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Jackaroo #0.5 - The Choice
The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2012
From the publisher's web site: This fourth volume of the year's best science fiction and fantasy features thirty stories by some of the genre's greatest authors, including Jonathan Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Kij Johnson, Kelly Link, Paul McAuley, RJ Parker, Robert Reed, Rachel Swirsky, Catherynne M. Valente, and many others. Selecting the best fiction from Asimov's, F&SF, Strange Horizons, Subterranean, Tor.com, and other top venues, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy is your guide to magical realms and worlds beyond tomorrow.
544 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2012
34 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 25, 2018
I love anthologies like this because they are a great way to find new authors! I bought this mostly for the Neil Gaiman story, which turned out to be disappointingly short, but there were several others I really liked too, especially the last and longest story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5-Star Highlights:
5. The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland, For A Little While" by Catherynne M. Valente (Fantasy):"'I have all the books I could need, and what more could I need than books? ... I am a practical girl and a life is only so long. It should be spent in as much peace and good eating and good reading as possible and no undue excitement.'" 100
Self-professed Practical Girl Mallow is drawn unwilling into "Politcks" and becomes Queen. Part of a series, I'd love to read more of this world, with its fabulous, fanciful, bizarre imagery!
12. Rampion by Alexandria Duncan (Fantasy): A forbidden love and its terrible cost.
21. A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong by K. J. Parker (Fantasy): A musician and his protégé play a cat-and-mouse game of musical genius, with theft, betrayal, and intrigue.
26. Fields of Gold by Rachel Swirsky (Fantasy): An odd, and strangely affecting, story about the afterlife and the disappointments of life. Quirkily humorous too, in a black way.
29. The Man Who Bridged The Mist by Kij Johnson (Fantasy): The longest story in the collection is also its best. A subtle tale as hazy and hard to define as its namesake mist. A determined architect sets out to build a mechanical bridge over a river of mysterious, magical mist and learns about life, love and loss.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4-Star Honorable Mentions:
1. Ghostweight by Yoon Ha Lee (Science Fiction): I loved the origami-weapons imagery.
2. The Sandal-Bride by Genevieve Valentine (Fantasy): A spice trader learns to judge true value by more than looks alone.
7. Late Bloomer by Suzy McKee Charnas (Fantasy): Very interesting take on vampires: they aren't able to create after their deaths, so they collect and hoard antiques.
11. Pug by Theodora Goss (Fantasy): An sickly aristocratic lady discovers a door in the hedge but cannot divine its purpose.
13. And Weep Like Alexander by Neil Gaiman (fantasy): A short joke, but a good one.
15. Younger Women by Karen Joy Fowler (Fantasy): For vampires, forever is longer than they might think.
16. Canterbury Hollow by Chris Lawson (Science Fiction): A boy and a girl slated for death on an over-populated planet find each other instead.
19. The Silver Wind by Nina Allen (Fantasy): A different take on time travel.
20. Choose Your Own Adventure by Kat Howard (Fantasy): As the title says.
28. The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees by E. Lily Yu (Fantasy): Intelligent map-making wasps expand their Empire and attempt to colonize the Bees.
5 5-Star reads and 10 4-Star reads. Overall, the collection was almost evenly split into interesting/not interesting to me. But the stories vary widely so there should be something to please everyone.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5-Star Highlights:
5. The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland, For A Little While" by Catherynne M. Valente (Fantasy):"'I have all the books I could need, and what more could I need than books? ... I am a practical girl and a life is only so long. It should be spent in as much peace and good eating and good reading as possible and no undue excitement.'" 100
Self-professed Practical Girl Mallow is drawn unwilling into "Politcks" and becomes Queen. Part of a series, I'd love to read more of this world, with its fabulous, fanciful, bizarre imagery!
12. Rampion by Alexandria Duncan (Fantasy): A forbidden love and its terrible cost.
21. A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong by K. J. Parker (Fantasy): A musician and his protégé play a cat-and-mouse game of musical genius, with theft, betrayal, and intrigue.
