The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six: Table of Contents

Jonathan Strahan has announced the Table of Contents for the sixth volume in his consistently excellent survey of the Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy. 

Introduction, Jonathan Strahan
The Case of Death and Honey, Neil Gaiman, (A Study in Sherlock)
The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees, E. Lily Yu, (Clarkesworld, 4/11)
Tidal Forces, Caitlín R Kiernan, (Eclipse Four)
Younger Women, Karen Joy Fowler, (Subterranean, Summer 2011)
White Lines on a Green Field , Catherynne M. Valente, (Subterranean, Fall 2011)
All That Touches The Air, An Owomoyela, (Lightspeed Magazine, 4/11)
What We Found, Geoff Ryman, (F&SF, 9-10/11)
The Server and the Dragon, Hannu Rajaniemi, (Engineering Infinity)
The Choice, Paul McAuley, (Asimov‘s, 1/11)
Malak, Peter Watts, (Engineering Infinity)
Old Habits, Nalo Hopkinson, (Eclipse Four)
A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong, K. J. Parker, (Subterranean, Winter 2011. )
Valley of the Girls, Kelly Link, (Subterranean, Spring 2011)
Brave Little Toaster, Cory Doctorow, (TRSF)
The Dala Horse, Michael Swanwick, (Tor.com, 7/11)
The Corpse Painter’s Masterpiece, M Rickert, (F&SF, 9-10/11)
The Paper Menagerie, Ken Liu, (F&SF, March/April 2011)
Steam Girl, Dylan Horrocks, (Steampunk!)
After the Apocalypse, Maureen F. McHugh, (After the Apocalypse)
Underbridge, Peter S. Beagle, (Naked City)
Relic, Jeffrey Ford, (The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities)
The Invasion of Venus, Stephen Baxter, (Engineering Infinity)
Woman Leaves Room, Robert Reed, (Lightspeed Magazine, 3/11)
Restoration, Robert Shearman, (Everyone’s Just So So Special)
The Onset of a Paranormal Romance, Bruce Sterling, (Flurb, Fall-Winter 2011)
Catastrophic Disruption of the Head, Margo Lanagan, (The Wilful Eye: Tales from the Tower Vol. 1)
The Last Ride of the Glory Girls, Libba Bray, (Steampunk!)
The Book of Phoenix (Excerpted from The Great Book) , Nnedi Okorafor, (Clarkesworld, 3/11)
Digging, Ian McDonald, (Life on Mars)
The Man Who Bridged the Mist, Kij Johnson, (Asimov’s, 10-11/11)
Goodnight Moons, Ellen Klages, (Life on Mars)

In an interesting twist for me, I haven't read a single story collected here - even though a number of them are available online.  That's what happens when a fellow is away for a number of months.  As such, I am doubly looking forward to this volume. 

Eclipse Four Table of Contents!

Jonathan Strahan has posted the table of contents for the forthcoming (and hotly anticipated around these parts) Eclipse Four. 

Introduction, Jonathan Strahan
“Slow as a Bullet”, Andy Duncan
“Tidal Forces”, Caitlin R. Kiernan
“The Beancounter’s Cat”, Damien Broderick
“Story Kit”, Kij Johnson
“The Man in Grey”, Michael Swanwick
“Old Habits”, Nalo Hopkinson
“The Vicar of Mars”, Gwyneth Jones
“Fields of Gold”, Rachel Swirsky
“Thought Experiment”, Eileen Gunn
“The Double of My Double Is Not My Double”, Jeffrey Ford
“Nine Muses”, Emma Bull
“Dying Young”, Peter M Ball
“The Panda Coin”, Jo Walton
“Tourists”, James Patrick Kelly

Exciting book is exciting.   As has been since the first book, Eclipse is a must read series.

TOC: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 5

Jonathan Strahan has posted the table of contents for the fifth volume of his annual Year's Best anthology of SFF.

Strahan has a great eye for picking out the best stories, so each volume is a must read.

