She gave an odd smile, one that wasn't happy and added, "Tough love isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes when you lock the door, the other person never knocks on it again."
"She gave an odd smile, one that wasn't happy and added, "Tough love isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes when you lock the door, the other person never knocks on it again."
September 24, 2017
Most of the stories are easily 4 or 5 stars with only one that I felt deserved less than that. Very, very good collection.
June 28, 2020
Like any collection, there were a couple I loved, a couple that left me wondering why they were written, and the rest were entertaining. The only ones I skipped were ones I'd already read elsewhere.
July 9, 2021
This is the best collection of short stories I've read in years. I can hardly wait to read some more.
July 28, 2021
A fantastic anthology, with pieces very varied in style. The best part is that I got to read authors I didn't know at all.
August 10, 2016
This is the second of Hartwell's Year's Best SF that I've read. The last one, the 15th, was somewhat disappointing to me. This collection was significantly better than that one, which I'm pretty sure proves that a year's "best of" collection can only be as good as the fiction that was released in the year that it covers.
This 18th edition covers the year of 2012, which, if this collection is representative, was a terrific year for short fiction. As I'm sure most of you have gathered, I don't read a lot of short fiction. I have my hands full reading the novels that are on my to read stack, although there are a bunch of short story collections on my to read stack as well. Wait a minute - can I really only refer to a "stack", since now I have a virtual ton of short story collections in my e-book library as well? But
I digress.
When I reviewed the 15th edition, I stated, rather pompously I suppose, that the quality of the collection of short stories in existence falls into a bell shaped curve, with a majority of stories being lumped in the middle, being of just "okay" quality, and the remaining fall on either end of the bell curve. I pronounced that to be true after reading that 15th edition. Well, this 18th edition has proved me wrong on that count, with a majority of the stories here being of good and higher quality. Indeed, many of them are outstanding.
Outstanding were Gregory Benford's "The Sigma Structure Symphony", an interesting take on first contact via decoding messages via SETI; Megan Lindholm's "Old Paint", a touching story about the effect an intelligent car has on the family that owns it; Yoon Ha Lee's "The Battle of Candle Arc", a terrific piece of military sf; Gwyneth Jones' "Bricks, Sticks, and Straw", a terrific story about virtual personas coming to life and developing independence while out of touch with their real operators back on Earth; Andy Duncan's "Close Encounters", about an old recluse who once had contact with alien visitors; Ken Liu's "Waves", about a generational starship and the price of immortality; and Catherine H. Shaffer's "The North Revena Ladies Literary Society", a wonderful tale about espionage and small town ladies' book clubs.
Other enjoyable stories were Aliette de Bodard's "Two Sisters in Exile", about the death of a living ship and the consequences
that follow; Lewis Shiner's "Application", a short, quick and biting story that warns us about our treatment of our computing devices; and Bruce Sterling's "The Peak of Eternal Light", which gives us a glimpse of a very strange human colony on Mercury.
All the remaining stories, save one, are enjoyable as well, although those that I've listed here are the ones that stood out for me. The only one that I thought was a clunker was Joe Pitkin's "Houseflies". Let me rephrase that; in my opinion, it was a clunker. Hartwell and the original publisher, Cosmos, obviously saw something in this story that I didn't.
Still, a terrific collection. It just might drive me into reading more short story collections in the future. Goodness knows I have a large, uh, collection of them.
This 18th edition covers the year of 2012, which, if this collection is representative, was a terrific year for short fiction. As I'm sure most of you have gathered, I don't read a lot of short fiction. I have my hands full reading the novels that are on my to read stack, although there are a bunch of short story collections on my to read stack as well. Wait a minute - can I really only refer to a "stack", since now I have a virtual ton of short story collections in my e-book library as well? But
I digress.
When I reviewed the 15th edition, I stated, rather pompously I suppose, that the quality of the collection of short stories in existence falls into a bell shaped curve, with a majority of stories being lumped in the middle, being of just "okay" quality, and the remaining fall on either end of the bell curve. I pronounced that to be true after reading that 15th edition. Well, this 18th edition has proved me wrong on that count, with a majority of the stories here being of good and higher quality. Indeed, many of them are outstanding.
