The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-First Annual Collection

I'm REALLY trying to give the new authors a shot, but to a reader raised on Heinlen, Asimov and Clark, this collection represents more fiction than science. Dozois, the Grand Old Man of Anthologies, always has had a good eye for talent, but I'm afraid he's gotten swept up in art for arts sake.

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I'd read a number of these stories already while compiling my survey of this year's Hugo nominees, and one or two others from having read their original magazine appearance (my old friend Dominic Green's chilling "Send Me A Mentagram", for instance). A surprising number of alternate history and time travel stories (by an accident of birth, Stalin ends up running the United States; a backyard electrical accident shunts one narrator into a parallel universe or two; and a story featuring messengers from the future trying to do a deal with Orson Welles is matched by one with a similar plot starring William Randolph Hearst). A few months ago I tried reading William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land and found show more it unfinishable; I did manage to finish John C. Wright's story here set in the same universe, but I'm afraid I fell asleep twice while reading it. The best story for me was Steven Popkes' "The Ice", looking at questions of cloning and of predestination. show less

This is one of the best collections I've read in this series so far - I enjoyed most of the stories, with most of them Being excellent.

Off On A Starship - William Barton. A great story about a stowing away on a starship, about growing up and finding whats important.

It's All True - John Kessel. Time travel and Orson Welles. What else to say? Not my favorite of this collection, but enjoyable.

Rogue Farm - Charles Stross. Nice little story set in the future about traditional humanity vs those who are "changed". Has a bit of black humor. Great Story

The Ice - Steven Popkes. A rather typical story of the first clones, in this case of a hockey player.

Ej-Es - Nancy Kress. Another interesting story in this collection. How important is show more happiness?

The Bellman - John Varley. Serial killer on the moon goes after pregnant woman. A nice thriller/mystery story set in a matriarchal society.

The Bear's Baby - Judith Moffett. A naturalist in the future gets kicked off his study area, discovers a startling secret about the alien occupation. I liked it.

Calling Your Name - Howard Waldrop. Short circuit in a bandsaw sends a middle aged man to an alternate reality. Chaos ensues. A short little story, funny.

June Sixteenth at Anna's - Kristine Kathryn Rusch. A bittersweet story about reliving ones past through a recording. Sad.

The Green Leopard Plague - Walter Jon Williams. This one is a bit too rambly for me - The jumping back and forth between the past and future was difficult to follow.

The Fluted Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi. Sad story about the future where the world is back to feudal society, and low people are at the mercy of those that rule. Very sad, but also very beautiful.

Dead Worlds - Jack Skillingstead. In the future, the world has made it to the stars. But, there is a cost. Another sad little story, but hopeful.

King Dragon - Michael Swanwick. This short story became part of a larger story that I did not like (but can't remember the name). So I skipped it. The only one I didn't read in this volume.

Singletons In Love - Paul Melko. What does "self" mean? In this future, people have synced as a multiple. So, what happens when one of the individuals in the multiple wants to go it alone? A very well written story.

Anomalous Structures Of My Dreams - M. Shayne Bell. Nanotechnology goes wrong. Of course, a solution is found at the last minute. A well written story.

The Cookie Monster - Vernor Vinge. This is my favorite story in this book. What if you could visualize a person? You could speed up time, run multiple copies... but what if someone unethical gets hold of the technology?

Joe Steele - Harry Turtledove. This is an alternate history story about the depression. These aren't my favorite type of stories, so didn't really follow it.

Birth Days - Geoff Ryman. Real reason why homosexuality exists in nature. Interesting Story.

Awake In the Night - John C. Wright. This is a weird little story about the far future, where something happened to the world. I liked it, but it was weird.

The Long Way Home - James Van Pelt. A great story about the recovery of the world, from a last ditch effort to save it to the full recover.

The Eyes Of America Geoffrey A. Landis. Another alternate history story, this time what if technology invented motion pictures before radio?

Welcome To Olympus, Mr. Hearst - Kage Baker. A story of the immortals of the company, always fun, always a bit snarky. This time, set in the 1920s on a movie shoot.

Night Of Time - Robert Reed. An interesting story about aliens, questions, and Memory. While the story is interesting, it didn't hold me.

Strong Medicine - William Shunn. The man who changed the world feels useless. Short.

Send Me a Mentagram - Dominic Green. A scary little story about a nasty disease that could destroy the world.. and probably destroyed the dinosaurs.

And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon - Paul Di Filippo. This is another story in this collection that is just wonderful! This story answers the questions - what if in the future all products are made smart, and talk to each other, and can even join up...

Flashmen - Terry Dowling. This is another weird story in the collection, this time, alien are taking over the earth, and the only line of defense is a few rogues...

Dragonhead - Nick DiChario. In the future, you can hook directly up to the internet... And its addicting.

Dear Abbey - Terry Bisson. A time machine, a disavowed American Studies Professor, and a Chinese MIT Professor go on a wild ride through the future. Fun Story! show less

Awesome collection reawakened my interest in SF

Off on a Starship (2003) by William Barton
It's All True (2003) by John Kessel
Rogue Farm (2003) by Charles Stross
The Ice (2003) by Steven Popkes
EJ-ES (2003) by Nancy Kress
The Bellman [Anna-Louise Bach] (2003) by John Varley
The Bear's Baby (2003) by Judith Moffett
Calling Your Name (2003) by Howard Waldrop
June Sixteenth at Anna's (2003) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Green Leopard Plague (2003) by Walter Jon Williams
The Fluted Girl (2003) by Paolo Bacigalupi - good
Dead Worlds (2003) by Jack Skillingstead
King Dragon (2003) by Michael Swanwick
Singletons in Love (2003) by Paul Melko
Anomalous Structures of My Dreams (2003) by M. Shayne Bell
The Cookie Monster (2003) by Vernor Vinge
Joe Steele (2003) by Harry Turtledove
Birth Days (2003) by show more Geoff Ryman
Awake in the Night (2003) by John C. Wright
The Long Way Home (2003) by James Van Pelt
The Eyes of America (2003) by Geoffrey A. Landis
Welcome to Olympus, Mr. Hearst [Company] (2003) by Kage Baker
Night of Time [Marrow] (2003) by Robert Reed
Strong Medicine (2003) by William Shunn
Send Me a Mentagram (2003) by Dominic Green
And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon (2003) by Paul Di Filippo
Flashmen (2003) by Terry Dowling
Dragonhead (2003) by Nicholas A. DiChario
Dear Abbey (2003) novella by Terry Bisson show less

Book Description: New York:: St. Martin’s: 2004, Trade paperback, New, More than 300,000 words.