Donald A Wollheim (ed)'s "Adventures on Other Planets" (anthology)

Table of contents.

1. [novelette] Roger Dee's "The Obligation" (B); read online; Startling Stories, September 1952: An alien visitor's adventures at a human fishing camp on Venus.
2. [ss] Robert Moore Williams' "The Sound of Bugles" (B): Couple of humans' adventures among Martians.
3. Clifford D Simak's "Ogre".
4. Murray Leinster's "Assignment on Pasik".
5. [novelette] A E van Vogt's "The Rull"; Astounding, May 1948.

First published: 1955.

Related: Anthologies & collections; works of  Donald A Wollheim.

Everett F Bleiler & T E Dikty (eds)' "The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949" (anthology): Annotatated table of contents & review

According to Wikipedia, "It was the first published anthology to present the best science fiction stories for a given year. The stories had originally appeared in 1948 in the magazines".

Several well known classics here. I seem to have read several of these years back; currently reading just the half dozen unread ones.

Table of contents.

1. [ss] Ray Bradbury's "Mars is Heaven!" (A); download radio adaptation; Planet Stories, Fall 1948.
2. [novelette] Henry Kuttner & C L Moore's "Ex Machina" (as by Lewis Padgett); Astounding, April 1948: One of the funny Galleghar stories. I read it long back; don't recollect much now.
3. [ss] Murray Leinster's "The Strange Case of John Kingman" (A); Astounding, May 1948: First contact, but no space ships, no space travel, not even any obvious aliens...
4. [ss] Erik Fennel's "Doughnut Jockey"; Blue Book, May 1948: Don't recollect anything now.
5. [ss] Martin Gardner's "Thang" (C); download: Big fish eats smaller one; & is food to even bigger one...
6. [ss] John R Pierce's "Period Piece" (as by J J Coupling) (A); Astounding, November 1948: A modern man in 31st century makes a curious discovery.
7. [ss] Fredric Brown's "Knock" (A); download text/radio adaptation; Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1948: A smart man reclaims earth from invincible aliens.
8. [novelette] Poul Anderson's "Genius" (B); download radio adaptation; Astounding, December 1948: When lab "animals" were observing their experimenters...
9. [novelette] Ray Bradbury's "And the Moon be Still as Bright" (A); download radio adaptation; Thrilling Wonder Stories, June 1948: Some Mars colonists are feeling guilty...
10. [ss] Isaac Asimov's "No Connection"; download; Astounding, June 1948: Planning a second taking of Americas, from across the pond...
11. [novelette] Wilmar H Shiras' "In Hiding" (A); Astounding, November 1948: A young boy who's "different" is forced to conform...
12. [novelette] Henry Kuttner's "Happy Ending" (A); Thrilling Wonder Stories, August 1948; humor: When a man got what he "desired"!

Fact sheet.

First published: 1949.
Related: Works of Everett F Bleiler; anothologies & collections; fiction from 1940s.

Free fiction: Ahmed A Khan & Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad (eds)' "A Mosque Among the Stars" (anthology)

Available as a pdf file at one of the editor's site. [via Boing Boing via SF Signal]

When I saw this some months back, my first reaction was to ignore it. Aurangzeb is one of the most hated names where I grew up. In fact, I don't recall seeing this kind of names proudly displayed by anyone except Pakistani terrorists emphasizing their affinity to India's most hated villains. But I guess names are given by parents & I'm probably unnecessarily prejudiced about certain names.

This anthology collects fiction by Western authors, presumably with some Islamic characters or environment.

Donald A Wollheim (ed)'s "The Best from the Rest of the World: European Science Fiction" (anthology): Annotated table of contents & review

This book collects representative pieces from Western Europe - mostly from 1960s & 1970s, I think. Eastern Europe & Russia are specifically excluded.

Actually, I didn't find the editor's introduction very encouraging - he seemed to be effectively saying that Western European sf is mostly a copy of English one, except for French & pre-war German flavors. But since I have it, I'm going to give it a try.

None of the authors here are familiar to me.

My rating for read stories appears in brackets. Where I have a separate post on a story, link on story title goes there.

PS: If you are familiar with the works of some of the authors & have fond memories of some stories, please share in comments. I would be particularly interested in any works that might be available in English translation - especially online, but a book form collection will also do. And would you have chosen a different work of an author, or a different author from a country, for representation here? Thank you.

Table of contents (best first, unread last).

