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The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2018
This tenth volume of the year’s best science fiction and fantasy features thirty-four stories by some of the genre’s greatest authors, including Charlie Jane Anders, Tobias S. Buckell, Samuel R. Delany, Karen Joy Fowler, Kameron Hurley, Rich Larson, Yoon Ha Lee, Suzanne Palmer, Robert Reed, Michael Swanwick, Peter Watts, and many others. Selecting the best fiction from Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, F&SF, Lightspeed, Tor.com and other top venues, The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy is your guide to magical realms and worlds beyond tomorrow.
576 pages, Paperback
First published July 17, 2018
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November 22, 2018I just finished The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018. It's a top-notch anthology, made so much better by not being limited to American writers. Rich Horton, the editor, did a great job at getting a good scope of stories. Really impressive stuff is being written in short format SF at the moment, and I encourage anyone to check the genre out.
It's a mammoth book (800+ pages & 35 stories!) so here are my recommendations with a short (spoiler free) description (you can find most free online):
The Hermit of Houston - Samuel R. Delany. A man recounts his life in a colourful, confusing, post-apocalyptic Central America.
Ugo - Giovanni De Feo. An ice skater struggles with issues of fate when her future husband's consciousness begins involuntarily jumping into the body of his future self.
Fandom for Robots - Vina Jie-Min Prasad. An old robot discovers an anime show that his design inspired and joins the forums of obsessed fans.
ZeroS - Peter Watts. People are resurrected on the condition that they timeshare their bodies with a super soldier hardwired into their subconscious.
Winter Timeshare - Ray Nayler. Two lovers holiday in Istanbul as they have for hundreds of years, their minds continuously transplanted into new bodies.
Starlight Express - Micheal Swanwick. A visitor from the stars returns to Rome long after humans have forgotten how to use advanced tech.
Whatever Knight Comes - Ryan Row. An RPG, told by an NPC.
Cupido - Rich Larson. A man works in Barcelona as a Cupido, a pheromone specialist who initiates attraction in his client's unrequited crushes.
The Secret Life of Bots - Suzanne Palmer. Wall-E meets Alien. A plucky older maintenance robot is tasked with hunting down an infestation problem on a clunky spaceship.
The Martian Obelisk - Linda Nagata. A woman remotely operates a construction site on Mars, building a megastructure as a tombstone for a dying earth.
Sidewalks - Maureen McHugh. A psychologist begins to suspect the gibberish an institutionalised patient is speaking is an ancient language.
Utopia LOL? - Jamie Wahls. An unfrozen, older brain grapples with joining the simulation wherein the digital humans of the future now live.
And then There were (N-One) - Sarah Pinsker. The creator of an interdimensional gate invites hundreds of her multiverse selves to a convention in a snowed-in hotel. A murder is committed.
It's a mammoth book (800+ pages & 35 stories!) so here are my recommendations with a short (spoiler free) description (you can find most free online):
The Hermit of Houston - Samuel R. Delany. A man recounts his life in a colourful, confusing, post-apocalyptic Central America.
Ugo - Giovanni De Feo. An ice skater struggles with issues of fate when her future husband's consciousness begins involuntarily jumping into the body of his future self.
Fandom for Robots - Vina Jie-Min Prasad. An old robot discovers an anime show that his design inspired and joins the forums of obsessed fans.
ZeroS - Peter Watts. People are resurrected on the condition that they timeshare their bodies with a super soldier hardwired into their subconscious.
Winter Timeshare - Ray Nayler. Two lovers holiday in Istanbul as they have for hundreds of years, their minds continuously transplanted into new bodies.
Starlight Express - Micheal Swanwick. A visitor from the stars returns to Rome long after humans have forgotten how to use advanced tech.
Whatever Knight Comes - Ryan Row. An RPG, told by an NPC.
Cupido - Rich Larson. A man works in Barcelona as a Cupido, a pheromone specialist who initiates attraction in his client's unrequited crushes.
The Secret Life of Bots - Suzanne Palmer. Wall-E meets Alien. A plucky older maintenance robot is tasked with hunting down an infestation problem on a clunky spaceship.
The Martian Obelisk - Linda Nagata. A woman remotely operates a construction site on Mars, building a megastructure as a tombstone for a dying earth.
Sidewalks - Maureen McHugh. A psychologist begins to suspect the gibberish an institutionalised patient is speaking is an ancient language.
Utopia LOL? - Jamie Wahls. An unfrozen, older brain grapples with joining the simulation wherein the digital humans of the future now live.