Outstanding were Gregory Benford's "The Sigma Structure Symphony", an interesting take on first contact via decoding messages via SETI; Megan Lindholm's "Old Paint", a touching story about the effect an intelligent car has on the family that owns it; Yoon Ha Lee's "The Battle of Candle Arc", a terrific piece of military sf; Gwyneth Jones' "Bricks, Sticks, and Straw", a terrific story about virtual personas coming to life and developing independence while out of touch with their real operators back on Earth; Andy Duncan's "Close Encounters", about an old recluse who once had contact with alien visitors; Ken Liu's "Waves", about a generational starship and the price of immortality; and Catherine H. Shaffer's "The North Revena Ladies Literary Society", a wonderful tale about espionage and small town ladies' book clubs.
Other enjoyable stories were Aliette de Bodard's "Two Sisters in Exile", about the death of a living ship and the consequences
that follow; Lewis Shiner's "Application", a short, quick and biting story that warns us about our treatment of our computing devices; and Bruce Sterling's "The Peak of Eternal Light", which gives us a glimpse of a very strange human colony on Mercury.
All the remaining stories, save one, are enjoyable as well, although those that I've listed here are the ones that stood out for me. The only one that I thought was a clunker was Joe Pitkin's "Houseflies". Let me rephrase that; in my opinion, it was a clunker. Hartwell and the original publisher, Cosmos, obviously saw something in this story that I didn't.
Still, a terrific collection. It just might drive me into reading more short story collections in the future. Goodness knows I have a large, uh, collection of them.
March 8, 2015
Essendo una raccolta di racconti, il voto è la media dei vari racconti.
Old Paint, di Megan Lindholm: 4
Toccante, delicato e piacevolissimo.
The ghosts of Christmas, di Paul Cornell: 3
Un bel racconto che richiama Dickens e i paradossi temporali.
Prayer, di Robert Reed: 2
Sarebbe un racconto interessante, ma resta troppo aperto... incompiuto.
The battle of Candle Arc, di Yoon Ha Lee: 2
Racconto oscuro (nei termini e nel significato) che richiama troppo a possibili progetti futuri. Incompiuto come racconte a sé stante.
Dormanna, di Gene Wolfe: 4
Racconto breve e tenero, molto bello.
Holmes Sherlock: a Hwarhath mystery ,di Eleanor Arnason: 3
Storia leggera ma in grado di intrattenere piacevolmente.
Electrica, di Sean McMullen: 5
Splendido racconto che sembra quasi una sorta di Cryptonomicon fantascientifico.
Perfect Day, di Frieman: 1
Non è un racconto, punto.
Swift as a dream and fleeting as a sigh, di John Barnes: 2
Carino ma non dice nulla.
Liberty's daughter, di Naomi Kritzer: 3
Ambientazione interessante per un racconto YA con sfondo sci-fi
Weep for day, di Indrapramit Das: 4
Una bella storia e un mondo affascinante.
In plain sight, di Pat Cadigan: 1
Accumula misteri e domande per poi chiudere di botto, troncando tutto, senza nemmeno accennare a possibili risposte. Bocciato.
Application, di Lewis Shiner: 3
Brevissimo ma carino e arguto.
A love supreme, di Kathleen Ann Goonan: 2
Scialbo
Close encounters, di Andy Duncan: 4
Piacevolissimo racconto sugli avvistamenti UFO dei bei tempi che furono
Two sisters in exile, di Aliette de Bodard: 4
Bel racconto con astronavi senzienti, imperi decaduti e imperi in ascesa.
Wavers, di Ken Liu: 3
Una bella storia di scelte personali e di evoluzione umana.
The North Revena Ladies Literary Society, di Catherine Shaffer. 4
Racconto intrigante, sarebbe un ottimo prequel per una storia postapocalittica.
Antarctica starts here, di Paul McAuley: 2
Scialbo
Bricks, Sticks, Straw, di Gwyneth Jones: 2
Tematica interessante, ma lo sviluppo non mi ha catturato per niente.
The Sigma Structure Symphony, di Gregory Benford: 4
Un buon racconto basato su numeri, psicologia e musica.
Glass future, di Deborah Walker: 4
La vita difficile di chi conosce il proprio futuro.
If only..., di Tony Ballantyne: 2
Breve, ironico e dimenticabile.
The woman who shook the World Tree, di Michael Swanwick: 3
Molto carino, ma la parte scientifica è un po' troppo oscura e incomprensibile.
Nahiku West, di Linda Nagata: 5
Ambientazione solidissima, trama avvincente e storia poliziesca a tinte sci-fi.
