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A review by spacenoirdetective
The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2010 by Rich Horton
5.0
Steven Gould, "A Story, with Beans" - I generally like weird stories of the near future where you have a disparity between elite technology and those left behind. This left me wanting more, in a good way. B
Theodora Goss, "Child-Empress of Mars" - Somewhat fun riff on the Victorian Martian fantasy genre. B-
Peter Watts, "The Island" - Pretty much any story that reimagines the possibility of what alien sentience and the myriad forms it could take usually captures my interest, but this one is a cut above the rest. Excellent. Saying anything more would ruin it. A
Robert Kelly, "The Logic of the World" - One of those stories that has an interesting enough premise and world-building but didn't fully develop the way I'd hoped. B-
Holly Phillips, "The Long Cold Goodbye" - A chilling little vampire tale. But it seems a bit stale. C-
Ann Leckie, "The Endangered Camp" - NOW we're talkin! Slam bang adventure with dinosaurs in spaceships. You can't get better than dinosaurs in spaceships! I hope Ms. Leckie continues this in novel form, I would love to read more. A
Alex Irvine, "Dragon's Teeth" - A very clever little dragon story. I approve. B+
Sara Genge, "As Women Fight" - One of the worst short stories I've had the misfortune to read in quite some time. Nothing about this story made sense and it came across as melodramatic soap opera nonsense. And no, the transgender theme didn't influence my grade. If anything, I wanted a much better commentary on the idea of gender change and this just came across as silly. F
Lucius Shepard, "Sylgarmo's Proclamation" - A gorgeous adventure tale, done as part of a collection giving homage to Jack Vance. Dark fantasy sci-fi is a genre that is hard to pinpoint for a writer in just the right way. But you can never go wrong with Lucius, I adore everything he writes, this included. A
Jo Walton, "Three Twilight Tales" - Wonderful intersplice of fairy tale, with good narration and pace. B+
John Meaney, "Necroflux Day" - I WANTED to like this story. But it's one of those stories that is absolutely RUINED by the surprise ending. It just made no sense, and there was almost a Soylent Green element to it, but on so many levels this just came across as an amateurish stunt to top off what could have been a good story. D+
Paul Park, "The Persistence of Memory; or, This Space for Sale" - An ingenious point of view story where reality bends only just so slightly enough to make the impact that much bigger. Fans of the film "Memento" should definitely check this story out. A-
Robert Charles Wilson, "This Peaceable Land; or, The Unbearable Vision of Harriet Beecher Stowe" - A sad, but well written, almost elegiac alternate history story that tends to linger long after you read it. B+
Jay Lake, "On the Human Plan" Not that memorable a story. Not awful, entirely. Far future scifi is a hard gambit because an author has to imagine a lot MORE in terms of change. It's just that none of the changes are quite explained and it's all guesswork. Some authors, like Gene Wolfe, can make this work. But not this story, it just succeeded in inundating me with a bunch of unnecessary prose all mooshed together. D
John Langan, "Technicolor" - An ingeniously told story, done in a collection that has homages to Edgar Allan Poe. I can't quite describe anything in this story without giving away the plot, but slow reveal was, to me, ingenious. I'll admit, I didn't see that one coming, but everything adds up neatly, and although it wasn't something Poe would have thought of, the delight taken by the main narrator in his actions is right up there with the best of Poe's characters. A
Eugene Mirabelli, "Catalog" - This is one of those rare short stories that perfectly and totally captures the feeling of a dream, and I'm not sure quite to make of it other than I loved literally every second of reading it. A+
Paul McAuley, "Crimes and Glory" - One of the most ingenious science fiction detective stories I've read in a while. Brilliant all the way through. All I will say is a mystery regarding wormholes is gripping and I think that juggling well written hard sci fi while writing a believable cop character is no easy feat. A+
Rachel Swirsky, "Eros, Philia, Agape" - It took me a while to digest this story. The word I would use to describe it is "delicate" because every nuance of emotion is described in such an ethereal, but sharply concise way. It's a story of love, artificial intelligence, and independence, and a meditation of sorts. Beautiful, but it could have used a little more resolution. B+
Nir Yaniv, "A Painter, a Sheep, and a Boa Constrictor" A short little take on "The Little Prince" that is both poetic and slightly surprising. B+
Dominic Green, "Glister" This is just one of those stories whose mood is difficult to describe. It didn't quite capture me, it felt like segments of a nightmare sort of patched together in the form of bleak near future scifi, but there's something haunting about it. B-
