The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eleventh Annual Collection

by Gardner Dozois (Editor), G. David Nordley (Contributor), Mike Resnick (Contributor)

The future, the past, and life today are boldly imagined and reinvented in the twenty-five stories collected in this showcase anthology. Many of the field's finest practitioners are represented here, along with stories from promising newcomers. A useful list of honorable mentions and Dozois's insightful summation of the year in SF round out this anthology, making it indispensable for anyone interested in SF today.

Contents
xi • Summation: 1993 • essay by Gardner Dozois
1 • Papa • (1993) • novelette by Ian R. MacLeod
35 • Sacred Cow • (1993) • shortstory by Bruce Sterling
49 • Dancing on Air • (1993) • novella by Nancy Kress
95 • A Visit to the Farside • (1993) • shortstory by Don Webb
107 • Alien Bootlegger • (1993) • novella by Rebecca Ore
179 • Death on the Nile • (1993) • novelette by Connie Willis
200 • Friendship Bridge • (1993) • novelette by Brian W. Aldiss
223 • Into the Miranda Rift • (1993) • novella by G. David Nordley
278 • Mwalimu in the Squared Circle • (1993) • shortstory by Mike Resnick
290 • Guest of Honor • (1993) • novelette by Robert Reed
319 • Love Toys of the Gods • (1993) • shortstory by Pat Cadigan
333 • Chaff • (1993) • novelette by Greg Egan
352 • Georgia on My Mind • (1993) • novelette by Charles Sheffield
390 • Cush • (1993) • novelette by Neal Barrett, Jr.
422 • On the Collection of Humans • (1994) • shortfiction by Mark Rich
425 • There and Then • [Silurian Tales] • (1993) • novelette by Steven Utley
461 • The Night We Buried Road Dog • (1993) • novella by Jack Cady
507 • Feedback • (1993) • novelette by Joe Haldeman
529 • Lieserl • (1993) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter
545 • Flashback • (1993) • novelette by Dan Simmons
586 • A Child's Christmas in Florida • (1993) • shortstory by William Browning Spencer
592 • Whispers • (1993) • novelette by Maureen F. McHugh and David B. Kisor
612 • Wall, Stone, Craft • (1993) • novella by Walter Jon Williams
683 • Honorable Mentions: 1993 • essay by Gardner Dozois

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

689 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1994

About the author

Gardner Raymond Dozois was an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004. He won multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, both as an editor and a writer of short fiction.
Wikipedia entry: Gardner Dozois

http://us.macmillan.com/author/gardne...

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this one - they take a long time, and I have a whole ton of them to get through. But I figured out that the job is made easier if I exclude two of the horrible sub-genres of sf :

1. Alternative history - bah, who cares about this stuff, it's not sf; even if it turns out Hitler was a robot or the Emperor Caligula was a genetically modified ant or if Arkansas was colonised by Charles Dickens.

2. Science fiction comedy stories. They're never very funny. It must be admitted that Gardner Dozois, bless him, had a soft spot for both these types.

In this Dozois the best story is Papa by Ian R MacLeod, a real heart-wrencher about growing old in a near future society where there is just too much assistance available from technology. Second best is Flashback by Dan Simmons, all about a near future where they've got this drug called flashback - when you take it your mind inhabits 20 minutes of one of your best ever memories (sex for most people) - everybody is hooked on it, and the story follows a small gang of 15 year-olds who've got themselves a gun in order to do a random murder and then replay the murder via flashback, so they can all appreciate the various details they missed when it was happening in reality.