Introduction, Jonathan Strahan
“Elegy for a Young Elk,” Hannu Rajaniemi
“The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains,” Neil Gaiman
“Seven Sexy Cowboy Robots,” Sandra McDonald
“The Spy Who Never Grew Up,” Sarah Rees Brennan
“The Aarne-Thompson Classification Revue,” Holly Black
“Under the Moons of Venus,” Damien Broderick
“The Fool Jobs,” Joe Abercrombie
“Alone,” Robert Reed
“Names for Water,” Kij Johnson
“Fair Ladies,” Theodora Goss
“Plus or Minus,” James P. Kelly
“The Man With the Knives,” Ellen Kushner
“The Jammie Dodgers and the Adventure of the Leicester Square Screening,” Cory Doctorow
“The Maiden Flight of McAuley’s Bellerophon,” Elizabeth Hand
“The Miracle Aquilina,” Margo Lanagan
“The Taste of Night,” Pat Cadigan
“The Exterminator’s Want-Ad,” Bruce Sterling
“Map of Seventeen,” Christopher Barzak
“The Naturalist,” Maureen McHugh
“Sins of the Father,” Sara Genge
“The Sultan of the Clouds,” Geoffrey A. Landis
“Iteration,” John Kessel
“The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn,” Diana Peterfreund
“The Night Train,” Lavie Tidhar
“Still Life (A Sexagesimal Fairy Tale),” Ian Tregillis
“Amor Vincit Omnia,” K.J. Parker
“The Things,” Peter Watts
“The Zeppelin Conductors’ Society Annual Gentlemen’s Ball,” Genevieve Valentine
“The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window,” Rachel Swirsky

"The Things", from Peter Watts, is excellent.  I expect the others to be equally good.  A story from Rachel Swirsky is always a good sign.

some Eclipse Four info

Jonathan Strahan posted a little bit of info about the forthcoming (Spring 2011) publication of Eclipse Four. 

I don't want to overquote, so here's a tease and then go read the rest over at Strahan's post.  

The third volume was different again. Responding to the criticism the series had received, I cast my net wider and ultimately I think produced a better book. It’s less centre-of-genre in many ways, but has a consistent feel to it and an overall high quality of stories that helped make it the most successful volume, critically and commercially, so far.
Given that it’s also the one I’m happiest with overall, my intention is to very much continue the series as a follow-on from Eclipse Three. The volume I’m working on now, Eclipse Four, is intended to be a direct follow-on from that book. It will feature some of the same writers, and hopefully will feel similar to Three.

Oh, and Strahan also reveals that Eclipse Four will include a story from the wonderful Emma Bull. 

Can't wait!!!

Eclipse Three, by Jonathan Strahan (editor)

Eclipse Three
Jonathan Strahan (editor)
Night Shade Books: 2009

Eclipse Three is, as one might expect, the third volume of Jonathan Strahan’s Eclipse series of anthologies published by Night Shade Books. Eclipse is an anthology series featuring all original fiction and, unlike most other original anthologies on the market, it is unthemed. Stories may leap from fantasy to science fiction to a blending of the two without blinking an eye and without having to fit any set framework. This is more akin to what readers might find in Strahan’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year anthologies. Rightly so, as several stories in Eclipse Three are Year’s Best worthy*

Nicola Griffith’s story “It Takes Two” is the absolute highlight of this anthology, but other standouts include: Elizabeth Bear’s “Swell”, "The Pelican Bar" from Karen Joy Fowler, Nnedi Okorafor's "On the Road", and "Useless Things" from Maureen F. McHugh.

Only two stories truly disappointed here. Paul DiFilippo’s “Yes We Have No Bananas” and Molly Gloss's "The Visited Man".

The rest of the stories range from the solid to the specatular.

Despite the subtitle of the Eclipse series, the stories of Eclipse Three are generally not heavy on genre elements. Most of the stories are set in a version of the real world, just with elements of magic or impossible technology. The genre elements are seamless parts of these stories about character, about people. The tech and the magic are never the point.

The stories here are beautiful, heartbreaking, thrilling, moving, and hopeful - each in their own way.

Jonathan Strahan talks about how this particular cover came about, but it is worth pointing out just how awesome the Richard Powers artwork is for Eclipse Three. This is a beautiful volume in person and is quite striking. The artwork would have gone to waste if the stories between the covers were not equally striking, but with very few exceptions, the stories are more than up to the task.

Eclipse Three is a must read entry in a must read anthology series.


*Strahan has already announced the TOC for the fourth volume of his Year’s Best and two stories from Eclipse Three are included (Griffith and Fowler). Gardner Dozois included the Griffith and the McHugh in his annual anthology.

TOC for The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 4

Jonathan Strahan has announced the Table of Contents for the latest entry in my favorite Best Of anthology series, The Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume 4.

