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megadeathvsbooks's review
4.0
Loved this collection. I found myself more entranced with the selections than the previous edition.
rodneywilhite's review
4.0
I think I might've liked 2015 a little better, but this one had some really fresh and exciting stories as well.
spinstah's review
3.0
As is always the case in these compliations, all the stories were interesting in some way, but I didn't necessarily like them all. A few of the science fiction stories in particular were hard to follow, at least when reading before bed, and especially when not read all in one go.
barbtrek's review
3.0
I was a little disappointed with this book. I was reading two other anthologies at the same time and this was my least favorite of the three. There are some great stories here, but more than a couple were not enjoyable for me at all. It seems like the collection was trying too hard to be edgy and different. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it just had me annoyed. I even skipped ahead a few times which I rarely do.
pattydsf's review
4.0
“I don’t tell him my theory, because he’d just laugh at it, but I believe joy is the only thing stronger than sadness.” Sam J. Miller, “The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History”
Before I got to college, fantasy and science fiction made up most of my reading. I read all the usual books from that long ago era: Lord of the Rings, Dune, Stranger in Strange Land, etc. Over the years, my speculative reading has continued, but at a lesser pace. There are very few genres I dislike and so there are always too many books to read.
However, when Amazon had a sale on this title, I jumped at the chance. I am glad I did. I liked so many of these stories for themselves and I liked the fact that the collection is a mix of fantasy and science fiction. Since I read both that was no problem.
I was also glad to spend a month in any world but this one. Reality has been really painful since January 20th and for the most part I have wanted to be anywhere but here. Which probably accounts for the way my reading log looks here at Good Reads – books are my great escape.
So I highly recommend this collection. Here you will find twenty interesting stories, written by some highly imaginative people. You will encounter both the future and the past. There are characters in these tales that you will fall in love with and some you might hate. These stories will make you think about new worlds. Even if you are not usually interested in speculative fiction, I suggest you pick this book up. You might be surprised and find some of these tales very enjoyable.
Before I got to college, fantasy and science fiction made up most of my reading. I read all the usual books from that long ago era: Lord of the Rings, Dune, Stranger in Strange Land, etc. Over the years, my speculative reading has continued, but at a lesser pace. There are very few genres I dislike and so there are always too many books to read.
However, when Amazon had a sale on this title, I jumped at the chance. I am glad I did. I liked so many of these stories for themselves and I liked the fact that the collection is a mix of fantasy and science fiction. Since I read both that was no problem.
I was also glad to spend a month in any world but this one. Reality has been really painful since January 20th and for the most part I have wanted to be anywhere but here. Which probably accounts for the way my reading log looks here at Good Reads – books are my great escape.
So I highly recommend this collection. Here you will find twenty interesting stories, written by some highly imaginative people. You will encounter both the future and the past. There are characters in these tales that you will fall in love with and some you might hate. These stories will make you think about new worlds. Even if you are not usually interested in speculative fiction, I suggest you pick this book up. You might be surprised and find some of these tales very enjoyable.
rebeccacider's review
4.0
3.5. I'm really glad there's now a Best American series for speculative fiction. A number of these stories are fabulous—beautifully crafted, psychologically complex, and just plain imaginative. (Meet Me in Iram, The Game of Smash and Recovery, and Tea Time were probably my top three picks.)
As I read on, my interest waned because I felt like the stories were too homogeneous. Many were contemporary or near future, and the prose styles and subject matters seemed to converge on some generic literary grimdark ideal. Readers looking for wonder and magic got almost no stories set in secondary worlds, which those looking for avant-garde fiction only got a few stories that experimented with form in a meaningful way.
Obviously I don't expect the variety of a longer anthology like Year's Best, but the Best American Comics I read a while back was much more diverse in terms of content.
I will say that, hurrah, this anthology was fairly diverse in terms of gender, race, and sexuality.
As I read on, my interest waned because I felt like the stories were too homogeneous. Many were contemporary or near future, and the prose styles and subject matters seemed to converge on some generic literary grimdark ideal. Readers looking for wonder and magic got almost no stories set in secondary worlds, which those looking for avant-garde fiction only got a few stories that experimented with form in a meaningful way.
Obviously I don't expect the variety of a longer anthology like Year's Best, but the Best American Comics I read a while back was much more diverse in terms of content.
I will say that, hurrah, this anthology was fairly diverse in terms of gender, race, and sexuality.
nonsean's review
5.0
I love the Best American series. They are always a reliable way to find new writers. There are a few in this collection that I will be exploring further - Kij Johnson, Dexter Palmer, Nick Wolven, Charlie Jane Anders, Vandana Singh.
fairybookmother's review
3.0
Not as wowed by this collection as I was last year's, but there are a handful of solid stories in this one.
gettyhesse's review
5.0
This was perhaps an even stronger collection than last year's, if that's possible. I especially, especially enjoyed Vandana Singh's "Ambiguity Machines: An Examination." It reminded me of the best of Borges, only with more characterization and background detail.