Best of the Best

Dozois chooses the stories from the first 21 volumes of his series that he liked the most as a reader, without regard to type, or who wrote them, in general. As such, perhaps likely to be a bit idosyncratic and maybe not come out as well as a broader church approach. Even so there are a wide range and variety of stories to be found here. However, it comes as no surprise to me that I like what Dozois is doing, and as such there are several 5 star and 4.5 star stories here. So when Robert Silverberg says in his foreword that this is an instant classic science fiction anthology it is hard to argue when you have so many qualities of that quality. It does manage to average in an excellent Year's Best type range of 3.79. You also get some stories from the earlier publisher of this series, volumes of which will be a lot harder (and more expensive) to find. Most definitely worth having. Best of the Best : Blood Music - Greg Bear Best of the Best : A Cabin on the Coast - Gene Wolfe Best of the Best : Salvador - Lucius Shepard Best of the Best : Trinity - Nancy Kress Best of the Best : Flying Saucer Rock & Roll - Howard Waldrop Best of the Best : Dinner in Audoghast - Bruce Sterling Best of the Best : Roadside Rescue - Pat Cadigan Best of the Best : Snow - John Crowley Best of the Best : The Winter Market - William Gibson Best of the Best : The Pure Product - John Kessel Best of the Best : Stable Strategies for Middle Management - Eileen Gunn Best of the Best : Kirinyaga - Mike Resnick Best of the Best : Tales from the Venia Woods - Robert Silverberg Best of the Best : Bears Discover Fire - Terry Bisson Best of the Best : Even the Queen - Connie Willis Best of the Best : Guest of Honor - Robert Reed Best of the Best : None So Blind - Joe Haldeman Best of the Best : Mortimer Gray's History of Death - Brian Stableford Best of the Best : The Lincoln Train - Maureen F. McHugh Best of the Best : Wang's Carpets - Greg Egan Best of the Best : Coming of Age in Karhide by Sov Thade Tage em Ereb of Rer in Karhide on Gethen - Ursula K. Le Guin Best of the Best : The Dead - Michael Swanwick Best of the Best : Recording Angel - Paul J. McAuley Best of the Best : A Dry Quiet War - Tony Daniel Best of the Best : The Undiscovered - William Sanders Best of the Best : Second Skin - Paul J. McAuley Best of the Best : Story of Your Life - Ted Chiang Best of the Best : People Came from Earth - Stephen Baxter Best of the Best : The Wedding Album - David Marusek Best of the Best : Ten16 to 1 - James Patrick Kelly Best of the Best : Daddy's World - Walter Jon Williams Best of the Best : The Real World - Steven Utley Best of the Best : Have Not Have - Geoff Ryman Best of the Best : Lobsters - Charles Stross Best of the Best : Breathmoss - Ian R. MacLeod Best of the Best : Lambing Season - Molly Gloss Microcolony kill failure transfer overrun. 4 out of 5 Disappearance swap deal. 4 out of 5 Spooked Special Forces pill popper's spinout. 3.5 out of 5 Clone twin t

Gardner Dozois has once again put together a collection of short speculative fiction that every reader of science fiction should have on their shelf. It is filled with a twenty year progression of stories that both reflect the times they were written, and their relevance today as well. Dozois did a very wise thing while putting together this anthology by choosing stories that made the most significant impact on him as a reader, rather than picking award winners or short stories that have been widely reprinted. Therefore you get Nancy Kress's "Trinity" rather than her much published "Beggars in Spain," and James Patrick Kelly's "10(16) to 1" instead of his "Think Like A Dinosaur." Some of my favorites I was happy to find enclosed as well by Pat Cadigan, Joe Haldeman, Ursula K. Le Guin and Eileen Gunn. A stellar group of stories that comes Highly Recommended.

Following twenty for the most part superior collections of the "Year's Best Science Fiction', Gardner Dozois provides a look back cross section of those he felt were the best, albeit a relative term in this case. This new compilation of stories previously published in the series does not contain one tale from each annual, but instead has multiples from the same year with only the 1987 and 1991 book omitted. The tales represent some of the genre's top guns over the past two decades with each entry top rate. This reviewer has been a long time fans of the series not just because the selections are always superb, but because they can be savored over a week or two; the same holds true for the all star selection. Fans of the series will appreciate this look back with fond memories while newcomers will get a taste of what has been consistently one of best science fiction short story anthologies. Harriet Klausner