Four Year's Best anthologies; Hugo nominations are open

Here are the tables of contents for four forthcoming best of the year anthologies, summarizing short fiction excellence for work published in 2015.

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy
of the Year, Vol. 10
Edited by Jonathan Strahan
Solaris Books, forthcoming May 2016

Table of contents:

1. “City of Ash” by Paolo Bacigalupi (Medium.com, read it here)
2. “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson” by Elizabeth Bear (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
3. “The Machine Starts” by Greg Bear (Future Visions, edited by Microsoft & Melcher Media)
4. “The Winter Wraith” by Jeffrey Ford (F&SF, November/December 2015)
5. “Black Dog” by Neil Gaiman (Trigger Warnings)
6. “Jamaica Ginger” by Nalo Hopkinson & Nisi Shawl (Stories for Chip, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell)
7. “Drones” by Simon Ings (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
8. “Emergence” by Gwyneth Jones (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
9. “Dancy vs. the Pterosaur” by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Sirenia Digest, April 2015)
10. “Another Word for World” by Anne Leckie (Future Visions, edited by Microsoft & Melcher Media)
11. “The Game of Smash and Recovery” by Kelly Link (Strange Horizons, October 2015, read it here)
12. “The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn” by Usman T. Mailk (Tor.com, April 2015, read it here)
13. “Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan” by Ian McDonald (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
14. “Little Sisters” by Vonda McIntyre (Book View Café, May 2015)
15. “Calved” by Sam J. Miller (Asimov’s, September 2015)
16. “Ghosts of Home” by Sam J. Miller (Lightspeed, August 2015, read it here)
17. “The Deepwater Bride” by Tamsyn Muir (F&SF, July/August 2015)
18. “The Empress in Her Glory” by Robert Reed (Clarkesworld, April 2015, read it here)
19. “A Murmuration” by Alastair Reynolds (Interzone, March/April 2015)
20. “Oral Argument” by Kim Stanley Robinson (Tor.com, December 2015, read it here)
21. “Water of Versailles” by Kelly Robson (Tor.com, June 2015, read it here)
22. “Capitalism in the 22nd Century” by Geoff Ryman (Stories for Chip, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell)
23. “The Karen Joy Fowler Book Club” by Nike Sulway (Lightspeed, October 2015, read it here)
24. “The Lily and the Horn” by Catherynne Valente (Fantasy Magazine, December 2015, read it here)
25. “Blood, Ash, Braids” by Genevieve Valentine (Operation Arcana, edited by John Joseph Adams)
26. “Kaiju maximus®: ‘So Various, So Beautiful, So New’” by Kai Ashante Wilson (Fantasy Magazine, December 2015, read it here)
27. “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers” by Alyssa Wong (Nightmare Magazine, October 2015, read it here)

The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016
Edited by Rich Horton
Prime Books, forthcoming May 2016

Table of contents:

