What do you think?
Rate this book
The Best Science Fiction of the Year, Volume 2
To keep up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more—a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, a new yearly anthology compiled by Hugo and World Fantasy award–winning editor Neil Clarke, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.
The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Clarke, publisher and editor in chief of the acclaimed and award-winning magazine Clarkesworld, has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year’s writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome “sensawunda” that the genre has to offer.
The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Clarke, publisher and editor in chief of the acclaimed and award-winning magazine Clarkesworld, has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year’s writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome “sensawunda” that the genre has to offer.
624 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2017
About the author
Neil Clarke
367 books375 followersNeil Clarke is best known as the editor and publisher of the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning
Clarkesworld Magazine.
Launched in October 2006, the online magazine has been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine four times (winning three times), the World Fantasy Award four times (winning once), and the British Fantasy Award once (winning once). Neil is also a ten-time finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form (winning once in 2022), three-time winner of the Chesley Award for Best Art Director, and a recipient of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. In the fifteen years since Clarkesworld Magazine launched, numerous stories that he has published have been nominated for or won the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Locus, BSFA, Shirley Jackson, WSFA Small Press, and Stoker Awards.
Additionally, Neil edits Forever —a digital-only, reprint science fiction magazine he launched in 2015. His anthologies include: Upgraded, Galactic Empires, Touchable Unreality, More Human than Human, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us, The Eagle has Landed, , and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. His next anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven will published in early 2023.
He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.
Additionally, Neil edits Forever —a digital-only, reprint science fiction magazine he launched in 2015. His anthologies include: Upgraded, Galactic Empires, Touchable Unreality, More Human than Human, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us, The Eagle has Landed, , and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. His next anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven will published in early 2023.
He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 12, 2017
A real concerted effort on my part to get through this book without seething with jealousy, so well done to me! ;)
Of course that's stupid. The greatness of other authors doesn't infringe upon your greatness; quite the opposite, as evidenced by these stories. You can tell, with many of them, the lineages in which their authors are participating. And there's such a great variety of styles and subjects. This collection allows a multitude of stories to define and question what sci-fi is.
I can highly recommend it and I think it's even better than the last volume! Though that's just my opinion. The last one had too much stuff that bordered on fantasy—I think. I skipped the story if I got a whiff of monarchy, tradition or ceremony. The princess' ship can go careening into the nearest dwarf star: I don't care!
Collections like these are never gonna get 5* from their readers, I don't think—it's just in the nature of how they're compiled, an inherent limitation of the task at hand. I appreciate that the book has to represent the broad nature of the sci-fi genre, but in so doing it won't be able to narrow in on the interest of particular readers—but it isn't supposed to. Other anthologies, like Galactic Empires, are available for that purpose. But these are textbooks for sci-fi authors, and just like my university textbooks, I skipped those chapters that weren't relevant.
Reconfirms that my taste in sci-fi is soft, near-future, on land, melancholy. Great variety of authors working within these confines, most notably Rich Larson, Sam J Miller and TR Napper. I loved Rich Larson's pair of stories so much that I will do that jakey thing I do where I collect all his free stuff online into one PDF file and turn it into a low-grade chapbook to read on the train! Will happily invest in an actual collection once it exists ;)
Check this out if you're looking to find your new favourite contemporary sci-fi authors :)
Of course that's stupid. The greatness of other authors doesn't infringe upon your greatness; quite the opposite, as evidenced by these stories. You can tell, with many of them, the lineages in which their authors are participating. And there's such a great variety of styles and subjects. This collection allows a multitude of stories to define and question what sci-fi is.
I can highly recommend it and I think it's even better than the last volume! Though that's just my opinion. The last one had too much stuff that bordered on fantasy—I think. I skipped the story if I got a whiff of monarchy, tradition or ceremony. The princess' ship can go careening into the nearest dwarf star: I don't care!
Collections like these are never gonna get 5* from their readers, I don't think—it's just in the nature of how they're compiled, an inherent limitation of the task at hand. I appreciate that the book has to represent the broad nature of the sci-fi genre, but in so doing it won't be able to narrow in on the interest of particular readers—but it isn't supposed to. Other anthologies, like Galactic Empires, are available for that purpose. But these are textbooks for sci-fi authors, and just like my university textbooks, I skipped those chapters that weren't relevant.
Reconfirms that my taste in sci-fi is soft, near-future, on land, melancholy. Great variety of authors working within these confines, most notably Rich Larson, Sam J Miller and TR Napper. I loved Rich Larson's pair of stories so much that I will do that jakey thing I do where I collect all his free stuff online into one PDF file and turn it into a low-grade chapbook to read on the train! Will happily invest in an actual collection once it exists ;)
Check this out if you're looking to find your new favourite contemporary sci-fi authors :)
July 3, 2018
I found these stories very difficult to read. I felt there was too much concentration on making them politically correct and gender bending. There was a complete concentration on artificial intelligence and no real attempt at adventure or discovery. I did not like them at all.
June 7, 2018
One or two GREAT stories in here, but also several that were so uninteresting I had to skip them. In the end, two stars because of all the content I just couldn't get into.
August 5, 2022
A collection of short stories produced in a particular year. As usual, not much to say here, particularly in a case like this where I've been reading several of these in a row and which story was in which gets harder and harder to piece together, in addition to the general tendency of them to run together.
However, this one does stand out in one, unfortunate, way. See, this is a collection called "The Best Science Fiction of the Year." There's other anthologies, compiled by different people, including "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year," but one of the reasons I might choose this one instead of that one might be that I want the stories to be Science Fiction and not Fantasy. It's like if I went out to eat and there was a restaurant called "Steak and Salad" and a restaurant called "Salads" and I went to the second one... I'd be disappointed to find hunks of steak thrown into the default salad under the assumption I might like it. In certain moods, I might have, but if I wanted that, I'd go to the other restaurant.
So yes, this particular collection commits one of the cardinal sins of one labeling itself Science Fiction - it includes outright fantasy, not just once, but twice.
The first one's time travel, and, you know, I'm not an absolute purist, I'm comfortable including time travel in the science fiction category if you treat it in a science fictional way... but NOT when the mechanism of time travel is an 18th century watch which somehow transports the user in time. Maybe if you explicitly stated it was technology from the far future or aliens or somejunk that just looked like one, but no, the story as far as I could tell just did some handwaving about an old watchmaker who happened to develop watched THAT LET YOU TRAVEL IN TIME. No, $@!$ you, that's a fantasy story. Should not be in this collection, regardless of its merits, it took up space that could have gone to a science fiction story.
Secondly there was one that superficially had SF elements since it was about a robot dragon, except it also had $@!$ing talking animals who knew human pop culture and, well, maybe you could argue it was all a robot's malfunctioning brain causing the equivalent of hallucinations, but that's not any better than what I took it for: basically a flimsy excuse to write a fairy tale with a few SF elements and a post-apocalyptic setting. There's nothing wrong with that kind of story, fundamentally, but I don't read science fiction for fairy tales, and that makes it fantasy. Should not be in this collection and took up space that could have gone to a science fiction story.
This may seem like a little bit of a nitpicky rant, but... hell, there's so little to talk about in short story collections, I'm going to indulge my nitpickiness and rant. The other stories were mostly good, mostly not particularly memorable, and more or less unarguably science fiction. But because of these two stories (and the lack of any absolute standouts that stuck with me), I'm rating the entire collection two stars. If it hadn't had them at all, and simply been two stories short, it would have been three, at least I wouldn't have felt like it was wasting my time.
Otherwise, it's a fine collection.
However, this one does stand out in one, unfortunate, way. See, this is a collection called "The Best Science Fiction of the Year." There's other anthologies, compiled by different people, including "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year," but one of the reasons I might choose this one instead of that one might be that I want the stories to be Science Fiction and not Fantasy. It's like if I went out to eat and there was a restaurant called "Steak and Salad" and a restaurant called "Salads" and I went to the second one... I'd be disappointed to find hunks of steak thrown into the default salad under the assumption I might like it. In certain moods, I might have, but if I wanted that, I'd go to the other restaurant.
So yes, this particular collection commits one of the cardinal sins of one labeling itself Science Fiction - it includes outright fantasy, not just once, but twice.
The first one's time travel, and, you know, I'm not an absolute purist, I'm comfortable including time travel in the science fiction category if you treat it in a science fictional way... but NOT when the mechanism of time travel is an 18th century watch which somehow transports the user in time. Maybe if you explicitly stated it was technology from the far future or aliens or somejunk that just looked like one, but no, the story as far as I could tell just did some handwaving about an old watchmaker who happened to develop watched THAT LET YOU TRAVEL IN TIME. No, $@!$ you, that's a fantasy story. Should not be in this collection, regardless of its merits, it took up space that could have gone to a science fiction story.
