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The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF #3
The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF Volume 3
The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF series continues! Selected from the top print and online markets, these stories represent the best in modern military sf, space opera, and adventure sf. Tales of brave military men and women, thrilling derring-do, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. Stories to get your blood racing, your heart pounding, and your fingers turning the pages. Stories to challenge, provoke, thrill, and entertain. Stories that prove the new Golden Age is now!. This intriguing anthology explores the human race's violent potential but also bends toward exploration and the triumph of the human spirit, with brave tales that take the reader on a fascinating, thought-provoking, enjoyable journey
Contents;
Preface (The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF: Volume 3) • essay by David Afsharirad
Introduction (The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF: Volume 3) • essay by David Weber
Cadet Cruise [RCN] • (2016) / short fiction by David Drake
Tethers (2016) / short fiction by William Ledbetter
Unlinkage (2016) / novelette by Eric Del Carlo
Not in Vain [Black Tide Rising] (2016) / novelette by Kacey Ezell
Between Nine and Eleven (2016) / short story by Adam Roberts
Sephine and the Leviathan (2016) / novelette by Jack Schouten
The Good Food (2016) / short fiction by Michael Ezell
If I Could Give This Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would (2016) / short story by James Wesley Rogers
Wise Child [Liaden Universe] (2016) / novelette by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Starhome (2016) / novelette by Michael Z. Williamson
The Art of Failure (2016) / short fiction by Robert Dawson
The Last Tank Commander (2016) / novelette by Allen Stroud
One Giant Leap (2016) / short story by Jay Werkheiser
The Immortals: Anchorage [Symphony of War Shorts • 2] (2016) / novelette by David Adams
Backup Man (2016) / short story by Paul Di Filippo
.
Contents;
Preface (The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF: Volume 3) • essay by David Afsharirad
Introduction (The Year's Best Military & Adventure SF: Volume 3) • essay by David Weber
Cadet Cruise [RCN] • (2016) / short fiction by David Drake
Tethers (2016) / short fiction by William Ledbetter
Unlinkage (2016) / novelette by Eric Del Carlo
Not in Vain [Black Tide Rising] (2016) / novelette by Kacey Ezell
Between Nine and Eleven (2016) / short story by Adam Roberts
Sephine and the Leviathan (2016) / novelette by Jack Schouten
The Good Food (2016) / short fiction by Michael Ezell
If I Could Give This Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would (2016) / short story by James Wesley Rogers
Wise Child [Liaden Universe] (2016) / novelette by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
Starhome (2016) / novelette by Michael Z. Williamson
The Art of Failure (2016) / short fiction by Robert Dawson
The Last Tank Commander (2016) / novelette by Allen Stroud
One Giant Leap (2016) / short story by Jay Werkheiser
The Immortals: Anchorage [Symphony of War Shorts • 2] (2016) / novelette by David Adams
Backup Man (2016) / short story by Paul Di Filippo
.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
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201 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 12, 2017
This was a nice collection of stories. A couple of these stories appeared in collections/places I'd read before, but even with that, I can still highly recomend this collection, as it has a very nice cross section of stories. Anyone who enjoys planetary exploration, space battles, stories where the good guys don't always win, and want to spend a few hours having a good time, then pick up this collection, and give it a read, well worth the time spent.
July 31, 2017
Papa Pat Rambles has additional commentary on this collection: http://habakkuk21.blogspot.com/2017/0...
David Drake, "Cadet Cruise." It's entirely credible to include this story in the 'Best of Year' collection, since it is a prequel to the phenomenal adventures of Daniel Leary. It demonstrates the talents the young midshipman had at winning over people, as well as making complicated plans work out. If it WEREN'T for that other body of work, it would still be a good story; but compare it to the visceral punch of 'Under the Hammer' or 'The Butcher's Bill'?' That may be an unfair comparison, but we ARE talking about a high bar, here: Best of the Year. Still, I absolutely will accept this as worthy of inclusion, as it's a great read.
William Ledbetter, "Tethers." It's bad enough when space is trying to kill you; when your partner is trying as well? That's just not fair. This is first class writing; my only caveat is that it is adventure, and not military sci-fi, but the title of the book includes both, so I guess that's no quibble at all.
