Year's Best SF 2. edited by David G. Hartwell. 1997
Year’s Best SF 2 is rated 78%.
AVERAGE STORY: 3.55
13 good / 5 average / 2 poor.
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The second collection of Year’s Best SF from David G Hartwell is not as consistently excellent as the first volume, but the average quality of stories rating ‘good’ is higher. It also contains a great deal more stories - twenty vs the previous volume’s fourteen - with less novellas and more true short stories. Some weren’t quite up to snuff.
There was also an abundance of stories that worked around themes. Four included stories were tributes to other writers: Jack London, HG Wells, Jack Williamson, GK Chesterton. Cyberpunk and VR also were major parts of this collection.
Definitely worth the read, especially for the stories by Dave Wolverton, Shelia Finch, Gene Wolfe, and Bruce Sterling.
Year’s Best SF 2 is rated 78%.
13 good / 5 average / 2 poor.
How do I arrive at a rating?
After a Lean Winter by Dave Wolverton
Great. After the Martian invasion of HG Wells, survivors meet in icy Alaska for a respite. One of them has an idea … and a Martian. Brutal, atmospheric, and full of suspense. Really enjoyed it.
In the Upper Room by Terry Bisson
Good. A fun adventure in Virtual Reality. Pleasant but not memorable
Thinkertoy by John Brunner
Good. A father buys his disturbed son a high tech toy in this cold little nasty story.
Zoomers by Gregory Benford
Average. High powered ‘day-traders’ zoom around virtual reality in competition with each other. A little confusing with its whiz-bang tech.
Out of the Mouths by Sheila Finch
Great. This is an excellent story full great ideas and completely realized characters. A retired Xenolinguist is brought back to deal with his biggest shame. An attempt to end a bloody war by teaching language to children. This is superb.
Breakaway, Backdown by James Patrick Kelly
Good. Reads like a one woman play about the real human costs of space exploration. Great style and thoughtful.
Tobacco Words by Yves Meynard
Good. A space station exists to remove the ‘sins’ collected by space travelers. Wild and unpredictable with some very unique ideas of the costs of space travel.
Invasion by Joanna Russ
Average. Little mischievous aliens pop aboard a space ship and cause humorous trouble.
The House of Mourning by Brian Stableford
Good. Very good and very nasty tale of the brutal price paid for hormonally enhanced prostitution. Intense and well written.
Life Edit by Damon Knight
Average. Very short story working briefly in the same vein as the film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
First Tuesday by Robert Reed
Good. Future technology allows the President to join every family for dinner on the same night.
The Spear of the Sun by David Langford
Good. Breaks the 4th-Wall with a CK Chesterton SciFi Murder Mystery.
Counting Cats in Zanzibar by Gene Wolfe
Good. A dark and nuanced take on Asimov’s Susan Calvin. A woman who tried to prevent the creation of humanoid robots is tracked down by one. They have a meal together.
Bicycle Repairman by Bruce Sterling
Good. A nice cyberpunk-esque tale of an off-the-grid bicycle repairman who is drawn into corporate intrigue.
Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland by Gwyneth Jones
Poor. VR allows characters into a fantasy world where they can work out their sexual issues.
Doblin’s Lecture by Allen Steele
Good. Readable tale of a murderer who gives a brutal lecture to college students.
The Bride of Elvis by Kathleen Ann Goonan
Poor. A Bride of the Elvis religion discovers that his body is missing.
Forget Luck by Kate Wilhelm
Average. A meeting with a crazy scientist opens up a man’s life to a possibility.
Nonstop to Portales by Connie Willis
Good. A salesman finds himself with a day alone on Portales and runs into a group of tourists with a fascination for Jack Williamson.
Columbiad by Stephen Baxter
Average. HG Wells travels to Florida to verify the existence of a rocket to the Moon and Mars that was designed by Jules Verne.
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