Houseflies, di Joe Pitkin: 2
Mi ha ricordato Bacigalupi: ottima ambientazione ma storia che non mi prende.
Branches on my back, sparrows in my ear, di Nikki North: 2
Idea buona, esecuzione povera.
The peak of eternal light, di Bruce Sterling: 5
Eccellente racconto, privo di trama, che ci mostra la vita su Mercurio.
Old Paint, di Megan Lindholm: 4
Toccante, delicato e piacevolissimo.
The ghosts of Christmas, di Paul Cornell: 3
Un bel racconto che richiama Dickens e i paradossi temporali.
Prayer, di Robert Reed: 2
Sarebbe un racconto interessante, ma resta troppo aperto... incompiuto.
The battle of Candle Arc, di Yoon Ha Lee: 2
Racconto oscuro (nei termini e nel significato) che richiama troppo a possibili progetti futuri. Incompiuto come racconte a sé stante.
Dormanna, di Gene Wolfe: 4
Racconto breve e tenero, molto bello.
Holmes Sherlock: a Hwarhath mystery ,di Eleanor Arnason: 3
Storia leggera ma in grado di intrattenere piacevolmente.
Electrica, di Sean McMullen: 5
Splendido racconto che sembra quasi una sorta di Cryptonomicon fantascientifico.
Perfect Day, di Frieman: 1
Non è un racconto, punto.
Swift as a dream and fleeting as a sigh, di John Barnes: 2
Carino ma non dice nulla.
Liberty's daughter, di Naomi Kritzer: 3
Ambientazione interessante per un racconto YA con sfondo sci-fi
Weep for day, di Indrapramit Das: 4
Una bella storia e un mondo affascinante.
In plain sight, di Pat Cadigan: 1
Accumula misteri e domande per poi chiudere di botto, troncando tutto, senza nemmeno accennare a possibili risposte. Bocciato.
Application, di Lewis Shiner: 3
Brevissimo ma carino e arguto.
A love supreme, di Kathleen Ann Goonan: 2
Scialbo
Close encounters, di Andy Duncan: 4
Piacevolissimo racconto sugli avvistamenti UFO dei bei tempi che furono
Two sisters in exile, di Aliette de Bodard: 4
Bel racconto con astronavi senzienti, imperi decaduti e imperi in ascesa.
Wavers, di Ken Liu: 3
Una bella storia di scelte personali e di evoluzione umana.
The North Revena Ladies Literary Society, di Catherine Shaffer. 4
Racconto intrigante, sarebbe un ottimo prequel per una storia postapocalittica.
Antarctica starts here, di Paul McAuley: 2
Scialbo
Bricks, Sticks, Straw, di Gwyneth Jones: 2
Tematica interessante, ma lo sviluppo non mi ha catturato per niente.
The Sigma Structure Symphony, di Gregory Benford: 4
Un buon racconto basato su numeri, psicologia e musica.
Glass future, di Deborah Walker: 4
La vita difficile di chi conosce il proprio futuro.
If only..., di Tony Ballantyne: 2
Breve, ironico e dimenticabile.
The woman who shook the World Tree, di Michael Swanwick: 3
Molto carino, ma la parte scientifica è un po' troppo oscura e incomprensibile.
Nahiku West, di Linda Nagata: 5
Ambientazione solidissima, trama avvincente e storia poliziesca a tinte sci-fi.
Houseflies, di Joe Pitkin: 2
Mi ha ricordato Bacigalupi: ottima ambientazione ma storia che non mi prende.
Branches on my back, sparrows in my ear, di Nikki North: 2
Idea buona, esecuzione povera.
The peak of eternal light, di Bruce Sterling: 5
Eccellente racconto, privo di trama, che ci mostra la vita su Mercurio.
August 2, 2016
The third “year’s best” collection I’ve picked up this year, this one being the last of the David Hartwell collections. I think his health was in decline even while he put this volume together. There wasn’t a volume in 2014 or 2015, and he died unexpectedly early this year. I have a solid dozen of the books in this series, going back to the first one, picked up when I worked in a bookstore, and at least half a dozen in the Year’s Best Fantasy collections he did as well as other, unrelated collection. With that background, I expected a wide variety of stories, and I certainly got that.