Eric de Carlo, "Unlinkage." The story of a retired mind-controller of a Brute, Hulk-type human is an ugly read in that it is awfully dark, and presupposes an ugly future society. However, the story does stress the values of loyalty to companions, and that's always worth writing about. I can't quite make myself see it as Best of the Year, but I won't complain if others see it that way.
Kacey Ezell, "Not in Vain." This one has my unqualified support. It takes a team of high school cheerleaders and their coach, and puts them in impossible circumstances, and shows how they all rise above their personal interests to put the good of the team first, even BEYOND death. This is written to be a part of John Ringo's Black Tide Rising universe, but you need no knowledge of that storyline to appreciate this selection. (And yeah, not military, but veterans, okay?)
Adam Roberts, "Between Nine and Eleven." This story also gets my unqualified support for a BOY inclusion. It takes the Campbell premise of 'as good as a man, but not a man' and gives it solid form. The story works both as a personal adventure and as a good 'theory/concept' story.
Jack Schouten, "Sephine and the Leviathan." I didn't like anything about this story except that it eventually was over. It took too long to figure out what the heck was going on, and who these people were, and frankly, it seemed too much like an exercise in Creative Writing, and not a story. Dreadfully sorry, and I'm sure I'll regret saying this, but I don't have the slightest clue as to how this was chosen for the book. My apologies for offending with my strongly worded opinion. I feel certain I am mistaken.
Michael Ezell, "The Good Food." A seemingly light-hearted story about a somewhat too-independent scout and his trusty dog, this quickly became a nightmare. It deserves access to the volume for the creepy factor alone. I hate these scary stories (but in a good way).
James Wesley Rogers, "If I could Give This Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would." This is probably the story I enjoyed reading the most. It pays homage to certain of the Golden Age time-travel stories, AND gives a hat tip to the reviewing system that takes up so much of my time, and it's funny. However! I don't see it as being EITHER military OR adventure, and I don't know why it's here. It's a great story, though!
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, "Wise Child." I.m not sure, but I THINK this is also another great story that is included in the BOY collection because of the existing body of material in this particular universe. It's very nicely done; however, since I am NOT a close follower of the Liaden Universe, it was missing some of the essential punch to bring it to BOY status for me.
Michael Z Williamson, "Star Home." You don't HAVE to be a fan of the Freehold/Grainne universe to get the brooding, repressive feeling of the reach of the Earth empire. I am such a fan, and I know (sort of) what's going on behind the scenes, This is a great story, and it's definitely worth reading, but:
"I read 'Soft Casualty,' Star Home, and you are no 'Soft Casualty.'"
Robert Dawson, "The Art of Failure." The punchline comes at the very end of the story, and it's thrown away so beautifully, it's a work of art. I endorse inclusion, just for that reason alone (but the rest of the story is good as well),
Allen Stroud, "The Last Tank Commander." No question about it; this story of the ancient, decrepit, rebuilt corporal of tanks leading a bunch of babies into battle deserves a place in this volume.
Jay Werkheiser, "A Giant Leap." A young man falls off his aircraft into the poisonous atmosphere of Venus; his hated father maintains radio contact with him all the way down. Without more exposition of the prior relationship between father and son, the meaning of the final words loses power. And by the way: who in heck designs a system that lets people fall off an airship? Tether cable, anyone? It's an okay story, but I didn't like anyone in it.
David Adams, "The Immortals: Anchorage." The story is certainly powerful enough to warrant inclusion in a BOY collection. Besides the rock'em-sock'em action, there were some great insights into what the three main characters were about to make this a leading candidate.
Paul Di Filippo, "Backup Man." This read like a noir detective story, with the appropriate corporate betrayal included (I'm thinking "Chinatown"). Does that make it a BOY selection? I'm not sure. Considering that the goal is cow flop from a modified children's toy, it might make it in on points. I couldn't make the call.
