Books: The Year`s Best Science Fiction - 34th Annual Collection By Gardner Dozois

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - I like science fiction. Unfortunately most science fiction novels disappoint. Therefore I usually skim collections of science fiction short stories in order to find some gems. For many years I have been reading the anthology "The Year`s Best Science Fiction" edited by Gardner Dozois. His compilations have been the market leader for 3 decades and offer a kaleidoscope of plots, ideas and styles. Dozois caters to a lot of different tastes and shows the state of art in science fiction.

I just finished reading his "Thirty-Fourth Annual Collection" which harvests the science fiction year 2016 (the print edition, published in July 2017, has 704 pages amazon). As usual Dozois started with a lengthy summation of important events, trends and publications in the world of science of fiction in 2016. For each story the author wrote an introduction where he outlines the background and most important works of the presented author.

The collection of 39 stories by different authors has something for almost everyone. A lot stories deal with AIs, for me the most important science fiction topic today. My favorite is "Mika Model" by Paolo Bacigalupi. A female sex robot turns herself in. She had murdered her owner, how should the cops deal with that? I also enjoyed"They Have All One Breath" by Karl Bunker. The world is more and more managed by benevolent AIs who seem to have best intention. They use nano technology and other technologies to make everything better, or don´t they? Flight From the Ages" by Derek Künsken is a weird & psychedelic story about AIs, spaceship wormholes & more - post cyber-punk?

Computerviruses are another import topic these days: "RedKing" by Craig Delancey is a cyper-punk thriller about a software designer and virtual game expert who is fighting against the creator of a deadly computer virus set in near-term future.

Dozois covers Genetic Engineering with "Prodigal" by Gord Sellar. A family  owns a genetic engineered dog who became somewhat intelligent. The dog is man`s best friend?

I found also traditional topics of course, like Aliens:"Innumerable Glimmering Lights" by Richard Larson shows us intelligent alien who live in an ocean below the miles of ice. Maybe on one of the icy moons of Jupiter or Saturn? One of them is ambitious and wants to find out what is beyond the ice - causing a lot of trouble. In "Touring with the Alien" by Carolyn Ives Gilman a woman travels together with an alien in a near future USA.

And yes, planet Mars inspires our fantasies for centuries: In "Vortex" by Gregory Benford Chinese & American scientists are exploring the Mars while dealing with a political conflict on earth. The story has lots of scientific insights as usual with Benford.

Space travel didn´t lose its fascination: In "Checkerboard Planet" by Eleanor Arnason human scientists are exploring a strange planet. "The Iron Tactician" by Alastair Reynolds is a baroque fable & space odyssey blended with military science fiction. We read about a scavenger, pilot of a small space ship, who is hunting for a super weapon to fight the attack of superior aliens.

Some stories don`t fit into the traditional categories but are worth reading anyway:  "My Generations Shall Praise" by Samantha Henderson tells about a boy who lives in a strange white room a kind of psychedelic. It`s a speculative story about identity and reality.

My selection is very subjective of course and the rest of the stories may cater different tastes. In the moment of writing the Kindle version of book is priced with $10,99. With this price & quality the compilation is almost unbeatable.

To be continued.