26. Fields of Gold by Rachel Swirsky (Fantasy): An odd, and strangely affecting, story about the afterlife and the disappointments of life. Quirkily humorous too, in a black way.
29. The Man Who Bridged The Mist by Kij Johnson (Fantasy): The longest story in the collection is also its best. A subtle tale as hazy and hard to define as its namesake mist. A determined architect sets out to build a mechanical bridge over a river of mysterious, magical mist and learns about life, love and loss.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4-Star Honorable Mentions:
1. Ghostweight by Yoon Ha Lee (Science Fiction): I loved the origami-weapons imagery.
2. The Sandal-Bride by Genevieve Valentine (Fantasy): A spice trader learns to judge true value by more than looks alone.
7. Late Bloomer by Suzy McKee Charnas (Fantasy): Very interesting take on vampires: they aren't able to create after their deaths, so they collect and hoard antiques.
11. Pug by Theodora Goss (Fantasy): An sickly aristocratic lady discovers a door in the hedge but cannot divine its purpose.
13. And Weep Like Alexander by Neil Gaiman (fantasy): A short joke, but a good one.
15. Younger Women by Karen Joy Fowler (Fantasy): For vampires, forever is longer than they might think.
16. Canterbury Hollow by Chris Lawson (Science Fiction): A boy and a girl slated for death on an over-populated planet find each other instead.
19. The Silver Wind by Nina Allen (Fantasy): A different take on time travel.
20. Choose Your Own Adventure by Kat Howard (Fantasy): As the title says.
28. The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees by E. Lily Yu (Fantasy): Intelligent map-making wasps expand their Empire and attempt to colonize the Bees.
5 5-Star reads and 10 4-Star reads. Overall, the collection was almost evenly split into interesting/not interesting to me. But the stories vary widely so there should be something to please everyone.
July 31, 2018
A few stories were okay. A lot of them were over-descriptive and very hard to get through with very little reward for doing so. (there is always also the strong possibility that I'm just not on the same level with all these elite thinkers) I got about halfway through and couldn't get motivated to read the rest. Perhaps all the other stories are amazing, or at least down on a level I can appreciate. Maybe one day I'll pick it back up and find out.
January 31, 2022
fav stories:
the girl who ruled fairyland, for a little while
martian heart
the summer people
the cartographer wasps and the anarchist bees
the man who bridged the mist
the girl who ruled fairyland, for a little while
martian heart
the summer people
the cartographer wasps and the anarchist bees
the man who bridged the mist
June 16, 2023
One of those weird years?
I hope so anyway, because this series is one that:
A. I haven't read before, this being the first
B. Seems full of a lot of stories I did not read elsewhere.
Every anthology has some stories a reader will not dig, However, so far, I'm skipping every story in here.
Some years Editors or writers get on an existential trip, and I can't do well with those being an Aspie.
I hope so anyway, because this series is one that:
A. I haven't read before, this being the first
B. Seems full of a lot of stories I did not read elsewhere.
Every anthology has some stories a reader will not dig, However, so far, I'm skipping every story in here.
Some years Editors or writers get on an existential trip, and I can't do well with those being an Aspie.
November 26, 2012
The stories I really liked were:
"The Sighted Watchmaker" by Vylar Kaftan
"The Choice" by Paul McAuley
"Windows in the World" by Gavin J. Grant
"The Summer People" by Kelly Link
"Mulberry Boys" by Margo Lanagan
"Woman Leaves Room" by Robert Reed
"The Last Sophia" by C.S.E. Cooney
"The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees" by E. Lily Yu
and of course" The Man Who Bridged the Mist" by Kij Johnson
So 9 stories out of 29. All in all, interesting to see what was out there from the previous year.
"The Sighted Watchmaker" by Vylar Kaftan
"The Choice" by Paul McAuley
"Windows in the World" by Gavin J. Grant
"The Summer People" by Kelly Link
"Mulberry Boys" by Margo Lanagan
"Woman Leaves Room" by Robert Reed
"The Last Sophia" by C.S.E. Cooney
"The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees" by E. Lily Yu
and of course" The Man Who Bridged the Mist" by Kij Johnson
So 9 stories out of 29. All in all, interesting to see what was out there from the previous year.