1. “The Daughters of John Demetrius” by Joe Pitkin (Analog, October 2015)
2. “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro (Analog, September 2015)
3. “Twelve and Tag” by Gregory Norman Bossert (Asimov’s, March 2015)
4. “Mutability” by Ray Nayler (Asimov’s, June 2015)
5. “Acres of Perhaps” by Will Ludwigsen (Asimov’s, July 2015)
6. “Unearthly Landscape by a Lady” by Rebecca Campbell (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, October 2015, read it here)
7. “The King in the Cathedral” by Rich Larson (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2015 read it here)
8. “Little Sisters” by Vonda N. McIntyre (Book View Cafe, May 2015)
9. “The Long Goodnight of Violet Wild” by Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld, January 2015, read it here)
10. “Asymptotic” by Andy Dudak (Clarkesworld, June 2015, read it here)
11. “Cat Pictures Please” by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld, January 2015, read it here)
12. “Today I Am Paul” by Martin L. Shoemaker (Clarkesworld, August 2015, read it here)
13. “The Deepwater Bride” by Tamysn Muir (F&SF, July/August 2015)
14. “The Two Paupers” by C.S.E. Cooney (Fairchild Books)
15. “Hello, Hello” by Seanan McGuire (Future Visions, edited by Microsoft & Melcher Media)
16. “The Astrakhan, the Homburg, and the Red, Red Coal” by Chaz Brenchley (Lightspeed, June 2015, read it here)
17. “Time Bomb Time” by C.C. Finlay (Lightspeed, May 2015, read it here)
18. “And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead” by Brooke Bolander (Lightspeed, February 2015, read it here)
19. “The Karen Joy Fowler Book Club” by Nike Sulway (Lightspeed, October 2015, read it here)
20. “My Last Bringback” by John Barnes (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
21. “Drones” by Simon Ings (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
22. “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson” by Elizabeth Bear (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
23. “Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Idea Countness Rathagan” by Ian McDonald (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
24. “The Graphology of Hemorrhage” by Yoon Ha Lee (Operation Arcana, edited by John Joseph Adams)
25. “Capitalism in the 22nd Century” by Geoff Ryman (Stories for Chip, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell)
26. “The Game of Smash and Recovery” by Kelly Link (Strange Horizons, October 2015, read it here)
27. “This Evening’s Performance” by Genevieve Valentine (The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk)
28. “Please Undo This Hurt” by Seth Dickinson (Tor.com, September 2015, read it here)
29. “Consolation” by John Kessel (Twelve Tomorrows, edited by Bruce Sterling)
30. “Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu (Uncanny, January/February 2015, read it here)

The Best Science Fiction of the Year,
Vol. 1
Edited by Neil Clarke
Night Shade Books, forthcoming June 2016

Table of contents:

1. “A Murmuration” by Alastair Reynolds (Interzone, March/April 2015)
2. “In Blue Lily’s Wake” by Aliette de Bodard (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
3. “Outsider” by An Owomeyla (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
4. “Another Word for World” by Ann Leckie (Future Visions, edited by Microsoft & Melcher Media)
5. “Iron Pegasus” by Brenda Cooper (Mission: Tomorrow, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt)
6. “Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed, September 2015, read it here)
7. “Bannerless” by Carrie Vaughn (The End Has Come, edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey)
8. “Gypsy” by Carter Scholz (PM Press)
9. “The Smog Society” by Chen Qiufan, translated by Ken Liu and Carmen Yiling Yan (Lightspeed, August 2015, read it here)
10. “The Tumbledowns of Cleopatra Abyss” by David Brin (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
11. “Damage” by David D. Levine (Tor.com, January 2015, read it here)
12. “Capitalism in the 22nd Century” by Geoff Ryman (Stories for Chip, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell)
13. “Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu (Uncanny, January/February 2015, read it here)
14. “Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan” by Ian McDonald (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
15. “Hold-Time Violations” by John Chu (Tor.com, October 2015, read it here)
16. “Two-Year Man” by Kelly Robson (Asimov’s, August 2015)
17. “The Gods Have Not Died in Vain” by Ken Liu (The End Has Come, edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey)
18. “Today I Am Paul” by Martin L. Shoemaker (Clarkesworld, August 2015, read it here)
19. “Cocoons” by Nancy Kress (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
20. “Cat Pictures Please” by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld, January 2015, read it here)
21. “So Much Cooking” by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld, November 2015, read it here)
22. “No Placeholder for You, My Love” by Nick Wolven (Asimov’s, August 2015)
23. “Wild Honey” by Paul McAuley (Asimov’s, August 2015)
24. “Meshed” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld, February 2015, read it here)
25. “Empty” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s, December 2015)
26. “Calved” by Sam J. Miller (Asimov’s, September 2015)
27. “The Audience” by Sean McMullen (Analog, June 2015)
28. “Hello, Hello” by Seanan McGuire (Future Visions, edited by Microsoft & Melcher Media)
29. “Three Bodies at Mitanni” by Seth Dickinson (Analog, June 2015)
30. “Violation of the TrueNet Security Act” by Taiyo Fujii, translated by Jim Hubbert (Lightspeed, July 2015, read it here)
31. “The Cold Inequalities” by Yoon Ha Lee (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)

The Year’s Best Science Fiction,
Thirty-third Annual Collection
Edited by Gardner Dozois 
St. Martin's Griffin, forthcoming July 2016

Table of contents:

1. “The Falls: A Luna Story” by Ian McDonald (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
2. “Three Cups of Grief, By Starlight” by Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld, January 2015, read it here)
3. “Ruins” by Eleanor Arnason (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
4. “Gypsy” by Carter Scholz (PM Press)
5. “Emergence” by Gwyneth Jones (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
6. “Calved” by Sam J. Miller (Asimov’s, September 2015)
7. “Meshed” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld, February 2015, read it here)
8. “Bannerless” by Carrie Vaughn (The End has Come, edited by John Joseph Adams and Hugh Howey)
9. “The Astrakhan, the Homberg, and the Red Red Coat” by Chaz Brenchley (Lightspeed, June 2015, read it here)
10. “Another Word for World” by Ann Leckie (Future Visions, edited by Microsoft & Melcher Media)
11. “City of Ash” by Paolo Bacigalupi (Medium.com, read it here)
12. “The Muses of Shuyedan-18” by Indrapramit Das (Asimov’s, June 2015)
13. “The Audience” by Sean McMullen (Analog, June 2015)
14. “Consolation” by John Kessel (Twelve Tomorrows, edited by Bruce Sterling)
15. “Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Idea Countness Rathagan” by Ian McDonald (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
16. “Rates of Change” by James S.A. Corey (Meeting Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan)
17. “The Children of Gal” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov's, April/May 2015)
18. “Today I Am Paul” by Martin L. Shoemaker (Clarkesworld, August 2015, read it here)
19. “Trapping the Pleistecene” by James Sarafin (F&SF, May/June 2015)
20. “Machine Learning” by Nancy Kress (Future Visions, edited by Microsoft & Melcher Media)
21. “Silence Like Diamonds” by John Barnes (LightReading, July 2015, read it here)
22. “Inhuman Garbage” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov's, March 2015)
23. “Planet of Fear” by Paul McAuley (Old Venus, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
24. “It Takes More Than Muscles to Frown” by Ned Beauman (Twelve Tomorrows, edited by Bruce Sterling)
25. “The Daughters of John Demetrius” by Joe Pitkin (Analog, October 2015)
26. “Hello, Hello” by Seanan McGuire (Future Visions, edited by Microsoft & Melcher Media)
27. “Capitalism in the 22nd Century” by Geoff Ryman (Stories for Chip, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell)
28. “Ice” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld, October 2015, read it here)
29. “The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill” by Kelly Robson (Clarkesworld, February 2015, read it here)
30. “In Panic Town, on the Backward Moon” by Michael F. Flynn (Mission: Tomorrow, edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt)
31. “The First Gate of Logic” by Benjamin Rosenbaum (Stories for Chip, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell)
32. “Billy Tumult” by Nick Harkaway (Stories for Chip, edited by Nisi Shawl and Bill Campbell)
33. “No Placeholder for You, My Love” by Nick Wolven (Asimov's, August 2015)
34. “The Game of Smash and Recovery” by Kelly Link (Strange Horizons, October 2015, read it here)
35. “A Stopped Clock” by Madeline Ashby (Atlantic Council's War Stories from the Future, read it here in PDF)
36. “Citadel of Weeping Pearls” by Aliette de Bodard (Asimov's, October/November 2015)

There's a lot that could be said about these lists: where they agree and disagree, which publications the editors found to have the best work, etc. For now I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader. I will mention that these lists make excellent preparation for people who vote for the Hugo Awards ...

The Hugo Award nominations are now open
Yes, from now until March 31, the Hugo nominations are open to members of the World Science Fiction Convention. In order to vote you need to be a member of last year's (Spokane), this year's (Kansas City), or next year's (Helsinki) convention.

Related link:
The Hugo Award nominations ballot

The Best of the Year: 2015

It's that end-of-the-year list-making time.

Over at the Coode Street Podcast there was an interesting discussion of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2015. Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe were joined by noted critics Paul Kincaid and Adam Roberts. Prompted to give their individual choices for their top five picks:

Adam Roberts:
Top book: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. In dialog with the backlist of science fiction. Might be Robinson's best novel. Resonant and deep, clever, sophisticated.
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (the conclusion of a trilogy)
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (which appeared in 2015 in Britain)
Clade by James Bradley
Luna by Ian McDonald
Touch by Claire North
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson, sequel to Europe in Autumn, one of the best books of 2014

Paul Kincaid:
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, sequel to Life After Life (which was even better)
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
Where by Kit Reed
Luna by Ian McDonald
Slade House by David Mitchell

Gary K. Wolfe:
Wolfe said he didn't want to overlap too much with Roberts and Kincaid
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
Clade by James Bradley
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
Three Moments of an Explosion by China Mieville (Roberts seconds this choice)

Jonathan Strahan:
Top book: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson, most engaged, most timely
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
Clade by James Bradley
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (Roberts seconds this choice)
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashanti Wilson
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Galapagos Regained by James Morrow

I've left out all the discussion around these lists, which was thought provoking and which I recommend listening to. I could quibble with some of the choices, having read several of these titles, yet on the whole these are strong lists. I agree that Aurora is the standout science fiction novel of 2015. (Listen to the Coode Street podcast here or on iTunes.)

Adam Roberts' sharp best of the year essay, with some additional titles, is on the Guardian website.

For a wider net that encompasses sf and fantasy, weird fiction and mainstream, especially international titles, I recommend Jeff VanderMeer's best books of 2015. His choice for best novel of the year is Animal Money by Michael Cisco. I've read an earlier novel by Cisco and I'm not sure I've recovered yet. I am definitely on board for this one.

For an example of poorly informed (or lazy?) list, there's BuzzFeed's 24 best sf books of 2015. About half of them are relevant and interesting. The other half look like someone randomly grabbed some books off a shelf.

The Coode Street Podcast

Hosts Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe have created a relaxed and knowledgeable podcast about books and the science fiction community. They frequently have read and praised the best books of the year before they become available to the public, which is valuable to any reader.

As The Coode Street Podcast has matured, their interviews have improved and become the strength of the podcast. I would go so far as to say that these interviews have become important listening for anyone interested in science fiction, fantasy, and related fiction.

Here’s an overview of interviews so far in 2012 that were remarkable:

Elizabeth Hand
Hand discusses her two new novels, Available Dark (sequel to Generation Loss) and Radiant Days. Gary Wolfe suggests that the arts are central to Hand’s recent work, which frequently deal with struggling artists, photographers, painters, the theatre, and Rimbaud in Radiant Days. Hand finds that novella-length may be her natural story length. (follow here)

Ellen Kushner
Kushner shares the process of adapting her novel Swordpoint into an audio book, available on Audible.com. (follow here)

Barry Malzberg
Malzberg, a grand old man of the science fiction field, whose memories and experiences are a treasure, advances his theory that the 1950s is the Golden Age of science fiction. Kindly overlook the comically maladroit use of Skype. (follow here)

Michael Dirda
Essayist and long-time book reviewer for the Washington Post, Dirda shares his enthusiasm for the fathers of genre fiction: Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. (follow here)

Peter Straub
Straub and his hosts consider the wonders and joys of reading Gene Wolfe (I could listen to listen to them talk about Gene Wolfe all day long). Straub praises the work of Brian Evenson and Caitlín Keirnan. He calls Keirnan’s new book, The Drowning Girl: A Memoir (2012), a masterpiece. They discuss the limitations of genre boundaries and the Library of America’s notions of genre. (follow here)

Older episodes of The Coode Street Podcast have featured many fine guests, including Ursula K. Le Guin. Unfortunately they spent the Le Guin interview discussing the (by all accounts) under-informed book of essays about science fiction by Margaret Atwood, instead of talking about something more interesting, like what writing Le Guin herself is working on, or what books that she has read recently that she is excited about.