1. [ss, Holland] Manuel van Loggem's "Pairpuppets" (A); Luitingh SF Verhalen, #6 (1974) (as "Paarpoppen"): Speculating on the future of love & sex...
2. [ss, Norway] Jon Bing's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (B); first published in this English translation by Steven T Murray: When men refused to see colors! 
3. [ss, France] Pierre Barbet's "A Problem in Bionics" (trans Stanley Hochman) (B); Horizons du Fantastique, sometime in 1974. : Catching an intellectual property thief...
4. [novelette, France] Gerard Klein's "Party Line": Not read.
5. [ss, Italy] Sandro Sandrelli's "The Scythe": Not read.
6. [ss, Germany] Herbert W Franke's "Paradise 3000": Not read.
7. [novelette, Belgium] Eddy C Bertin's "My Eyes, They Burn!": Not read.
8. [novella, Germany] Wolfgang Jeschke's "The King & the Dollmaker": Not read.
9. [ss, Norway] Tor Age Bringsvaerd's "Codemus": Not read.
10. [ss, Italy] Luigi Cozzi's "Rainy Day Revolution No 39": Not read.
11. [ss, Sweden] Sam Lundwall's "Nobody Here But Us Shadows": Not read.
12. [novelette, Spain] Domingo Santos's "Round & Round & Round Again": Not read.
13. [ss, Denmark] Niels E Nielsen's "Planet for Sale": Not read.
14. [ss, France] Charles Henneberg & Nathalie Henneberg's "Ysolde" (as by Nathalie-Charles Henneberg): Not read.

Fact sheet.

First published: 1976.
Related: Works of Donald A Wollheim.

Campbell's "Astounding Science Fiction Anthology" post is now complete

Main post.

John W Campbell, Jr (ed)'s "The Astounding Science Fiction Anthology": Annotated table of contents & review

23 stories, all originally published in Astounding magazine.

Not only does it include 2 stories penned by Kuttner/Moore (neither of them anywhere near authors' best), it includes one of their fan fictions too - by William Tenn. This Tenn story must be among the best fanfic of the genre & a beautiful read on its own too.

And Simak's is probably the best immortality story I've read so far.

List below is generally in order I liked - best first, unread last. But I'd read many of these stories years back & have mostly forgotten; I'll probably reorder the list if I were to read all of them today.

Where I know of an online copy of a story, I include download link too. My rating appears in brackets (ABC; A = worth the time; C = don't bother). Where I have a separate post on a story, link on story title goes there.

1. [novelette] Murray Leinster's "First Contact" (A); download text as part of a larger package or audio; May 1945: How to go about establishing trust with strangers when the cost of misplaced trust can be unacceptably high?
2. [novelette] William Tenn's "Child's Play" (A); read online or download audio; March 1947: What if Kuttner & Moore retold "Frankenstein"?
3. [novelette] Clifford D Simak's "Eternity Lost" (A); July 1949: A lawmaker considers himself above law...
4. [novelette] James H Schmitz's "The Witches of Karres" (A); download from Baen CD or Internet Archive; December 1949: I've an impression what I'd read several years back was a novel; I'm not sure I've read this novelette version.
   
   It's a space opera, but features a community of supermen/women ("witches" of title) who have unusual mental abilities.
5. [novelette] Isaac Asimov's "Nightfall" (A); download text/audio; September 1941: On a world orbiting a sun in a system of 6 suns, all suns never set except once in several thousand years. How would the natives react to darkness they're completely unfamiliar with.
   
   I personally read its novel version before this shorter version. While the later half of novel is useless bloat, I liked first half of it corresponding to original short story far better than the shorter version itself.
6. [novelette] Eric Frank Russell's "Late Night Final" (A); December 1948: A variant of "... And Then There Were None" (download), but with a very different ending.
7. [novelette] L Sprague de Camp's "The Exalted" (A); download; November 1940: I remember I'd loved this when I first read it. A funny piece about the adventures of a nutty professor & his uplifted bear.
8. [ss] H B Fyfe's "Protected Species" (A); March 1951: Arrogant humans are humbled. 
9. [ss] Lester del Rey's "Over the Top" (A); download as part of a larger package; November 1949: Men go to war, unless distracted!
10. [ss] John Pierce's "Invariant" (A); April 1944: Serious consequences of rejuvenation treatment... 
11. [ss] Murray Leinster's "Historical Note" (A); read online; February 1951: What if personal flying machines become a reality? Story is extremely satirical of communist Soviet Union.
12. [non-fact] W K Lessing's "Meihemin Ce Klasrum" (as by Dolton Edwards) (A); download; September 1946; humor: A plan to turn written English into a phonetic language.
13. [novelette] Henry Kuttner & C L Moore's "When the Bough Breaks" (as by Lewis Padgett) (B); download as part of a larger package; November 1944: A baby is a superman - the first of the new race "homo superior", causing much anguish & heartburn in his parents.
14. [novelette] Robert Heinlein's "Blowups Happen" (B); download; September 1940: It'll be safer if nuclear power plants were located in space rather than on earth. I don't recollect how it proposed to get the power generated in space down to earth.
15. [ss] Jack Williamson's "Hindsight" (B); download; May 1940: Time travel cannot change significant history!
16. [novelette] A E van Vogt's "Vault of the Beast" (B); August 1940: I don't remember much of it. Something about an alien (invader?) from another dimension trapped in a vault on Mars & some human getting involved in removing the resulting threat to humanity.
17. [novella] Henry Kuttner & C L Moore's "Clash by Night" (as by Lawrence O'Donnell) (B); March 1943: Description of a war in a society where countries don't keep militaries, but hire the services of independent military companies for both attack & defense! Set on Venus.
18. [novelette] Eric Frank Russell's "Hobbyist" (B); September 1947: A stranded spaceman on an alien planet hasn't realized he's actually met god!
19. [novelette] T L Sherred's "E For Effort" (B); May 1947: Using a past-viewer to abolish war! 
20. [novella] H Beam Piper's "Last Enemy" (B); download; August 1950: An adventure to rescue a damsel in distress, involving travel across the "levels" of "paratime" "sectors" & some space travel. Took me almost a week to finish it.
21. [ss] Kris Neville's "Cold War" (B); October 1949: US military superiority is a double-edged sword...
22. [novelette] Theodore Sturgeon's "Thunder and Roses" (B); download; November 1947: Finding hope for humanity in an angry world...
23. [ss] William T Powers' "Meteor" (C); September 1950: Very confused, & to me pointless & boring, description of a meteor scare involving earth & Mars.

Fact sheet.

First published: 1952.
Related: The stories edited by John Campbell for Astounding/Analog.

A case for anthologies edited by Groff Conklin

Bud Webster would have us believe that no science fiction bookshelf can be complete without anthologies edited by Groff Conklin.

Includes some information on Conklin that I didn't know before. I personally have read only one of his anthologies, though I have a couple of others lying around. May be I'll pick up one of these soon.

Related: "Best of" lists.

Groff Conklin (ed)'s "Six Great Short Science Fiction Novels" (anthology): Annotated table of contents & review

Going by what I've read so far, there is less emphasis on entertainment value here & more on stories with cool ideas.

List below is in order of my preference - best first, unread last. Links on author, publisher, or year fetch more matching fiction.

1. [novelette] Isaac Asimov's "Galley Slave" (A); Galaxy, December 1957: How to make a 3-laws obeying robot harm a human...
2. [novella]  Damon Knight's "Rule Golden" (A); Science Fiction Adventures, May 1954: What if we had an additional empathy sense? 
3. [novelette] Algis Budrys' "Chain Reaction" (as by John A Sentry) (B): You're free, but live my way!
4. [novella] Judith Merril's "Project Nursemaid" (B); F&SF, October 1955: Government's difficulties recruiting unwanted babies... 
5. [novelette] Clifford D Simak's "Final Gentleman" (B); F&SF, January 1960: Which of the 2 realities he experienced is real?
6. [novelette] Katherine MacLean's "Incommunicado" (B); Astounding, June 1950: Creating Homo Superior by rewiring part of human brain that processes auditory inputs...

First published: 1960.
Related: Anthologies, collections, magazines.

Brian David Johnson (ed)'s "The Tomorrow Project" (anthology, free): Annotated table of contents & review

Entire anthology is online at Intel. Individual stories - both text & MP3 versions - are also online at Intel.
Caution: Intel page linked has been behaving erratically today; several links returned 404. Links with individual stories below also have been extracted from this page, & at least text links seem to be working at the time of this post. Say your prayers before clicking the links!

Editor is an Intel employee, cover says "Presented by Intel", & editor informs us that "All four stories in this collection are based on technologies Intel is currently developing in our labs." So presumably near future science fiction. All are also ... sort of ... geeky, with emphasis more on technology than plot.

Table of contents.

List below is in order of my preference, best first.

1. [ss] Scarlett Thomas' "The Drop" (B); download text/MP3: Romance in an even more gadgety near future.
2. [ff] Markus Heitz's "The Blink of an Eye" (B); download text/MP3: A description of the ultimate smart house...
3. Ray Hammond's "The Mercy Dash" (B); download text/MP3: Future of wearable, mobile, & car computers. Story is about a couple's need to reach a hospital several hundred kilometers away as quickly as possible in a car.
4. Douglas Rushkoff's "Last Day of Work" (B); download text/MP3: First we reach singularity - machines improve by themselves. Then plenty - machines are still servile. Then nirvana - transformed to some non-material state, with a consciousness blended with rest of mankind.
   
   Full of a lot of modern jargon.

First published: 2011?

Couple of recently announced "best of" anthologies

1. David G Harwell & Kathryn Cramer (eds)' "Year's Best SF 17" (2012). ToC. Collects fiction originally published during 2011.
2. Jason Sanford (ed)'s "Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy". ToC (need to scroll down at linked page).

Related: "Best of" lists.

Rich Horton (ed)'s "The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2012" (anthology)

Horton posted the ToC a couple of days back. 29 short stories picked by the editor from among those first published during 2011. I think it's several months before the book is actually available in a store.

Where I'm aware of online availability of a story, I include the link too. Links on author, publisher, or editor fetches more matching fiction.

Table of contents (29 stories, best first, unread last).

1. [ss] Chris Lawson's "Canterbury Hollow" (B); download; F&SF, Jan/Feb: Love story of a "balloted" couple - in world with too much population & too few resources; so periodically, ballots are drawn to decide who is to be prematurely killed!
2. Nina Allan's "The Silver Wind"; Interzone, March-April: Not read.
3. John Barnes's "Martian Heart"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Life on Mars": Not read.
4. Jonathan Carroll's "East of Furious"; Conjunctions:56, Terra Incognita: The Voyage Issue, Spring 2011: Not read.
5. Suzy McKee Charnas' "Late Bloomer"; Ellen Datlow (ed)'s "Teeth": Not read.
6. C S E Cooney's "The Last Sophia"; download; Strange Horizons, March 7: Not read.
7. Alan DeNiro's "Walking Stick Fires"; Asimov's, June: Not read.
8. Bradley Denton's "The Adakian Eagle"; George R R Martin (ed)'s "Down These Strange Streets": Not read.
9. Alexandra Duncan's "Rampion"; F&SF, May-June: Not read.
10. Neil Gaiman's "'And Weep Like Alexander'"; Ian Whates (ed)'s "Fables from the Fountain": Not read.
11. Theodora Goss' "Pug"; Asimov's, July: Not read.
12. Gavin Grant's "Widows in the World"; download (in two parts); Strange Horizons, February 7 & 14: Not read.
13. Yoon Ha Lee's "Ghostweight"; download text/audio; Clarkesworld, January: Not read.
14. Kat Howard's "Choose Your Own Adventure"; download; Fantasy, April: Not read.
15. Karen Joy Fowler's "Younger Women"; download; Subterranean, Summer: Not read.
16. Kij Johnson's "The Man Who Bridged the Mist"; Asimov's, October-November: Not read.
17. Vylar Kaftan's "The Sighted Watchmaker"; download; Lightspeed, December: Not read.
18. Margo Lanagan's "Mulberry Boys"; Ellen Datlow (ed)'s "Blood and Other Cravings": Not read.
19. Marissa Lingen's "Some of Them Closer"; Analog, January: Not read.
20. Kelly Link's "The Summer People"; Kelly Link & Gavin J Grant (eds)' "Steampunk!": Not read.  
21. Paul McAuley's "The Choice"; Asimov's, February: Not read.
22. K J Parker's "A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong"; download; Subterranean, Winter: Not read.
23. Robert Reed's "Woman Leaves Room"; download; Lightspeed, March: Not read.
24. George Saunders' "My Chivalric Fiasco"; Harper’s Magazine, September: Not read.
25. Rachel Swirsky's "Fields of Gold"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Eclipse 4": Not read.
26. Lavie Tidhar's "The Smell of Orange Groves"; download text/audio; Clarkesworld, November: Not read.
27. Catherynne M Valente's "The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland, for a Little While"; download; Tor.com, July 27: Not read.
28. Genevieve Valentine's "The Sandal-Bride"; download; Fantasy, March: Not read.
29. E Lily Yu's "The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees"; download text/audio; Clarkesworld, April: Not read.

Related.

1. 2011 edition of this anthology series.
2. Competing "best of 2011" anthologies: Dozois', [Strahan's], [Hartwell/Cramer's].
3. All anthologies (annotated but infrequently updated list of anthologies & collections).
4. My "best of 2011" list. 
5. Fiction originally published during 2011.
6. "Best of" lists.

Gardner Dozois (ed)'s "The Year's Best Science Fiction, Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection" (2012, anthology)

His original post is supposed to be at Facebook, but I cannot see that; don't have a/c. The ToC below is seeded from SF Signal, then material added by me.

The book collects editor's choice of short stories originally published during 2011. Book itself is will likely be available mid-2012.

I've read all but perhaps a half dozen authors. There are may be 2 or 3 whose occasional stories I've really liked in the past. I'll not approach this anthology with high expectations, though I've read only one story so far.

Of 35 stories, 8 are from 3 original fiction anthologies edited by Jonathan Strahan. Then comes Asimov's - 6 stories, F&SF - 5 stories, Clarkesworld - 4 stories, & Tor.com 3 stories. Interzone, Analog & Subterranean get 1 story each. All other sources, mostly sundry original fiction anthologies, together have 6.

Table of contents (35 stories, best first, unread last).

Links on author, publisher, or editor fetches more matching fiction. For stories I've read, my rating is in brackets. Where I'm aware on an online copy of the story, I include the link too.

