Clarkesworld: Year Six

by Neil Clarke (Editor), Sean Wallace (Editor), Erik Amundsen

Since 2006, Clarkesworld Magazine has been entertaining science fiction and fantasy fans with their brand of unique science fiction and fantasy stories. Collected here are all thirty-four stories published in the sixth year of this Hugo Award-winning magazine.

CONTENTS

Introduction by Neil Clarke
Scattered Along the River of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard
All the Painted Stars by Gwendolyn Clare
Prayer by Robert Reed
A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight by Xia Jia
And the Hollow Space Inside by Mari Ness
What Everyone Remembers by Rahul Kanakia
The Bells of Subsidence by Michael John Grist
The Switch by Sarah Stanton
Sunlight Society by Margaret Ronald
A Militant Peace by David Klecha and Tobias S. Buckell
All the Young Kirks and Their Good Intentions by Helena Bell
In Which Faster-Than-Light Travel Solves All of Our Problems by Chris Stabback
The Womb Factory by Peter M. Ferenczi
Draftyhouse by Erik Amundsen
All the Things the Moon is Not by Alexander Lumans
Fade to White by Catherynne M. Valente
Astrophilia by Carrie Vaughn
If The Mountain Comes by An Owomoyela
From Their Paws, We Shall Inherit by Gary Kloster
Sirius by Ben Peek
Synch Me, Kiss Me, Drop by Suzanne Church
Iron Ladies, Iron Tigers by Sunny Moraine
Mantis Wives by Kij Johnson
Pony by Erik Amundsen
Robot by Helena Bell
The Found Girl by David Klecha and Tobias S. Buckell
muo-ka’s Child by Indrapramit Das
Honey Bear by Sofia Samatar
The Smell of Orange Groves by Lavie Tidhar
Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente
Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes by Tom Crosshill
You Were She Who Abode by E. Catherine Tobler
Staying Behind by Ken Liu
Immersion by Aliette de Bodard
About the Authors
Clarkesworld Census
About Clarkesworld

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

428 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2014

About the author

Neil Clarke is best known as the editor and publisher of the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning Clarkesworld Magazine. Launched in October 2006, the online magazine has been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine four times (winning three times), the World Fantasy Award four times (winning once), and the British Fantasy Award once (winning once). Neil is also a ten-time finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form (winning once in 2022), three-time winner of the Chesley Award for Best Art Director, and a recipient of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. In the fifteen years since Clarkesworld Magazine launched, numerous stories that he has published have been nominated for or won the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Sturgeon, Locus, BSFA, Shirley Jackson, WSFA Small Press, and Stoker Awards.

Additionally, Neil edits  Forever —a digital-only, reprint science fiction magazine he launched in 2015. His anthologies include: Upgraded, Galactic Empires, Touchable Unreality, More Human than Human, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us,  The Eagle has Landed, , and the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. His next anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Seven will published in early 2023.

He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman]

I've read a number of these stories already. Notably, "A Militant Peace" by David Klecha & Tobias S. Buckell (2011), which I rated 4.75 stars. Not to be missed! Free copy online at https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/klec...

Need to see what other good stuff I missed.
ToC and story details: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?...
SFAIK, all of these are still available online. Some very good stories here, such as "Mantis Wives" by Kij Johnson; "Silently and Very Fast" a first-rate novella by Catherynne M. Valente. Pt 1 of 3: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/vale...
"Inanna was called Queen of Heaven and Earth, Queen of Having a Body, Queen of Sex and Eating, Queen of Being Human ... She met her sister Erishkigal [in the underworld] ... Erishkigal and Inanna wrestled together on the floor of the underworld, naked and muscled and hurting."
If that doesn't get your attention, well, go read something else! Won the 2011 Locus award for Best Novella.
Inanna: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna -- AKA as Ishstar, Astarte, Aphrodite and Venus. A Heavy Hitter! https://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/c/c...
Really. You need more persuasion than this? Are you sure you're on the right page?

Wiki says: "In the standard Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Ishtar asks Gilgamesh to become her consort. When he disdainfully refuses, she unleashes the Bull of Heaven, resulting in the death of Enkidu and Gilgamesh's subsequent grapple with his own mortality." Whoa.

Plus more good free stories. Stay tuned.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

An anthology of very high and remarkably consistent quality. At the same time it presents a very diverse range of world views, cultural, gender-related, conceptual, and more. Some truly beautiful writing and some deeply provocative ideas.

[Jill Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

“All the Painted Stars" by Gwendolyn Clare. Lovely! Told from the point of view of an alien fighter, it recounts a first contact with humans. Nice change from all the depressing dystopian/post-apocalyptic stuff dominating sf lately.
“Immersion" by Aliette de Bodard. Xuya tale. Excellent.

[Pearse Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may have been another of my best reads of 2015. What an amazing collection of work. I was crying, laughing, yelling, all the standards physical signs of investment and care in a book and its characters. It hit all the marks. Even some of the crazier, surrealist stories still (mostly) managed to retain their awesome essence and humanity. Lots of great explorations in this collection to transhumanism, global development, Turing tests, etc.. Fucking godly stuff right here. Cannot wait for more or believe that it's free online.