David Drake, "Cadet Cruise." It's entirely credible to include this story in the 'Best of Year' collection, since it is a prequel to the phenomenal adventures of Daniel Leary. It demonstrates the talents the young midshipman had at winning over people, as well as making complicated plans work out. If it WEREN'T for that other body of work, it would still be a good story; but compare it to the visceral punch of 'Under the Hammer' or 'The Butcher's Bill'?' That may be an unfair comparison, but we ARE talking about a high bar, here: Best of the Year. Still, I absolutely will accept this as worthy of inclusion, as it's a great read.
William Ledbetter, "Tethers." It's bad enough when space is trying to kill you; when your partner is trying as well? That's just not fair. This is first class writing; my only caveat is that it is adventure, and not military sci-fi, but the title of the book includes both, so I guess that's no quibble at all.
Eric de Carlo, "Unlinkage." The story of a retired mind-controller of a Brute, Hulk-type human is an ugly read in that it is awfully dark, and presupposes an ugly future society. However, the story does stress the values of loyalty to companions, and that's always worth writing about. I can't quite make myself see it as Best of the Year, but I won't complain if others see it that way.
Kacey Ezell, "Not in Vain." This one has my unqualified support. It takes a team of high school cheerleaders and their coach, and puts them in impossible circumstances, and shows how they all rise above their personal interests to put the good of the team first, even BEYOND death. This is written to be a part of John Ringo's Black Tide Rising universe, but you need no knowledge of that storyline to appreciate this selection. (And yeah, not military, but veterans, okay?)
Adam Roberts, "Between Nine and Eleven." This story also gets my unqualified support for a BOY inclusion. It takes the Campbell premise of 'as good as a man, but not a man' and gives it solid form. The story works both as a personal adventure and as a good 'theory/concept' story.
Jack Schouten, "Sephine and the Leviathan." I didn't like anything about this story except that it eventually was over. It took too long to figure out what the heck was going on, and who these people were, and frankly, it seemed too much like an exercise in Creative Writing, and not a story. Dreadfully sorry, and I'm sure I'll regret saying this, but I don't have the slightest clue as to how this was chosen for the book. My apologies for offending with my strongly worded opinion. I feel certain I am mistaken.
Michael Ezell, "The Good Food." A seemingly light-hearted story about a somewhat too-independent scout and his trusty dog, this quickly became a nightmare. It deserves access to the volume for the creepy factor alone. I hate these scary stories (but in a good way).
James Wesley Rogers, "If I could Give This Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would." This is probably the story I enjoyed reading the most. It pays homage to certain of the Golden Age time-travel stories, AND gives a hat tip to the reviewing system that takes up so much of my time, and it's funny. However! I don't see it as being EITHER military OR adventure, and I don't know why it's here. It's a great story, though!
Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, "Wise Child." I.m not sure, but I THINK this is also another great story that is included in the BOY collection because of the existing body of material in this particular universe. It's very nicely done; however, since I am NOT a close follower of the Liaden Universe, it was missing some of the essential punch to bring it to BOY status for me.
Michael Z Williamson, "Star Home." You don't HAVE to be a fan of the Freehold/Grainne universe to get the brooding, repressive feeling of the reach of the Earth empire. I am such a fan, and I know (sort of) what's going on behind the scenes, This is a great story, and it's definitely worth reading, but:
"I read 'Soft Casualty,' Star Home, and you are no 'Soft Casualty.'"
Robert Dawson, "The Art of Failure." The punchline comes at the very end of the story, and it's thrown away so beautifully, it's a work of art. I endorse inclusion, just for that reason alone (but the rest of the story is good as well),
Allen Stroud, "The Last Tank Commander." No question about it; this story of the ancient, decrepit, rebuilt corporal of tanks leading a bunch of babies into battle deserves a place in this volume.
Jay Werkheiser, "A Giant Leap." A young man falls off his aircraft into the poisonous atmosphere of Venus; his hated father maintains radio contact with him all the way down. Without more exposition of the prior relationship between father and son, the meaning of the final words loses power. And by the way: who in heck designs a system that lets people fall off an airship? Tether cable, anyone? It's an okay story, but I didn't like anyone in it.
David Adams, "The Immortals: Anchorage." The story is certainly powerful enough to warrant inclusion in a BOY collection. Besides the rock'em-sock'em action, there were some great insights into what the three main characters were about to make this a leading candidate.
Paul Di Filippo, "Backup Man." This read like a noir detective story, with the appropriate corporate betrayal included (I'm thinking "Chinatown"). Does that make it a BOY selection? I'm not sure. Considering that the goal is cow flop from a modified children's toy, it might make it in on points. I couldn't make the call.
July 23, 2019
The problem with collecting a year's best of a specific sub-genre or theme is that you risk repeating 'yourself'. The stories feature either a first-contact situation, or a 'retired combat veteran is called back into duty' situation. There's not enough variety or inspiration here. I vaguely remember previous two editions being a little more diverse (and better).
Story breakdown:
- Cadet Cruise (short story) by David Drake: 2*
Two space cadets walk into a casino. A police raid ensues. The end.
- Tethers (short story) by William Ledbetter: 2*
A cosmonaut EVA's to repair... well... something. Apparently that's a good reason for the author to launch a barrage of info dumping. Get this tool, turn this screw, open this panel...
- Unlinkage (novelette) by Eric Del Carlo: 3*
Soldiers are genetically engineered to be bigger, stronger, and remote controlled at a cost of their minds. The "controller" of one such soldier has since moved on and become a mother, but her past returns to haunt her. Pretty good setting, but the plot didn't really 'drop any bombs'.
- Not in Vain (novelette) by Kacey Ezell: 3*
Your above-average quality story featuring teenagers fighting off zombies.
- Between Nine and Eleven (short story) by Adam Roberts: 4*
The first of several first contact situation stories in this anthology. These aliens try to fight humans by deleting the number 10 from the universe. Humans fight back by deleting 3. We win. Cute. I wish it were longer.
- Sephine and the Leviathan (novelette) by Jack Schouten: 4*
Human spaceship crashes on remote planet after being attacked by aliens, and discover another strange ship had. Two humans attempt to explore the new starnge vessel and fight off the aliens. Pretty cool mystery plot, hindered a little though by the writing style.
- The Good Food (novelette) by Michael Ezell: 2*
Human awakes from hibernation as his ship lands on remote planet. Gets attacked by aliens. Fights some off. Loses. Yawn.
- If I Could Give This Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would (short story) by James Wesley Rogers: 4*
Very short and quite funny. An online service sells the same time machine to various users who are constantly unsatisfied with its performance.
- Wise Child (novelette) by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller: 1*
Had to abandon this after just a few pages. Couldn't understand a word they're saying. Was full of words in italics such as they, that, or constructs such as 1362 as a name, or starting off in media res.
- Starhome (novelette) by Michael Z. Williamson: 2*
Human small space station about to go bankrupt is slowly taken over by a warring faction. Boring and pointless.
- The Art of Failure (short story) by Robert Dawson: 4*
Another take on 'first contact' situations. This time quite amusing. Humans meet alien elitist warrior society and scam them into thinking they are the same in order to retrieve some precious metals off planet.
- The Last Tank Commander (novelette) by Allen Stroud: 2*
Another cliched military sci-fi story. Tank crew fights off aliens on remote planet.
- One Giant Leap (short story) by Jay Werkheiser: 2*
Man falls off research station orbiting Venus and manages to safely land after performing a long series of dubious engineering feats with the help of a drone.
- The Immortals: Anchorage (novelette): 3*
Yet another 'first contact' situation, this time with a totally different tone. The aliens who took over a spaceship are very scary and plan to grow human clones for their own warriors.
- Backup Man (short story) by Paul Di Filippo: 1*
Some kind of a post-apocalypyic slash cyberpunk-ish story with way too many capitalized words. Short as it was I still was unable to keep up.
Average comes out as 2.56.
Story breakdown:
- Cadet Cruise (short story) by David Drake: 2*
Two space cadets walk into a casino. A police raid ensues. The end.
- Tethers (short story) by William Ledbetter: 2*
A cosmonaut EVA's to repair... well... something. Apparently that's a good reason for the author to launch a barrage of info dumping. Get this tool, turn this screw, open this panel...
