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wynwicket's review against another edition
4.0
As with any short story anthology, some stories were good, some were uninspiring, and some were fantastic. But the highlight here was the sheer number and variety of stories presented. I was introduced to more than a few authors that I'll have to follow, including Nancy Kress.
mulveyr's review
5.0
Dozois is always a reliable editor, and his selection of stories for the 32nd volume is perfect--there were no clunkers at all in the anthology. If you're a fan of SF short stories and novellas, this is the book to get.
gatspender's review against another edition
4.0
Another year, another solid selection of contemporary SF. Top picks would be "The Fifth Dragon" by Ian McDonald (hard SF glimpse of an emerging multinational lunar society), "The Man Who Sold The Moon" by Cory Doctorow (an emotional near future tale about idealistic dropouts developing a world-changing invention almost by accident) and "Entanglement" by Vandana Singh (loosely interconnected stories about people around the world taking small actions to fight climate change - unusually optimistic as such stories go). "Jubilee" by Karl Schroeder seems genuinely original (a long-distance romance between two teenagers has a deep impact on a planet's society, to which they both remain comically oblivious). The only real stinker is Allen M Steele's "The Prodigal Son", in which a profoundly unlikeable character does well for himself thanks to his family connections and the inexplicable attentions of an attractive woman, despite the efforts of some horrible religious protesters (cos religious people hate science, right?).
One grumble here, and it applies to all of these anthologies: this book is riddled with spelling errors. A decent copy editor is needed. In one of the stories (I forget which, possibly "The Colonel" by Peter Watts) I had to reread part of it because i'm pretty sure one of the characters' names kept changing!
One grumble here, and it applies to all of these anthologies: this book is riddled with spelling errors. A decent copy editor is needed. In one of the stories (I forget which, possibly "The Colonel" by Peter Watts) I had to reread part of it because i'm pretty sure one of the characters' names kept changing!
tony_t's review against another edition
4.0
Every few years I read a science fiction anthology like this one. I do so for two main reasons. First, it exposes me to new voices and subjects and second, it helps to remind me how much I enjoy a well-written short story. There was much to like on both counts in this volume and it seems to auger well for the genre.
jenbooks's review
3.0
The stories averaged out to about 3.4 stars. There were some really good stories (Yesterday's Kin, Entanglement, The Rider) but too many mediocre stories as well.
5 star: 9
4 star: 8
3 star: 11
2 star: 6
1 star: 2
5 star: 9
4 star: 8
3 star: 11
2 star: 6
1 star: 2
timetoread_more2022's review
4.0
There are some very very excellent stories in this anthology. I greatly enjoyed!
arkron's review against another edition
4.0
Every year, Mr Dozois pulls together a huge anthology of last year's best SF stories. I came to wait for July when it appears and at the same time fear it because it is really huge and takes a lot of time digging through it and reviewing it. I can't say if this year is stronger or weaker than other years, but I was missing a mind-blowing story in it. There were some really awesome ones, lots of good stories and only one that I didn't like, so the overall assessment is that I really liked the anthology.
Please note, that the links below leave GR and lead to detailed reviews at my book blog.
My favourite ★★★★★ stories were
- Passage of Earth by Michael Swanwick • review
- Slipping by Lauren Beukes • review
- Shooting the Apocalypse by Paolo Bacigalupi • review
Weakest ☆ or ★ stories
- Weather by Susan Palwick • review
Contents:
- ★★★1/2 • “The Fifth Dragon” • novelette by Ian McDonald • dominating families struggle for control on the Moon • review
- ★★★1/2 • “The Rider” • Near SF novelette by Jérôme Cigut • AIs use humans as tools on their struggle for supremacy • review
- ★★★ • “The Days of the War, as Red as Blood, as Dark as Bile” • Space Opera short story by Aliette de Bodard • set in Xuyan future history, a mindship connects to a girl • review
- ★★★★ • “The Burial of Sir John Mawe at Cassini” • alternate universe short story by Chaz Brenchley • Victorian British Empire on Old Mars • review
- ★★★★ • “The Regular” • Near Future SF novella by Ken Liu • Cyborg detective resolves prostitute murder • review
- ★★ • “The Woman from the Ocean” • short story by Karl Bunker • humanity isn't capable to differentiate between us and them anymore • review
- ★★★★1/2 • “Shooting the Apocalypse” • CliFi novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi • Arizona's state border is closed for Texan water refugees • review
- ★ • “Weather” • posthumanity short story by Susan Palwick • speaking to the cyber-dead • review
- ★★★ • “The Hand is Quicker” • Near SF novelette by Elizabeth Bear • perception control • review
- ★★★★ • “The Man Who Sold the Moon” • novella by Cory Doctorow • 3D printing iglos for the burning man • review
- ★★★ • “Vladimir Chong Chooses to Die” • Central Station short story by Lavie Tidhar • drowning in memories, Vladimir wants to commit suicide • review
- ★★★★ • “Beside the Damned River” • short story by D. J. Cockburn • European bounty hunter strands in Thai community • review
- ★★ • “The Colonel” • novelette by Peter Watts • bridge between Blindsight and Echopraxia • review
- ★★★★ • “Entanglement” • novella by Vandana Singh • optimistic CliFi featuring ordinary people around the world • review
- ★★★1/2 • “White Curtain” • shortstory by Pavel Amnuel • theory vs. practice of changing the futures • review
- ★★★★1/2 • “Slipping” • Near SF sports short story by Lauren Beukes • review
- ★★★★★ • “Passage of Earth” • first encounter short story by Michael Swanwick • dissecting and digesting intelligent alien worms • review
- ★★★ • “Amicae Aeternum” • near future SF short story by Ellen Klages • review
- ★★★★ • “In Babelsberg” • short story by Alastair Reynolds • referencing Fritz Lang's movie "Metropolis" • review
- ★★★ • “Sadness” by Timons Esaias • absurd posthumanity • review
- ★★★★ • “West to East” • short story by Jay Lake • the author's last story • review
- ★★★★ • “Grand Jeté (The Great Leap)” • Rachel Swirsky • future golem incorporating the ego of a daughter • review
- ★★★1/2 • “Covenant” • Near SF short story by Elizabeth Bear • neurological serial killer turned to be prey • review
- ★★★1/2 • “Jubilee” • novelette by Karl Schroeder • hibernated Rome-Julia • review
- ★★★ • “Los Piratas del Mar de Plastico (Pirates of the Plastic Ocean)” • short story by Paul Graham Raven • economy locusts in Spain • review
- ★★★ • “Red Lights, and Rain” • short story by Gareth L. Powell • time travelling vampires in Amsterdam • review
- ★★★1/2 • “Coma Kings” • short story by Jessica Barber • gaming addiction • review
- ★★ • “The Prodigal Son” • novella set in the Arkwright series by Allen Steele • son needs to get faith for a privately financed starship program • review
- ★★★ • “God Decay” • short story by Rich Larson • cyborg has medical problems • review
- ★★★ • “Blood Wedding” • 2014 • novelette by Robert Reed • review
- ★★★★ • “THE LONG HAUL from the Annals of Transportation, The Pacific Monthly, May 2009” • alternative history short story by Ken Liu • review
- ★★★ • “Shadow Flock” • near SF novelette by Greg Egan • heist thriller using drones • review
- ★★1/2 • “Thing and Sick” • novelette by Adam Roberts • Fermi's paradox mixed with Kant's conceptualism in cold Antarctica • review
- ★★★★ • “Communion” • short story by Mary Anne Mohanraj • cannibalistic funeral ritus of aliens • review
- ★★★ • “Someday” • SF short story by James Patrick Kelly • human reproduction on a colonial planet • review
- ★★★ • “Yesterday's Kin” • first contact SF novella by Nancy Kress • review
librarianmage's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
reik's review
3.0
Not one of the best in the series. The included works seemed to all follow a common theme of stories which could actually occur in the current time, unlike previous editions which included works of far ranging settings and time frames.