See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.


Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Year's Best Science Fiction
 
See larger image
 

The Year's Best Science Fiction (Paperback)

by Gardner Dozois (Editor)
3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


9 used from £4.00
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 2 used & new from £19.95

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual Collection (Year's Best Science Fiction)

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual Collection (Year's Best Science Fiction)

by Gardner Dozois
The Year's Best Science Fiction: No. 21

The Year's Best Science Fiction: No. 21

by Gardner Dozois
The New Space Opera

The New Space Opera

by Gardner Dozois
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £4.87
The Year's Best Science Fiction: No. 19

The Year's Best Science Fiction: No. 19

by Gardner Dozois
The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 21 (Mammoth Book of)

The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 21 (Mammoth Book of)

by Gardner Dozois
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £8.99
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 672 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (Jul 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0312336608
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312336608
  • Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.6 x 4.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 575,527 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #42 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > D > Dozois, Gardner

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
science fiction
anthology
this one has to be it
sf anthologies
not free sf reader
gardner dozois
dozois
22nd edition
2008r
2008l
2008f

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
5 star:    (0)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars It's the best SF of the year again, 3 Dec 2005
By David Roy (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
Another year, and another set of "Year's Best" anthologies. While I've always enjoyed David Hartwell's anthologies, last year was the first time that I read the more venerable one edited by Gardner Dozois. However, I enjoyed last year's so much that I just had to check out this year's, the 22nd annual edition. As was last year's, it is an imposing book, with twenty-nine stories in it, all from acclaimed science fiction authors. Unfortunately, I find this year's edition not quite as good as last year's. There were a few stories in it that just didn't do anything for me. On the other hand, there were definitely some stand-outs.

In a rarity for me, some of my favourite stories in the book were more on the hard science side than is usual for my taste. There is Stephen Baxter's excellent "Mayflower II," which deals with a generation ship on a trip to the far reaches of the galaxy and beyond, and what happens in the meantime. On the very edge of the solar system, there is a colony that has hidden itself away the alien Qax who had conquered the Earth. Now, the Coalition of Interim Governance has freed Earth, and is on its way to the colony. Five generation ships are dispatched to save as many of the colony's citizens as possible. On Rusel's ship, the "Pharaoh" of the ship has decided that they are going to journey all the way across the galaxy, a trip that will take many thousands of years. The story is Rusel's, and how he becomes virtually immortal, and how the citizens of the ship begin to devolve as time goes on. It's a truly horrifying story in a way, demonstrating what isolated societies can become over time. For a while, I was beginning to get bored with the story, as it's not really my favourite type of story and it was quite long. However, I soon got wrapped up in this society, and Rusel's severance from his own humanity. It's a slow story in some ways, but the ideas behind it just grab you and don't let you go. It's probably the best story in the book.

Another great story is "The Clapping Hands of God" by Michael F. Flynn. In this one, a gate has opened to another world. Teams of scientists go through these gates to explore the worlds, but this one just happens to be inhabited by an intelligent species. Hassan Maklouf is the leader of this particular expedition, and he is in charge of making sure they are not seen by the inhabitants, as well as making all the decisions. The studies are going well, with some progress being made on studying their language as well as their culture. Theories are presented for why they act in certain ways, especially when an apparently martial rally is seen. This is followed by what appears to be a couple spending their last night together. Then things really start to go wrong, as Hassan discovers that they aren't the only invaders here. There are two main characters in this story, Hassan and a female anthropologist, Iman. There are some romantic sparks between them, even as they both try to act like proper Moslems. However, the broader story is their conflict once things start to go wrong, as Iman is the humanitarian scientist and Hassan is the practical one. The ending is tragic, all the more so because of the hints of their relationship earlier in the story. It was very nice to see a story where the characters' religions were just part of their character, rather than a main part of the story. While these two are the main characters, all of the other scientists are also well done, giving the story a broad tapestry on which to weave its magic.

While those two stories were the best of the lot in my opinion, other strong stories included "The Tribes of Bela" by Albert Cowdrey (a series of grisly murders on a remote mining colony are symptoms of a planet that's trying to reclaim itself and expel the invaders), "Leviathan Wept," by Daniel Abraham (a member of a futuristic anti-terrorism squad discovers that fanaticism comes in all shapes and sizes, including possibly his own), and "Investments," by Walter Jon Williams (a space opera that gives us illegal business dealings as well as a star cluster shooting out x-rays that could destroy the planet, making the investigation of the business dealings kind of moot). Most of the other stories in this volume were also quite good, or at least readable.

Some choices I did disagree with, however. As I said above, "Mother Aegypt" isn't one of Baker's best stories. It has a strong first three-quarters, but then fell apart for me at the end. "Start the Clock," by Benjamin Rosenbaum, was a nice little story but I didn't find the world that believable and thus I wouldn't include it among the best of the year. Finally, I didn't really care for "The Defenders," by Colin P. Davies, when I first read it in Asimov's. It didn't improve when I read it again here. It was decent, but again not one of the best.

One thing I do have to say about the quality of this anthology, however, is that the copy editing was horrendous. Typos were all over the place, a few words were wrong here and there. I usually don't notice these things, as I'm sure they exist in almost every book that's out there. When I do notice them, however, it must really be bad. That being said, I really did enjoy this anthology, and while it's not as good as the 21st edition, it is definitely worth picking up if you like science fiction. Dozois is one of the best editors out there, and it shows once again.

David Roy

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars little imagination, 6 Dec 2005
By 2cleverbyhalf (somewhere in the future) - See all my reviews
This is a disappointing collection of stories. There's a couple of gems, but overall the quality is poor. There are some stories which are out and out fantasy and don't belong here. Plus - and if I thought anyone read these comments I'd be worried about the next bit - there's too many stories by women! Which is just a lazy way of saying there's way too many stories about 'feelings' and 'communications' and 'humanity'. Of course a couple of 'soft' stories is acceptable - but this is SciFi not chicklit. SciFi short stories should be as fun as the Fifties Twightlight Zone. Most of this book is as fun as a 1 man self help group.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback


Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

Shop the Powerball store

 

Make A Wish

Get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

More info on Wish Lists

 

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System
For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates