space
head
head head head
Home Contact RSS Feed
COMICS   •   MOVIES   •   MUSIC   •   TELEVISION   •   GAMES   •   BOOKS
Book Review: The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection
space
Waerloga69   |  @   |  

Years Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection review
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection
Hardcover | Softcover | Kindle Edition
Edited by Gardner Dozois
St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Cover Price: $22.99 (Softcover)

Have you ever tried to review an anthology? It’s a lot harder than you might think! Over six hundred pages from almost forty authors was not just an investment in time but it was also a chance to get to know some new writers and revisit some that I hadn’t read in a while.

I was, at first, a bit apprehensive about digging into this hefty tome, but once I started, I was amazed at how quickly I shot through the stories. In an era where many of our devices and gadgets were once thought of as science fiction, how much of what we read today will be available for purchase in the future? We look at science fiction as entertainment but much of it foreshadows our culture and what we can expect in days to come. This, my friends, is what The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection is all about.

Now, having said all that, this collection is literally a little bit of every sub-genre of sci-fi. I have always been more of a fantasy reader when it comes to this combined section of the local bookstore but I am definitely familiar with many of these authors. I started reading more science fiction in my early thirties when I started managing a Waldenbooks (RIP, store 969) and became intimately familiar with it all. As you know, it’s a broad spectrum that falls under this heading. For some publishers, anything futuristic renders it into this category whilst others have a bit more criteria for inclusion. So I did what I usually do, I started on page one and read through to page six hundred and fifty-four! Without looking too closely at the authors, I found myself really loving the differences in the stories.

From Ian McDonald‘s short sentences about introspection to Ken Liu‘s passionate tale of cybernetic implants, this compilation started off with a bang and just kept on going! Dig a bit deeper and Lavie Tidhar‘s exploration of the cycle of life is utterly thrilling while at the same time sad beyond measure, proving that life is meant to be lived, experienced. With the likes of Elizabeth Bear, who has not one but two stories in this anthology (as does the aforementioned Ken Liu). Other mainstays like Alastair Reynolds remind me why I fell in love with their work originally. But one author, whom I had never previously encountered, really got my attention. Cory Doctorow hands down made me sit back and think. About life, death, and everything in between. Almost fifty pages of some of the most prolific writing you can find in this field. I will be finding his previous work and I will be binge reading it soon!

While I may have cited only a few writers here, I am by no means trying to ignore the remainder. As it stands, I could spend an entire day composing line after line that speaks to how great their tales were and how I love this book. But I won’t. Instead, I’ll simply say that this is the perfect book for the occasional science fiction reader. Or for anyone building or supplying a library. It is, without a doubt, exactly what it says it is. The year’s best science fiction. I am quite pleased that I was afforded the opportunity to embrace this and review it. Had I not, I would never have discovered many of these authors, and isn’t that what we love so much about anthologies? I urge you to acquire this for your collection or at the very least request it from your local library or literary institution. Always forward, never look back. The future is happening all around us. Are you ready for it?

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual Collection cover

1 Comment »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

space
space
Previous Article
space
Next Article
«
»
space
space
space
Amazon.com
space
You may have noticed that we're now AD FREE! Please support Geeks of Doom by using the Amazon Affiliate link above. All of our proceeds from the program go toward maintaining this site.
space
Geeks of Doom on Twitter Geeks of Doom on Facebook Geeks of Doom on Instagram Follow Geeks of Doom on Tumblr Geeks of Doom on YouTube Geeks of Doom Email Digest Geeks of Doom RSS Feed
space
space
space
space
The Drill Down Podcast TARDISblend Podcast Westworld Podcast
2023  ·   2022  ·   2021  ·   2020  ·   2019  ·   2018  ·   2017  ·   2016  ·   2015  ·   2014  ·  
2013  ·   2012  ·   2011  ·   2010  ·   2009  ·   2008  ·   2007  ·   2006  ·   2005
space
Geeks of Doom is proudly powered by WordPress.

Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press

Geeks of Doom is designed and maintained by our geeky webmaster
All original content copyright ©2005-2023 Geeks of Doom
All external content copyright of its respective owner, except where noted
space
Creative Commons License
This website is licensed under
a Creative Commons License.
space
About | Privacy Policy | Contact
space