The Mammoth Book Of Best New SF 11

by Paul McAuley (Editor), Paul McAuley, Carolyn Ives Gilman

Each year science fiction's premiere short fiction editor, Gardner Dozois, collects dozens of excellent stories in a chunky volume that is eagerly anticipated by readers and writers alike. The anthology also includes an invaluable summation about the state of the science fiction publishing field, and a list of honorable mentions (think of them as almost-made-its) for 1997. This anthology is the book for every science fiction fan.

Contents
* Summation: 1997 • essay by Gardner Dozois
* Beauty in the Night (1997) / novelette by Robert Silverberg
* Second Skin (1997) / shortstory by Paul J. McAuley
* Steamship Soldier on the Information Front (1997) / novelette by Nancy Kress
* Reasons to Be Cheerful (1997) / novelette by Greg Egan
* Moon Six (1997) / novelette by Stephen Baxter
* We Will Drink a Fish Together . . . (1997) / novelette by Bill Johnson
* Escape Route [Confederation Universe Stories] (1997) / novella by Peter F. Hamilton
* Itsy Bitsy Spider (1997) / shortstory by James Patrick Kelly
* A Spy in Europa [Revelation Space] (1997) / shortstory by Alastair Reynolds
* The Undiscovered (1997) / novelette by William Sanders
* Echoes (1997) / novelette by Alan Brennert
* Getting to Know You [North American future] (1997) / novelette by David Marusek
* Balinese Dancer (1997) / shortstory by Gwyneth Jones
* Marrow [The Great Ship Universe] (1997) / novella by Robert Reed
* Heart of Whitenesse (1997) / shortstory by Howard Waldrop
* The Wisdom of Old Earth (1997) / shortstory by Michael Swanwick
* The Pipes of Pan (1997) / novelette by Brian Stableford
* Crossing Chao Meng Fu (1997) / novelette by G. David Nordley
* Yeyuka (1997) / shortstory by Greg Egan
* Frost Painting (1997) / shortstory by Carolyn Ives Gilman
* Lethe (1997) / novelette by Walter Jon Williams
* Winter Fire (1997) / shortstory by Geoffrey A. Landis
* Nevermore (1997) / novelette by Ian R. MacLeod
* Open Veins (1997) / shortstory by Simon Ings
* After Kerry (1997) / novelette by Ian McDonald
* The Masque of Agamemnon [Troy Stories] (1997) / novelette by Sean Williams, Simon Brown
* Gulliver at Home (1997) / novelette by John Kessel
* A Cold Dry Cradle (1997) / novella by Elisabeth Malartre and Gregory Benford
* Honorable Mentions: 1997 • essay by Gardner Dozois

Also published titled as: The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection
.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Collections

736 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

Since about 2000, book jackets have given his name as just Paul McAuley.

A biologist by training, UK science fiction author McAuley writes mostly hard science fiction, dealing with themes such as biotechnology, alternate history/alternate reality, and space travel.

McAuley has also used biotechnology and nanotechnology themes in near-future settings.

Since 2001, he has produced several SF-based techno-thrillers such as The Secret of Life, Whole Wide World, and White Devils.

Four Hundred Billion Stars, his first novel, won the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988. Fairyland won the 1996 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 1997 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best SF Novel.

Reviews

[Olivia "So many books--so little time."" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mix of sci-fi short stories by such authors as Greg Egan, Walter Jon Williams, and Gregory Benford. I really liked this anthology.

[Infosifter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read two or three stories from this collection between the bigger books I've been reading for much of this year. I liked the majority of stories and found them interesting and thought-provoking. For me, the best science-fiction and fantasy short stories allow the reader to explore ideas, and on that basis this collection was a big success. I look forward to reading other collections developed by this editor.

[Jemppu · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Notes in the reading updates below.)

Otherwise a 3 star collection, has in it the shining highlight of Ian McDonald's "After Kerry".

William Sanders' "The Undiscover" was also a delight. Greg Egan's "Reasons to be Cheerful" deserves a mention.

[Manuel Vazquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gardner Dozois does it again. Another extraordinary addition to the year's best science fiction series. The story selection is as good as ever and the summation of the year in science fiction provides a time capsule to the year 1997.