Secondly there was one that superficially had SF elements since it was about a robot dragon, except it also had $@!$ing talking animals who knew human pop culture and, well, maybe you could argue it was all a robot's malfunctioning brain causing the equivalent of hallucinations, but that's not any better than what I took it for: basically a flimsy excuse to write a fairy tale with a few SF elements and a post-apocalyptic setting. There's nothing wrong with that kind of story, fundamentally, but I don't read science fiction for fairy tales, and that makes it fantasy. Should not be in this collection and took up space that could have gone to a science fiction story.
This may seem like a little bit of a nitpicky rant, but... hell, there's so little to talk about in short story collections, I'm going to indulge my nitpickiness and rant. The other stories were mostly good, mostly not particularly memorable, and more or less unarguably science fiction. But because of these two stories (and the lack of any absolute standouts that stuck with me), I'm rating the entire collection two stars. If it hadn't had them at all, and simply been two stories short, it would have been three, at least I wouldn't have felt like it was wasting my time.
Otherwise, it's a fine collection.
July 16, 2021
“The Visitor from Taured” by Ian R. MacLeod (Asimov’s, September 2016) 3/5
“Extraction Request” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld, January 2016) 2/5
“A Good Home” by Karin Lowachee (Lightspeed, June 2016) 4/5
“Prodigal” by Gord Sellar (Analog, December 2016) 4/5
“Ten Days” by Nina Allan (Now We Are Ten, edited by Ian Whates) 5/5
“Terminal” by Lavie Tidhar (Tor.com, April 2016) 2/5
“Panic City” by Madeline Ashby (CyberWorld, edited by Jason Heller and Joshua Viola) 5/5
“Last Gods” by Sam J. Miller (Drowned Worlds, edited by Jonathana Strahan) 3/5
“HigherWorks” by Gregory Norman Bossert (Asimov’s, December 2016) 3/5
“A Strange Loop” by T.R. Napper (Interzone, January/February 2016) 4/5
“Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse” by Xia Jia (Invisible Planets, edited by Ken Liu) 3/5
“Pearl” by Aliette de Bodard (The Starlit Wood, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe) 3/5
“The Metal Demimonde” by Nick Wolven (Analog, June 2016) 4/5
“The Iron Tactician” by Alastair Reynolds (Newcon Press) 2/5
“The Mighty Slinger” by Tobias S. Buckell and Karen Lord (Bridging Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan) 4/5
“They All Have One Breath” by Karl Bunker (Asimov’s, December 2016) 5/5
“Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, February 2016) 5/5
“And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices” by Margaret Ronald (Clarkesworld, June 2016) 5/5
“The Three Lives of Sonata James” by Lettie Prell (Tor.com, October 2016) 2/5
“The Charge and the Storm” by An Owomoyela (Asimov’s, February 2016) 3/5
“Parables of Infinity” by Robert Reed (Bridging Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan) 2/5
“Ten Poems for the Mossums, One for the Man” by Suzanne Palmer (Asimov’s, July 2016) 4/5
“You Make Pattaya” by Rich Larson (Interzone, November/December 2016) 3/5
“Number Nine Moon” by Alex Irvine (F&SF, January/February 2016) 2/5
“Things with Beards” by Sam J. Miller (Clarkesworld, June 2016) 5/5
“Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts” by Ken Liu (Drowned Worlds, edited by Jonathana Strahan) 4/5
“Touring with the Alien” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Clarkesworld, April 2016) 4/5
“Extraction Request” by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld, January 2016) 2/5
“A Good Home” by Karin Lowachee (Lightspeed, June 2016) 4/5
“Prodigal” by Gord Sellar (Analog, December 2016) 4/5
“Ten Days” by Nina Allan (Now We Are Ten, edited by Ian Whates) 5/5
“Terminal” by Lavie Tidhar (Tor.com, April 2016) 2/5
“Panic City” by Madeline Ashby (CyberWorld, edited by Jason Heller and Joshua Viola) 5/5
“Last Gods” by Sam J. Miller (Drowned Worlds, edited by Jonathana Strahan) 3/5
“HigherWorks” by Gregory Norman Bossert (Asimov’s, December 2016) 3/5
“A Strange Loop” by T.R. Napper (Interzone, January/February 2016) 4/5
“Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse” by Xia Jia (Invisible Planets, edited by Ken Liu) 3/5
“Pearl” by Aliette de Bodard (The Starlit Wood, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe) 3/5
“The Metal Demimonde” by Nick Wolven (Analog, June 2016) 4/5
“The Iron Tactician” by Alastair Reynolds (Newcon Press) 2/5