June 30, 2013
Some of these stories were great, some were downright awful, and some were pretty mediocre. I thought the best of the bunch were:
The Adakian Eagle
The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland
Late Bloomer*
Rampion
Younger Women
Canterbury Hollow
The Summer People
Mulberry Boys*
The Silver Wind
A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong
Woman Leaves Room
My Chivalric Fiasco
The Last Sophia
The Man who Bridged the Mist
*Late Bloomer was my favorite, followed by The Mulberry Boys
The Adakian Eagle
The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland
Late Bloomer*
Rampion
Younger Women
Canterbury Hollow
The Summer People
Mulberry Boys*
The Silver Wind
A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong
Woman Leaves Room
My Chivalric Fiasco
The Last Sophia
The Man who Bridged the Mist
*Late Bloomer was my favorite, followed by The Mulberry Boys
June 26, 2013
Some stories were better than others, but overall, it's a solid read. I only skipped one: The Last Sophia, by C.S.E Cooney. It was from the perspective of a woman who was in & out of reality, but the attempt to create that narratively was just confusing.
The best of the bunch, in my opinion: "The Man who Bridged the Mist" by Kij Johnson, "Fields of Gold" by Rachel Swirsky, "The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees" by E. Lily Yu, and "The Adakian Eagle" by Bradley Denton.
The best of the bunch, in my opinion: "The Man who Bridged the Mist" by Kij Johnson, "Fields of Gold" by Rachel Swirsky, "The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees" by E. Lily Yu, and "The Adakian Eagle" by Bradley Denton.
October 10, 2012
Two stories really stand out to me. The rest wasn't that special. And then there were quite a few which seemed totally out of place in a SF&F collection where the fantasy is reduced to the supernatural set into our regular world.
Some gems: The Sandal-Bride, The Sighted Watchmaker, The Choice, The Man Who Bridged the Mist.
The rest I thought were just alright or less than average.
Some gems: The Sandal-Bride, The Sighted Watchmaker, The Choice, The Man Who Bridged the Mist.
The rest I thought were just alright or less than average.
August 28, 2012
By and large well-curated. Some standouts are sub-par, one or two very sub-par, but this may have been a bad year for speculative fiction. Nonetheless I would encourage the editor to seriously consider whether stories about hipsters meeting vampires truthfully belong in any serious anthology.
November 23, 2012
Odd mix of stories and styles. I didn't love the majority of them, but yet there were a few that were really great and a couple more that were enjoyable. There were also a bunch that I couldn't even finish.
April 9, 2013
Some really great stories here, some not so much. Without being negative and naming the poorer stories (some from inexperienced authors who just haven't found their voice yet) here are the highlights:
Late Bloomer
Neil Gaiman
The adaskian Eagle
Birdsong
Fields of Gold
Late Bloomer
Neil Gaiman
The adaskian Eagle
Birdsong
Fields of Gold
July 30, 2013
I skimmed a few of these, and wasn't caught up. I got this for Valente's Fairyland 0.5 story, and read Neil Gaiman's story as well. Those were great. But all in all it didn't engage me like some other anthologies.
July 27, 2023
Good stories of science fiction and fantasy, as usual.
December 25, 2012
Not sure if it's my poor attention span and distraction causing me issues (read: yeah, it probably is), but I just couldn't get into many of these short stories at all.
February 11, 2013
4a best of the year book it left things to be desired there was some good stories but I wouldn't think anything works great
August 8, 2013
Surprisingly disappointing. Some of the stories weren't very sci-fi/fantasyish at all. There were a few good stories, but mostly by already established authors I already knew about.
May 30, 2014
I love short stories, especially science fiction. This one was awesome, I'd recommend this to everyone who enjoys sci-fi and fantasy.
May 9, 2014
There are some amazing stories in this book...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews