The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year (Volume 5)

SUMMARY: The depth and breadth of science fiction and fantasy fiction continues to change with every passing year. The twenty-nine stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully map this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer. Python function terminated unexpectedly [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor (Error Code: 1) In print and on-line, science fiction and fantasy is thriving as never before. A multitude of astonishingly creative and gifted writers are boldly exploring the mythic past, the paranormal present, and the promises and perils of myriad alternate worlds and futures. There are almost too many new and intriguing stories published every year for any reader to be able to experience them all. So how to make sure you havent missed any future classics? Award-winning editor and anthologist Jonathan Strahan has surveyed the expanding universes of modern sf and fantasy to find the brightest stars in todays dazzling literary firmament. From the latest masterworks by the acknowledged titans of the field to fresh visions from exciting new talents, this outstanding collection is a comprehensive showcase for the current state of the art in both science fiction and fantasy. Anyone who wants to know where the future of imaginative short fiction is going, and treat themselves to dozens of unforgettable stories, will find this years edition of Best Science Fiction and Fantasy to be just what theyre looking for! The depth and breadth of what science fiction and fantasy fiction is changes with every passing year. The twenty-nine stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully maps this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer. Jonathan Strahan has edited more than twenty anthologies and collections, including The Locus Awards, The New Space Opera, The Jack Vance Treasury, and a number of year's best annuals. He has won the Ditmar, William J. Atheling Jr., and Peter McNamara Awards for his work as an anthologist, and is the reviews editor for Locus. Strahan's fifth anthology contains 29 wide-ranging tales. Neil Gaiman's'The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains'is a deceptively simple folktale-styled story of the price one may pay for gold.'The Sultan of the Clouds'by Geoffrey Landis untangles a complex knot of childish power. Sarah Rees Brennan's'The Spy Who Never Grew Up'gives a beloved childhood icon a sinister update; Diana Peterfreund's'The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn'turns unicorn lore on its head; and Rachel Swirsky's'The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window'puts a fantasy spin on the temporal culture shock of immortality. This year the fantasy tales outdo the SF in depth of storytelling and characterization, though all the inclusions are strong, with few ideas left by the wayside. "A poet and a bear journey toward the ruins of a city in search of answers; a diminutive man seeks satisfaction within a secluded mountain cave; an elderly widow enjoys the company of a collection of robotic cowboys; the Boy Who Never Grew Up becomes an agent of Her Majesty's Secret Service; a werewolf girl joins the cast of a musical revue; a group of hardened mercenaries takes on a foolish job; a young man learns the ways of the world in the arms of a Sylvanian maiden; a teenage girl attempts to escape her domineering mother's influence aboard a cargo spaceship; an impossible flying machine departs on its maiden voyage..."--Publisher description

The depth and breadth of science fiction and fantasy fiction continues to change with every passing year. The twenty-nine stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully map this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer.

Contains twenty-nine short science fiction and fantasy stories, chosen by editor Jonathan Strahan as the best of 2010, including selections by Joe Abercrombie, Elizabeth Hand, Robert Reed, and other related topics Gathers stories by such writers as Neil Gaiman, Peter S. Beagle, Cory Doctorow, Jeffrey Ford, Walter Jon Williams, Tim Powers, Gene Wolfe, Connie Willis, and Robert Reed