The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection

In the heart of the new millennium, worlds beyond our imagination have opened up, blurring the line between life and art. Embracing the challenges and possibilities of cyberspace, genetics, the universe, and beyond, the world of science fiction has become a porthole into the realities of tomorrow. In The Year’s Best Science Fiction Twenty-third Annual Collection, our very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world with such compelling stories as:“Beyond the Aquila Rift”: Critically acclaimed author Alastair Reynolds takes readers to the edge of the universe, where no voyager has dared to travel before---or so we think.“Comber”: Our world is an ever-changing one, and award-winning author Gene Wolfe explores the darker side of our planet’s fluidity in his own beautiful and inimitable style.“Audubon in Atlantis”: In a world not quite like our own, bestselling author Harry Turtledove shows us that there are reasons some species have become extinct.The thirty stories in this collection imaginatively take us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including:Neal Asher, Paolo Bacigalupi, Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Bear, Chris Beckett, Dominic Green, Daryl Gregory, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, James Patrick Kelley, Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold, Ken MacLeod, Ian McDonald, Vonda N. McIntyre, David Moles, Derryl Murphy, Steven Popkes, Hannu Rajaniemi, Alastair Reynolds, Robert Reed, Chris Roberson, Mary Rosenblum, William Sanders, Bruce Sterling, Michael Swanwick, Harry Turtledove, Peter Watts, Liz Williams, and Gene Wolfe.Supplementing the stories are the editor’s insightful summation of the year’s events and a lengthy list of honorable mentions, making this book both a valuable resource and the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart.From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. The 23rd entry in this acclaimed anthology series from SF maven Dozois, who has won 15 Hugo Awards, showcases 30 tales that demonstrate that the lifeblood of science fiction lies less in new themes than in fresh approaches to old themes. Outstanding selections include Robert Reed's splendid story of a world-sized interstellar spacecraft, "Camouflage"; Liz Williams's "La Malcontenta," set on a most unusual Mars; David Moles's "Planet of the Amazon Women," which puts a new spin on the all-female society; and Mary Rosenblum's "Search Engine," which exploits cyberpunk in unexpected ways. Harry Turtledove pays homage to John James Audubon in "Audubon in Atlantis," an off-beat alternative-world tale, while David Gerrold spins time into "timequakes" in "In the Quake Zone." Dozois provides his usual cogent summation of the year as well as a list of honorable mentions for 2005.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Dozois's definitive must read short story anthology series takes the pulse of science fiction today, revealing it to be a genre of breathtaking scope and imagination." Publisher's Weekly"Praise for The Year’s Best Science Fiction Twenty-second Annual Collection “Hugo winner Dozois shows off the dazzling range of the genre in his annual compendium.... The range of stories indicates that SF still doesn’t know the meaning of the word boundaries.”---Publishers Weekly (starred review)“The most prestigious of the several best-of-the-year fantasy and SF anthologies never fails to enchant and to showcase SF’s leading edge. In it, high-quality contributions by a generous cross section of veterans, rising stars, and newcomers---twenty-nine authors in all---constitute a balanced mixture of ideas and voices.”---Booklist“Huge multiplicity of first-rate fiction...Is the polished platter underlying a huge layer cake of exquisite reading.”---The San Diego Union-Tribune