Beauty in the Night by Robert Silverberg: 4
An abandoned kid decides to take revenge against his father by killing one of the extraterrestrial conquerors that his dad serves

Second Skin Paul J. McAuley: 2
2nd worst story of the anthology: The story of a extraction mission of a genetic engineer from Neptune

Steamship Soldier on the Information Front by Nancy Kress: 4
The story of a worried parent, a successful businessman, and his worries about his kid, but as it turns out he had nothing to worry about

Reasons to Be Cheerful by Greg Egan: 5
2nd best story of the anthology: The story of a man that lost the ability to feel any happiness after treatment for a brain tumor and his childhood and the procedure that decades later promises to make him the master of his own emotions (and brain)

Moon Six by Stephen Baxter: 3
Alternate realities on the moon told from the point of view of the astronaut that experienced them

We Will Drink a Fish Together... by Bill Johnson: 4.5
Read this story if you want to have some fun. It is about an bodyguard that quits his job after taking a bullet for the extraterrestrial diplomat he protects, and how about even after having quit on paper planning to never be involved in protecting the diplomat ever again, fate has other plans

Escape Route by Peter F. Hamilton: 5 A crew of scientist of mercenaries and scientists? go on a mission in search for gold, but the mission is derailed when they encounter an abandoned alien ship with a mysterious portal in its core

Itsy Bitsy Spider by James Patrick Kelly: 3 A daughter (granddaughter?) finds out that her father (grandfather?), living in a retirement home, has an android copy of herself

A Spy in Europa by Alastair Reynolds: 5
The story of a spy that goes to Europa (the moon) to undergo a genetic surgery to perform an extraction mission of a person of interest, but ends up woefully unprepared

The Undiscovered by William Sanders: 4
A what-if scenario, where Shakespeare sneaks(?) in a ship crossing the Atlantic and ends up having to write his greatest plays for Native Americans which are fully unaware of the art of theater

Echoes by Alan Brennert: 5
A glimpse into the life of a genetically engineered daughter to be a music genius and the struggle she faces by constantly seeing alternate versions of herself, most of which seem to be living better lives than herself in the territory of the could have been.

Getting to Know You by David Marusek: 3
3rd worst story of the anthology: The story of a reporter (writer?) that argues with her digital assistant as she is visiting her dying sister

Balinese Dancer by Gwyneth Jones: 4
The story of a scientist that is vacationing? in France after she discovered that human sexes are changing and was unceremoniously fired soon after

Marrow by Robert Reed: 5
Honorable Mention: This story has one of the largest (if not the largest) scopes of any other science fiction story I have ever read. A story that takes place over thousands of years after a group of nearly immortal humans are sent to explore tha planet at the core of the Jupiter-sized spaceship where they live.

Heart of Whitenesse by Howard Waldrop: 2
1st worst story of the anthology: Some guy trying to find out if Johan Faustus is Catholic? I am not so sure about this summary

The Wisdom of Old Earth by Michael Swanwick: 4
The story of an earth-native escorting a post-human space born person through the remnant of the USA and her futile efforts to fit in with the post-humans

The Pipes of Pan by Brian Stableford: 5
The story of a 13 year old girl (that has been 13 for 30 years) living in a world without aging and how she deals with the symptoms of a plague that resumes aging in children

Crossing Chao Meng Fu G. by David Nordley: 3
A prequel to Into the Miranda Rift (see 11th volume) where a team of astronauts cross a crater in Mercury on foot

Yeyuka by Greg Egan: 5
The story of a doctor volunteering to help patients in Uganda suffering of a disease called yeyuka that causes cancer/huge tumors and how far he is willing to go to help his patients.

Frost Painting by Carolyn Ives Gilman: 4
The story of a woman traveling to retrieve her artist girlfriend from a town that claims to worship an extraterrestrial being

Lethe by Walter Jon Williams: 4.5
A man that survived a terraforming disaster where his wife died returns to earth and spends time with two other couples that are clones of himself and his dead wife

Winter Fire by Geoffrey A. Landis: 5
3rd best story of the anthology: The story of a Japanese-descent girl that recounts her experiences living in Salzburg (Austria) during the times of war in the 21st century and how she passed up her chance at revenge, over the armies that were ethnically cleansing and sieging the city, for a better future

Nevermore by Ian R. MacLeod: 4
The relationship between a wealthy woman and a poor artist collapses after the woman dies and is virtually reincarnated by using nano-machines and the memories of herself she recorded with the help of a companion animal

Open Veins by Simon Ings: 4
The story of a couple being investigated for their relationship with a pilot that commited suicide after she went AWOL

After Kerry by Ian McDonald: 5
1st best story of the anthology: A man uses the records held at the bank where he works to track down his estranged sister to tell her that their mom had died and that she could come back home only to find out that his sister is no longer herself (no longer exist)

The Masque of Agamemnon by Sean Williams and Simon Brown: 3.5
A group of astronauts come upon a ship descended from self replicating probes humanity had sent out into the galaxy a long time ago. To their surprise everyone in the ship is too busy roleplaying a version of the Iliad

Gulliver at Home by John Kessel: 4
A retelling of Gulliver's travels from the point of view of his wife and the sacrifices? she had to make (or hardships she had to endure) due to his constant travelling

A Cold Dry Cradle by Gregory Benford and Elisabeth Malartre: 4
A realistic? story of the discovery of alien life in mars during a crewed scientific expedition

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good collection of speculative fiction, with some bad reimaginings of classical tales and characters mixed in. Greg Egan's stuff is particularly good.

It's an old edition, but the endless smug referencing by science fiction writers of classical mythology, updating it to the future world, is insufferable to no end. Ooooh, you called a memory wipe "Lethe", you've updated The Odyssey to spaceships, aren't you just so educated and clever. That needs to stop.

But beyond that, there are some truly great stories, particularly by the all-too-infrequently collected women writers, that make the collection worthwhile.

[Falbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally I really like these "Year's Best Sci-Fi" compilations, but this one wasn't as good as many I have read in the past. Maybe it was just me, but a lot of the stories seemed so skewed towards fantasy that I felt kind of slighted. There were some good stories, but if your going to read one of Dozois' compilations, I'd start with a different one than this 1997 version.

[Janet Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frost Painting, Open Veins, masque of Agamemnon

[Miriam Smirnov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Just wish there was more character development. I enjoyed the last one "A Cold, Dry Cradle" by Gregory Benford and Elisabeth Malartre the most

[Mark Isaak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good selection of good stories, with diverse themes, settings, and concepts being explored. None of them feel dated after 25 years.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 years in the making

[Amiranus Romanus]

I'll update this review with each story:

WARNING! This review will probably contain spoilers.

Beauty in the Night • (1997) • novelette by Robert Silverberg
4.5/5
For such a small page count this novelette covers issues such as religious differences,
domestic violence and the life of humans under alien rule quite well. I especially liked how different characters reacted to the Entities differently, both on individual and demographic (pre-arrival/post-arrival, pre-plague/post-plague, etc.) level. Another interesting aspect was how well Silverberg described childbirth, or at least I, who has not experienced one, think so. The fact that the main focus was on a Muslim family was a nice touch, it was interesting to view the arrival of Entities from this culture.

A Cold Dry Cradle • (1997) • novella by Elisabeth Malartre and Gregory Benford
3.5/5
An interesting take on the future of space exploration, and one that might yet prove prophetic, given the increasing commercialization of the field today. The authors' speculations on the particulars of Martian evolution was also fascinating.

A Spy in Europa • [Revelation Space] • (1997) • shortstory by Alastair Reynolds
4/5
Ever since I read Frank Herbert's Dune and The Dosadi Experiment desolate environments that 'accelerate' evolution fascinate me. This short story holds just such a charm. This fast-paced adventure gives us just enough of a glimpse into this futuristic world to keep us in suspense. Definitely will be returning to Reynolds's Revelation Space universe.

Second Skin • (1997) • shortstory by Paul J. McAuley
3.5/5
Fun story about space intrigue. Liked the clone/assassin idea. The reference to Wings of Desire (1987) at the beginning was a very clever overshadowing of the ending.

Steamship Soldier on the Information Front • (1997) • novelette by Nancy Kress
4/5
Interesting take on the age of technology and the hectic lifestyle it brings. I must add that for a 1997 story it's a pretty prophetic one.