A list of prior guests reads like a Who’s Who of the science fiction community: Kim Stanley Robinson, Ian McDonald. Alastair Reynolds, Jo Walton, John Clute, Ellen Klages, Eileen Gunn, Geoff Ryman, Terry Bisson, Greg Bear, Karen Lord, Ellen Datlow, Jeffrey Ford and many others.

Locus’ Year in Review for 2010

The Locus annual year in review issue is now out, featuring lists and commentary from reviewers, editors, and professionals in the science fiction community. To quote a few:

Gary K. Wolfe: “Connie Willis’s remarkable Blackout/All Clear is the apotheosis of a theme and setting that’s haunted Willis since the beginning of her career” and “Easily the most important first SF novel of the year was Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Quantum Thief.”

Jonathan Strahan: “My pick for SF novel of the year was Ian McDonald’s The Dervish House ... an incredible achievement” and “The best fantasy novel of the year, and my pick for novel of the year, was Guy Gavriel Kay’s Under Heaven.”

Graham Sleight: “The collection of the year for me was Karen Joy Fowler’s What I Didn’t See and Other Stories.”

The full Locus 2010 Recommended Reading List is available. As is a compilation of links to short fiction from the Locus list that are now available online.

Related links:
Locus’ Year in Review for 2009

Best SF books 2010 list mania

New arrivals in today's mail

Two books that were much anticipated (by me) arrived today: Among Others by Jo Walton and Home Fires by Gene Wolfe, one author I have not read at novel length before and the other I have read many books indeed. They already have been much discussed by critics and editors in the field. Both are listed by Amazon.com as being available on 18 January 2011, today. Jonathan Strahan and Gary K. Wolfe spent a good part of Episode 30 of the Notes from Coode Street Podcast discussing and praising Among Others. Strahan and Wolfe have also mentioned Home Fires over several episodes as one of the major novels of the year. They've even given it the nickname "Home Fries."

Related links:
Gary K. Wolfe reviews Among Others by Jo Walton
Notes from Coode Street Podcast

The Island by Peter Watts

There is a struggle for survival both inside and outside the starship. Inside the ship the human crew contends with Chimp, the artificial intelligence that runs the ship. Outside, a vast alien "island" must negotiate for its own existence. Watts story is rigorous and bleak and easily one of the best science fiction novelettes of the year. It is a finalist for the upcoming Hugo awards.

Coincidentally, I was listening today to the Notes from Coode Street podcast, Episode 6: Live with Gary K. Wolfe, where Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan were discussing "The Island." They were drawing a distinction between the kinds of stories that work and don't work as good introductions to the genre for non-science fiction readers, and they both agreed that "The Island" was an example of a story that would not be easily understood by non-science fiction readers. I can see their point, to an extent. I think "The Island" asks a lot of a reader who is not familiar with standard tropes of science fiction. Still, this is exactly the challenging material that I would want a non-sf reader to engage with. This is science fiction at its best and its most rewarding.

"The Island" by Peter Watts first appeared in The New Space Opera 2 (Eos-HarperCollins, 2009) edited by Gardner Dozois and Strahan.

Related post: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Four, table of contents

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Four: Introduction

Jonathan Strahan's introduction to The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Four, is brief, unlike the thorough year in review that Gardner Dozois provides in his annual year's best science fiction anthology. He notes the current trends in science fiction toward zombie stories and what he calls the "retro-futurism" of steampunk. Strahan sees a more significant trend in how we consume books, with a surge in popularity for electronic book readers such as the Kindle and the nook. Since he is writing in 2009 about 2009, and can be forgiven for not seeing the future, he cannot mention the big debut for the Apple iPad, which has, for now, stolen the thunder from the other electronic readers.

In the publishing world the year was one of new efficiencies, cutbacks, and hard economic choices, especially in the short fiction markets. Print magazines were published in new formats or reduced to bimonthly schedules. Realms of Fantasy ceased publication and was later revived by another publisher. Online, the changes came even more quickly, with sites closing or cutting back, and newer sites (Tor.com and Clarkesworld Magazine) quickly establishing themselves as sources of excellent short fiction. 

Strahan mentions the most interesting anthologies of 2009, including The New Space Opera 2 edited by Dozois and Strahan, Eclipse 3 edited by Strahan, Other Earths edited by Nick Gevers and Jay Lake, The Solaris Book of Science Fiction, Volume 3, edited by George Mann, and Firebirds Soaring edited by Sharyn November.

The best single-author short story collections of 2009 he lists as Ian McDonald's Cyberabad Days, Greg Egan's Oceanic, Gwyneth Jones's Grazing the Long Acre, Charles Stross's Wireless, and Peter S. Beagle's We Never Talk About My Brother. He also cites excellent career retrospective collections: The Best of Gene Wolfe, The Best of Michael Moorcock, Trips by Robert Silverberg, the first two volumes of The Collected Short Works of Poul Anderson, and the staggering six-volume Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny.

Strahan ends his introduction with a tribute to Charles N. Brown, the co-founder of publisher Locus, who died in 2009. "He was, I think, science fiction's best and truest advocate. His passion for the field was deep, profound, and perspicacious. He influence me greatly but he influenced the field he loved far more." Clearly, Brown was an important figure in the field for the past 40 years or more, and Locus is the best evidence, but I think many stories have not been told about his career advice to writers and his work on unpublished manuscripts. Someday I hope those stories will be told as well.

Related post: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Four, table of contents

The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Four

I'll be writing briefly about each story in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Four, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade Books, 2010). Items on the table of contents below will be updated with links to each review as it is posted.

• Introduction -- Jonathan Strahan
• It Takes Two -- Nicola Griffith
• Three Twilight Tales -- Jo Walton
• The Night Cache -- Andy Duncan
• The Island -- Peter Watts
• Ferryman -- Margo Lanagan
• "A Wild and Wicked Youth" -- Ellen Kushner
• The Pelican Bar -- Karen Joy Fowler
• Spar -- Kij Johnson
• Going Deep -- James Patrick Kelly
• The Coldest Girl in Coldtown -- Holly Black
• Zeppelin City -- Michael Swanwick and Eileen Gunn
• Dragon's Teeth -- Alex Irvine
• This Wind Blowing, and This Tide -- Damien Broderick
• By Moonlight -- Peter S. Beagle
• Black Swan -- Bruce Sterling
• As Women Fight -- Sara Genge
• The Cinderella Game -- Kelly Link
• Formidable Caress -- Stephen Baxter
• Blocked -- Geoff Ryman
• Truth and Bone -- Pat Cadigan
• Eros, Philia, Agape -- Rachel Swirsky
• The Motorman's Coat -- John Kessel
• Mongoose -- Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
• Echoes of Aurora -- Ellen Klages
• Before My Last Breath -- Robert Reed
• JoBoy -- Diana Wynne Jones
• Utriusque Cosmi -- Robert Charles Wilson
• A Delicate Architecture -- Catherynne M. Valente
• The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles -- Kij Johnson

Of Nebulas and Cities

Nebula Awards announced May 15
Novel: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books, Sept. 2009)
Novella: The Women of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker (Subterranean Press, June 2009)
Novelette: “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” by Eugie Foster (Interzone, Feb. 2009)
Short Story: “Spar” by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, Oct. 2009)
Ray Bradbury Award: District 9, Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (Tri-Star, Aug. 2009)
Andre Norton Award: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (Catherynne M. Valente, June 2009)

I’m pleased that Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl won. For the SF Strangelove review follow here. I’ve read half the nominated novels so far and this would have been my choice. The remaining winners seem pretty strong, at least those that I have read. The one clear disappointment here is that District 9 beat Moon for the screenwriting award. District 9 had some good ideas, then when it should have taken those concepts to the next level it devolved into a trite action movie. Moon continued to explore its ideas for the length of the film and was much more satisfying. SF Strangelove reviews of District 9 and Moon.

Notes from Coode Street Podcasts
I have been enjoying the first few Notes from Coode Street Podcasts from Jonathan Strahan. These are much like listening to a really good discussion panel at a science fiction convention. The two conversations, so far, with Gary K. Wolfe are wonderful, covering topics such as what it’s like to work for Locus and how decisions are made about which books to review, canon formation, the work of Joanna Russ, what books they are excited about reading at the moment, and what books they are looking forward to in the near future. The latest podcast features a conversation with Graham Sleight that is quite good, where they discuss Joanna Russ’ short fiction and the Gollancz Masterworks reprint series. These are bright, articulate people talking about what is best in science fiction. (Get the podcast direct from Notes from Coode Street or syndicated through iTunes.)

Would Borges have been a fan of Wikipedia?
A short item at the Los Angeles Times blog quotes Jorge Luis Borges in 1977 pondering a vast, all-encompassing encyclopedia where everything is linked. (LA Times article.)

John Clute turns his attention to Michal Ajvaz
Astute SF critic John Clute writes about two Michal Ajvaz novels, The Other City and The Golden Age, drawing lines of comparison to H.P. Lovecraft and China Miéville. (SF Strangelove review of Ajvaz's The Other City.)

Locus’ Year in Review

Locus has published its 2009 Recommended Reading List, which it has to be said, is unmanageably large, especially the novelettes and short stories. It took a team of people to compile; it would take a team of people to read. Niall Harrison provides some interesting push back against the Locus reading list.

In addition to the list, Locus’ regular panel of reviewers and editors contribute year in review essays. Some list their top books of the year, some don’t. A few name what for them is the single standout book of the year.

Jonathan Strahan says of The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi: “Easily the most important first novel of the year and the best science fiction novel of the year.”

Paul Witcover: “If I had to pick a single standout to top the list, under duress I would point to China Mieville’s extraordinary The City & The City.”

Graham Sleight: “Near the top of anyone’s list would have to be Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl ... it was certainly the most challengingly radical book I read last year.”

Gary K. Wolfe calls China Mieville’s The City & The City, “One of the best and most important novels of last year.”

Jonathan Strahan’s Top Five Books of the Year:

• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
• Lifelode by Jo Walton
• Galileo’s Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
• The City & The City by China Mieville
• Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Russel Letson’s Particularly Recommended:

• Conspirator by C.J. Cherryh
• Crystal Nights and Other Stories by Greg Egan
• Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
• The Quiet War and Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley
• House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
• The Sunless Countries by Karl Schroeder
• Wireless by Charles Stross
• Wild Thyme, Green Magic: Stories by Jack Vance, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Terry Dowling

Graham Sleight’s Best Books List:

• The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
• Cloud & Ashes by Greer Gilman
• Liar by Justine Larbalestier
• Cheek by Jowl by Ursula K. LeGuin
• Gardens of the Sun by Paul McAuley
• The City & The City by China Mieville
• Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Roberts
• Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
• In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield
• The Best of Gene Wolfe selected by Gene Wolfe

There is a lot to like in each of these lists and reason to get back to the “to be read” stack.

Links:
SF Strangelove’s review of The Windup Girl and The Windup Girl on the Rewind