1. It Takes Two, Nicola Griffith
2. Three Twilight Tales, Jo Walton
3.
4. The Island, Peter Watts
5. Ferryman, Margo Lanagan
6. A Wild and Wicked Youth, Ellen Kushner
7. The Pelican Bar, Karen Joy Fowler
8. Spar, Kij Johnson
9. Going Deep, James Patrick Kelly
10. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black
11. Zeppelin City, Michael Swanwick & Eileen Gunn
12. Dragon’s Teeth, Alex Irvine
13. This Wind Blowing, and This Tide, Damien Broderick
14. By Moonlight, Peter S. Beagle
15. Black Swan, Bruce Sterling
16. As Women Fight, Sara Genge
17. The Cinderella Game, Kelly Link
18. Formidable Caress, Stephen Baxter
19. Blocked, Geoff Ryman
20. Truth and Bone, Pat Cadigan
21. Eros, Philia, Agape, Rachel Swirsky
22. The Motorman’s Coat, John Kessel
23. Mongoose, Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear
24. Echoes of Aurora, Ellen Klages
25. Before My Last Breath, Robert Reed
26. Jo Boy, Diana Wynne Jones
27. Utriusque Cosmi, Robert Charles Wilson
28. A Delicate Architecture, Catherynne Valente
29. The Cat That Walked a Thousand Miles, Kij Johnson
Recommended Reading

As far as I know, I've only read the Swirsky (was good), but Strahan has a great idea so I expect nothing less than a fantastic anthology.

Now, I am one of the "eagle eye readers" Strahan talks about in the next paragraph.

Eagle-eyed readers will note one of the spots is blank. This isn’t an error. I’ve agreed not to publicise one of the stories until the book comes out, so that publication here doesn’t step too badly on the toes of its original publisher. I will, however, reveal the omitted story in March. And yes, if space permits, there will be a Recommended Reading list in the book for the first time ever. If it doesn’t make it for length reasons, I’ll make sure it’s published online.

This is intensely curious. First, I have to wonder what the story is and who wrote it, but Second, I just wonder why. I assume the story has been previously published in 2009, because that's one of the requirements for the anthology (I think). So, what issue would the original publisher have with the announcement?

The only thing I can come up with is that it's from a limited edition print run that has only recently been published and that the announcement here could negatively impact sales of that limited print. That's what the stepping on the toes would be.

Oh.

Actually, that makes a lot of sense to me and seems like a very respectful thing to do. After all, it's not like we the reader are owed an early TOC announcement of every story (we're not). Yes, now I'm speculating in my mind about what it could be and who the publisher is and I just came up with a snap idea that is probably and will invariably be wrong, but that's why it makes sense to me.

Regardless, I'm going to snap this one up.

Swords and Dark Magic Table of Contents

Jonathan Strahan has announced the Table of Contents for the forthcoming swords & sorcery anthology Swords and Dark Magic, edited by Strahan and Lou Anders.

1. Introduction, Lou Anders & Jonathan Strahan
2. “Goats of Glory”, Steven Erikson
3. “Tides Elba: A Tale of the Black Company”, Glen Cook
4. “Bloodsport”, Gene Wolfe
5. “The Singing Spear”, James Enge
6. “A Wizard of Wiscezan”, C.J. Cherryh
7. “A Rich Full Week”, K. J. Parker
8. “A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet”, Garth Nix
9. “Red Pearls: An Elric Story”, Michael Moorcock
10. “The Deification of Dal Bamore”, Tim Lebbon
11. “Dark Times at the Midnight Market”, Robert Silverberg
12. “The Undefiled”, Greg Keyes
13. “Dapple Hew the Tint Master”, Michael Shea
14. “In the Stacks”, Scott Lynch
15. “Two Lions, A Witch, and the War-Robe”, Tanith Lee
16. “The Sea Troll’s Daughter”, Caitlin R Kiernan
17. “Thieves of Daring”, Bill Willingham
18. “The Fool Jobs”, Joe Abercrombie

Is that an exciting list of writers? Oh...lord, yes. I discovered most of these writers in my mid to late twenties, but this is the kind of stuff I cut my fantasy-teeth on when I started reading in the genre. (more or less)

Hoo-damn.

Jonathan Strahan on the Eclipse series

Jonathan Strahan has suggested earlier this year that this year's offering of Eclipse Three would mark the end of the Eclipse series, that he was done with it.

I had hoped he would change his mind because Eclipse One was an outstanding anthology and I expect to pick up Eclipse Two as part of the Night Shade sale, and I've been very much looking forward to Eclipse Three.

In today's post over at his blog, Strahan writes about his thoughts on the future of the series and THIS TIME he is saying he might not be done with it, that he is starting to feel revitalized.

Oh, I hope so, sir.

There aren't a lot of unthemed anthologies of original fiction out there, but in my mind, Eclipse is one of the two best (the other being Fast Forward), and I think we're all well served to have the series continue.

With any luck Strahan and Night Shade will work something out and continue this excellent series.

