The Year's Best Science Fiction - Thirty-Third Annual Collection

by Gardner Dozois

  Sites where podcasts and SF-oriented radio plays can be accessed have also proliferated in recent years: at Audible (www.audible.com), Escape Pod (escapepod.org, podcasting mostly SF), SF Squeecast (sfsqueecast.com), The Coode Street Podcast (jonathanstrahan.podbean.com), The Drabblecast (www.drabblecast.org), StarShipSofa (www.starshipsofa.com), Far Fetched Fables (www.farfetchedfables.com)—new companion to StarShipSofa, concentrating on fantasy—SF Signal Podcast (www.sfsignal.com), Pseudopod (pseudopod.org), podcasting mostly fantasy, PodCastle (podcastle.org), podcasting mostly fantasy, and Galactic Suburbia (galacticsuburbia.podbean.com). Clarkesworld routinely offers podcasts of stories from the e-zine, and The Agony Column (agonycolumn.com) also hosts a weekly podcast. There’s also a site that podcasts nonfiction interviews and reviews, Dragon Page Cover to Cover (www.dragonpage.com).

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  2015 was overall another fairly unimpressive year for short fiction, although there were a number of strong novellas. As usual, though, so much short fiction is now published in so many different mediums, print, electronic, audio, as stand-alone chapbook novellas that it wasn’t hard to find more good material if you looked for it than most people would probably be willing to spend the time to read.

  There were fewer SF anthologies this year, although there were a few strong ones. Anthologies this year seemed to fall into several loose groupings.

  There were the futurology-oriented anthologies, with stories usually set no more than a few decades into the future and dealing largely with societal change, the best of which, and the best original SF anthology of the year overall, was Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan, which featured excellent work by Ian McDonald, Gwyneth Jones, Aliette de Bodard, James S. A. Corey, Nancy Kress, John Barnes, Yoon Ha Lee, and others. Another very strong futurology-oriented anthology was Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft, edited by Jennifer Henshaw and Allison Linn, which was not “published” at all in the traditional sense, but rather was made available as a free e-book from all major e-book platforms. The idea here was that Microsoft invited leading SF writers to make in-person visits to Microsoft’s research labs, where they talked to scientists and received “inside access to leading-edge work” that then inspired the stories they wrote; in spite of this somewhat eccentric origin, the anthology is full of first-rate stories by Nancy Kress, Ann Leckie, Seanan McGuire, Elizabeth Bear, Greg Bear, and others. Yet another futurology anthology was Twelve Tomorrows, edited by Bruce Sterling, the fourth volume in a series of annual original SF anthologies in magazine form published by the people who also produce MIT Technology Review magazine; I found this one to be somewhat weaker than some of the other volumes in this series had been, although there was still good stuff here by John Kessel, Ned Beauman, Bruce Sterling himself, and others. Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell, doesn’t fit entirely comfortably within the futurology-oriented category, as there are mainstream stories, fantasy stories, and critical articles about Delany here as well, but enough of the stories deal with cultural changes in future societies (as much of Delany’s own work has done) that I think a justification can be made for listing it here; it’s a very strong anthology, with excellent stuff by Geoff Ryman, Benjamin Rosenbaum, Nick Harkaway, Nalo Hopkinson and Nisi Shawl, Chris Brown, Anil Menon, Alex Jennings, and others. The weakest of the futurology-oriented original SF anthologies was The Atlantic Council Art of Future Warfare Project: War Stories from the Future, edited by August Cole; produced by the Atlantic Council, a self-described “think tank,” the emphasis here is on future warfare rather than futurology per se, with most of the stories seeming to describe the present we already live in rather than the future—there was still good stuff here, though, by Madeline Ashby, Ken Liu, Matthew Burrows, and others.

  Another group of anthologies dealt with apocalypses and post-apocalyptic landscapes, with the apocalypses for the most part being generated by catastrophic climate change: rising sea levels, failing crops, extreme weather, worldwide pandemics, armed conflicts over shrinking resources. Stories of similar sorts were to be found all over the market this year, in magazines, anthologies, and online venues (obviously, watching stories of our crazy weather this year on the news is having an effect on writers), but there were also three anthologies dedicated to the theme, one original and two reprint. The strongest of the three was the original The End Has Come, edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey, the concluding volume in the Apocalypse Triptych, a three-anthology series that started with The End Is Nigh and The End Is Now last year; this one features good work by Carrie Vaughn, Annie Bellet, Ken Liu, Tananarive Due, Sarah Langan, Jake Kerr, Nancy Kress, Elizabeth Bear, and others. The other two are Loosed upon the World: The Saga Anthology of Climate Fiction, edited by John Joseph Adams, a reprint anthology with good reprints from Paolo Bacigalupi, Seanan McGuire, Vandana Sighn, Robert Silverberg, Sean McMullen, Karl Schroeder, Cat Sparks, and others, and Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by John Joseph Adams, another reprint anthology, with good reprints from Lauren Beukes, George R. R. Martin, Tananarive Due, James Van Pelt, Joe R. Lansdale, Maureen F. McHugh, and others.