“The Mighty Slinger” by Tobias S. Buckell and Karen Lord (Bridging Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan) 4/5
“They All Have One Breath” by Karl Bunker (Asimov’s, December 2016) 5/5
“Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, February 2016) 5/5
“And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices” by Margaret Ronald (Clarkesworld, June 2016) 5/5
“The Three Lives of Sonata James” by Lettie Prell (Tor.com, October 2016) 2/5
“The Charge and the Storm” by An Owomoyela (Asimov’s, February 2016) 3/5
“Parables of Infinity” by Robert Reed (Bridging Infinity, edited by Jonathana Strahan) 2/5
“Ten Poems for the Mossums, One for the Man” by Suzanne Palmer (Asimov’s, July 2016) 4/5
“You Make Pattaya” by Rich Larson (Interzone, November/December 2016) 3/5
“Number Nine Moon” by Alex Irvine (F&SF, January/February 2016) 2/5
“Things with Beards” by Sam J. Miller (Clarkesworld, June 2016) 5/5
“Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts” by Ken Liu (Drowned Worlds, edited by Jonathana Strahan) 4/5
“Touring with the Alien” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Clarkesworld, April 2016) 4/5
August 12, 2018
This volume was a definite disappointment compared to Volume 1. I spent some time thinking about why that might be and my conclusion is that an editor of a "best of" anthology has to pick from the best short stories for that particular year and it may simply be that there just weren't that many great stories written in 2017. Overall, I gave this volume a 5.6/10.0 (I rate each story individually and then average the scores). There were actually a handful of stories that I did not even finish because they were so bad. I will say that there are a number of things that really annoy me when reading science fiction: obligatory sex or pornography, obligatory cussing, obligatory homosexuality, and obligatory global warming. That being said, my favorite stories are the following:
- Parables of Inifinity by Robert Reed (my favorite author of science fiction short stories) (10/10)
- Touring With the Alien by Carolyn Ives Gilman (8/10).
The remaining stories were good (7/10) to average or worse - and not really worth mentioning.
- Parables of Inifinity by Robert Reed (my favorite author of science fiction short stories) (10/10)
- Touring With the Alien by Carolyn Ives Gilman (8/10).
The remaining stories were good (7/10) to average or worse - and not really worth mentioning.
May 3, 2021
This was one a very large but very unevenly mixed bag. My favourites were:
1. Extraction Request— Rich Larson;
2. Last Gods— Sam J. Miller;
3. Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse— Xia Jia;
4. Pearl— Aliette de Bodard;
5. The Iron Tactician— Alastair Reynolds;
6. Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea— Sarah Pinsker;
7. And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices— Margaret Ronald;
8. Number Nine Moon— Alex Irvine;
9. Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts— Ken Liu;
10. Touring with the Alien— Carolyn Ives Gilman.
There were too many overlong works which seemed to have forgotten plot and dialogues while trying to emphasise ideas. Nevertheless, if you are in the mood of spending a lot of time with sff, then this massive anthology would be a good choice.
1. Extraction Request— Rich Larson;
2. Last Gods— Sam J. Miller;
3. Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse— Xia Jia;
4. Pearl— Aliette de Bodard;
5. The Iron Tactician— Alastair Reynolds;
6. Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea— Sarah Pinsker;
7. And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices— Margaret Ronald;
8. Number Nine Moon— Alex Irvine;
9. Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts— Ken Liu;
10. Touring with the Alien— Carolyn Ives Gilman.
There were too many overlong works which seemed to have forgotten plot and dialogues while trying to emphasise ideas. Nevertheless, if you are in the mood of spending a lot of time with sff, then this massive anthology would be a good choice.
September 19, 2018
I did skip a couple of stories that didn't quite grab my attention, but that's the beauty of these books, sifting through different takes on ideas until you find something that bit out of the ordinary. Ive actually picked up another short story book after enjoying a couple out of this volume, they're good fillers in between other reads. A book to stash in the car or where ever for those unexpected down times.