Damien Broderick, "The Qualia Engine" - An interesting enough premise, but I felt it was bogged down by uninteresting characters. B-
Catherynne M. Valente, "The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew" - One of the most visually compelling stories here, from the rush of images that seem like paintings or movie stills that I just cannot get out of my head, this story also has a totally interesting mix of silent film stars travelling to other planets. What a gorgeous alternate history/Solar System tour. I desperately want more. A-
R. Garcia y Robertson, "Wife-Stealing Time" I was not feeling this story for several reasons, but I appreciate the effort of trying to rev up my engines with barbarian science fiction, which is one of my favorite subgenres. Parts of this story just irritated me by not explaining several key elements, and I felt exasperated by the end. C+
Nancy Kress, "Images of Anna" - Nancy Kress is a good writer. I think her ability to write dialogue is better than most sci fi writers and it has such a natural quality to it. Which is why it pains me to say this one didn't do it for me. I've also seen similar plots from other authors done in a more interesting fashion. C-
Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear, "Mongoose" - I love being surprised by a story with a main character or narrator that I would never think I would sympathize with. I fell hook, line and sinker for this incredibly thoughtful, and sadly touching post apocalypse story. A+
Margo Lanagan, "Living Curiosities" - I love her other work but this didn't really do it for me. I honestly don't remember it so I'll leave it unrated.
Toiya Kristen Finlay, "The Death of Sugar Daddy" - An odd story about fate, with the poverty stricken South as background. Intriguing for some of the visual images towards the end that are stuck in my mind and some good characterization. B-
Kelly Link, "Secret Identity" - Holy CRAP can Kelly Link ever write an original short story. Easily the best narrator from this anthology, this story is funny, charming, has an original world with its own rules and laws, and utterly kept me guessing with every page where it would go next. Incredible. It's my favorite story by her so far, period. A+
Genevieve Valentine, "Bespoke" - A twist on the Ray Bradbury story "The Sound of Thunder", quietly told time travel story from the POV of a seamstress. C
John Kessel, "Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance" - Far future epic story centering around rare literature. Well I'm a sucker for all those things. B+
Theodora Goss, "Child-Empress of Mars" - Somewhat fun riff on the Victorian Martian fantasy genre. B-
Peter Watts, "The Island" - Pretty much any story that reimagines the possibility of what alien sentience and the myriad forms it could take usually captures my interest, but this one is a cut above the rest. Excellent. Saying anything more would ruin it. A
Robert Kelly, "The Logic of the World" - One of those stories that has an interesting enough premise and world-building but didn't fully develop the way I'd hoped. B-
Holly Phillips, "The Long Cold Goodbye" - A chilling little vampire tale. But it seems a bit stale. C-
Ann Leckie, "The Endangered Camp" - NOW we're talkin! Slam bang adventure with dinosaurs in spaceships. You can't get better than dinosaurs in spaceships! I hope Ms. Leckie continues this in novel form, I would love to read more. A
Alex Irvine, "Dragon's Teeth" - A very clever little dragon story. I approve. B+
Sara Genge, "As Women Fight" - One of the worst short stories I've had the misfortune to read in quite some time. Nothing about this story made sense and it came across as melodramatic soap opera nonsense. And no, the transgender theme didn't influence my grade. If anything, I wanted a much better commentary on the idea of gender change and this just came across as silly. F
Lucius Shepard, "Sylgarmo's Proclamation" - A gorgeous adventure tale, done as part of a collection giving homage to Jack Vance. Dark fantasy sci-fi is a genre that is hard to pinpoint for a writer in just the right way. But you can never go wrong with Lucius, I adore everything he writes, this included. A
Jo Walton, "Three Twilight Tales" - Wonderful intersplice of fairy tale, with good narration and pace. B+
John Meaney, "Necroflux Day" - I WANTED to like this story. But it's one of those stories that is absolutely RUINED by the surprise ending. It just made no sense, and there was almost a Soylent Green element to it, but on so many levels this just came across as an amateurish stunt to top off what could have been a good story. D+
Paul Park, "The Persistence of Memory; or, This Space for Sale" - An ingenious point of view story where reality bends only just so slightly enough to make the impact that much bigger. Fans of the film "Memento" should definitely check this story out. A-
Robert Charles Wilson, "This Peaceable Land; or, The Unbearable Vision of Harriet Beecher Stowe" - A sad, but well written, almost elegiac alternate history story that tends to linger long after you read it. B+
Jay Lake, "On the Human Plan" Not that memorable a story. Not awful, entirely. Far future scifi is a hard gambit because an author has to imagine a lot MORE in terms of change. It's just that none of the changes are quite explained and it's all guesswork. Some authors, like Gene Wolfe, can make this work. But not this story, it just succeeded in inundating me with a bunch of unnecessary prose all mooshed together. D
John Langan, "Technicolor" - An ingeniously told story, done in a collection that has homages to Edgar Allan Poe. I can't quite describe anything in this story without giving away the plot, but slow reveal was, to me, ingenious. I'll admit, I didn't see that one coming, but everything adds up neatly, and although it wasn't something Poe would have thought of, the delight taken by the main narrator in his actions is right up there with the best of Poe's characters. A
Eugene Mirabelli, "Catalog" - This is one of those rare short stories that perfectly and totally captures the feeling of a dream, and I'm not sure quite to make of it other than I loved literally every second of reading it. A+
Paul McAuley, "Crimes and Glory" - One of the most ingenious science fiction detective stories I've read in a while. Brilliant all the way through. All I will say is a mystery regarding wormholes is gripping and I think that juggling well written hard sci fi while writing a believable cop character is no easy feat. A+
Rachel Swirsky, "Eros, Philia, Agape" - It took me a while to digest this story. The word I would use to describe it is "delicate" because every nuance of emotion is described in such an ethereal, but sharply concise way. It's a story of love, artificial intelligence, and independence, and a meditation of sorts. Beautiful, but it could have used a little more resolution. B+
Nir Yaniv, "A Painter, a Sheep, and a Boa Constrictor" A short little take on "The Little Prince" that is both poetic and slightly surprising. B+
Dominic Green, "Glister" This is just one of those stories whose mood is difficult to describe. It didn't quite capture me, it felt like segments of a nightmare sort of patched together in the form of bleak near future scifi, but there's something haunting about it. B-
Damien Broderick, "The Qualia Engine" - An interesting enough premise, but I felt it was bogged down by uninteresting characters. B-
Catherynne M. Valente, "The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew" - One of the most visually compelling stories here, from the rush of images that seem like paintings or movie stills that I just cannot get out of my head, this story also has a totally interesting mix of silent film stars travelling to other planets. What a gorgeous alternate history/Solar System tour. I desperately want more. A-
R. Garcia y Robertson, "Wife-Stealing Time" I was not feeling this story for several reasons, but I appreciate the effort of trying to rev up my engines with barbarian science fiction, which is one of my favorite subgenres. Parts of this story just irritated me by not explaining several key elements, and I felt exasperated by the end. C+
Nancy Kress, "Images of Anna" - Nancy Kress is a good writer. I think her ability to write dialogue is better than most sci fi writers and it has such a natural quality to it. Which is why it pains me to say this one didn't do it for me. I've also seen similar plots from other authors done in a more interesting fashion. C-
Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear, "Mongoose" - I love being surprised by a story with a main character or narrator that I would never think I would sympathize with. I fell hook, line and sinker for this incredibly thoughtful, and sadly touching post apocalypse story. A+
Margo Lanagan, "Living Curiosities" - I love her other work but this didn't really do it for me. I honestly don't remember it so I'll leave it unrated.
Toiya Kristen Finlay, "The Death of Sugar Daddy" - An odd story about fate, with the poverty stricken South as background. Intriguing for some of the visual images towards the end that are stuck in my mind and some good characterization. B-
Kelly Link, "Secret Identity" - Holy CRAP can Kelly Link ever write an original short story. Easily the best narrator from this anthology, this story is funny, charming, has an original world with its own rules and laws, and utterly kept me guessing with every page where it would go next. Incredible. It's my favorite story by her so far, period. A+
Genevieve Valentine, "Bespoke" - A twist on the Ray Bradbury story "The Sound of Thunder", quietly told time travel story from the POV of a seamstress. C
John Kessel, "Events Preceding the Helvetican Renaissance" - Far future epic story centering around rare literature. Well I'm a sucker for all those things. B+