- Unlinkage (novelette) by Eric Del Carlo: 3*
Soldiers are genetically engineered to be bigger, stronger, and remote controlled at a cost of their minds. The "controller" of one such soldier has since moved on and become a mother, but her past returns to haunt her. Pretty good setting, but the plot didn't really 'drop any bombs'.
- Not in Vain (novelette) by Kacey Ezell: 3*
Your above-average quality story featuring teenagers fighting off zombies.
- Between Nine and Eleven (short story) by Adam Roberts: 4*
The first of several first contact situation stories in this anthology. These aliens try to fight humans by deleting the number 10 from the universe. Humans fight back by deleting 3. We win. Cute. I wish it were longer.
- Sephine and the Leviathan (novelette) by Jack Schouten: 4*
Human spaceship crashes on remote planet after being attacked by aliens, and discover another strange ship had. Two humans attempt to explore the new starnge vessel and fight off the aliens. Pretty cool mystery plot, hindered a little though by the writing style.
- The Good Food (novelette) by Michael Ezell: 2*
Human awakes from hibernation as his ship lands on remote planet. Gets attacked by aliens. Fights some off. Loses. Yawn.
- If I Could Give This Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would (short story) by James Wesley Rogers: 4*
Very short and quite funny. An online service sells the same time machine to various users who are constantly unsatisfied with its performance.
- Wise Child (novelette) by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller: 1*
Had to abandon this after just a few pages. Couldn't understand a word they're saying. Was full of words in italics such as they, that, or constructs such as 1362 as a name, or starting off in media res.
- Starhome (novelette) by Michael Z. Williamson: 2*
Human small space station about to go bankrupt is slowly taken over by a warring faction. Boring and pointless.
- The Art of Failure (short story) by Robert Dawson: 4*
Another take on 'first contact' situations. This time quite amusing. Humans meet alien elitist warrior society and scam them into thinking they are the same in order to retrieve some precious metals off planet.
- The Last Tank Commander (novelette) by Allen Stroud: 2*
Another cliched military sci-fi story. Tank crew fights off aliens on remote planet.
- One Giant Leap (short story) by Jay Werkheiser: 2*
Man falls off research station orbiting Venus and manages to safely land after performing a long series of dubious engineering feats with the help of a drone.
- The Immortals: Anchorage (novelette): 3*
Yet another 'first contact' situation, this time with a totally different tone. The aliens who took over a spaceship are very scary and plan to grow human clones for their own warriors.
- Backup Man (short story) by Paul Di Filippo: 1*
Some kind of a post-apocalypyic slash cyberpunk-ish story with way too many capitalized words. Short as it was I still was unable to keep up.
Average comes out as 2.56.
July 24, 2017
For the third year, David Afsharirad and Baen have scoured magazines, online 'zines, and anthologies for tales that meet their changing criteria. The third volume has a number of stories that I had not read, so plenty of fun for me. As was the mixture of authors. Plus there is the fact readers get to vote at Baen.com for their favorite story by August 31, 2017 for the author to receive a prize at DragonCon. So read and enjoy!
August 22, 2017
Like most anthologies, a mix of stories I liked more or less. Quite varied in plot and setting--intrigue to war, ships to planets, subtle to bombastic. A few h opeless sad endings knocked off some enjoyment of the victories and funny ends. But war isn't exactly sunshine and kittens, so that's fair enough.
June 15, 2019
I couldn't pick a favorite short story, nor could I find a bad one in this collection. It *is* the year's best, after all, and the stories visit established universes as well as new places. This is a must-read. On to the next volume...
March 20, 2023
An enjoyable read. I definitely think the genre of "Military Science Fiction" is diverse and some of the stories resonated with me a bit more than others because of that, but ultimately it was a good experience and this anthology was a great way for me to discover other authors!
February 15, 2020
Covers Volumes 3-5
the title says what it is.
the title says what it is.
March 2, 2023
Not so impressive, not the worst but a couple clunkers and none that really stood out to me as exceptional
August 31, 2019
My favorite SF genre. Enjoyed!
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