The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018 edited by N. K. Jemisin & John Joseph Adams - Book Report #250

I have avoided previous editions of The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy because of the title.  You see, I am not much of a Fantasy fan and I believed I'd only enjoy about half the offerings.  With this opportunity, I was exposed to stories outside my comfort zone.  And isn’t that what reading should be all about?

Many stories in this collection are so broad that, to be squeezed into a Fantasy or Science Fiction label, is a bit constricting.  But then I was left wondering; if the editors wanted to increase awareness of these authors, where else could they have showcased them?  Of all the genres out there F&SF are the most accommodating.

In all cases, the quality of the writing was so good that I found myself transported into the stories.  There is something here to appeal to just about everybody but that doesn't mean I enjoyed each one.  Some genres simply do not appeal to me.  Each story had an interesting twist that pushed the boundaries and created something unexpected and interesting.

The deeper I got into the collection, I began to suspect that the fiction selected was geared more to introducing the curious to genre fiction than to entertaining the entrenched reader.  However, the skill of the editors was evident whenever I found myself sighing, wondering when I would return to a science fiction story.  The pacing and placement of the stories rewarded me for reading through the stuff I found challenging.

Some of the standouts were penned by Charles Payseur, Jaymee Goh, A. Merc Rustad and Rachael K. Jones.

I wouldn't say that the book was an easy read because some stories either frustrated or disturbed me in some way.  I will say that it was a rewarding experience; I did not plow through the anthology but let each story sit with me for a while before moving on to the next one.  Some of the more challenging ones stayed in my mind for days, they gave me something valuable to think about.  There was often more going on between the words than the story that lived on the surface of the text.

And that would be my advice to readers of this book - take your time with it, read only one story a day.  Believe in the editors, they saw something in each tale that was worthy of them being collected here.  I have been constantly impressed with how some stories expanded in my mind over a day or two to make me feel that I had read a novel.

In the coming days and weeks, I will review each story in the collection individually.

Full Disclosure - I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

N. K. Jemisin's website - http://nkjemisin.com/

John Joseph Adams' website - http://www.johnjosephadams.com/

N. K. Jemisin

John Joseph Adams

Swanwatch by Yoon Ha Lee

This was a strange little piece that I really did not get.

People, who could be criminals or dissidents are sent to these ships, or maybe it's a space station, with the understanding that they will eventually kill themselves by flying a ship into a black hole.

But, while waiting for the ultimate day, they are free to pursue their passions, be it art or music or something else.

Honestly, I did not get this story as it blew right over me.

As always, I feel the weak link in the story was me.  For whatever reason I did not connect with it.  The writing was lovely but the characters did not jump off the page and into my brain here.

Yoon Ha Lee's website - http://www.yoonhalee.com/

Yoon Ha Lee

Warship by George R. R. Martin and George Guthridge

This was a quick six page story where, after a successful attack mission, the warship Alecto's crew succumb to an alien virus.

Lone survivor, First Dutyman Lewis Akklar, prepares for an act of self-sacrifice to protect the people of Earth.

There is also a nice twist ending here which gave the story some depth.

I liked it.

George R R Martin's website - http://www.georgerrmartin.com/

George Guthridge - http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?George_Guthridge

George R R Martin

George Guthridge

Twilight of the Gods by John C. Wright

This was another cool story that played with an SF trope.

This time it is a multi-generational ark ship.

What if something happens to the ark en route to it's destination?  Here they are attacked and boarded.

Now think of this; the raid is not entirely successful and some of the inhabitants of the ark manage to escape and hide away for a generation.  It's an unbelievably large ship by the way.

Cut off from the technology of the ship, the events of the past fall into legend and the remaining people revert to a medieval society.

I loved how it read like a high fantasy story while being fully aware that the characters are in a ship in space.

It was a nice blending of the two genres.

John C Wright's websited - http://www.scifiwright.com/

John C. Wright

Different Day by K. Tempest Bradford

A three page story that broke with the SF trope of alien races being depicted as one culture occupying a whole planet.

What if?  And I love stories that ask this question.  What if an alien race makes first contact with us on Earth?  Who says it will be in the United States?

Then another race, from the same planet also arrives to make contact, but they are from a different country?

Race and political questions come to play in this very well thought out little tale.

I loved how it just blew apart the conventions of SF always being focused on the United States.

Nicely done.

K. Tempest Bradford's website - http://tempest.fluidartist.com/

K. Tempest Bradford

Prisons by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason

A prison planet revolts against it's keepers.

The success of the revolt hangs on the remoteness of the world and in keeping the prison's AI in control.  Guess how well that goes?

I enjoyed this story, it was well constructed and felt like it could easily be a movie.  I liked how the point of view changed from the AI to omniscient third person.

The twist worked for me and I found that I ripped through the story.

Well done.

Kevin J Anderson's website - http://www.wordfire.com/

Doug Beason's website - http://www.dougbeason.com/file/Welcome.html

Kevin J Anderson

Doug Beason

Someone Is Stealing The Great Throne Rooms Of The Galaxy by Harry Turtledove

This story was as cute as the hamster protagonist of it.

That's right - I said hamster.

It was delightful, irreverent and fun. 

The space cadet hamster is tasked to investigate the thefts. 

Lots of puns and playing with the tropes of the omniscient narrator. 

A joy.

Harry Turtledove's website - https://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/turtledove.html

Harry Turtledove

Aftermaths by Lois McMaster Bujold

What a wonderful story.

In the wake of a battle in space, a two-member crew are sent to a ship that has been destroyed to scan for and recover the dead. 

