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

June 15, 2018

This 35th annual collection gathers 38 of the best stories from 2017 that address a wide variety of themes and topics, from deep space mutinies to star-crossed love. Some of the most talented authors in the genre, including Charlie Jane Anders, Harry Turtledove, and Alastair Reynolds shine a light on the vast universe of current sf with its infinite realms of improbabilities. An extensive list of honorable mentions will give readers a go-to list for many months to come. VERDICT This notable anthology is appropriate for seasoned readers and those looking to discover speculative fiction's vast possibilities.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2018
Locus Award winners are selected by polling readers of the magazine; the winners are collected in this annual anthology. The variety of authors explore the far reaches of the genre, to the great benefit of the reader. Some authors explore the past, like Harry Turtledove in Zigeuner, a look at an alternate history for Germany in WWII. Some address technology, taking current advances to logical next steps. Sean McMullen's The Influence Machine looks from Victorian London into a steampunk world to examine its era-appropriate technology. Tobias S. Buckell's Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance jumps far past that, into a century or two in the future where the conscience can be absorbed into a maintenance bot. Some stories address current issues facing Earth, such as climate change and its impact on smaller nations, as in Alec Nevala-Lee's The Proving Ground. The Martian Job, by Jaine Fenn, has the reader wondering what would turn an accomplished office administrator into the most wanted person in the solar system. This is, as advertised, the year's best science fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)