Reasons to Be Cheerful • (1997) • novelette by Greg Egan
5/5
Wow. A really great story! Even if you take away SF elements, the depiction of depression is still very well written.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

every single one of these collections is essential reading for true fans of science fiction short stories... each lengthy volume has a stellar array of all mini-genres and areas of powerfully influential science fiction: hard science, speculative, steampunk, alien invasions, apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic, space opera, fantasy, aliens, monsters, horror-ish, space travel, time travel, eco-science, evolutionary, pre-historic, parallel universes, extraterrestrials... in each successive volume in the series the tales have advanced and grown in imagination and detail with our ability to envision greater concepts and possibilities... Rod Serling said, "...fantasy is the impossible made probable. science fiction is the improbable made possible..." and in the pages of these books is the absolute best the vastness of science fiction writing has to offer... sit back, relax, and dream...

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of my college reading consisted of exposure to new (to me) genres (or older writing other than Beowulf or the Canterbury Tales), selections from larger works, more Shakespeare, or scifi/fantasy or religious literature. While the exposure to all of this was valuable, very few pieces had a profound effect on me. It was a seminar on science fiction that provided some of my most memorable undergraduate reading. This collection was a part of the regular reading for the class, and 3 stories in particular have stayed with me: "Steamship Soldier on the Information Front," "Echoes," and "Reasons to Be Cheerful." "Lethe" and "Pipes of Pan" were also influential.

[Andre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have now been a long-time fan of the "Mammoth Book of" series. Whether it is the Horror, SciFi, Crime or one of the many other one-shots in the series. Installment 11 of the Mammoth Book of Best New SF is one that I really enjoyed reading and I find it hard to review it in just a few words. There are stories in here that range from brilliant to mediocre to some I was simply not able to finish because they were so dreadful. When reading Analog or Asimov's I have the same, so I guess this is indeed a good cross-section of what the year had to offer. I can recommend reading it though.

[Lee Pfahler · Rating 3 out of 5]

First reading the Peter Hamilton novella, "Escape Route"; my first time reading anything by him. I finished that one on 8/13. I did not think it was real great so I will give it 3 stars. I then started reading Robert Silverberg's novelette "Beauty in the Night". I will give that one four stars. I then read Benford and Malartre's novella A Cold, Dry Cradle which was the inspiration for Benford to write his novel The Martian Race. I will give the story 3 stars; the novel is better. I am now reading Baxter's novelette Moon Six.

[Lord Humungus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall not one of the best in the series, however it contains two of my favorite stories from a couple of my favorite authors: "Marrow" by Robert Reed, which would later become the basis for his Marrow books; and "The Wisdom of Old Earth" by Michael Swanwick, which was essentially a Gamma World short story. "Moon Six" by Stephen Baxter was also great. I'm inflating the rating for this collection because I love those stories so much.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the risk of getting hanged & quartered by admirers of Gardner Dozois, I must state that if THIS is the "best" of sci-fi for an entire year, then the genre has sunk in its intellectual pseudo-highbrow psychological stew, trying to get rid of the taut narrative-based sails that had kept the genre afloat. Just compare these stories with the Hall of Flame collections, and get to see the difference.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember this as one of my favorites. That "After Kerry" and "Echoes" provided some emotional gut-punch; "Moon Six" and "A Spy in Europa" cleverness; "Marrow" grandeur, "Steamship Soldier on the Information Front" and "A Cold Dry Cradle" food for thought. I also communicate online with the author of "The Undiscovered", which I also like but am separating due to that, and that gave me some additional understanding.

[Tiina · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of the short stories in this collection really struck a chord with me. I had high hopes for one that was sort of like a detective story, but even that one petered out after a promising beginning.

I wonder, does science fiction age with time? The stories were from 10+ years ago. Is this why they did not shine?

[John Devlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read one sci-fi book a year, this is the one. Always stories of high caliber with a few tossed in that will keep you thinking weeks later, not to mention the collection is a primer for what science and technology everyone will be talking about five to ten years from now.

[That70sheidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved big collection books like this, so when I saw an audio version of it, I grabbed it. Some really solid stories (Moon Six, Second Skin, Cheerful, Chang Mung Fu, Masque) and some I skipped, but overall a good selection.

[Timon Karnezos · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Moon Six" was the only good thing that came out of this, sadly.

[Patrick]

11/29/11: "Open Veins" by Simon Ings

[Ronny · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent selection, enjoyed all stories.

[Darth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good stuff - this one seemed to start strong and then fade a bit by the stories at the end, but overall I still liked more than I didn't so that is always good.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good compilation of science fiction short stories. I enjoyed reading them very much.

[James Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never can get enough of these short stories.