December 29, 2019
Started reading December 1st, boring, read something else, picked up this book again, boring, read something else, continued with this book, boring ... repeat ... and now we are December 29th and I am not even halfway through this book. I can't continue with this one, there are so many books on my TBR list.
March 15, 2022
This book is really hit and miss, with way more misses. Although there are a few good stories, a lot of the are mediocre and some are just unreadable. It took me 3 years to finish this book (during which time I read hundreds of other books). I would definitely discourage people from starting this one.
October 4, 2017
One of the best collections of sci fi, with a variety of stories by experienced authors. Recommended for anyone who likes sci fi
The title says it all. The best ten dollars I ever spent,except on volume one. Lots of great stories. My actual opinion.
The title says it all. The best ten dollars I ever spent,except on volume one. Lots of great stories. My actual opinion.
June 10, 2018
Okay but not great
Interesting group of stories, certainly had many similar themes just okay reading though. Nothing that grabbed me or held my undivided attention, some stories dragged a bit
Interesting group of stories, certainly had many similar themes just okay reading though. Nothing that grabbed me or held my undivided attention, some stories dragged a bit
June 4, 2020
I read a few stories here and there between reading novels. It took a while to get through this volume. Most of the stories just didnt do it for me, though some were indeed good. Volume 1 was a much better collection.
March 15, 2021
I really enjoyed this anthology. The stories really interested me, and it felt like I connected with almost all of them, which is never certain with an anthology.
I may have to look into more of what Clarke edits, because this book kept my interest
I may have to look into more of what Clarke edits, because this book kept my interest
September 9, 2017
Pretty Good Collection here - didn't love them all, but liked enough of them that it was enjoyable to read them all anyway :) Makes me want to go find Volume 1..
March 20, 2018
A wonderful collection of Sci-Fi short stories.
March 3, 2019
A very fine selection of short stories. Recommended for a good weekend's reading.
August 1, 2019
A good collection. I liked all of them and loved a few of them. I didn't skip any.
February 23, 2021
It did take me a while to get through-not it's fault-but it was pretty good. Many on the stores are downers.
Read
July 7, 2021DNF at 23%. Couldn’t get into it. Not the best anthology I’ve read, by far.
July 22, 2021
55-2021. A big collection of sci-fi short fiction. It was a bit uneven, but the high points were fun. I like to take in one of these from time to time.
Read
July 5, 2022Placeholder for “Extraction Request” by Rich Larson
October 21, 2022
2006:
✓ “A Strange Loop” by T.R. Napper
✓ “The Metal Demimonde” by Nick Wolven
✓ “Ten Poems for the Mossums, One for the Man” by Suzanne Palmer
✓ “Number Nine Moon” by Alex Irvine
✓ “A Strange Loop” by T.R. Napper
✓ “The Metal Demimonde” by Nick Wolven
✓ “Ten Poems for the Mossums, One for the Man” by Suzanne Palmer
✓ “Number Nine Moon” by Alex Irvine
March 18, 2023
See my review of volume 1
April 27, 2021
A bit of a mixed bag but then I suppose that’s what it’s meant to be but still highly enjoyable and a great intro to some up and coming writers.
July 31, 2024
Favorites:
The Visitor from Taured (Ian R. MacLeod, Asimov's)
A Good Home (Karin Lowachee, Lightspeed)
They All Have One Breath (Karl Bunker, Clarkesworld)
And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices (Margaret Ronald, Clarkesworld)
Things with Beards (Sam J. Miller, Clarkesworld)
Touring with the Alien (Carolyn Ives Gilman, Clarkesworld)
Extraction Request (Rich Larson, Clarkesworld)
The Visitor from Taured (Ian R. MacLeod, Asimov's)
A Good Home (Karin Lowachee, Lightspeed)
They All Have One Breath (Karl Bunker, Clarkesworld)
And Then, One Day, the Air was Full of Voices (Margaret Ronald, Clarkesworld)
Things with Beards (Sam J. Miller, Clarkesworld)
Touring with the Alien (Carolyn Ives Gilman, Clarkesworld)
Extraction Request (Rich Larson, Clarkesworld)
Read
December 22, 2018Another outstanding collection.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews