The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 2

*I am splitting this review into two parts, 12 stories to be posted today and the other 12 will be posted to tomorrow, to make the review more reader friendly. This is part one.

Impressive and, honestly, intimidating this tome of stellar science fiction and fantasy features masters of the genres at their best in twenty four dazzling tales of other worlds. If readers want some of the most impressive recently published tales of the SF/F genres without having to hunt them down through the multitude of anthologies and magazines printed this year this is an excellent buy.

If the first tale, Ted Chiang’s “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate”, is any indication then this anthology is one to savor like a fine box of chocolates. When a merchant stumbles upon a strange shop in Baghdad that is home to a gateway between the past, future and present he is treated not just to a triad of tales about what other visitors have found inside the gateway, but he also gets the opportunity to travel back to his own past, to find closure to the one event in his life that haunts him. A rare gem of a story it expertly straddles the line between fantasy and science fiction as well as tragic and hopeful.

“The Last and Only, or Mr. Moskowitz Becomes French” by Peter S. Beagle seems to be more of a philosophical study on identity than a tale that’s recognizable fantasy. No one knows why, but Mr. Moskowitz began (“from the bones out”) to turn French. So much so that even those born in France sought out his approval. Strange and well written, it still didn’t capture my interest as much as I’d hoped.

Charles Stross’ “Trunk and Disorderly”, as one might guess is a humor piece. Completely out of control (much like its lead, “Ralph MacDonald Suzuki… a genuine Japanese Highland Laird from old Scotland…”) “Trunk and Disorderly” is a hilarious adventure of debauchery, nobility and robots gone wrong that’s best read without any drinks nearby.

“Glory” by Greg Egan sums itself up with a line from its own prose, “There’s more to life than mathematics…but not much more.” A hard science fiction love note to math, and the sciences that heavily rely upon them, this tale of alien exploration and archeology is at times mind boggling in level and at other times, perfection down to the last little atom. Despite the heavy importance of the math the story is told in the characters’ actions, allowing the story to reach the reader and not be lost under the weight of technicality.

Daryl Gregory’s “Dead Horse Point” is very personal, heart wrenching and incredibly interesting. Julia is a special woman. Incredibly brilliant she’s breaking new ground in science and on the verge of something world changing. But her brilliance comes with a downside. She lives an autistic-like life, completely aware, capable and down right normal one moment and mentally gone, incapable of even the simplest of tasks, completely lost in a mental world of science and unbreakable concentration. Gregory captures the strength and potential inside what many others would consider to be a horrible disease in desperate need of a cure. He also shows the effects it can have on even the most loyal of caretakers, the years slowly wearing them down. It’s very exciting to see a well written, thoughtful tale dealing with a neural-atypical mind, another facet of our current world that could easily lend itself to speculative futures.

“The Dreaming Wind” by Jeffrey Ford takes readers into a fairy tale, from its image invoking opening to an end that answers none of the questions. “The Dreaming Wind” is beautiful tale of the intimidating, raw power of creativity that’s likely to spark a few strikes of inspiration of its own.

Continuing the streak of fantasy is “The Coat of Stars” by Holly Black. It’s yet another beautiful story, a modern fairy tale of a gay man who learns his childhood love was stolen by fairies. In trying to win his love back he must also come to terms with himself and his family. Not moralistic, but the kind of story one can picture being told along side Grimm’s most popular, it’s stories like these that will become the classic short stories of our generation’s portion of the fantasy genre.

“The Prophet of Flores” by Ted Kosmatka takes on evolution, creating a world where it’s been debunked and religion rules science. This isn’t a horror tale however, but a scientific one, not just about the evolution of life, but about the evolution of religion as well.

Alex Irvine’s “Wizard’s Six” is a delightfully classic fantasy tale, the kind you forget how much you enjoy after reading more in vogue subgenres like science fantasy and urban fantasy. Paulus, at the behest of a wizard, is traveling across the land to stop an apprentice’s quest to collect “his six”, six people with magical potential that the apprentice needs to become a full wizard. But this apprentice is dangerous and has been denied by the guild, which would put his six in great danger should he succeed in collecting them, and make the apprentice himself much harder to control once he gained his full power. A true example of the best of fantasy, this is the kind of story that leaves the characters and reader changed.

“The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics” by Daniel Abraham is a tale for the puzzle lovers. When bored nobleman Lord Iron approaches cambist (money exchanger) Olaf he admits that he’s just bored, and that Olaf is simply in the wrong place at the right time. Destroying the cambist will provide a momentary distraction. Until Olaf manages to exchange the exotic bills from a tiny, distant, nearly unknown foreign land, stunning and impressing Lord Iron. Of course Olaf’s feat of intelligence just ends up getting him pulled into greater challenges, with higher stakes. The last challenge of all lays a human soul bare with enough honesty and need to make readers shiver with its strength. Every bit as human and soul-filled as the first story, Ted Chiang’s “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate”, this tale is an excellent example of the best of fantasy.

“By Fools Like Me” by Nancy Kress is a tale writers and passionate readers can get behind. A Post-Apocalypse fantasy tale it centers on a young girl’s discovery of old fashioned print books (the kind trees were sacrificed for), and the books’ power many, many years later, to still entrap the mind. In a world where see-o-two clouds and destructive ash are among the worst hazards, not immediately destroying the books is a moral sin. But the true story in this tale is how the human spirit can corrupt all things, and even rules meant to guarantee survival in a harsh world, can go too far.

Bruce Sterling’s “Kiosk” is the first miss so far. This futuristic tale strongly focuses on the socio-political-economic truths of society rather than invoking the universal human feel of the other stories. A midstream switch from telling the story from a close third view of a kiosk owner and savvy businessman to a wide, fast forward, history book feeling approach killed my interest. The story failed to regain it when it focused on the lead character again for an attempt at a tight end. Surrounded with the present day politically poisoned media this tale just didn’t offer me the escape I found in other tales.