Both these stories are so sharp. That's what I read sf for.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall thoughts: A solid collection with some stand-outs and thought-provoking ideas. Some stories are definitely tied to the 90s in their themes and inspirations, though this still works for the most part. Only one story really failed for me. Just 5 of 24 authors were women (another indication of publication era, I suppose)

"Papa" - cool future world and some interesting issues raised, a little slow getting there,
"Sacred Cow" - clever premise for an alt-future tale.
"Dancing on Air" - I enjoyed this contemporary tale a lot, esp. liked the two narrative viewpoints.
"A visit to the Farside" - Cold War flavored tale, with a good twist.
“Alien Bootlegger”- What happens when an extraterrestrial tries to set up in the moonshine business? it gets pretty gonzo. Fun characters and I liked how the story was told from multiple points of view.
"Death on the Nile" a little gem by Connie Willis. When I finished I had to go back and reread parts and I'm still thinking about it today.
"Friendship Bridge" The sci-fi aspect was cool, I kind of wished that was explored more. The end pulled things together a bit clunkily (is that a word?). The story is set in a central Asian country in turmoil, so it both shows its age and is timely, alas.
"Into the Miranda Rift - Cavers on Uranus' moon Miranda. A cool, otherworldly setting, a grueling journey.
"Mwalimu in the Squared Circle"- meh, not for me.
"Guest of Honor" - Interesting future world how people might deal with immortality (resonated at bit with the earlier "Papa").
"Love Toys of the Gods" - Funny and maybe very true consideration of what we'd do if aliens really did visit us.
"Chaff" - I liked the concept, a neat consideration of future biotechnology and genetic tinkering but the ending didn't quite pull it all together.
"Georgia on My Mind - fun mystery merging sci-fi and history of science. I had a moment when they mentioned the brother of my post doc advisor as head of one of the computing organizations. That was cool.
"Cush" - definitely falls in the New Weird category. I liked it a lot, even though I'm not completely sure what happened at the end.
"On the Collection of Humans" - very short and nicely done.
"There and Then- Time travel to a gentler time, though it seems some problems are timeless. I liked he visit to the (distant) past and enjoyed the perspective of the narrator.
"The Night We Buried Road Dog" - this was more of a ghost story or paranormal mystery, bit I liked it and the narrator's voice.
“Feedback” Joe Haldeman - Creepy, effective story about future technology, unfortunately the misogyny is a feature, not a bug. Content warning 2 murders, one by stabbing
“Lieserl” - touching, even wonderful, story about how we might use human bioengineering to our benefit in the future, but there’s still a human cost.
“Flashback” Dan Simmons - imaginative and depressing, but possibly realistic, dystopia about drugs and the decline of the USA. Digs at Reagan era policies did not go unappreciated.
“A child’s Christmas in Florida” - not sure this is sci-fi, or how I’d categorize it, however it did leave me like o.O so that was good. Content warning death of small animals
“Whispers” - this was a cool medical mystery about a future global plague, I liked the narrative POV, the ending didn’t quite payoff though, needed a bit more something for me, maybe just more concrete resolution (ah well).
"Wall, Stone, Craft" - alt-history take on some well known writers of the 19th century and how they might have interacted. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I'd known more about the actual history and knew where this departed.

[Austin Beeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE YEAR’S BEST SCIENCE FICTION: ELEVENTH ANNUAL COLLECTION.
RATED 85% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 3.96 OF 5
23 STORIES : 6 GREAT / 12 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 1 POOR / 1 DNF

Addictive drugs that let you relive the past. Hillbilly sex with aliens. The poignant cost of aging that even technology cannot completely alleviate. Bioengineered rainforest. And just who or what is Road Dog? These are some of exciting science fiction stories that made Gardner Dozois’ Best of 1993.

There are so many amazing anthologies from the Science Fiction Century that choosing the next book to read is often quite difficult. This book was chosen because I had not yet found any Great Stories from 1993 and this was an easy way to solve this problem.

The anthology is solid from front to back with six Great Stories and another couple stories that were just short of that standard.

The Six Stories that Made the Great List: See all 200+stories here. https://www.shortsf.com/beststories

Papa • (1993) • novelette by Ian R. MacLeod. A tender and moving story about a man living day-to-day with the help of technology and AI. When his grandchildren arrive, it injects a vibrancy into his life that is not his normal. This is a simple structure for a tale and one that didn’t need to science fiction, but is richer for the SF elements.

