As good as it gets

REVIEWS BY GAVIN J. GRANT

Single-handedly, or with others, Gardner Dozois has edited more than 80 books. In The Best of the Best, a must-have for any short fiction enthusiast, Dozois selects 36 stories from his 20 volumes of The Year's Best Science Fiction. It is an amazing collection, although as Dozois points out in his cogent and concise introduction, no two editors would ever come up with the same list of the "best" stories. "Hell," he writes, "a day earlier or a day later, I might well have come up with a different [list] myself." Dozois' selections range from Ted Chiang's stand-out story of the 1990s ("Story of Your Life"), Terry Bisson's simply told tale of the changing world ("Bears Discover Fire"), Ursula K. Le Guin's look at growing up when gender is a choice ("Coming of Age in Karhide"), Maureen McHugh's heart-breaking, multiple-award winning alternate history ("The Lincoln Train"), all the way to Greg Egan's tale of multiple-dimension dancing mathematics ("Wang's Carpets"). In a "best of" collection such as this, there are no weak links, but if forced to choose, don't miss the stories by Greg Bear, Gene Wolfe, William Gibson, Eileen Gunn, Connie Willis, John Kessel, Molly Gloss and Charles Stross. Dozois also provides detailed story introductions that point readers to further work by these talented writers. It's a hoary old phrase (and a scary thought!), but if you buy only one science fiction anthology this year, this is probably the one to get.


A dark and daring debut

Steph Swainston's debut, The Year of Our War, is a vigorous and peculiar novel perfect for fans of either the old style or the New Weird. Jant, The Messenger, is the lone flyer in the Fourlands and has been tasked by the emperor with delivering messages to the Immortals of the Castle Circle and bringing back news of the Insect War. However, Jant is addicted to a drug that takes him to a parallel world where he meets with deceased friends and where his actions may have consequences in the Fourlands. One of the youngest the emperor has raised up to the Circle of Immortals, Jant has tried to stay out of the vicious feuds within the Circle. But with the Insects increasingly ravaging the Fourlands, the strains within the Circle come to a head and soon there is all-out war within the human camp. Meanwhile the Insects, huge ravening things bigger than humans, begin multiplying exponentially and it becomes clear that something has changed and drastic steps need to be taken. Despite Jant's addiction and constant need to get away from the world, the war and his friends to shoot up, the reader sympathizes and even empathizes with his situation. The Year of Our War is a dark and wonderful debut sure to be a hit with fans of Jeffrey Ford, Mervyn Peake and China Miéville.


Two for one

Alastair Reynolds is one of the stars of the new wave of British space opera. Originally published as limited edition chapbooks, the two novellas that comprise Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days are thoughtful, ambitious and inventive. In Diamond Dogs, Richard Swift is talked into accompanying an exploratory crew to one of the first true alien finds, the Blood Spire. One group has already died trying to investigate the Spire, so Swift's group undergoes mental and physical modifications to help them beat the apparently living structure. In an atmosphere reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe, Reynolds cranks up the tension to an inevitable yet inescapably human ending. The second novella, Turquoise Days, involves contact with a living alien culture, the Pattern Jugglers. The surface of the planet Turquoise is mostly water deeply infused with the Pattern Jugglers, a strange, possibly conscious, moss-like substance that replicates the consciousness of anyone who swims in the sea. For some people, however, swimming in the sea is fatal. When a spaceship is spotted two years out from Turquoise, Naqi and her sister Mina take advantage of the turmoil to go swimming. Naqi, always slightly jealous of her more competent sister, can't resist the challenge, but Mina disappears and Naqi is left with a guilt she can't shuck. When the spaceship arrives, it brings not the expected visitors and traders, but rather a religious sect intent on using the Pattern Jugglers for their own needs. For readers, these two novellas will be either a fascinating introduction to Reynolds' work or a welcome expansion of his Revelation Space trilogy.


Gavin J. Grant runs Small Beer Press in Northampton, Massachusetts.

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