The Year's Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 7

by Allan Kaster (Editor), Nina Allan (Contributor), Elizabeth Bear (Contributor)

An unabridged collection of the “best of the best” science fiction stories published in 2014 by current and emerging masters of the genre. In “Marielena,” by Nina Allan, an immigrant is haunted by his past, as well as his present and future, in a disturbingly mean-spirited near-future England. A convicted serial killer is sentenced to “rightminding” to cure his neurological disorder that resulted in the sociopathic murdering of thirteen women in “Covenant,” by Elizabeth Bear. “The Magician and LaPlace’s Demon” by Tom Crosshill, follows a powerful AI that discovers the existence of magic and then prosecutes a vendetta against the magicians who grow more powerful as their numbers dwindle. In “Sadness,” by Timons Esaias, a man strikes back, as best he can, against the powerful aliens who conquered Earth long ago. In “Amicae Aeternum,” by Ellen Klages, a young girl shares her last morning on Earth with her girlfriend before boarding a generation starship. “Red Lights, and Rain,” by Gareth L. Powell, is a blend of sci-fi and vampire-hunting lore in which the vampires are made, not born. In “The Sarcophagus,” by Robert Reed, the maintenance cyborgs of the Great Ship encounter a stranded spacer in a derelict lifesuit from a long ago ship. “In Babelsberg,” by Alastair Reynolds, showcases a robot whose account of the dead colonists recently found on Titan are challenged by another AI. In “Passage of Earth,” by Michael Swanwick, a coroner gets a taste of the Earth invaders’ superior intelligence while dissecting a giant worm-like alien. Finally, in “The Colonel,” by Peter Watts, Colonel Moore tries to assess the capabilities of the hived human intelligences that have attacked a compound under his command.

175 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 14, 2015

About the author

Editor of science fiction anthologies

Reviews

[Alistair · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's always hard to rate short story collections, usually ends up 3* the good balanced out by the average
this is the same, the 1st couple were v. good, particularly the second one (4* for that) but it drifted in the middle and some felt like longer stories cut to pieces and ended quite abruptly.

[Cameron]

Stories in this collection:
01) [1★] Marielena by Nina Allan
02) [3.5★] The Magician and Laplace's Demon by Tom Crosshill
03) [2.5★] The Sarcophagus by Robert Reed
04) [3★] Covenant by Elizabeth Bear
05) Sadness by Timons Esaias
06) Red Lights, and Rain by Gareth L. Powell
07) In Babelsberg by Alastair Reynolds
08) Amicae Aeternum by Ellen Klages
09) Passage of Earth by Michael Swanwick
10) The Colonel by Peter Watts

[Aimi Breedt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of varied SF stories - again why the totally unrelated sexy cyber lady rubbish cover?

[Stephen Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several of the stories in this collection are quite good. The first was a little disappointing.