The Year's Top Tales of Space and Time 2

by Allan Kaster, Chaz Brenchley, Aliette de Bodard

An unabridged collection spotlighting the best space operas, alternate histories, and time travel stories published in 2021 by current and emerging masters of the science fiction genre, edited by Allan Kaster.“The Station of the Twelfth” by Chaz Brenchley—A stop along the monorail that loops around Cassini Crater pays tribute to the British heroes of a battle that took place on a Martian moon.“Mulberry and Owl” by Aliette de Bodard—In this Xuya story, a rebel on the run from the Dragon Throne pursues the decommissioned conscious ship that once hunted her.“Sleep and the Soul” by Greg Egan—In an alternate 19th century America, where humans do not sleep, all forms of unconsciousness are considered equivalent to death.“ Bubble 476” by A. T. Greenblatt—Time aberrations distort the communications sent between two close friends working in different bubble universes.“The Dark Side” by John Kessel—President McKinley’s assassin becomes ever more delirious after taking a ride at the 1901 World’s Fair inspired by H. G. Wells’s First Men in the Moon.“Antonia and the Stranger Who Came to Rancho Los Feliz” by Lisa Morton— A man from an alternate L.A. uses a temporal portal to visit a ranch in a 20th century agrarian Los Angeles, in the nation of Alta California.“A Rocket for Dimitrios” by Ray Nayler—After salvaging technology from the wreckage of an alien saucer in 1938, the Americans are racing the Russians to find a second possible crash site in the aftermath of World War II.“Dream Atlas” by Michael Swanwick—A scientist discovers a dream continuum that stretches through space and time making it possible to observe the past and future.“The Burning Girl” by Carrie Vaughn—People with supernatural powers join William the Conqueror in an attack on the final stronghold of the last Saxon lords of England.“A Pall of Moondust” by Nick Wood— A botanist balks at returning to the lunar surface after surviving a freak accident on the Moon.

349 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 16, 2022

About the author

Editor of science fiction anthologies

Reviews

[Austin Beeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE YEAR’S TOP TALES OF SPACE AND TIME: 2.
RATED 85% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.00 OF 5
10 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 6 GOOD / 2 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF

One of the reasons I love Science Fiction Anthologies is that they are creatively curated paths through the genre. In the 2020s, Sci-fi is so diverse and expansive that a Year’s Best always runs the risk of seeming too random. Allan Kaster’s anthologies seem to benefit from a tighter focus, as shown by this very solid entry.

However, this anthology isn’t quite what you’d expect, but that’s part of the charm. Space Science Fiction? That’s pretty self-explanatory. Time Science Fiction? Most readers will assume time travel, but in this book “time” tends to mean alternate history. Which isn’t a problem at all, but was a bit surprising.

It was two of the Alternate History stories that made The Great List:

“A Rocket for Dimitrios” by Ray Nayler. Copyright © 2021 In an alternate history where America became the dominant power in WWII because of crashed alien technology, a woman who can search the mental pathways of the dead is send to Istanbul. The person she is supposed to investigate could possibly hold the secret of a second crashed spaceship. That would change the world.

“The Dark Ride” by John Kessel. Copyright © 2021. The intersection of the assassination of President McKinley in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz with a ‘theme-park style’ ride to the moon and Leon’s involvement with their war. There is a lot more here as well with interesting picture of the time period and the psychological profile of the killer. Well done.

***

THE YEAR’S TOP TALES OF SPACE AND TIME: 2 IS RATED 85% POSITIVE
10 STORIES : 2 GREAT / 6 GOOD / 2 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 0 DNF

“A Rocket for Dimitrios” by Ray Nayler. Copyright © 2021

Great. In an alternate history where America became the dominant power in WWII because of crashed alien technology, a woman who can search the mental pathways of the dead is send to Istanbul. The person she is supposed to investigate could possibly hold the secret of a second crashed spaceship. That would change the world.

“Dream Atlas” by Michael Swanwick. Copyright © 2021

Average. A light and frivolous story about a lucid dreamer who is given the opportunity to become a wealthy genius in the future, but she might not want to take that opportunity.

“Mulberry and Owl” by Aliette de Bodard. Copyright © 2021

Good. Set in the Xuya Universe, it tells the story of a rebel who offers to repair a spaceship that loves to torture, in return for clearing the name of an oath-sister.

“Antonia and the Stranger Who Came to Rancho Los Feliz” by Lisa Morton. Copyright © 2021

Average. Readable - if slightly old fashioned- story about a woman from an alternate history California who comes across an injured man from a hellish alternate universe.

“The Station of the Twelfth” by Chaz Brenchley. Copyright © 2021

Good. A quiet contemplative travel piece for a monorail station that honors a Martian battalion that was sacrificed during a battle on a foreign moon.

“The Burning Girl” by Carrie Vaughn. Copyright © 2021

Good. A batch of super-powered power wage war for William the Conqueror. This is way better than it should be. The characterization of Joan the protagonist is quite well done and we seen this alternate historical world through her eyes.

“Sleep and the Soul” by Greg Egan. Copyright © 2021

Good. Interested alternate history where Jesus stayed awake on the cross and therefore any loss of unconsciousness is perceived as death. One man digs himself out of his premature burial after a head injury, is rejected by his family, and eventually becomes a spokesperson for the idea that sleep isn’t death. Weird, but interesting

“A Pall of Moondust” by Nick Wood. Copyright © 2021

Good. The trauma of space exploration is shown in this story of a woman who sees two coworkers die of explosive decompressing and has trouble returning to the surface of the moon.

“Re: Bubble 476” by A. T. Greenblatt. Copyright © 2021

Good. An epistolary story with messages sent between two friends who are each working on experiments in alternate “Bubble Universes.” But the messages seem to b e

“The Dark Ride” by John Kessel. Copyright © 2021

Great. The intersection of the assassination of President McKinley in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz with a ‘theme-park style’ ride to the moon and Leon’s involvement with their war. There is a lot more here as well with interesting picture of the time period and the psychological profile of the killer. Well done.

Over 70+ Reviews of SF anthologies at https://www.shortsf.com

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like all collections of short stories and anthologies, not every story is a winner or very rarely does all of them compiled by the editor are extraordinary good (except in only their own opinion). There are usually a few that it seems the editors insist are good enough to be worth including, and they are either correct (or not so much). This sadly is one of those collections that not all the offered compiled stories are truly enjoyable and worth reading. Avoid unless desperate for something to read.

[kathy hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

mostly pretty good

Most of the stories were pretty good. The are more alternate history and speculative fiction, but overall high quality storytelling