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tonstantweader's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Volume 1 is a huge anthology of science fiction short (and not-s-short stories) that was refreshing in its breadth and speaks to a bright future for science fiction. With twenty-eight stories, it’s about twice the size of most anthologies. That is a mixed blessing in that I sometimes felt it was taking me too long to read. There’s Mount TBR piled so high and I am spending days and days on one book. However, I can’t think of a story that I wish I had not read.
There are a few stories that will haunt me, though. “Song of the Birds” by Saleem Haddad had me sobbing as I began to realize what the song revealed. It was one of the more heartbreaking stories I have read in years, in part because it projects a future where we don’t even try to solve our hard problems. Of course, it’s not the only story that predicts an entirely predictable grim future where today’s metropolises are underwater and scarcity is everywhere.
There are stories that seem like they are just the day after tomorrow. “Thoughts and Prayer” by Ken Liu was heartbreaking, but seemed very much of today, a family tragedy made worse by social media trolls and deep fakes. Others are farther afield, a couple going to the moon for their honeymoon and a woman leading an investigation of what went wrong at a failed interplanetary colony. One of the most affecting was the story of sentient machines taking measurements deep at sea and suddenly realizing they have been cut off…and one of them’s desperate and bold effort to find her way home. “Painter of Trees” by Suzanne Palmer is a simple story, but probably will stick with me the longest, about how colonization can lead to extinction even when you wish it would not.
I loved most of the stories in The Year’s Best Science Fiction and didn’t dislike any of them. It really is an outstanding collection of short stories and from a widely diverse group of authors. The only thing I disliked was the Introduction which seemed more like a State of the Union of Science Fiction address, with far too much detail on the ins and outs of publishing, books published, speeches given, writers passed, and awards given than an introduction to an anthology. I would much rather just get to the excellent stories.
- The Year’s Best Science Fiction at Gallery | Saga Books
- Jonathan Strahan
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2021/03/10/the-years-best-science-fiction-by-jonathan-strahan/
atla's review
4.0
The stories in this anthology represent a refreshingly diverse range of authors. In any anthology, there will always be a few that are less enjoyable; of the 28 stories, I felt that 20 were exceptionally good. In particular, I’m looking forward to reading more work from Charlie Jane Anders, Indrapramit Das, Malka Older, S. L. Huang (whose story “As the Last I May Know” - which is included in this collection - won a 2020 Hugo), Alec Nevala-Lee, and Vandana Singh. Reading a story from this a day was a great way to stay a bit grounded in r outine despite the chaos that is 2020, and I’m super thankful for that.
1. The Bookstore at the End of America by Charlie Jane Anders. Like much speculative fiction I’ve read lately, this story seems eerily prescient. A bookstore sits on the border of America and California and tries to survive a world sundered by divisive beliefs, propaganda, and power struggles - while around it, the threat of war over the remaining scarcity of water is an ever-looming presence. This feels like a reminder of the old warning: united we stand, divided we fall.
2. The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex by Tobias S Buckell. In the future, the only way to make money on earth is to work in the tourist industry - which caters to advanced & wealthy alien civilizations, where they come for primitive thrills and to experience “authentic” human food and shopping. This, I believe, is a satirical take on our own current tourism industry. I’ve never been drawn to satire, and this story was no exception. But it’s definitely a case of “it’s not you, it’s me.” Sorry, story.
3. Kali_Na by Indrapramit Das. It’s hard to describe this one. In the India of the future, a major tech company releases an AI goddess which you can visit using VR. They didn’t expect droves of (internet) trolls to descend on her - and they certainly didn’t expect how that would shape her. After reading this, I felt compelled to learn a bit more about the Hindu goddesses Devi and Kali - and that was a super interesting rabbit hole. The writing in this story is top-notch, if a bit hard sci-fi-ish for my usual taste. Loved it though.
4. Song of the Birds by Saleem Haddad. TW: suicide. Teenage Aya & her family is devastated by the loss of her older brother, Ziad, to suicide. When Ziad begins coming to Aya in her dreams and the world begins to ... shift (or perhaps she’s becoming unraveled), she learns that things may not be as they seem. I love a good ‘is she an unreliable narrator?’ story & this one is exceptional.
5. The Painter of Trees by Suzanne Palmer. A group of human terraformers encounter an intelligent species on their mission to colonize a planet, but the humans can’t let that get in the way of forward progress. A sad retelling of so many histories.