  Another grouping of anthologies had feminist themes. There were two reprint anthologies, including one released only in digital form, of science fiction by women writers: Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology (PM Press), edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer, and (the digital one) Digital Dreams: A Decade of Science Fiction by Women (New Con Press), edited by Ian Whates; Warrior Women (Prime Books), edited by Paula Guran, and two anthologies of horror stories written by women, Daughters of Frankenstein: Lesbian Mad Scientists (Lethe Press), edited by Steve Berman, and Blood Sisters: Vampire Stories by Women (Night Shade Books), edited by Paula Guran. Hear Me Roar! (Ticonderoga Press), edited by Liz Gryzb, an anthology dedicated to stories about “independent women dealing with the world around them,” would also fit under this heading, as would Cranky Ladies of History (FableCroft Publishing), edited by Tehani Wessely and Tansy Rayner Roberts. Also it seems appropriate to mention here a book of art by women artists, Women of Wonder: Celebrating Women Creators of Fantastic Art (Underwood Books), edited by Cathy Fenner.

  Anthologies that were a bit harder to group together with others by theme included Mission: Tomorrow (Baen), edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt, a solid anthology of core science fiction, with good stories by Michael F. Flynn, Jack Skillingstead, David D. Levine, and others; Press Start to Play, edited by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams, a mixed original and reprint anthology of gaming fiction, with good work by Holly Black, Robin Wasserman, Andy Weir, Ken Liu, Cory Doctorow, and others; The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk (Running Press), edited by Sean Wallace; Not Our Kind (Alliteration Ink), edited by Nayad Monroe; The Time It Happened (Third Flatiron Press), edited by Juliana Rew; Insert Title Here (FableCroft Publishing), edited by Tehani Wessely; and Jews vs. Aliens and Jews vs. Zombies (Jurassic London), both edited by Lavie Tidhar and Rebecca Levene. Postscripts 34/35: Breakout (PS Publishing), edited by Nick Gevers, featured, as usual, mostly slipstream, fantasy, and soft horror stories, without much core SF, although there were good SF stories by John Gribben, Garry Kilworth, and others, and a couple of collaborative horror stories by the late Steven Utley. There were also a number of anthologies from Fiction River, which in 2013 launched a continuing series of original SF, fantasy, and mystery anthologies, with Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith as overall series editors, and individual editions edited by various hands. This year, they published Pulse Pounders (WMG), edited by Kevin J. Anderson; Recycled Pulp (WMG), edited by John Helfers; Valor (WMG), edited by Lee Allred; Alchemy and Steam (WMG), edited by Kerrie L. Hughes; and Risk Takers (WMG), edited by Dean Wesley Smith. These can be purchased in Kindle versions from Amazon and other online vendors, or from the publisher at www.wmgpublishinginc.com.

  Noted without comment is a retro SF anthology, Old Venus (Bantam Books), edite
d by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois.

  There were six tribute anthologies to the work of individual SF/fantasy authors, many of which allowed other writers to play with the settings and characters of the authors featured: Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany (Rosarium Publishing), edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell, mentioned earlier; The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth (Roc), paying tribute to the works of S. M. Stirling; Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements (AK Press), edited by Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown, paying tribute to the works of Octavia Butler; nEvermore! Tales of Murder, Mystery and the Macabre (Hades/Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy), edited by Nancy Kilpatrick and Caro Soles, paying tribute to the work of Edgar Allan Poe; Onward, Drake! (Baen), edited by Mark L. Van Name, paying tribute to the works of David Drake; and Midian Unmade: Tales of Clive Barker’s Nightbreed (Tor), edited by Joesph Nassise and Del Howison, paying tribute to the works of Clive Barker. There were four shared-world anthologies, Grantville Gazette VII (Baen), edited by Eric Flint; By Tooth and Claw (Baen), edited by Bill Fawcett; In the Shadow of the Towers: Speculative Fiction in the Post 9/11 World (Skyhorse/Night Shade Books), edited by Douglas Lain; and Crucible: All-New Tales of Valdemar (DAW), edited by Mercedes Lackey.

  There weren’t many fantasy anthologies this year. Of the few that there were, the most substantial by a good margin was probably Operation Arcana (Baen), an original anthology of “military fantasy” edited by John Joseph Adams, which featured good stuff by Carrie Vaughn, Linda Nagata, Simon R. Green, Glen Cook, Yoon Ha Lee, David Klecha and Tobias S. Buckell, and others.

  As usual, most of the year’s prominent horror anthologies seemed to be edited by the indefatigable Ellen Datlow, including The Doll Collection (Tor), and a major reprint anthology, The Monstrous (Tachyon Publications). Paula Guran edited New Cthulhu 2: More Recent Weird (Prime), S. T. Joshi edited The Madness of Cthulhu, Volume Two (Titan) and Black Wings of Cthulhu, Volume Three (Titan), Christopher Golden edited Seize the Night: New Tales of Vampiric Terror (Simon & Schuster), Nancy Kilpatrick edited Expiration Date (Hades/Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy), and Steven Jones edited Horrorology: The Lexicon of Fear (Quercus/Jo Fletcher).

  Anthologies that provided an overview of what’s happening in fantastic literature in countries other than the USA included Hanzai Japan: Fantastical, Futuristic Stories of Crime From and About Japan (Haikasoru), edited by Nick Mamatas and Masumi Washington; The Sea Is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia (Rosarium), edited by Jaymee Goh and Joyce Chng; Imaginarium 3: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (ChiZine Publications), edited by Sandra Kasturi and Helen Marshall; and Tesseracts Eighteen: Wrestling with Gods (Hades/Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy), edited by Liana Kerzner and Jerome Stueart.

  L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 31 (Galaxy), edited by David Farland, is the most recent in a long-running series featuring novice work by beginning writers, some of whom may later turn out to be important talents.

  Novella chapbooks in 2015 included: Slow Bullets, by Alastair Reynolds; Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand; The Last Witness, by K. J. Parker; Speak Easy, by Catherynne M. Valente; Penric’s Demon, by Lois McMaster Bujold; The Deep Woods, by Tim Pratt; Little Sisters, by Vonda N. McIntyre; In the Lovecraft Museum, by Steve Rasnic Tem; Teaching the Dog to Read, by Jonathan Carroll; Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor; and The Two Paupers, by C. S. E. Cooney.

  Former holders of the title of “most prolific author at short lengths” Ken Liu, Lavie Tidhar, and Robert Reed didn’t write quite as much this year; the most prolific author was probably new writer Rich Larson, although he was given a run for his money by Naomi Kritzer, Yoon Ha Lee, Matthew Hughes, Elizabeth Bear, Marissa Lingen, Carrie Vaughn, and Caroline M. Yoachim.

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  (Finding individual pricings for all of the items from small presses mentioned in the Summation has become too time-intensive, and since several of the same small presses publish anthologies, novels, and short-story collections, it seems silly to repeat addresses for them in section after section. Therefore, I’m going to attempt to list here, in one place, all the addresses for small presses that have books mentioned here or there in the Summation, whether from the anthologies section, the novel section, or the short-story collection section, and, where known, their Web site addresses. That should make it easy enough for the reader to look up the individual price of any book mentioned that isn’t from a regular trade publisher; such books are less likely to be found in your average bookstore, or even in a chain superstore, and so will probably have to be mail-ordered. Many publishers seem to sell only online through their Web sites, and some will only accept payment through PayPal. Many books, even from some of the smaller presses, are also available through Amazon.com. If you can’t find an address for a publisher, and it’s quite likely that I’ve missed some here, or failed to update them successfully, Google it. It shouldn’t be that difficult these days to find up-to-date contact information for almost any publisher, however small.)

  Addresses: PS Publishing, Grosvener House, 1 New Road, Hornsea, West Yorkshire, HU18 1PG, England, UK, www.pspublishing.co.uk; Golden Gryphon Press, 3002 Perkins Road, Urbana, IL 61802, www.goldengryphon.com; NESFA Press, P.O. Box 809, Framingham, MA 01701-0809, www.nesfa.org; Subterranean Press, P.O. Box 190106, Burton, MI 48519, www.subterraneanpress.com; Old Earth Books, P.O. Box 19951, Baltimore, MD 21211-0951, www.oldearthbooks.com; Tachyon Press, 1459 18th St. #139, San Francisco, CA 94107, www.tachyonpublications.com; Night Shade Books, 1470 NW Saltzman Road, Portland, OR 97229, www.nightshadebooks.com; Five Star Books, 295 Kennedy Memorial Drive, Waterville, ME 04901, www.galegroup.com/fivestar; NewCon Press, via www.newconpress.com; Small Beer Press, 176 Prospect Ave., Northampton, MA 01060, www.smallbeerpress.com; Locus Press, P.O. Box 13305, Oakland, CA 94661; Crescent Books, Mercat Press Ltd., 10 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh, Scotland EH3 7AL, www.crescentfiction.com; Wildside Press/ Borgo Press, P.O. Box 301, Holicong, PA 18928–0301, or go to www.wildsidepress.com for pricing and ordering; Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, Inc. and Tesseract Books, Ltd., P.O. Box 1714, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada, www.edgewebsite.com; Aqueduct Press, P.O. Box 95787, Seattle, WA 98145–2787, www.aqueductpress.com; Phobos Books, 200 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003, www.phobosweb.com; Fairwood Press, 5203 Quincy Ave. SE, Auburn, WA 98092, www.fairwoodpress.com; BenBella Books, 6440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 508, Dallas, TX 75206, www.benbellabooks.com; Darkside Press, 13320 27th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98125, www.darksidepress.com; Haffner Press, 5005 Crooks Rd., Suite 35, Royal Oak, MI 48073–1239, www.haffnerpress.com; North Atlantic Press, P.O. Box 12327, Berkeley, CA, 94701; Prime Books, P.O. Box 36503, Canton, OH, 44735, www.primebooks.net; MonkeyBrain Books, 11204 Crossland Drive, Austin, TX 78726, www.monkeybrainbooks.com; Wesleyan University Press, University Press of New England, Order Dept., 37 Lafayette St., Lebanon NH 03766–1405, www.wesleyan.edu/wespress; Agog! Press, P.O. Box U302, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia, www.uow.ed.au/~rhood/agogpress; Wheatland Press, via www.wheatlandpress.com; MirrorDanse Books, P.O. Box 3542, Parramatta NSW 2124, Australia, www.tabula-rasa.info/MirrorDanse; Arsenal Pulp Press, 103–1014 Homer Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 2W9, www.arsenalpress.com; DreamHaven Books, 912 W. Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55408; Elder Signs Press/Dimensions Books, order through www.dimensionsbooks.com; Chaosium, via www.chaosium.com; Spyre Books, P.O. Box 3005, Radford, VA 24143; SCIFI, Inc., P.O. Box 8442, Van Nuys, CA 91409–8442; Omnidawn Publishing, order through www.omnidawn.com; CSFG, Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild, via www.csfg.org.au/publishing/anthologies/the_outcast; Hadley Rille Books, via www.hadleyrillebooks.com; Suddenly Press, via suddenlypress@yahoo.com; Sandstone Press, P.O. Box 5725, Dochcarty Road, Dingwall, Ross-shire UK, IV15 9UG, www.sandstonepress.com; Tropism Press, via www.tropismpress.com; SF Poetry Association/Dark Regions Press, via www.sfpoetry.com, checks to Helena Bell, SFPA Treasurer, 1225 West Freeman St., Apt. 12, Carbondale, IL 62401; DH Press, via diamondboo
kdistributors.com; Kurodahan Press, via www.kurodahan.com; Ramble House, 443 Gladstone Blvd., Shreveport LA 71104, www.ramblehouse.com; Interstitial Arts Foundation, via www.interstitialarts.org; Raw Dog Screaming, via www.rawdogscreaming.com; Three Legged Fox Books, 98 Hythe Road, Brighton, BN1 6JS, UK; Norilana Books, via www.norilana.com; coeur de lion, via coeurdelion.com.au; PARSECink, via www.parsecink.org; Robert J. Sawyer Books, via wwww.sfwriter.com/rjsbooks.htm; Rackstraw Press, via http://rackstrawpress onfshost.com; Candlewick, via www.candlewick.com; Zubaan, via www.zubaanbooks.com; Utter Tower, via www.threeleggedfox.co.uk; Spilt Milk Press, via www.electricvelocipede.com; Paper Golem, via www.papergolem.com; Galaxy Press, via www.galaxypress.com; Twelfth Planet Press, via www.twelfthplanetpress.com; Five Senses Press, via www.sensefive.com; Elastic Press, via www.elasticpress.com; Lethe Press, via www.lethepressbooks.com; Two Cranes Press, via www.twocranespress.com; Wordcraft of Oregon, via www.wordcraftoforegon.com; Down East, via www.downeast.com; ISFiC Press, 456 Douglas Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 or www.isficpress.com.