Another strong collection in the series, although a lot of the best stories were at the start of the book and it becomes a little more mixed thereafter. Some of my favorite stories are the McDonald, the MacLeod, the Kosmatka and the Sterling.

"Finisterra" - David Moles 4/5
Poachers are killing multi-kilometer long animals floating in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Good concept and exciting.
"Lighting Out" - Ken MacLeod 4.5/5
A young woman tries to gain independence from her mother while avoiding a "fast-burn" singularity. Fun singularity stuff, although there is not much really new.
"An Ocean Is a Snowflake, Four Billion Miles Away" - John Barnes 4/5
A filmmaker captures the orbital insertion of a comet that will terraform Mars.
"Saving Tiamaat" - Gwyneth Jones 4/5
A diplomat faces hard choices while representing one faction of a species that has destroyed its homeworld. Interesting ideas on the limits of politics.
"Of Late I Dreamt of Venus" - James Van Pelt 4/5
The founder of a Venus terraforming project tries to oversee its very long duration. Nicely meshes the founder's personality with the project as a whole.
"Verthandi's Ring" - Ian MacDonald 5/5
Two huge galactic cultures fight a war of extermination. Great space opera with a lot of ideas in a fairly short story.
"Sea Change" - UnaMcCormack 3/5
In a restrictive, heavily class-divided future Britain, a teenage girl has to deal with the bad influence of the friend she is living with. Not bad, but didn't excite me.
"The Sky Is Large and the Earth Is Small" - Chris Roberson 3/5
In an alternate history, an old prisoner in the dominant Chinese empire is questioned about his time among the Mexica.
"Glory" - Greg Egan 3.5/5
Representatives from a galactic civilization are sent to a more primitive world to study the mathematical theorems of a vanished race. Has some interesting concepts.
"Against the Current" - Robert Silverberg 4/5
A man starts moving backwards through time at a rate of a couple of decades per day. Nice concept and an enjoyable story.
"Alien Archaeology" - Neal Asher 3/5
"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" - Ted Chiang 4/5
Stories of people in Middle Ages Baghdad who use a gate that can move them 20 years forward or backward in time. A very interesting handling of a number of time travel paradox situations.
"Beyond the Wall" - Justin Stanchfield 3.5/5
An alien artifact on Titan causes space-time distortions. Interesting.
"Kiosk" - Bruce Sterling 4/5
A street vendor's use of a nanotech fabricator leads to an economic revolution. A funny, somewhat satirical view of how change happens.
"Last Contact" - Steven Baxter 3.5/5
A mother and daughter spend time together as a space-time anomaly threatens the Earth. A different take on the end of the world.
"The Sledge-Maker's Daughter" - Alastair Reynolds 3/5
A girl on an Earth suffering from a new ice age gains some high technology. Didn't seem like anything new.
"Sanjeev and Robotwallah" - Ian McDonald 3.5/5
A street urchin becomes a helper to the handlers of robot soldiers. Minor story with an interesting setting.
"The Skysailor's Tale" - Michael Swanwick 3/5
A boy runs away from home and sails across timelines on a flying ship from an alternate British Empire.
"Of Love and Other Monsters" - Vandana Singh 4/5
An alien with the ability to manipulate human minds comes to terms with his existence on Earth. Main character is interesting in all the internal conflicts he has to deal with.
"Steve Fever" - Greg Egan 4/5
Nanotech bots infect the world in an attempt to resurrect their creator, Steve. A fun twist on the out-of-control nanotech story.
"Hellfire at Twilight" - Kage Baker 3/5
A Company operative looks for an ancient Greek scroll at an 18th century English estate. Average Company story.
"The Immortals of Atlantis" - Brian Stableford 3/5
An ancient race's DNA is hidden inside the mitochondria of modern humans.Interesting concept.
"Nothing Personal" - Pat Cadigan 3/5
A policewoman investigates a crime with suspects who seem to appear in the world with no previous history.
"Tideline" - Elizabeth Bear 4/5
An AI war machine tries to memorialize it's dead platoon. A very good, moving story.
"The Accord" - Keith Brooke 3/5
Agents of the controlling anomaly in a VR afterlife chase an anomaly that threatens its existence. Very Matrix-like.
"Laws of Survival" - Nancy Kress 3.5/5
A woman in post-nuclear America is kidnapped by aliens to serve as a dog trainer.
"The Mists of Time" - Tom Purdom 3/5
Time travelers watch a British raid against slave traders. Didn't really get the point of this one.
"Craters" - Kristine Kathryn Rusch 3.5/5
Terrorists find a nasty new way to send bombs through security.
"The Prophet of Flores" - Ted Kosmatka 4/5
Archeology in a world where intelligent design is scientific fact.
"Stray" - Benjamin Rosenbauam and David Ackert 3/5
A powerful immortal being tries to live in the regular world.
"Roxie" - Robert Reed 3/5
The life of a dog and the end of the world.
"Dark Heaven" - Gregory Benford 3.5/5
A detective investigates murders that seem to be tied to an alien embassy. Good, but I could pretty much see where it was going. ( )

An above average edition of this series. That doesn't mean as applied to all books, as most of this series is fantastic. The average here is 3.86, so on the high side.

There is the usual lengthy and informative introduction, going over the state of play.