6. The Last Voyage of Skidbladnir by Karin Tidbeck. Saga works as a maintenance-woman on a living, transdimensional space ship. As the creature/ship begins to age, the captain wants to sell “it” as scrap. This one is super short, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking of this one since I read it last night. I’d love to read more of this author. It’s free to read on tor.com
7. Sturdy Lantern and Ladders by Malka Older. It’s hard to describe this one without spoilers, but it begins with marine behavioral researcher and an octopus. What if we could see the world through the eyes of another intelligent creature? I had a client cancel yesterday, so I read this one between sessions on the sofa used by my clients & I cried so much just halfway through this 12 page story. It was a pretty therapeutic moment for myself. Beautiful, haunting, and memorable.
8. It’s 2059, and the Rich Kids are Still Winning by Ted Chiang. I really want to like Chiang’s stories; he’s one of the most revered sci-fi short fiction authors. But - just like this story - his writing keeps an emotional distance. This one is written like a persuasive essay, like something I would have submitted in my social work courses. It makes an important point (it’s not lack of intelligence that keep poor people down; it’s the way our society functions), but with 0 emotional engagement. There are no actual characters in this story. I’m glad he’s found his audience; it’s just not me.
9. Contagion’s Eve at the House of Noctambulous by Rich Larson. The 1st story in this collection that I’d classify as horror. Very Shirley Jackson (as in “The Lottery,” this story takes place during a disturbing annual tradition) meets modern sci-fi. A few rich families survive the apocalypse with the help of bioengineering and a dangerous shared narrative. Atmospheric, super creepy. Loved it - but was a little confused by the ending.
10. Submarines by Han Song. A curious adolescent observes a submarine community of migrant workers as they congregate on the Yangtze River, and he wonders at the difference between his community and theirs - and why their fates don’t seem to be intertwined. This was an eerie but emotionally distant story - which perhaps made it that much more eerie.
11. As the Last I May Know by S. L. Huang. The Order follows long-held laws of placing the code to detonate weapons of mass destruction into the body of a living child - a “carrier” who will live alongside the nation’s president & attempt to humanize herself; the only way the president can detonate these weapons is by killing her himself to retrieve the code. In a war-torn country, 10 yr old Nyma (a poetess) awaits her fate bravely & the president struggles with an impossible choice. “No one should be able to push a button from the sanctuary of an office and kill so many faceless children far away if they could not see the justification to execute the one in front of them.” This is an important, well-executed, & gripping story.
12. A Catalog of Storms, by Fran Wilde. In a world where weather patterns/storms are actively malicious, some people begin to fight back - but become very changed themselves in the process. If read literally, this story makes no sense. I read it, took a few minutes to consider what it might be a metaphor, and read it again - and while my theory seems plausible, I still have no idea what the author intended. Some read this as a metaphor for emotional storms; some think climate change; myself - it only made some sense to me as a metaphor for social justice activism - but I’m definitely reading through that lens a lot these days. There were some interesting visuals in this story, but I’m not sure this story pulled it (whatever ‘it’ is) off.
13. The Robots of Eden by Anil Menon. This story follows a group of “post-humans” as they navigate what should be an emotionally complex life event (divorce), but their Enhanced brains regulate neurotransmitters to avoid emotional pain; their daughter (age 8), however, isn’t fully Enhanced - and they struggle to have empathy with her emotional world. I wasn’t sure about this story for the first couple of pages (the narrator being Enhanced leaves the story with an emotionally-distant voice), but I soon got drawn in to the exploration of what’s lost when you remove the emotional pain of life.
14. Now Wait for This Week, by Alice Sola Kim. A woman is stuck in a time loop - repeating the same week (with a #metoo news cycle) again & again; the story is told through the perspective of her roommate (who is unaware of the time loop) week after week. Interesting read - especially watching the slow change of a woman brought about by (essentially) repeated trauma and efforts to reclaim her power.
15. Cyclopterus, by Peter Watts. “Alistor’s company hires a sub to explore the deep ocean floor for resources, but the world is falling apart, and the pilot resents him.” (Description from rocketstackrank.com). I had a hard time caring about this one. Chalk it up to election anxiety, or that it was more “hard sci-fi” than I usually read, or that the author comes across as very narcissistic on his website author profile & blog which triggers insta-rage in me. (It’s been a hard 4 years ya’ll).
16. Dune Song by Suyi Davies Okungbowa. “A young girl [Nata] must negotiate her own path out of a strict community in a post-disaster desertland.” Description by Levar Burton since I actually listened to him read this one. This one has an ending that could be read as heartbreaking or hopeful or both. Either way, you can’t not root for Nata.
17. The Work of Wolves by Tegan Moore. An Enhanced Intelligence (EI) search-and-rescue dog tries to navigate improving his relationship with his handler (who prefers non-enhanced dogs & recently lost one) while also managing a deadly mission. Told from the dog’s perspective, this long-ish (~50 pgs) short story has fantastic character development. It was also creepy and unsettling, almost verging into horror towards the end.