Love Toys of the Gods • (1993) • short story by Pat Cadigan. A very funny story. Jimmy-Ray just had the best sex of his life — with an alien - and he’s about to discover that he is not alone.

Chaff • (1993) • novelette by Greg Egan. Bio-Engineering has spiraled out of control, turning a section of the Amazon into a dense morass that operates as a living organism that intelligently repels anyone from the outside. One man has to try to find a way to penetrate that “El Nido” and capture a scientist.

There and Then • [Silurian Tales] • (1993) • novelette by Steven Utley. Another superb story from Utley’s Silurian Tales series. A quietly human story of a writer coasting through his time in the Silurian expedition until he is assigned to chaperone documentarians that have just arrived. Through his experience, we get vignettes of the kind of people and their relationships. The intense and mundane moments of scientific work.

Lieserl • [Xeelee] • (1993) • short story by Stephen Baxter. Lieserl story is told in two alternating parts. In the first, she is a powerful explorer and scientist. At times, she is even inside the sun. In the second part, she is a born and ages with impossible speed, driving onward towards a poignant and important destiny.

Flashback • (1993) • novelette by Dan Simmons. Flashback is an addictive drug that is dominating the lives of all Americans. It allows the user to replay a moment from their past. Some people use it sexually, others to remember loved ones, but always this enveloping of past compromises the users future. Simmons tells a harrowing story of a entire family caught in various versions of their Flashbacks.

***

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eleventh Annual Collection is rated 85% positive
23 STORIES : 6 GREAT / 12 GOOD / 3 AVERAGE / 1 POOR / 1 DNF

Papa • (1993) • novelette by Ian R. MacLeod

Great. A tender and moving story about a man living day-to-day with the help of technology and AI. When his grandchildren arrive, it injects a vibrancy into his life that is not his normal. This is a simple structure for a tale and one that didn’t need to science fiction, but is richer for the SF elements.

Sacred Cow • (1993) • short story by Bruce Sterling

Good. An Indian low budget film crew travel through an England devastated and depopulated by mad cow disease.

Dancing on Air • (1993) • novella by Nancy Kress

Good. Unsolved ballerina murders, many of whom have altered their bodies to get an advantage. An enhanced guard dog’s POV. Painful dynamics between mother and daughter.

A Visit to the Farside • (1993) • short story by Don Webb

Average. A not particularly memorable story on a moonrise with Soviet and American sectors.

Alien Bootlegger • (1993) • novella by Rebecca Ore

Good. When aliens move in on the moonshine business, bloodshed is the inevitable result.

Death on the Nile • (1993) • novelette by Connie Willis

Good. Did the passengers enroute to Egypt actually die during the flight? Because Egypt is haunting and dreamlike.

Friendship Bridge • (1993) • novelette by Brian W. Aldiss

DNF. I know I read this, but cannot for the life of me remember anything about it. Not a good sign, usually. I have to count this as a DNF

Into the Miranda Rift • (1993) • novella by G. David Nordley

Good. A grand trek for survival for a small space exploration team, through a giant satellite of Uranus.

Mwalimu in the Squared Circle • (1993) • short story by Mike Resnick

Good. Alternate history. Julius Nyrere accepts Idi Amin's challenge to a boxing match to end the war.

Guest of Honor • (1991) • novelette by Robert Reed

Good. A woman, built of the conglomeration of a large numbers of the world’s elite, tells the stories of her travel adventures around the universe. Adventures too dangerous for the elite.

Love Toys of the Gods • (1993) • short story by Pat Cadigan

Great. A very funny story. Jimmy-Ray just had the best sex of his life — with an alien - and he’s about to discover that he is not alone.

Chaff • (1993) • novelette by Greg Egan

Great. Bio-Engineering has spiraled out of control, turning a section of the Amazon into a dense morass that operates as a living organism that intelligently repels anyone from the outside. One man has to try to find a way to penetrate that “El Nido” and capture a scientist.

Georgia on My Mind • (1993) • novelette by Charles Sheffield

Good. This story covers the discovery of letters and remaining parts of a working Babbage Difference Engine in a farm house in New Zealand. This is a lot to like her for most of this story. Great characters and superb mood-building. The ending just seemed far too abrupt.