Paying some more attention to electronic markets he singles out Jim Baen's Universe as the preeminent online magazine, and, in fact, one of the few where you get actual genre science fiction and fantasy as opposed to 'slipstream/fantasy/horror/new weird etc.'.

So, more particularly if you are a science fiction interested person only an din particular his 'centre core' science fiction., Asimov's, Analog, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Interzone and Jim Baen's Universe, and you can pretty much give the rest the arse as far as the top paying markets go, unless you like to read lots, or read fast. Helix is now stopped, too. There are other mags like Strange Horizons and Clarkesworld etc. that will have some SF, and of course some lesser publications, but it is nowhere near as frequent, and certainly not of the same level of quality.

Dozois spends a little time talking about magazines in the general view, in that postage is increasing rapidly only with other costs so the smaller publications will have the same problems their larger cousins do, and online only may be the only affordable way to go.

He also lists the various reprint sources, but he is wrong about Sci-Fi's Sci Fiction, last I checked last week you can still get to the stories. Then, of course, there is always the Wayback Machine for some stuff like Omni. Infinity Plus, places like that.

His honorable mention list will catch the odd online story or others of interest for those with less comprehensive reading habits.

He singles out the original anthology upsurge and covers those, point out Solaris and Fast Forward as the ones you want to get. The first volume is Eclipse is devoid of science fiction, and I agree, you can completely skip that book from that point of view.

Then the usual coverage of novels and other media, too.

Anyway, another great book, and a must have. Certainly nice to have a year with Pat Cadigan and a double Egan, my favorite being Ian McDonald's wild New Space Opera megawar tale.

Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : FINISTERRA - David Moles
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : LIGHTING OUT - Ken MacLeod
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE OCEAN IS A SNOWFLAKE FOUR BILLION MILES AWAY - John Barnes
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : SAVING TIAMAAT - Gweyneth Jones
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : OF LATE I DREAMT OF VENUS - James Van Pelt
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : VERTHANDI'S RING - Ian McDonald
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : SEA CHANGE - Una McCormack
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE SKY IS LARGE AND THE EARTH IS SMALL - Chris Roberson
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : GLORY - Greg Egan
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : AGAINST THE CURRENT - Robert Silverberg
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : ALIEN ARCHEOLOGY - Neal Asher
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE MERCHANT AND THE ALCHEMIST'S GATE - Ted Chiang
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : BEYOND THE WALL - Justin Stanchfield
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : KIOSK - Bruce Sterling
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : LAST CONTACT - Stephen Baxter
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE SLEDGE-MAKER’S DAUGHTER - Alastair Reynolds
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : SANJEEV AND ROBOTWALLAH - Ian McDonald
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE SKYSAILOR’S TALE - Michael Swanwick
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : OF LOVE AND OTHER MONSTERS - Vandana Singh
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : STEVE FEVER - Greg Egan
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : HELLFIRE AT TWILIGHT - Kage Baker
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE IMMORTALS OF ATLANTIS - Brian Stableford
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : NOTHING PERSONAL - Pat Cadigan
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : TIDELINE - Elizabeth Bear
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE ACCORD - Keith Brooke
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : LAWS OF SURVIVAL - Nancy Kress
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE MISTS OF TIME - Tom Purdom
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : CRATERS - Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : THE PROPHET OF FLORES - Ted Kosmatka
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : STRAY - Benjamin Rosenbaum & David Ackert
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : ROXIE - Robert Reed
Year's Best Science Fiction 25 : DARK HEAVEN - Gregory Benford

Aeronautical gasbag butchery breakdown backup solution.

4 out of 5

Partial emigration game.

4 out of 5

Energetic documentary avalanche accident.

3 out of 5

Diaspora warpdrive fine young cannibal political assassination.

4 out of 5

Long term terraforming relationship.

4 out of 5

Multiversal war dump survival massacre.

5 out of 5

School's out forever, mums, stomach pump and all.

3.5 out of 5

Chinese Mexican astronomical intelligence.

3.5 out of 5

Antimatter lightspeed starblast instantiation means mathematical archaeology discovery decision.

4.5 out of 5

The Once and Future Driver.

3.5 out of 5

Making a xenodiscovery killing.

4 out of 5

Wormhole time tender's raconteur replay.

4 out of 5

Ship time warp trouble.

4.5 out of 5

Fabrication pirates.

3 out of 5

Ripped off.

4 out of 5

Great Winter war worry witch weapon passing.

4.5 out of 5

Battletech comes and goes, but pizza always popular.

4 out of 5

I'm not a bloke, but you can kiss me anyway, airship boy.

4 out of 5

Meta mind alien burn.

3.5 out of 5

Resurrection nanobuild permutation recreation.

4.5 out of 5

Mystery not berry real, but game commences for more than usual fee.

4 out of 5

Birthright activation fifth stage terminal interruption.

3.5 out of 5

Multiversal Dread.

4 out of 5

Master Belvedere, battletech beachcomber.

4 out of 5

Proxy people.

2.5 out of 5

Alien desperate dog school.

4.5 out of 5

Slave ship rescue, double viewing.

4 out of 5

Mandatory babychipping has horrendously explosive terrorist consequences, reporter finds.

4.5 out of 5

Hobbit descent discovery doctrine defiance.

3.5 out of 5

Immortal surprise.

3 out of 5

Dog destiny via bolide.

4 out of 5

Centauri monkeyboy fry.

4 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2008/10... ( )