1. [ss] Chris Lawson's "Canterbury Hollow" (B); download; F&SF, Jan/Feb 2011: Love story of a "balloted" couple - in world with too much population & too few resources; so periodically, ballots are drawn to decide who is to be prematurely killed!
2. Paul Mcauley's "The Choice"; Asimov's, February 2011: Not read.
3. Catherynne M Valente's "Silently And Very Fast"; download text - part 01, 02, 03; Clarkesworld, October/November/December 2011: Not read.
4. Kij Johnson's "The Man Who Bridged The Mist"; Asimov's, Oct/Nov 2011: Not read.
5. Robert Reed's "The Ants Of Flanders"; F&SF, Jul/Aug 2011: Not read.
6. David Moles' "A Soldier Of The City"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Engineering Infinity": Not read.
7. Stephen Baxter's "The Invasion Of Venus"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Engineering Infinity": Not read.
8. [novelette] Karl Schroeder's "Laika's Ghost"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Engineering Infinity": Not read.
9. Damien Broderick's "The Beancounter's Cat"; download; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Eclipse 4": Not read.
10. Gwyneth Jones' "The Vicar Of Mars"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Eclipse 4": Not read.
11. Elizabeth Bear's "Dolly"; download audio; Asimov's, Jan 2011: Not read.
12. John Barnes' "Martian Heart"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Life on Mars": Not read.
13. Alastair Reynolds' "Ascension Day"; Scott Harrison & Lee Harris (eds)' "Voices from the Past": Not read.
14. Lavie Tidhar's "The Smell Of Orange Groves"; download text/audio; Clarkesworld, November 2011: Not read.
15. Maureen Mchugh's "After The Apocalypse"; from author's collection with same title: Not read.
16. Jay Lake's "A Long Way Home"; download; Subterranean, Winter 2011: Not read.
17. Geoff Ryman's "What We Found"; F&SF, Sep/Oct 2011: Not read.
18. Dave Hutchinson's "The Incredible Exploding Man"; Ian Whates (ed)'s "Solaris Rising": Not read.
19. Paul Cornell's "The Copenhagen Interpretation"; Asimov's, Jul 2011: Not read.
20. Peter S Beagle's "The Way It Works Out And All"; F&SF, Jul/Aug 2011: Not read.
21. Michael Swanwick's "The Dala Horse"; download; Tor.com, 13 July 2011: Not read.
22. Ken MacLeod's "Earth Hour"; download; Tor.com, 22 June 2011: Not read.
23. Carolyn Ives Gilman's "The Ice Owl"; F&SF, Nov/Dec 2011: Not read.
24. Jim Hawkins' "Digital Rites"; Interzone, #237 (Nov/Dec 2011): Not read.
25. Pat Cadigan's "Cody"; Stephen Cass (ed)'s "TRSF: The Best New Science Fiction", #1 (2011): Not read.
26. Yoon Ha Lee's "Ghostweight"; download text/audio; Clarkesworld, January 2011: Not read.
27. Tom Purdom's "A Response From Est17"; Asimov's, Apr/May 2011: Not read.
28. Ian McDonald's "Digging"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Life on Mars": Not read.
29. David Klecha & Tobias S Bucknell's "A Militant Peace"; download text/audio; Clarkesworld, Nov 2011: Not read.
30. Michael Swanwick's "For I Have Laid Me Down On The Stone Of Loneliness And I'll Not Be Back Again": Not read.
31. Michael Flynn's "The Iron Shirts"; download; Tor.com, 4 May 2011: Not read.
32. [novelette] Alec Nevala-lee's "The Boneless One"; Analog, Nov 2011: Not read.
33. [novelette] Ian R MacLeod's "The Cold Step Beyond"; Asimov's, Jun 2011: Not read.
34. Ken MacLeod's "The Vorkuta Event"; Peter Crowther & Nick Gevers (eds)' "Postscripts #24/25: The New and Perfect Man": Not read.
35. Peter M Ball's "Dying Young"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Eclipse 4": Not read.

Related.

1. Entire "The Year's Best Science Fiction" series; works of Gardner Dozois.
2. Competing "best of 2011" anthologies: [Horton's], [Strahan's], [Hartwell/Cramer's].
3. All anthologies (annotated but infrequently updated list of anthologies & collections).
4. My "best of 2011" list.
5. "Best of" lists.

David G Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer (eds)' "Year’s Best SF 16" (anthology, 2011): Annotated table of contents & review

Kathryn Cramer posted the ToC earlier this week. The volume collects editors' choice of fiction originally published during 2010, & will likely "be out from HarperCollins in May" 2011.

Legend: ff = flash fiction; ss = short story.

Table of contents (21 stories, best first, unread last).

Links on author, publisher, or editor fetch more matching fiction. Where I'm aware of an online copy, download link is included. My rating for read stories appears in brackets.

1. Nina Kiriki Hoffman's "Futures in the Memory Market" (B); download text/MP3; Clarkesworld, June 2010: A recording device like in Arthur Clarke's "Patent Pending" - record your entire experience, not just audio & video; sell it in units like DVDs, so anyone can play back the experience.
   