Strahan's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year Vol 3 has a TOC

Via SF Signal,

Jonathan Strahan's The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Three now has a Table of Contents. Check it out over at the Night Shade Books listing. There's some good stuff there. I've read a small handful of the stories already, and besides that, there are some serious names in that TOC.

I thought Volume Two was outstanding and expect no less from this one.

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Two, edited by Jonathan Strahan

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Two
Jonathan Strahan (editor)
Night Shade Books: 2008



Does the world really need another Year's Best anthology of SFF short stories? There may not necessarily be nearly as many such anthologies as it feels, but how many different people do we need to tell us what the best stories of the year are? Isn't that what Gardner Dozois is for?

Perhaps.

Perhaps not. While flooding the market with umpteen (an actual number) "best of" anthologies could be considered overkill, the cream would still rise to the top. Talented, discerning editors with an eye for good stories will always and should always have a place at the table. While most editors will agree on something like Ted Chiang's "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" (Strahan and Dozois do), there may be disagreement on exactly which story written by Elizabeth Bear merits inclusion. Dozois likes "Tideline" and Strahan prefers "Orm the Beautiful". Strahan is right, of course, but it is the difference in opinion that makes a variety of "Best Of" anthologies valuable. Out of the twenty five stories in this anthology, only 6 overlap with Dozois's yearly science fiction anthology (which contains 32 stories). The SFF short fiction market is strong and heavy laden with good stories. Since, in most cases, there will not be a consensus on which stories are the "best" of a given year (Ted Chiang not withstanding), there is definitely room for multiple anthologies reprinting the "Best" stories of the year.

With that said, I had the chance to read and review Jonathan Strahan's "Best of" anthology for 2007 fiction: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Two. Strahan opens the anthology with the quite excellent and already award-laden "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", a well put together story seemingly set in a historic Middle East, but which features time travel. It is a clever tale and rightfully has received its share of praise.

Most of the stories in this anthology are quite excellent, from Peter S. Beagle's "The Last and Only, or Mr. Moskowitz Bocomes French" to Elizabeth Bear's sad and haunting "Orm the Beautiful", a story which gets better with each reading. There are outstanding stories here, from Daniel Abraham's "The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics" to M. Rickert's "Holiday". In most cases, Jonathan Strahan has a great eye for picking a good story.

In some cases, though, Strahan's eye fails him. This is not necessarily his fault, because other people have found some of these next stories I mention to be a cut above the rest. They're wrong, of course, but some of those disappointing stories have found their way into this anthology. Bruce Sterling's "Kiosk" is one such story. Sure, Cory Doctorow loved it, but this story of fabrikators and social upheavals is a turgid bit of story, overlong and overdone. Yes, I'm saying the story is swollen. "Kiosk" compares very unfavorably to Nancy Kress's similar and far superior "Nano Comes to Clifford Falls" (not in this anthology). Another story which is just as unsuccessful is Charles Stross's "Trunk and Disorderly" (audio here). The story is intended to be funny, working as a comedy of social settings in the mold of P.G. Wodehouse, and maaaaaybe it works on that level, but honestly, the story isn't funny. Perhaps it comes across better in audio format, but it doesn't read well. Better is Greg Egan's "Glory", but this story of math and space opera won't appeal to all readers.

I've pointed out five stories which are simply outstanding and three which were true disappointments. What else is in the anthology?

More good stuff. Ken MacLeod's "Jesus Christ, Reanimator" is a quiet and sad tale of the second coming of Jesus which may honestly end the only way it could, but it still ends as a bit of a surprise, as if I expected MacLeod to do something other than what he did, but what he did was tell a good story. "Last Contact" from Stephen Baxter is a beautiful story about the end of the world.

Attention should be paid to Daryl Gregory's "Dead Horse Point", a story really about love and responsibility, but with a character who can essentially disappear into herself and work out complex theories of mathematics. The story is about the brother and friend left behind when Julia "disappears" and is one that deserves to be read slowly (not because it requires extra work to figure out, but just because it's a beautiful story that should be savored). "The Prophet of Flores" by Ted Kosmaktka features a world which has disproved Darwin and believes in a very narrow view of creation. In such a world the discovery of the little "hobbit" like humans on the island of Flores has the potential to completely upset the status quo and question the underlying and intertwined scientific and religious beliefs of an alternate Earth.