Cush • (1993) • novelette by Neal Barrett, Jr.

Average. A deformed child in backwoods poverty seems to have the ability to make impossible things happen for the people around him, but without consciously doing much.

On the Collection of Humans • (1994) • short fiction by Mark Rich

Average. Quirky little article about the ideal ways aliens can capture humans for study.

There and Then • [Silurian Tales] • (1993) • novelette by Steven Utley

Great. Another superb story from Utley’s Silurian Tales series. A quietly human story of a writer coasting through his time in the Silurian expedition until he is assigned to chaperone documentarians that have just arrived. Through his experience, we get vignettes of the kind of people and their relationships. The intense and mundane moments of scientific work.

The Night We Buried Road Dog • (1993) • novella by Jack Cady

Good. A superb ghost story about two friends who are both car junkies. They tear through the Americana night and see signs of a mysterious figure named Road Dog - although some people doubt his existence. Hypnotic and captivating, but not science fiction.

Feedback • (1993) • novelette by Joe Haldeman

Good. A very wealthy man hires an artist. They’ll plan to use a technology where the artist rides along within the body of customer to collaborate. As the stressful and draining process continues, it becomes apparently that something more sinister is going on behind the scenes.

Lieserl • [Xeelee] • (1993) • short story by Stephen Baxter

Great. Lieserl story is told in two alternating parts. In the first, she is a powerful explorer and scientist. At times, she is even inside the sun. In the second part, she is a born and ages with impossible speed, driving onward towards a poignant and important destiny.

Flashback • (1993) • novelette by Dan Simmons

Great. Flashback is an addictive drug that is dominating the lives of all Americans. It allows the user to replay a moment from their past. Some people use it sexually, others to remember loved ones, but always this enveloping of past compromises the users future. Simmons tells a harrowing story of a entire family caught in various versions of their Flashbacks.

A Child's Christmas in Florida • (1993) • short story by William Browning Spencer

Poor. Killing turtles, poor children awaiting Omen Day. Never found a way to connect with anything happening here.

Whispers • (1993) • novelette by David B. Kisor and Maureen F. McHugh

Good. An American doctor in China cares for the victims of a global plague, but there seems to be strange effects for the infected who were not vaccinated.

Wall, Stone, Craft • (1993) • novella by Walter Jon Williams

Good. Alternate History. Lord Byron is the military hero of Waterloo instead of a poet. He stays in the home of Mary Shelley and the two of them clash on many ideological issues. Excellent characters with interesting conversations, but just falls short of being something special.

[Manuel Vazquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual the editor keeps knocking it out of the park with the amazing summation of the year in science fiction and the introductions before each story.

Papa by Ian R. MacLeod: 5
A grandpa struggles to connect with his children and grandchildren as humanity's lengthening lifespans have widened generational divides

Sacred Cow by Bruce Sterling: 4
With the backdrop of a massive mad cow disease that killed millions of people that had consumed beef, an Indian filmmaker goes to Britain to film his latest film

Dancing on Air by Nancy Kress: 5
1st best story of the anthology: The story of a star ballerina in the New York ballet (whcih frowns upon the use of bioenhancements), a girl that aims to become a ballerina in the New York ballet, and her overprotective mother that happens to be a journalist, and how their lives cross paths after a couple murder of ballerinas have taken place

A Visit to the Farside by Don Webb: 5
A story of forbidden love set in a reality where both the USA and the USSR have set up bases in the moon after the USSR has won the space race. A USA boy and a USSR girl set out on an adventure (or run away) after the boy convinces the girl to do so

Alien Bootlegger by Rebecca Ore: 2
2nd worst story of the anthology: A story about an alien that arrives on earth and the first thing it decides to do is to start distilling moonshine

Death on the Nile by Connie Willis: 4
A woman sets out to visit Egypt in a tourist trip, but ends up getting more than she bargained for when weird things begin to occur

Friendship Bridge by Brian W. Aldiss: 2
An architect in search of his lost memories uses a bridge inspection as a pretext to go to the country where it is rumored one of his lost memories is kept

Into the Miranda Rift by G. David Nordley: 3
A story very dense in detail about a human exploration group that is trapped in a cave within a moon(?) of Uranus after an earthquake. They set out to follow the cave system onto the other end through the core of the moon(?)

Mwalimu in the Squared Circle by Mike Resnick: 5
Honorable Mention: An alternate history story where president Julius Nyerere takes up Idi Amin's challenge to a boxing match referreed by Muhhamad Ali seriously

Guest of Honor by Robert Reed: 5
The story of a human purposely built to gather memories of space explaration before returning to earth to split up and reassimilated into the pool of immortal people on earth that offered genetic material for her creation

Love Toys of the Gods by Pat Cadigan: 4.5
A peculiar story of alien abduction where a man finds out that many of his friends have previously been abducted and performed sexual acts with the aliens after he himself is abducted

Chaff by Greg Egan: 5
2nd best story of the anthology: In an alternate reality where the drug cartels of Colombia decided to heavily invest into biotechnology a portion of the Amazon jungle becomes a fortress of bionengineered organisms. The story is about an agent that is sent on a mission to retrieve a runaway researcher from a lab in the USA

Georgia on My Mind by Charles Sheffield: 4
Two scientist set out to prove to the world that the incredible discovery they made in New Zealand is not a hoax (and that aliens are real)

Cush by Neal Barrett Jr: 2
3rd worst story of the anthology: The story of the sci-fi jesus. A sickly kid comes to the world in Alabama to absorb all the problems of the earth

On the Collection of Humans by Mark Rich: 4
A detailed essay of recommendations for aliens to abduct the best humans

There and Then by Steven Utley: 2
An ageing man in an exploration vessel in ancient times has to reckon with his decaying business and personal relationships

The Night We Buried Road Dog by Jack Cady: 4
The tale of two friends chasing a mysterious man over the roads of several US states known as Road Dog

Feedback by Joe Haldeman: 5 A millionaire hires a watercolor artist to help him paint a masterpiece through a mental connection to release his misogynistic desires

Lieserl by Stephen Baxter: 4
The experiences of an bioengineered girl that ages incredibly rapid at the rate of 1 year per day

Flashback by Dan Simmons: 5
3rd best story of the anthology: A grim/sad story set in a future USA where almost all of the population is addicted to a drug that allows them to relieve any memory they desire

A Child's Christmas in Florida by William Browning Spencer: 2
1st worst story of the anthology: The editor must have something for very short stories portraying christmases of downtrodden families

Whispers by Maureen F. McHugh and David B. Kisor: 5
A doctor in a humanitarian mission in rural China reports cases of people that recover from a virus that has killed over a billion people feeling better than ever with improved cognitive skills

Wall, Stone, Craft by Walter Jon Williams: 4
A fictionalized account of the (mis)adventures of a Lord Byron traveling through Europe in company of Mary Shelley among others years after he became the man that defeated Napoleon at Waterloo

[chris wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Retro Rounabout
Have you ever been to Europe? Traffic circles take you on a quick trip past intersections. You must keep awake on these circular detours or you will miss your turn off. I stayed awake when I read the best of 1993 Sci fi. I think I was. I long remembered the old Alka Seltzer ad about eating the whole thing and the tired wife opining that "you did Herbert you did." The old jingle ...plop plop fizz fizz that with the depressing ad. Funny though. That was decades ago.
These stories are gleaned from pulp magazines and represent science laden pulp made new. Flat characters and obtuse plots are bearable but just that.
An historian stumbles upon a nineteenth century computer used as a negotiating tools for visiting aliens on South Georgia Island. Georgia indeed on his mind but the preoccupation leads to bankruptcy and death in the frigid waters off South Georgia.
A strange prescient story about a virus from China that alters world history by killing off rich nations reminds us of today and the past effect of the Black Death on Europe's class structure. Whispers is an appropriate title. Rebecca Ore tells us about an alien bootlegger who disrupts the hill folk with economic change and gives new meaning to the term moonshine. The summary is in the front and includes an interesting discussion of media economics circa 1993. A retailer would find this section interesting.
No Noir simplicity here in this collection that would remind us of the stark simplicity of Ad Astra. Bradbury's Zen rockets or well hewn characters have no place in this clunky retro pulp collection. There is no sense of place as in the mid west like Martian Chronicles with its failed colonialism. This is the return of clunker fiction ogled over by coke bottled glass wearing nerds who drove Scifi back into its old cage. Is this worth a read if the SBahn breaks down in Hanau? Maybe so... I will give it a generous three star rating. Keep awake when you enter this retro roundabout heavily techno laden nerdaverse- you may miss the exit!

[Darla Ebert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes I think the defintion of "science fiction" is too broad. There should be sub-genres so fans can pick and choose an interest level that will not disappoint. Crudeness, for example, does not qualify a "space story" as "edgy sci fi". It just makes the author look as if he is trying too hard

[Abbie Herrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up to 3

Read this for my internship and I fear I simply did not enjoy it. Short story collections are always hit or miss, but most of the stories leaned for miss for me personally. A few good ones in here and a few good concepts, but also like borderline racist?? Quite the collection I will say.

[Michael Sypes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good good, some bad, nothing particularly memorable. Some left me me wondering why they were in a Sci Fi anthology. Some made me wonder why the author had bothered to include any Sci Fi elements.

[Jonathan Blanchet · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[York · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorites: 'Into the Miranda Rift ', 'Georgia on My Mind', and 'The Night We Buried Road Dog'.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's my review of the individual stories in this collection, using the same number scale as the whole book. My average rating was a little over a 3.

Papa - 2 (I admired what it was trying to do, but I just didn't enjoy the story)
Sacred Cow - 3 (more of an alternate history at this point)
Dancing On Air - 4 (very clever)
A Visit To The Farside - 3
Alien Bootlegger - 1 (really tedious)
Death On The Nile - 3 (minor Connie Willis, but still Connie Willis)
Friendship Bridge - 3 (a sequel to a story I hadn't read, so it lost a little something)
Into The Miranda Rift - 5 (a grand adventure, just a blast to read)
Mwalimu In The Squared Circle - 2
Guest Of Honor - 3
Love Toys Of The Gods - 4 (lots of fun)
Chaff - 3 (great concept, execution a little lacking)
Georgia On My Mind - 4 (lots of fun, but falls apart a little at the end)
Cush - 3 (a very strange tale)
On The Collection Of Humans - 3 (a trifle)
There And Then - 3
The Night We Buried Road Dog - 5 (indescribable, sort of magic realist tale that will definitely stick with you later)
Feedback - 4 (spooky)
Lieserl - 2 (reads like the sketch of a longer story)
Flashback - 4 (Dan Simmons tale, quite horrifying)
A Child's Christmas In Florida - 2
Whispers - 4
Wall, Stone, Craft - 3 (a nice palate cleanser of an alternate history)

As I read these collections from the early '90s, it's funny to see the predictions that didn't pan out and the ones that were way too conservative. Some stories are so dated as to be almost painful to read, but some still have the power to shock or amaze even today.

[Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good set of stories. I received this book as a gift in the mid-1990's, and read probably half the stories in '96-97. The rest I meandered through the past few years, just finishing last night.

Here's the stories I liked best. I don't have detials on all of them due to the spread-out time frame over which I read them:

Wall, Stone, Craft by Walter Jon Williams. Alternate history. Interesting period piece.

Dancing on Air by Nancy Kress. Bioenhanced ballerinas.

Guest of Honor by Robert Reed. 'Compilation' explorer.

The Night We Buried Road Dog by Jack Cady. This was the last story I read, and man, did it start off hot. The storyline was one I wouldn't normally like -- a bunch of road warriors living in Montana in the early 1960's. But the writing was incredible, the imagery beautiful, even the descriptions of old cars made me interested despite my lack of interest in cars -- it was some of the best *writing* that I've encountered in a while. But the story trailed off a bit at the end, so I bumped the overall story down a notch.

Georgia on my Mind by Charles Sheffield. Another good story that petered out at the end. This one was about the Babbage engine.

Whispers by Maureen F. McHugh and David B. Kisor. Plague that improves humans. Set in China.

Into the Miranda Rift by G. Davidd Nordley. Inside Uranus' moon.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book lying in front of the auditorium when I went to see a concert of classical music. Some generous person had decided to liberate the book and had stuck a Post-it note marked "Free" on the cover of the book.

I thumbed through the book and found that it contained a story by Connie Willis, as well as stories by Bruce Sterling and Maureen McHugh, authors that have been recommended to me.

I finally read some of the stories in this book over the weekend. There were a few gems in here, and some stories that I skipped over because they didn't interest me. I'll probably check out some more of the "Year's best science fiction" anthologies. I like sci-fi, but tend to be really picky about it, which prevents me from reading more of it. This collection introduced me to some new authors.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

every single one of these collections is essential reading for true fans of science fiction short stories... each lengthy volume has a stellar array of all mini-genres and areas of powerfully influential science fiction: hard science, speculative, steampunk, alien invasions, apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic, space opera, fantasy, aliens, monsters, horror-ish, space travel, time travel, eco-science, evolutionary, pre-historic, parallel universes, extraterrestrials... in each successive volume in the series the tales have advanced and grown in imagination and detail with our ability to envision greater concepts and possibilities... Rod Serling said, "...fantasy is the impossible made probable. science fiction is the improbable made possible..." and in the pages of these books is the absolute best the vastness of science fiction writing has to offer... sit back, relax, and dream...

[Bill Borre]

"Flashback" by Dan Simmons - In this dystopian future flashback is a drug that allows people to relive old memories. The story revolves around Carol, her father and her son. Carol gets wind of a conspiracy that Japan has been pushing the drug on America for decades when her son's friends encourage him to murder a heavily-guarded Japanese to flashback on the thrill killing. Carol's father trails his grandson to prevent him from doing something stupid and when he sees the drawn pistol he positions himself between the intended target and the boy. Both Carol's father and her son are killed by security personnel.

"Georgia on My Mind" by Charles Sheffield - wc
"A Child's Christmas in Florida" by William Browning Spencer - wc

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readability 7. Rating 6. Something I had definitely missed – good, creative, mind-stretching science fiction. While I only rate the overall collection a 6, there were stories that clearly rated higher, among them, “Dancing On Air”, “A Visit to the Far Side”, “Into the Miranda Rift”, “Guest of Honor”, “Georgia On My Mind”, “Cush”, and “Lieserl”. One thing this collection reminded me of is the fact that SF cannot be narrowly defined - the range of material in just this book was amazing. I should probably keep an eye out for the “Twelfth Annual”. [As it turns out, I didn't read another until the Thirtieth! But I can still fill in...]

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of sci-fi short stories and this book did not disappoint. It has a great variety of stories, writing styles, and settings. My favorites A Visit to the Far Side by Don Webb, Alien Bootlegger by Rebecca Ore, Georgia on My Mind by Charles Sheffield, Cush by Neal Barrett, Jr, and Flashback by Dan Simmons.

[John Devlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read one sci-fi book a year, this is the one. Always stories of high caliber with a few tossed in that will keep you thinking weeks later, not to mention the collection is a primer for what science and technology everyone will be talking about five to ten years from now.

[Lord Humungus · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been years, but the stories in here I still remember as good were the pieces by Nancy Kress, Robert Reed, Stephen Baxter, Jack Cady. I still remember Dancing On Air and even made my friend read it as an intro to science fiction.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Either this year didn't have good SF or they were past their expiration date...

[Timon Karnezos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sterling's piece in this one was pretty amazing.

[Snail · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Cush" was absolutely the best story in the book.