And then There were (N-One) - Sarah Pinsker. The creator of an interdimensional gate invites hundreds of her multiverse selves to a convention in a snowed-in hotel. A murder is committed.
October 15, 2017
Very nice story with some Lovecraftian elements. A short & effective text.
April 21, 2019
Anthologies are hard to rate. Some stories here were really fantastic. I stopped reading others in the middle. Some were pretty good but just sort of fizzled at the end, which was especially disappointing considering all the work I put in to figure out what the heck was going on in the first place. I'm generally a fan of subtlety, and I think less is often more, but sometimes…less really IS less.
Overall, I think I'd give the collection four stars, though some stories deserve five, and a few were more like 2-star experiences for me personally.
My favorite stories:
-Emergency Protocol by Lettie Prell. Creepy—and interesting POV.
-Ugo, by Giovanni De Feo. I enjoyed this despite the time travel element. And it really made me wonder.
-Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. Clever and fun.
-Montreal, 2014 by Madeline Ray. Unusual and well-written.
-Marley and Marley by J.R. Dawson. Interesting take on time travel.
-The Sacrifice of the Hanged Monkey by Minsoo Kang. Loved the way it commented on its own invented history.
-Cupido by Rich Larson. Interesting dilemma.
-Time Travel is only for the Poor by SL Huang. Awesome—and horrifying—social commentary. And it kept surprising me.
-The Fisherman and the Pig by Kameron Hurley. Weird and magicky, but interesting. And loved the very ending.
-The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer. One of my very favorites. Clever and funny, but also a sort of space adventure. Good ending. Easy to understand. A story doesn't HAVE to be difficult to decipher in order to be good.
-The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata. Realistic and intriguing sci fi.
-Soulmates.com by Will McIntosh. Really interesting and nail-bitingly scary in its own way. Devoured it in one sitting, staying up later than I should have.
-And Then There Were (N-one) by Sarah Pinsker. Really interesting premise, and the details propelled by this premise were thought-provoking. The mystery investigation dragged a bit, but it was really good.
Overall, I think I'd give the collection four stars, though some stories deserve five, and a few were more like 2-star experiences for me personally.
My favorite stories:
-Emergency Protocol by Lettie Prell. Creepy—and interesting POV.
-Ugo, by Giovanni De Feo. I enjoyed this despite the time travel element. And it really made me wonder.
-Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. Clever and fun.
-Montreal, 2014 by Madeline Ray. Unusual and well-written.
-Marley and Marley by J.R. Dawson. Interesting take on time travel.
-The Sacrifice of the Hanged Monkey by Minsoo Kang. Loved the way it commented on its own invented history.
-Cupido by Rich Larson. Interesting dilemma.
-Time Travel is only for the Poor by SL Huang. Awesome—and horrifying—social commentary. And it kept surprising me.
-The Fisherman and the Pig by Kameron Hurley. Weird and magicky, but interesting. And loved the very ending.
-The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer. One of my very favorites. Clever and funny, but also a sort of space adventure. Good ending. Easy to understand. A story doesn't HAVE to be difficult to decipher in order to be good.
-The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata. Realistic and intriguing sci fi.
-Soulmates.com by Will McIntosh. Really interesting and nail-bitingly scary in its own way. Devoured it in one sitting, staying up later than I should have.
-And Then There Were (N-one) by Sarah Pinsker. Really interesting premise, and the details propelled by this premise were thought-provoking. The mystery investigation dragged a bit, but it was really good.
February 6, 2025
I liked more stories in this edition than the one done in 2019.
My favorite stories:
Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad.
The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer.
ZeroS by Peter Watts
“Winter Timeshare” by Ray Nayler
My favorite stories:
Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad.
The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer.
ZeroS by Peter Watts
“Winter Timeshare” by Ray Nayler
June 27, 2020
I liked this collection less than the 2017 collection. It's hard to evaluate a collection, but the two that I particularly enjoyed were "Marley and Marley" and "And Then There Were (N-One)"
January 19, 2019
Too many stories that I found virtually incomprehensible to recommend this. I don't know if (editor) Rich Horton's tastes are just "out there" or if this is the state of sci-fi and fantasy short stories today but for most of the stories I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a much longer book and had to figure out for myself what the heck was going on.
On a side note, I'm reading another sci-fi/fantasy best of compilation for 2018 (The Year's Best Science Fiction, Thirty-Fifth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois) so it'll be interesting to see if it's any different. I already think it's interesting that of the two large collections the editors only agreed on one story as being worthy.
On a side note, I'm reading another sci-fi/fantasy best of compilation for 2018 (The Year's Best Science Fiction, Thirty-Fifth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois) so it'll be interesting to see if it's any different. I already think it's interesting that of the two large collections the editors only agreed on one story as being worthy.
March 12, 2019
Mostly pretty meh.
I don't read that much contemporary SF so I don't necessarily have good callibration for current tastes but most of these stories just didn't grab me.
Here's the ones that I liked:
"Extracurricular Activities" by Yoon Ha Lee
Pretty fast paced, like an action movie, but also well written, with a good job of world building.
"Starlight Express" by Michael Swanwick
Touching story, also nice and short and to the point.
"Time Travel is Only For the Poor" by S. L. Huang
This was my favorite in the entire collection. Felt like proper classic SF: an intriguing premise played out deliciously. I really liked the characterization of the protagonist.
"Utopia LOL" by Jamie Wahls
Very slight story but somewhat amusing.
I don't read that much contemporary SF so I don't necessarily have good callibration for current tastes but most of these stories just didn't grab me.
Here's the ones that I liked:
"Extracurricular Activities" by Yoon Ha Lee
Pretty fast paced, like an action movie, but also well written, with a good job of world building.
"Starlight Express" by Michael Swanwick
Touching story, also nice and short and to the point.
"Time Travel is Only For the Poor" by S. L. Huang
This was my favorite in the entire collection. Felt like proper classic SF: an intriguing premise played out deliciously. I really liked the characterization of the protagonist.
"Utopia LOL" by Jamie Wahls
Very slight story but somewhat amusing.
January 25, 2024
*
*
*
*
*
*
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Fandom for Robots – Calculon fanfic
Shoggoths in Traffic – M25 but American
Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue – involuntary trans reversal
Montreal, 2014 - Sphinx
Hexagrammaton – underground spaceships and viral aliens
ZeroS – Zombie soldier beta
The Secret Life of Bots – spiderbots and backpack bots**
Rings – Ring of obedience
Utopia LOL? – too much sun fresh out of cryo
Red Bark and Ambergris – scentmaster kingmaker**
Soulmates, Inc. – AI rampant seeks SHM**
And Then There Were (N-One) – Sarah swapping SVU
Extracurricular Activities – undercover alien since college
Emergency Protocol – if your body is stolen in an emergency, send help
Winter Timeshare – vacationing in Istanbul (possibly dead? Certainly uploaded)
The Hermit of Houston – -ism erasure and same-sex population salvation
Ugo – About Time without him
Persephone of the Crows – car accident and crow/fairies
Whatever Knight Comes – video game? Lich king replacement
Starlight Express – Great Albino, stuck in the pattern and glitch
The Significance of Significance
The Tale of the Alcubierre Horse – child prodigies on a nanoship
Marley and Marley – Time Travel foster parent
The Sacrifice of the Hanged Monkey – temple and arch, burning and empty
Cupido – Pheromonal matchmaking (like the Door Portal movie)
This is for You – magic killer mural
One Hour, Every Seven Years – bullies on Venus
Time Travel is Only for the Poor – no one’s homeless in cryo
Sidewalks – Anglo-Saxon Cali
The Fisherman and the Pig – body jumper
An Account of the Land of Witches – real or not-real witchcraft
The Martian Obelisk – saving one family on Mars
Love Engine Optimization – make a perfect man, then change the perfect woman (then get shut down by a hacker)
Thought She Be But Little – pirate and the Loping Man
*
*
*
*
*
*
Fandom for Robots – Calculon fanfic
Shoggoths in Traffic – M25 but American
Don’t Press Charges and I Won’t Sue – involuntary trans reversal
Montreal, 2014 - Sphinx
Hexagrammaton – underground spaceships and viral aliens
ZeroS – Zombie soldier beta
The Secret Life of Bots – spiderbots and backpack bots**
Rings – Ring of obedience
Utopia LOL? – too much sun fresh out of cryo
Red Bark and Ambergris – scentmaster kingmaker**
Soulmates, Inc. – AI rampant seeks SHM**
And Then There Were (N-One) – Sarah swapping SVU
Extracurricular Activities – undercover alien since college
Emergency Protocol – if your body is stolen in an emergency, send help
Winter Timeshare – vacationing in Istanbul (possibly dead? Certainly uploaded)
The Hermit of Houston – -ism erasure and same-sex population salvation
Ugo – About Time without him
Persephone of the Crows – car accident and crow/fairies
Whatever Knight Comes – video game? Lich king replacement
Starlight Express – Great Albino, stuck in the pattern and glitch
The Significance of Significance
The Tale of the Alcubierre Horse – child prodigies on a nanoship
Marley and Marley – Time Travel foster parent
The Sacrifice of the Hanged Monkey – temple and arch, burning and empty
Cupido – Pheromonal matchmaking (like the Door Portal movie)
This is for You – magic killer mural
One Hour, Every Seven Years – bullies on Venus
Time Travel is Only for the Poor – no one’s homeless in cryo
Sidewalks – Anglo-Saxon Cali
The Fisherman and the Pig – body jumper
An Account of the Land of Witches – real or not-real witchcraft
The Martian Obelisk – saving one family on Mars
Love Engine Optimization – make a perfect man, then change the perfect woman (then get shut down by a hacker)
Thought She Be But Little – pirate and the Loping Man
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2024
This is one of the best sf anthologies I've read. All the stories were excellent. I'd read quite a few before. If I hadn't already read the Sarah Pinsker story, And Then There Were (N-1), a murder mystery set in a convention of hundreds of Sarah Pinskers from various multiverse realities, the book would have been worth it for that alone. I don't think of 2018 as that long ago, but Kathleen Goonan was still alive and writing; she is a favorite, and I re-read her story. I highly recommend that and the Linda Nagata and Charlie Jane Anders stories, which I'd also read before. New to me, and excellent, were stories by Samuel Delany, rather incoherent, about a gay man's life in a rather incoherent future; J.R. Dawson, about a woman who has to travel back in time to mentor her orphaned younger self; Nina Kiriki Hoffman, set on a planet where men need medicine to not catch a fatal bug, so the only men are imported and are slaves; SL Huang in which, to clean up the homeless situation, poor people are frozen to be thawed in the future when their investments of even pennies have made them rich; and Jamie Walls, in which a man is revived from cryo in the very far future. And many more, all good.
July 1, 2023
2018 was a pretty weak year if this collection is the best it had to offer, but maybe I'm being too harsh.
The best entries were ZeroS by Peter Watts and Cupido by Rich Larson - no surprise to Sci-fi short fiction readers. Red Bark and Ambergris by Kate Marshall was also a pleasure.
The rest of the entries ranged from decent to embarrassingly bad and self-indulgent. I have no idea why Utopia LOL? is here at all. Just terrible stuff.
The best entries were ZeroS by Peter Watts and Cupido by Rich Larson - no surprise to Sci-fi short fiction readers. Red Bark and Ambergris by Kate Marshall was also a pleasure.
The rest of the entries ranged from decent to embarrassingly bad and self-indulgent. I have no idea why Utopia LOL? is here at all. Just terrible stuff.
September 23, 2018
2.5 stars rounding up. Tried to persevere but bounced off a lot of these head-scratching selections.
Highlights were “Winter Timeshare” by Ray Nayler, the KJF, Pinsker, McHugh, and Samatar stories, which I’d read before, “Marley and Marley” by JR Dawson, and “ZeroS” by Peter Watts.
Highlights were “Winter Timeshare” by Ray Nayler, the KJF, Pinsker, McHugh, and Samatar stories, which I’d read before, “Marley and Marley” by JR Dawson, and “ZeroS” by Peter Watts.
November 25, 2018
Normally, I love these Sci-fi anthologies, but this was a tough slog. Out of the 34 stories, I found only a handful compelling or interesting at all. I'd definitely recommend the annual "The Year's Best Science Fiction" by Gardner Dozois over this.
June 25, 2019
Like most anthologies, some writers grab your attention more than others, but overall, this was a great sampling of a wide variety of writers. I especially appreciated the ethnic and gender diversity of the authors.
March 19, 2020
A good year...
Some very interesting stories. Some nice twists on old topics (alternate realities, dystopian worlds, AI). A solid collection that I would recommend to fans of the genre and a comforting yearly ritual for those who have kept up over the years.
Some very interesting stories. Some nice twists on old topics (alternate realities, dystopian worlds, AI). A solid collection that I would recommend to fans of the genre and a comforting yearly ritual for those who have kept up over the years.
November 26, 2018
Good, but others are better
There were some excellent stories in this collection and some that weren't so good. Too long, or too complex. Nevertheless, I read every one.
There were some excellent stories in this collection and some that weren't so good. Too long, or too complex. Nevertheless, I read every one.
April 25, 2021
My favorite story may have been THE SECRET LIFE OF BOTS by Suzanne Palmer.
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