Standouts:
1. “Prayer” by Robert Reed - Semi-apocalyptic society with a variety of climate disasters and wars in progress as the US has occupied Canada. Canada is involved in a guerilla war, of course, and the Almighty (formerly the Internet) may have achieved consciousness to become a faction of its own in the struggle. I feel like this is part of a larger world. There are a lot of unanswered questions.
2. “Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mystery” by Eleanor Arnason - Sherlock Holmes recast as a furry alien lesbian, given a murder mystery tinged with alien social-sexual mores. Interesting and fun with the not quite human aliens being aware of, and at war with, humans. The war doesn't really have much to do with the story, however, just part of the background.
3. “Electrica” by Sean McMullen - Not exactly steampunk. Set during the Napoleonic wars, a code breaker matches his skill and intellect against an aristocrat who can only be called a mad scientist. Mix in an ancient evil (sort of evil) and stir gently. Fun and quick to read.
4. “Weep for Day” by Indrapramit Das – A world just a little bit like our own when it comes to humans and how our society might develop, but with the twist of it being tidally locked. We live on one side of the terminator and creatures of darkness live on the other. We’re entering the industrial age, and they’re not.
5. “Two Sisters in Exile” by Aliette de Bodard – A story in the Xuya universe about how a misinterpretation of a cultural difference can lead to a misunderstanding of disastrous proportions. The ending makes for a worrying future.
Overall rating: 2.96, rounding, of course, to 3 stars. With three “best of” collections so far coming in at 3 stars, I’m starting to notice a trend. Quite a large number of stories I rated at 2 in this anthology, plus a couple of 1s. The standouts are all 4s to my reading, but there wasn’t one story that completely blew me away, which is a bit disappointing.
Standouts:
1. “Prayer” by Robert Reed - Semi-apocalyptic society with a variety of climate disasters and wars in progress as the US has occupied Canada. Canada is involved in a guerilla war, of course, and the Almighty (formerly the Internet) may have achieved consciousness to become a faction of its own in the struggle. I feel like this is part of a larger world. There are a lot of unanswered questions.
2. “Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mystery” by Eleanor Arnason - Sherlock Holmes recast as a furry alien lesbian, given a murder mystery tinged with alien social-sexual mores. Interesting and fun with the not quite human aliens being aware of, and at war with, humans. The war doesn't really have much to do with the story, however, just part of the background.
3. “Electrica” by Sean McMullen - Not exactly steampunk. Set during the Napoleonic wars, a code breaker matches his skill and intellect against an aristocrat who can only be called a mad scientist. Mix in an ancient evil (sort of evil) and stir gently. Fun and quick to read.
4. “Weep for Day” by Indrapramit Das – A world just a little bit like our own when it comes to humans and how our society might develop, but with the twist of it being tidally locked. We live on one side of the terminator and creatures of darkness live on the other. We’re entering the industrial age, and they’re not.
5. “Two Sisters in Exile” by Aliette de Bodard – A story in the Xuya universe about how a misinterpretation of a cultural difference can lead to a misunderstanding of disastrous proportions. The ending makes for a worrying future.
Overall rating: 2.96, rounding, of course, to 3 stars. With three “best of” collections so far coming in at 3 stars, I’m starting to notice a trend. Quite a large number of stories I rated at 2 in this anthology, plus a couple of 1s. The standouts are all 4s to my reading, but there wasn’t one story that completely blew me away, which is a bit disappointing.
March 29, 2016
I have to admit, I was getting pretty depressed by science fiction anthologies published in recent years, but Year's Best SF 18 was a real eye-opener. There's some classic SF (or will be considered classic in the future) being published by new writers. I found the selections from the writers I never heard of better than the old-timers like Gene Wolfe (who did a short, overly sentimental piece) and "In Plain Sight" by Pat Cadigan (who had a great set-up but not much else.) Other than these (thoroughly readable) blips, the anthology was spot-on. Hartwell also does a much better intro than Gardner Dozois. (Sorry, Gardner.)
I especially liked "Close Encounters" just because it spoke to the girl that I was in 1977 and sometimes wish I could still be. For Sherlock Holmes fans, there is a Sherlock Holmes inspired piece titled "Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mystery" that is better than 50% of the pastiches published. I also was attracted to Naomi Kritzer's "Liberty's Daughter" as the most possible future that we're headed for.
It was good to see an editor of a real-word book series include some of the great online work that really deserves a bigger audience. Short-short fiction was also included, with "Application" by steampunk pioneer Lewis Steiner. Writers came from all over the world (with many Asian-centric stories.) Indian author Indrapramit Das includes a very good and very disturbing look at Nightmares in "Weep for Day."
