Matthew Cannon’s Reviews > The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirtieth Annual Collection > Status Update

"Ship's Brother" by Aliette de Bodard. What cost the price to travel space? Our humanity? Family? Thoughtful piece.

"Invisible Men" by Christopher Barzak. An interesting take on a classic through another's eyes.

"The Wreck of the 'Charles Dexter Ward'" by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear. Great short story on space travel, mythical creatures and re-animation and the consequences. Reminded me a bit of Farscape for you ScyFy fans.

"Tyche and the Ants" by Hannu Rajaniemi. Not sure what was going on in this dystopian Alice in Wonderland knock off. Very confusing plot and characters. No real conclusion. Poorly envisioned universe/mythos.

"Ruminations in an Alien Tongue" by Vandana Singh. A bit slow but interesting piece of multiverse theory and probability.

"Fireborn" by Robert Charles Wilson. A class struggle interwoven with a mild romantic twist that takes too long to pay out. Easy to put down and not pick up. RCW usually does better. He does paint a good picture of the future world, it's order, and differences between upper/lower class, but the human interest aspect is cold and distant.

"Under the Eaves" by Lavie Tidhar. A short story of unrequited love in a strange circumstance. Culturally and physically.

Water Thief by Alastair Reynolds. A nice pics of post something world changing event. Water in short supply. People scurrying to find work to earn credits. And the decision to let someone die of injuries for stealing water.

"Katabasis" by Robert Reed. A tale of a long journey with an interesting cast of characters with intriguing back stories.

"Chitai Heiki Koronbin" by David Moles. Worst short story ever. Tough to follow plot. Flashbacks that confused the mainline and no resolution at the end. Not even a good hanging one.