18. Soft Edges by Elizabeth Bear. A conservationist gets dragged into helping with a murder investigation when she finds a body washed ashore in a preservation area. She has her own history of being unjustly accused of a crime and spent several months in jail - so she’s understandably reluctant to help. This story suffered a bit from the author having a clear message to convey (our justice system is broken) without strong characterization or plotting to back it up; at least it was only 10 pages.
19. Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemisin. An agent is sent back to Earth to gather a resource needed to support the small colony of posthuman descendants of the “Founders” - a group of wealthy humans who left Earth behind as her resources became unsustainably depleted and human life could no longer be supported. The agent is expecting a wasteland but begins to question everything they’ve been told once they arrive. This is the “novelette” I purchased this anthology to read, and Jemisin won a Hugo award and more recently an Ignyte award for this piece - deservedly so. It’s a bit more heavy-handed than my favorite pieces of hers, though.
20. Thoughts and Prayers by Ken Liu. In a world where technology is omnipresent and trolls are worse than ever, a family navigates the loss of their daughter/sister in a mass shooting. Told through shifting perspectives of the family members, we see how grief can divide and also how damaging a public spotlight can be to a grieving family. Ken Liu’s stories never fail to be well-written, thought provoking, and heartbreaking.
21. At the Fall by Alec Nevala-Lee. An AI robot cephalopod (Eunice) and her robot companion (Wagner) travel thousands of miles along the ocean floor on an epic journey home. The conceit of this story was super interesting, and though I saw the gist of the ending coming fairly early in the story, the last line still gutted me. This explores climate change and the interconnectedness of all life (and robots?) on Earth. One of my favorites of the collection.
22. Reunion by Vandana Singh. (TW for suicide in this story) Set in post-climate disaster India, a woman who has been a leader in the movement to return to living in harmony with the Earth reminisces about her life and about an old friend that disappeared decades ago- as a journalist travels to bring her news of her friend. There’s no way to summarize this story in a few words and do it any justice. My description sounds dull - and yet, I found myself wanting to underline so many sentences. This story has fantastic character development and explores the interconnectedness of all of life on Earth - and why it’s imperative that we begin to remember that. I’ll be buying a collection to read more from this author
23. Green Glass: a Love Story by E. Lily Yu. Another grim future extrapolated from current climate change and political discourse; in this one, a wealthy couple (of the 1%), who pride themselves on their “humanitarian efforts,” show their ignorance and lack of empathy as they plan the perfect wedding, not noticing the suffering happening just around them. This was originally published in the anthology “If This Goes On,” which aims to highlight the awful future we may face if nothing changes. Not one of my favorites in terms of writing style or storytelling, but the author succeeded in reinforcing my anger that 2020 has already brought into the open.
24. Secret Stories of Doors by Sofia Rhei. Perucho works for the World Encyclopedia under the rule of a global totalitarian regime; his job, along with millions of others, is to gather and classify verifiable data. Given that fiction is now prohibited in this world, what will happen to Perucho if it is discovered that he has been creating false records of 15th century literature? This is a story about the terrifying power of a shared narrative. Not a favorite from this collection, but still an enjoyable read.
25. This is Not the Way Home by Greg Egan. A woman and her new husband win a 5-day trip to a base on the moon, but they (and the researchers at the base) suddenly lose contact with Earth. This is the story of one woman’s last desperate chance to get her (and her infant daughter) back home to Earth. If you can handle a somewhat ambiguous ending, it’s well worth the read. Still, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered and I can see it leaving a lot of readers dissatisfied.
26. What the Dead Man Said by Chinelo Onwuala. (CW: childhood sexual abuse, incest; no graphic depictions) Set in a future world trying to recover from the climate Catastrophe of the 2020s-2060s, a woman returns to the community of her childhood to attend the funeral of her father; here, she must face the remnants of a trauma that forever changed the course of her life. A well-written and engaging story that explores the long-lasting emotional pain caused by repeated childhood trauma - and of being abandoned when you need to be embraced. It can be a hard read, but it ends on a hopeful note.
27. I (28M) Created a Deepfake Girlfriend and Now My Parents Think We’re Getting Married by Fonda Lee. MC (along w/ many others) uses an online dating prep AI to create a fake gf to get his parents off his back. I’m usually not a fan of satire but this was an exception. Reading much like a reddit post (complete with TL;DR and UPDATE:), this story felt very much like something I could stumble across on reddit. An entertaining look at the challenges with trying to get human emotional needs met via technology.