The last story I want to mention is "Wizard's Six" by Alex Irvine. This is an action / adventure fantasy story with an assassin following a rogue wizard who is intent on collecting the six apprentices required to become truly dangerous (the wizard, not the assassin). For the majority of the story Irvine keeps the focus tight on Paulus, only broadening it at the end when we get the confrontation the story requires. Irvine has quite a different take on the concept of wizards and a fantasy world and while I'd like to see more in this particular setting, "Wizard's Six" is a reasonably tight story that is worth checking out to see what else fantasists are doing.

Tastes differ greatly between readers and what I found to be the exceptional stories of this anthology, another reader may find to be the disappointment and will likewise be thrilled by what I couldn't abide. Such is the strength of the genre, to encompass a variety of viewpoints and preferences.

While I have not read many other "Best of" anthologies, I have to believe that The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Two is among the "best" of the best. Jonathan Strahan has put together a more than solid anthology here and it is a damn fine one. Readers of just about any stripe will be able to find something they want to read and should very well be delighted by stories and writers they had not otherwise experienced.

This is an anthology to pick up and add to the collection.


Reading copy provided courtesy of Night Shade Books.

One Woman? Really?

I thought Eclipse One, edited by Jonathan Strahan and published by Night Shade Books was a great anthology. Not quite as full as awesome as, say, Fast Forward 1, it was still a damn solid anthology and I enjoyed reading it. So much so that I looked forward to Volume Two.

Then I saw the table of contents posted over at SF Signal.

I remember the debate last year regarding the lack of female names on the cover Eclipse One (despite women making up nearly half of the anthology). The debate is summed up here and is wrapped up in regards to a panel at Wiscon.

The table of contents is nearly final, with one left to be determined, but here is the list courtesy of Strahan's website.

1. The Hero, Karl Schroeder
2. Turing’s Apples, Stephen Baxter
3. Invisible Empire of Ascending Light, Ken Scholes
4. Michael Laurits is: Drowning, Paul Cornell
5. Elevator, Nancy Kress
6. The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm, Daryl Gregory
7. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, David Moles
8. The Rabbi’s Hobby, Peter S. Beagle
9. The Seventh Expression of the Robot General, Jeffrey Ford
10. Skin Deep, Richard Parks
11. Ex Cathedra, Tony Daniel
12. Truth Window: A Tale of the Bedlam Rose, Terry Dowling
13. We Haven’t Got There Yet, Harry Turtledove
14. Fury, Alastair Reynolds

Now, I'm willing to accept that I may be missing androgynous names here, but I checked and Terry Dowling is male.

One woman? Seriously.

Think that argument last year was rough?

One woman? I'm not sure how that happens. You'd think accidentally Strahan would have selected a second woman. Like, by mistake and all.

Ouch.

That's embarrassing. I'm sure each of the stories are great and all, but I'm going to have a difficult time looking at Eclipse Two and not consider the fact that only woman was included. Conscious decision or blind selection / submission process, it's a slap in the face.

Strahan on the Short Story

This is a good time for the short story in genre circles. Not maybe in business terms - we're yet to develop a twenty-first century business model that allows writers to make a living writing short fiction - but in artistic terms, it's extraordinary. Whether in anthologies like this one or in magazines or on websites, short stories are being published in staggering numbers. Thousands each year, millions of words, and in amongst this torrent of content is some extraordinary work. - Jonathan Strahan, Eclipse One, p. 1)

This is the first paragraph of Jonathan Strahan's introduction to Eclipse One. I read it three times. Not because I don't understand the words, but because I was impressed by what it said. What I have been reading online in recent months was people bemoaning the state of short fiction today. It's not the golden age, it's not something one can make a living at, it's not what people want to read. There are fewer major magazines publishing and the pay scales are comparatively lower than ever.

The number of print magazines are not in question, nor is the fact that fewer writers can make a living from short fiction, but Strahan makes an excellent point. The stories, the best of the best, the ones we care about. They're damn good.

What Strahan doesn't say is that the stories are as good as they have ever been, but I feel like we are still living in a golden age for science fiction and fantasy. We've got some outstanding writers working today. Short fiction, novel length, we've got the serious men and women writing serious heavy fiction, we've got folks writing some entertaining fiction that just tells a story that people want to read. What we've got is damn fine writers. Ted Chiang. Elizabeth Bear. Jeff Vandermeer. Charles Stross. Catherynne Valente. George R. R. Martin. M. Rickert. Jeffrey Ford. Kelly Link. Karen Traviss. Joe Hill. The list could be longer. Much longer.

It's two conversations. And Strahan is correct. Amongst the torrent of content there is some extraordinary work.

2008 Anthologies

According to SF Signal, editor Jonathan Strahan is compiling a list of all of the anthologies which will be published in 2008. Good source to find some anthologies. He lists them by title, editor, month to be published, and publisher.