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A review by empowermint
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 12 by Jonathan Strahan
5.0
This book collects 29 of Jonathan Strahan’s favourite Science Fiction and Fantasy stories published in 2017. I chose it because I wanted an introduction to what’s happening in SFF short fiction, and that’s exactly what I got.
Some of the stories focus on creating sheer atmosphere. Kathleen Kayembe’s ‘The Faerie Tree’ is a visceral, atmospheric changeling tale; while ‘Fairy Tale of Wood Street’ by Caitlín R. Kiernan deftly conjures the uncanny when a 44-year-old woman suddenly realises her girlfriend of many years has a cow’s tail. One of my favourites—Max Gladstone’s ‘Crispin’s Model’—gave me goosebumps, while ‘Sidewalks’ by Maureen McHugh felt like a genuine brush with the sublime.
Race is a running theme, both in the editorial selection of stories that draw on a variety of cultures and explicitly in some of the stories themselves. ‘The Lamentations of Their Women’ by Kai Ashante Wilson deals head on with racial tension in the States through a Faustian pact; ‘Babylon’ by Dave Hutchinson imagines a future where anti-immigration is Europe’s only growth industry.
Gender and sexuality are another thread. ‘My English Name’ by R.S. Benedict creates the ultimate outsider in the form of a creature who wears the skin of humans, allowing it to switch both race and gender over time. ‘The Hermit of Houston’ by Samuel R. Delany imagines an uncomfortable, Never Let Me Go-esque world where same-sex relationships are the dominant mode.
Continue reading: http://james-t-harding.com/2018/05/16/review-the-best-science-fiction-fantasy-of-the-year-volume-twelve/
Some of the stories focus on creating sheer atmosphere. Kathleen Kayembe’s ‘The Faerie Tree’ is a visceral, atmospheric changeling tale; while ‘Fairy Tale of Wood Street’ by Caitlín R. Kiernan deftly conjures the uncanny when a 44-year-old woman suddenly realises her girlfriend of many years has a cow’s tail. One of my favourites—Max Gladstone’s ‘Crispin’s Model’—gave me goosebumps, while ‘Sidewalks’ by Maureen McHugh felt like a genuine brush with the sublime.
Race is a running theme, both in the editorial selection of stories that draw on a variety of cultures and explicitly in some of the stories themselves. ‘The Lamentations of Their Women’ by Kai Ashante Wilson deals head on with racial tension in the States through a Faustian pact; ‘Babylon’ by Dave Hutchinson imagines a future where anti-immigration is Europe’s only growth industry.
Gender and sexuality are another thread. ‘My English Name’ by R.S. Benedict creates the ultimate outsider in the form of a creature who wears the skin of humans, allowing it to switch both race and gender over time. ‘The Hermit of Houston’ by Samuel R. Delany imagines an uncomfortable, Never Let Me Go-esque world where same-sex relationships are the dominant mode.
Continue reading: http://james-t-harding.com/2018/05/16/review-the-best-science-fiction-fantasy-of-the-year-volume-twelve/