Reviews
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy is a new comer to the "Best of" releases this year, and it was put together by one of my favourite editors, John Joseph Adams. The selections tend towards literary, but they were all quite exceptional. A selection of my favourites included: 1. Each to Each by Seanan McGuire: An exploration in the changing identity and humanity of women turned into military mermaids. I reviewed this story separately on Goodreads, and it's a creative and contemplative piece on gender and technology. 2. Cimmeria: From the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology by Theodora Goss: A student participates in a project that creates a new civilization. It pops into existence and he finds himself experiencing the darker aspects of the cultural components he designed. This is such a strangely fantastical story that even the protagonist struggles to grapple with his reality. 3. Windows by Susan Palwick: A heart wrenching story about a mother who mourns one child in prison and one child on a generation colony ship and the cruelty of luck. Very light on the speculative aspects of story telling, but very good at characterization and emotion in a few short pages. 4. The Thing about Shapes to Come by Adam-Troy Castro: Women begin giving birth to children in the form of geometric shapes, and one mother refuses to abandon her cube daughter. Utterly haunting, strangely transfixing, and ultimately disquieting. 5. The Blue Afternoon that Lasted Forever by Daniel H Wilson: A single father and physicist holds his daughter as the world is ripped about by a micro black hole. Prepare for tears! 6. Skullpocket by Nathan Ballingrud: An odd and dark little story about a town where monsters and humans reside alongside one another, tied together with horrific traditions and a disturbing religion. Ballingrud was very successful at building up a coherent and complex world in such a tiny number of words. 7. The Relive Box by TC Boyle: In the near future, there's a machine that allows you to relive whatever parts of your life you wish. Humans, unsurprisingly, have a hard time dealing with this technology. 8. How to Become a Robot in 12 Easy Steps by Merc Rustad: One of the most creative and affecting explorations of depression I've seen in the science fiction genre.