28. The Archronology of Love by Caroline M. Youchim. “Dr. Saki Jones arrives at the colony planet New Mars to find that a mysterious plague has destroyed everyone who lived there—including her lifelove, M.J. To find out what happened, Saki must dig through layers of time, slowly revealing the past.” A Hugo nominee, this is a 1st contact story both terrible and hopeful. It was a strong ending to a fantastic anthology.
isis's review
4.0
I have always been a huge fan of The Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies and was elated to see they were back. I love reading short stories from well-loved authors as well as discovering many new authors through these incredible stories. There are author introductions at the beginning of each short story and a recommended sci-fi reading list at the of the volume. I have to say, I was quite impressed with Strahan’s inaugural edition.
I thoroughly enjoyed this mix of science fiction and speculative fiction. 3 of my favorites were, “The Bookstore at the End of America,” by Charlie Jane Anders (about a bookstore and masterful world building), “The Work of Wolves,” by Tegan Moore (Fascinating perspective), and “I (28M) created a deepfake girlfriend and now my parents think we’re getting married” by Fonda Lee (Had me giggle snorting). And in my true fashion where I can’t stick to anything, I’m gonna add a 4th lol, simply because I love dystopians, dark humor, and the rebel in me doesn’t want to stick with 3, “Secret Stories of Doors,” by Sofia Rhei.
Many thanks to Saga Press and Netgalley for the DRC and the opportunity to share my thoughts.
I thoroughly enjoyed this mix of science fiction and speculative fiction. 3 of my favorites were, “The Bookstore at the End of America,” by Charlie Jane Anders (about a bookstore and masterful world building), “The Work of Wolves,” by Tegan Moore (Fascinating perspective), and “I (28M) created a deepfake girlfriend and now my parents think we’re getting married” by Fonda Lee (Had me giggle snorting). And in my true fashion where I can’t stick to anything, I’m gonna add a 4th lol, simply because I love dystopians, dark humor, and the rebel in me doesn’t want to stick with 3, “Secret Stories of Doors,” by Sofia Rhei.
Many thanks to Saga Press and Netgalley for the DRC and the opportunity to share my thoughts.
annette45's review
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Saga Press for letting me read and review this array of different, unique, and great Science Fiction stories. This is a well rounded and interesting collection of stories that cover quite a broad range in Science Fiction and has familiar, well-known authors as well as offering work of new more unknown authors also.
There's so much in anthologies, it's sometimes hard to know how or what exactly to review about all the stories and authors in them because there's so much in them. This has quite a few authors I'm familiar with and enjoy, some unknown and new to me authors that I'm more interested in checking out more of their work now and a large range of stories covering various topics. The stories range anywhere from Outer Limits to Twilight Zone types of Science Fiction.
I enjoyed a lot of the stories, but there were some that I didn't like as much and there were a few that got me emotional and a few that kind of scared me, or maybe better wording would be greatly disturbed and creeped me out. Some of the stories were very far out there with Sci-Fi, others were more mainstream type and others were uncanny with how close to our reality they are.
This is a pretty great collection of stories put together that can show you more of the authors you already love and introduce you to more new and awesome Science Fiction authors. I also enjoyed a wide range of topics and stories with the various types of Science Fiction.
If you like anthologies and Science Fiction, make sure to have this one on your list to check it out as soon as it comes out. The only CW/TW I would put here is that there's some profanity and such in some of the stories, but other than that not much.
There's so much in anthologies, it's sometimes hard to know how or what exactly to review about all the stories and authors in them because there's so much in them. This has quite a few authors I'm familiar with and enjoy, some unknown and new to me authors that I'm more interested in checking out more of their work now and a large range of stories covering various topics. The stories range anywhere from Outer Limits to Twilight Zone types of Science Fiction.
I enjoyed a lot of the stories, but there were some that I didn't like as much and there were a few that got me emotional and a few that kind of scared me, or maybe better wording would be greatly disturbed and creeped me out. Some of the stories were very far out there with Sci-Fi, others were more mainstream type and others were uncanny with how close to our reality they are.
This is a pretty great collection of stories put together that can show you more of the authors you already love and introduce you to more new and awesome Science Fiction authors. I also enjoyed a wide range of topics and stories with the various types of Science Fiction.
If you like anthologies and Science Fiction, make sure to have this one on your list to check it out as soon as it comes out. The only CW/TW I would put here is that there's some profanity and such in some of the stories, but other than that not much.
kleonard's review
5.0
An excellent collection of short SFF stories from writers who are now very well known and others who deserve to be. What's especially nice about this anthology is the inclusion of stories by famous authors that haven't been widely anthologized elsewhere, and that play against the author's type a little bit. Strahan's introduction is long and repetitive, and could have used considerable editing, but you can skip it and get right to the stories.
pvn's review
4.0
Strahan is a very talented editor and this collection reflects that. A mix of stories of pretty consistently high quality. It includes some big scifi names and lesser known ones. My faves were the speculative fiction, but the others were enjoyable as well. Recommended.
I really appreciate the ARC for review!!
I really appreciate the ARC for review!!
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