   This is the story of a young woman conned into a slavery-like contract with a corporation that trades in her experiences.
2. Jack McDevitt's "The Cassandra Project" (B); download; Lightspeed, June 2010: Discovery of an alien artifact on moon.
3. [ff] Gregory Benford's "Penumbra" (B); download; Nature, 9 June 2010: Apocalypse brought about by earth getting caught in "a gamma-ray burster" somewhere in or out of our galaxy. These are supposed to be astronomical phenomenon that transform a star into a black hole, & are supposed to be intense enough to kill everything on earth if occuring within the galaxy!
   Title, "Penumbra", means "twilight zone"; some of earth was behind moon's twilight zone, leading to many survivors.
   
4. Joe Haldeman's "Sleeping Dogs"; Elizabeth Anne Hull (ed)'s "Gateways" (anthology): Not read.
5. Kay Kenyon's "Castoff World"; download podcast; Jetse de Vries (ed)'s "Shine" (anthology): Not read.
6. Benjamin Crowell's "Petopia"; Asimov's, June 2010: Not read.
7. Vernor Vinge's "A Preliminary Assessment of the Drake Equation, Being an Excerpt From the Memoirs of Star Captain Y.-T. Lee"; Elizabeth Anne Hull (ed)'s "Gateways" (anthology): Not read.
8. Terry Bisson's "About It"; F&SF, September/October 2010: Not read.
9. Vandana Singh's "Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra"; download; Strange Horizons, 29 March 2010: Not read.
10. Damien Broderick's "Under the Moons of Venus"; download; Subterranean Online, Spring 2010: Not read.
11. Cat Sparks' "All the Love in the World"; Alisa Krasnostein (ed)'s "Sprawl" (anthology): Not read.
12. Alastair Reynolds' "At Budokan"; Jetse de Vries (ed)'s "Shine" (anthology): Not read.
13. David Langford's "Graffiti in the Library of Babel"; download; Nick Gevers & Marty Halpern "Is Anybody Out There?" (anthology): Not read.
14. Michael Swanwick's "Steadfast Castle"; F&SF, Sptember/October 2010: Not read.
15. Catherynne M Valente's "How to Become a Mars Overlord"; download; Lightspeed, August 2010: Not read.
16. Karl Schroeder's "To Hie from Far Cilenia"; John Scalzi (ed)'s "Metatropolis" (anthology): Not read.
17. Brenda Cooper's "The Hebras And The Demons And The Damned"; Analog, December 2010: Not read.
18. Robert Reed's "The Good Hand"; Asimov's, January 2010: Not read.
19. Stephen Popkes' "Jackie’s Boy"; Asimov's, April/May 2010: Not read.
20. Sean McMullen's "Eight Miles"; Analog, September 2010: Not read.
21. [novella] Paul Park's "Ghosts Doing the Orange Dance (The Parke Family Scrapbook Number IV)"; download; F&SF, January/February 2010: Not read.

Related.

1. Previous volumes in this series.
2. Competing "best of 2010" anthologies: Dozois', Horton's, Strahan's.
3. Fiction originally published during 2010.
4. My "best of 2010" list (links others' lists at bottom).
5. "Best of" lists; "good" fiction; "good" online fiction. 
6. Works of  David G Hartwell, Kathryn Cramer.
7. Short fiction anthologies, collections, magazines (only old pulps); all short fiction.

Note: I normally update list posts like this when I read one of the stories, find a new online link, etc. This post was last updated on 6 March 2011.

Rich Horton (ed)'s "The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2011 Edition" (anthology): Annotated table of contents & review

There is nothing still on it on Horton's own blog, but its ToC has been on internet since early this month. I was planning to write this after reading a good number of stories, but the rate at which I'm going suggests I'll find something else interesting long before I'm through!

The anthology collects editor's choice of short fiction originally published during 2010.

Table of contents (28 stories, best first, unread last).

Links on author, editor, or publisher fetches more matching fiction. If I am aware of an online copy of a story, I include it too. If I've read a story, my rating appears in brackets. If I have a separate post on a story, link on story title goes there.

Note the list is in order of my preference (where I've read the stories), rather than editor's ToC order (unread stories are in editor's order).

1. [ss] Peter Watts' "The Things" (A); download text/MP3; Clarkesworld, #40 (January 2010); fanfic: A retelling of John Campbell's "Who Goes There?" from the point of view of the alien.
   
   Also included in my "best of 2010" list. 
2. Carol Emshwiller's "No Time Like the Present" (B); download; Lightspeed, July 2010; butterfly effect: Immigrants have arrived from a dark future. 
3. [ss] Adam-Troy Castro's "Arvies" (B); download; Lightspeed, #3 (August 2010); horror: An extreme form of slavery. Very dark story.
4. [novelette] K J Parker's "Amor Vincit Omnia" (B); download; Subterranean Online, "Summer" (July-September) 2010; fantasy: What's most threatening to authority, government? A citizen who's beyond the government's power to hurt!
   
   Caution: Initial parts use far too much of ... is it Latin? I don't know the language, but almost gave up. Those funny words cease to be an issue once the story picks up.
5. Charles Yu's "Standard Loneliness Package" (B); download; Lightspeed, #6 (November 2010); brain dump: Outsource your pain, for a price!
6. Amal El-Mohtar's "The Green Book" (C); download; Apex Magazine, 1 November 2010; fantasy: Cannot make out the head or tail of it.
   There is a magical impossible-to-destroy notebook ("The Green Book") that can be used to chat with some dead - you write something, they write back! And some sort of sinister organization called "Sisters" that apparantly killed the dead you chat via the notebook & ominous implication they'll get to you too for having read their secret.
7. Charlie Jane Anders' "The Fermi Paradox is Our Business Model"; download; Tor.com, 11 August 2010: Not read.
   Note: Tor.com site seems to be down today. 
8. Paul M Berger's "Stereogram of the Gray Fort, in the Days of Her Glory"; download; Fantasy Magazine, 21 June 2010: Not read.
9. Damien Broderick's "Under the Moons of Venus"; download; Subterranean, Spring 2010: Not read.
10. C S E Cooney's "Braiding the Ghosts"; Mike Allen (ed)'s "Clockwork Phoenix 3": Not read.
11. Alexandra Duncan's "Amor Fugit"; F&SF, March/April 2010: Not read.
12. Willow Fagan's "The Interior of Mr. Bumblethorn's Coat"; download; Fantasy Magazine, 11 October 2010: Not read.
13. Neil Gaiman's "The Thing About Cassandra"; George R R Martin (ed)'s "Songs of Love and Death": Not read.
14. Elizabeth Hand's "The Maiden Flight of McCauley's Bellerophon"; Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio (eds)' "Stories: All New Tales" (read first 4 stories online): Not read.
15. Samantha Henderson's "The Red Bride"; download; Strange Horizons, 5 July 2010: Not read.
16. Matthew Johnson's "Holdfast"; download; Fantasy Magazine, 6 December 2010: Not read.
17. Alice Sola Kim's "The Other Graces"; Asimov's, July 2010: Not read.
18. Bill Kte'pi's "Merrythoughts"; download; Strange Horizons, 22 March 2010: Not read.
19. Geoffrey A Landis' "The Sultan of the Clouds"; Asimov's, September 2010: Not read.
20. Yoon Ha Lee's "Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain"; download; Lightspeed, #4 (September 2010): Not read.
21. An Omowoyela's "Abandonware"; download; Fantasy Magazine, 28 June 2010: Not read.
22. Paul Park's "Ghosts Doing the Orange Dance"; F&SF, January/February 2010: Not read.
23. Robert Reed's "Dead Man's Run"; F&SF, November/December 2010: Not read.
24. Rachel Swirsky's "The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window"; download; Subterranean, Summer 2010: Not read.
25. Matthew David Surridge's "The Word of Azrael"; Black Gate, #14 (February 2010): Not read.
26. Steve Rasnic Tem's "A Letter from the Emperor"; Asimov's, January 2010: Not read.
27. Gene Wolfe's "Bloodsport"; Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders (eds)' "Swords and Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery": Not read.
28. Christie Yant's "The Magician and the Maid and Other Stories"; download; John Joseph Adams (ed)'s "The Way of the Wizard": Not read.

Related.

1. Previous volumes in this series: 2010 Edition, 2009 Edition. Next volume: 2012 Edition.
2. Competing "best of 2010" anthologies: Dozois', Hartwell/Cramer's, Strahan's.
3. Fiction originally published during 2010.
4. My "best of 2010" list (links others' lists at bottom).
5. "Best of" lists; "good" fiction; "good" online fiction. 
6. Works of Rich Horton.
7. Short fiction anthologies, collections, magazines (only old pulps); all short fiction.

Credits: ToC here was seeded from oldcharliebrown; then expanded by me.

Note: I normally update list posts like this when I read one of the stories, find a new online link, etc. This post was last updated on 20 December 2011.

Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Five" (anthology, 2011): Annotated table of contents & review

Jonathan Strahan has posted the ToC of the volume, due out in March 2011 from Night Shade Books. Book collects editor's choice of short fiction originally published during 2010.

I do wish he would mark the stories that are clearly science fiction or clearly fantasy, for those of us with limited tastes. No luck here. Some cases are obvious from publisher, author or title; others aren't. My immediate impression is: anthology is highly biased towards fantasy.

Also, I'm now-a-days a lot less enthusiastic about these "best of the year" volumes than I was some years ago. Ones I've tried reading in the last couple of years appear to be full of fillers, with just one or two good stories - if that.

Table of contents (29 stories, best first, unread last).

Links on author, editor, or publisher fetches more matching fiction. If I am aware of an online copy of a story, I include it too. If I've read a story, my rating appears in brackets. If I have a separate post on a story, link on story title goes there.

Note the list is in order of my preference (where I've read the stories), rather than editor's ToC order (unread stories are in editor's order).

1. [ss] Peter Watts' "The Things" (A); download text/MP3; Clarkesworld, #40 (January 2010); fanfic: A retelling of John Campbell's "Who Goes There?" from the point of view of the alien.
   
   Also included in my "best of 2010" list.
   
2. [novelette] K J Parker's "Amor Vincit Omnia" (B); download; Subterranean Online, "Summer" (July-September) 2010; magic: What's most threatening to authority, government? A citizen who's beyond the government's power to hurt!
   
   Caution: Initial parts use far too much of ... is it Latin? I don't know the language, but almost gave up. Those funny words cease to be an issue once the story picks up.
3. Hannu Rajaniemi's "Elegy for a Young Elk"; download; Subterranean Online, Spring 2010: Not read.
4. Neil Gaiman's "The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains"; download; Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio (eds)' "Stories: All New Tales" (read first 4 stories online): Not read.
5. Sandra McDonald's "Seven Sexy Cowboy Robots"; download; Strange Horizons, 4 October 2010: Not read.
6. Sarah Rees Brennan's "The Spy Who Never Grew Up"; Trisha Telep (ed)'s "Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love": Not read.
7. Holly Black's "The Aarne-Thompson Classification Revue"; Darrell Schweitzer & Martin H Greenberg (eds)' "Full Moon City": Not read.
8. Damien Broderick's "Under the Moons of Venus"; download; Subterranean Online, Spring 2010: Not read.
9. Joe Abercrombie's "The Fool Jobs"; Jonathan Strahan & Lou Anders (eds)' "Swords and Dark Magic: The New Sword and Sorcery": Not read.
10. Robert Reed's "Alone"; Jonathan Strahan (ed)'s "Godlike Machines": Not read.
11. Kij Johnson's "Names for Water"; Asimov's, October/November 2010: Not read.
12. Theodora Goss' "Fair Ladies"; download; Apex magazine, 2 August 2010: Not read.
13. James Patrick Kelly's "Plus or Minus"; Asimov's, December 2010: Not read.
14. Ellen Kushner's "The Man With the Knives"; download; first published as a "chapbook from Temporary Culture" on 3 May 2010: Not read.
15. Cory Doctorow's "The Jammie Dodgers and the Adventure of the Leicester Square Screening"; download; Shareable, 25 May 2010: Not read.
16. Elizabeth Hand's "The Maiden Flight of McAuley's Bellerophon"; Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio (eds)' "Stories: All New Tales" (read first 4 stories online - not including this one): Not read.
17. Margo Lanagan's "The Miracle Aquilina"; Jonathan Strahan & Marianne S Jablon (eds)' "Wings of Fire": Not read.
18. Pat Cadigan's "The Taste of Night"; download in three parts; Nick Gevers & Marty Halpern (eds)' "Is Anybody Out There?": Not read.
19. Bruce Sterling's "The Exterminator's Want-Ad"; download; Shareable, 22 June 2010: Not read.
20. Christopher Barzak's "Map of Seventeen"; Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling (eds)' "The Beastly Bride and Other Tales of the Animal People": Not read.
21. Maureen McHugh's "The Naturalist"; download; Subterranean Online, Spring 2010: Not read.
22. Sara Genge's "Sins of the Father"; Asimov's, December 2010: Not read.
23. Geoffrey A Landis' "The Sultan of the Clouds"; Asimov's, September 2010: Not read.
24. John Kessel's "Iteration"; download; Strange Horizons, 13 September 2010: Not read.
25. Diana Peterfreund's "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn"; Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier (eds)' "Zombies vs Unicorns": Not read.
26. Lavie Tidhar's "The Night Train"; download; Strange Horizons, 14 June 2010: I think I've read it; but I don't remember anything of it now.
27. Ian Tregillis' "Still Life (A Sexagesimal Fairy Tale)"; download; Apex magazine, 4 October 2010: Not read.
28. Genevieve Valentine's "The Zeppelin Conductors' Society Annual Gentlemen's Ball"; download; Lightspeed, July 2010: Not read.
29. Rachel Swirsky's "The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window"; download; Subterranean Online, Summer 2010: Not read. 

Related.

1. Previous volumes in this series: Vol 4 (2010), Vol 3 (2009).
2. Competing "best of 2010" anthologies: Dozois', Hartwell/Cramer's, Horton's.
3. Fiction originally published during 2010.
4. My "best of 2010" list (links others' lists at bottom).
5. "Best of" lists; "good" fiction; "good" online fiction.
6. Works of Jonathan Strahan.
7. Short fiction anthologies, collections, magazines (only old pulps); all short fiction.
8. Pre-order at Amazon.com.

Note: I normally update list posts like this when I read one of the stories, find a new online link, etc. This post was last updated on 4 December 2010.