It sounds dark but is just the opposite. There is a quiet dignity and caring for the fallen that I found heart-warming. 

This is the kind of fiction that works for me.  It's about "people" living and working in the future. 

The best so far.

Bujold's website - http://dendarii.com/

Lois McMaster Bujold

Terra-Exulta by S. L. Gilbow

This was an odd little story.  It is told in the form of a letter to the Galactic Society of Ancient Languages on how to translate Archaic Planetary English into Galactic Standard.

It told of an interesting story of colonists who have coped with and influx of indigenous life forms that caused people to become sick and die.  Strangely, the focus of the story is the creation of new words to describe the tragedy and how it is important to invent words well.

Like I said it was an odd story.  Kinda cold, kinda interesting, certainly different.

Gilbow's website - http://slgilbow.com/

S. L. Gilbow

Life-Suspension by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

This was more to my liking.

There is a giant big alien threat that the officers of S.R.S Amaterasu are dispatched to deal with.

This could have been all about describing the aliens but instead it focused on the blossoming relationship between the commander of a fighter wing and an officer in charge of the life-suspension systems.

I liked that Modesitt didn't waste my time with explaining how "bad" the enemy was, I can take that as a given.  In the end, stories should be about people and how they are coping in a given situation.  The SF can take a back seat and be in the background and still be very effective as genre fiction.

I liked this story a whole bunch.

L. E. Modesitt, Jr's website - http://www.lemodesittjr.com/

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Carthago Delenda Est by Genevieve Valentine

A message from the planet Carthage is received and delegates from every known world send a ship out to meet them.

Honestly, this was a mess of a story, which only came into some kind of focus in the last few pages. 

Once again so much word count was wasted on describing alien physiology and customs that it took too long before the aspect of a multi-generational (generations of clones) mission for first contact emerged.

This was another miss for me.

Genevieve Valentine's website - http://www.genevievevalentine.com/

Genevieve Valentine

Mazer in Prison by Orson Scott Card

I don't really know what I think about this story.

On one side, it's an interesting take on suspended animation. Instead of freezing an individual he is put on a ship and sent out on a long journey at near-light speed.  This is to take advantage of the space/time effect that Einstein discovered. 

Then it is also a critique of military decision making and authority structure. 

There was a story of sorts in there, but I was not captured by it. 

It was a miss for me.

It should be noted that this takes place int the Enders Game series and this may be why it did not work for me.  I have not read the books.  As a matter of fact, this was my first story by Card.

Orson Scott Card - http://www.hatrack.com/

Orson Scott Card

Shooting Gallery by J. B. Park - A Short Story Review

32/150/2016

My recent dive into the world of audio books has lead me to my other interest - short stories.

Lightspeed Magazine has been in my circle of magazines since it launched in 2010.  John Joseph Adams is the editor and anthologist who has been making quite a splash in the world of short fiction.

The Magazine has always been an interesting hybrid, half the issue is available online for free.  For the complete issue you only have to drop $3.99 which is a real bargain.

They also podcast the free stories which is something I really appreciate.

I have often thought it would be a cool idea to go back into the archives of Analog or some other, now-defunct pulp magazine and podcast the stories.

But what about this story?

It's about a down-on-his-luck undead teenaged boy who is trying to earn a little bit of rent money for his down-on-her-luck mother.

He decides to leverage his "undead-ness" to do so.

It really was an interesting idea.  It was also touching and deeply rooted in humanity.

It was a good read.

Lightspeed Magazine November 2016 issue.

Lightspeed Magazine January 2015 a recap.

Generally I'd have to say that I enjoyed this issue.

Some of the stories felt more like Soft SF which I'm less thrilled by.

That said I never found myself wishing I'd not read a story or wanted to give up one one.  All of them had interesting subjects.  The two highlights of the issue, for me, were The Choice by Paul McAuley and More Adventures on Other Planets by Michael Cassutt

Find the links to each story below

Ad Astra.

Beautiful Boys by Theodora Goss:
http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/02/beautiful-boys-by-theodora-goss.html

He Came from a Place of Openness and Truth by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam:
http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/02/he-came-from-place-of-openness-and.html

More Adventures on Other Planets by Michael Cassutt:
http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/02/more-adventures-on-other-planets-by.html

Men of Unborrowed Vision by Jeremiah Tolbert:
http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/02/men-of-unborrowed-vision-by-jeremiah.html

The Choice by Paul McAuley:
http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/02/the-choice-by-paul-mcauley.html

Lightspeed Magazine, July 2011 - Fiction Recap

I enjoyed every story presented in this issue.  My heart lies in hard science fiction which is well represented here.

I am a big fan of humans; I like stories that involve people; I prefer it when the future is the setting and humans are involved in the drama or conflict.  With aliens, often too much word count is wasted on describing how strange or icky the creatures are, rather than pursuing a story.  I was happy that Face Value did not fall into that trap and we were given a compelling story, involving aliens, but focused on the two humans in it.

I purchased the issue primarily for The Cold Equations and the re-imagined The Old Equations.  I must say; The Cold Equations has lost nothing of its ability to grip the reader since it was first published in 1954.

Below are links to my thoughts on each story in the issue.

The Cold Equations -
 http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/01/the-cold-equations-by-tom-godwin.html

The Old Equations -
http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/02/the-old-equations-by-jake-kerr.html

Sweet Sixteen -
http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/02/sweet-sixteen-by-kat-howard.html

Face Value -
http://eric-the-mailman.blogspot.ca/2015/02/face-value-by-karen-joy-fowler.html