I especially liked "Close Encounters" just because it spoke to the girl that I was in 1977 and sometimes wish I could still be. For Sherlock Holmes fans, there is a Sherlock Holmes inspired piece titled "Holmes Sherlock: A Hwarhath Mystery" that is better than 50% of the pastiches published. I also was attracted to Naomi Kritzer's "Liberty's Daughter" as the most possible future that we're headed for.
It was good to see an editor of a real-word book series include some of the great online work that really deserves a bigger audience. Short-short fiction was also included, with "Application" by steampunk pioneer Lewis Steiner. Writers came from all over the world (with many Asian-centric stories.) Indian author Indrapramit Das includes a very good and very disturbing look at Nightmares in "Weep for Day."
partly-read-anthologies
February 9, 2019I read about half of the stories in the collection. I enjoyed most of them, some more than others. A few favorites were "Weep for Day", "Waves", and "The Woman Who Shook the World Tree."
June 3, 2022
Another good year.
There are no stand out short stories as there have been in previous volumes--e.g. Bradley Denton's "Sergeant Chip", David Langford's "Different Kinds of Darkness", or Alastair Reynold's "Beyond the Aquila Rift"--but all the stories are still decent, entertaining reads.
I've been reading this series yearly for over a decade and was a bit worried this year when they moved to trade paperback, removed Kathryn Cramer as one of the editors, and pushed the publication date back several months, but this doesn't seem to have affected this year's edition negatively. I continue to look forward to volume 19 in 2015.
UPDATE FROM 2022: This turned out to be the last volume of the anthology.
There are no stand out short stories as there have been in previous volumes--e.g. Bradley Denton's "Sergeant Chip", David Langford's "Different Kinds of Darkness", or Alastair Reynold's "Beyond the Aquila Rift"--but all the stories are still decent, entertaining reads.
I've been reading this series yearly for over a decade and was a bit worried this year when they moved to trade paperback, removed Kathryn Cramer as one of the editors, and pushed the publication date back several months, but this doesn't seem to have affected this year's edition negatively. I continue to look forward to volume 19 in 2015.
UPDATE FROM 2022: This turned out to be the last volume of the anthology.
March 11, 2014
This rating is pretty subjective--there were just certain stories that didn't interest me, that other people probably would love. But the stories that did? Wow. "Old Paint", "Christmas Day", "The Woman Who Shook the World Tree"...all glimpses into potential futures that are by turns dark, curious, slightly scary, and beautiful. If you like the kind of books I like, it's worth picking up for those alone.
March 27, 2014
I liked most of the stories and a couple were great. Suffers from usual anthology unevenness, and especially the annoyance of getting used to a fictional universe only to be dumped into the next one very shortly. Used it for a science fiction survey course.
May 26, 2014
Some stories were good; some not so good. For example, "Old Paint" was wonderful while the story about the ladies literary society seemed to have been written by a high school student and had a glaring time error (a meeting that was to be in one week suddenly became "next month" when it occured.
June 23, 2015
Tra gli ultimi volumi antologici proposti da Urania, questo è di gran lunga il peggiore.
Qualcosina si salverebbe anche, ma a questo punto conviene orientarsi su volumi dalla selezione più felice (cfr: Nove Inframondi).
Qualcosina si salverebbe anche, ma a questo punto conviene orientarsi su volumi dalla selezione più felice (cfr: Nove Inframondi).
May 30, 2015
collection de nouvelles sf sans thème particulier toutes de 2012 Une bonne façon de se familiariser avec le style des auteurs publiés et d'en découvrir des moins connus- mais aussi talentueux -
ma note représente une moyenne entre les coups de cœur et les plus décevants mais qui n'engage que moi
ma note représente une moyenne entre les coups de cœur et les plus décevants mais qui n'engage que moi
July 7, 2016
This is not my kind of science fiction. I realize that the genre is changing, expanding with so many different influences of many difference influences on human development...but I still like space travel an speculation. Not much of that here.
December 29, 2013
not as good as dozois anthologies. enjoyed the stories by Gregory Benford, Ken Liu, and Bruce Sterling.
July 2, 2015
A few good stories, especially The Sigma Structure, but mostly dull, typical dystopian fare that is not worth one's time.
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