I'd like to finish this, probably got through a third of the stories. May adjust my rating if I return to it.

I'm making an effort to read a wider range of science fiction, especially hard SF, space opera, anything outside my comfort zone of anthropological planetary romance.

I usually find Best Of anthologies a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, none of these stories was bad by any stretch, but I felt several were held back by slight characters and conservative story arcs. I really look for a short story to elicit a strong emotional response and take me somewhere I didn't expect to go.

"The Falls: A Luna Story" and "Another Word for World" were two well-told stories that met this criteria. The ones I read that really knocked it out of the park, however, were Gwyneth Jones's "Emergence" and Carter Scholz's "Gypsy."

"Emergence" is a challenging work about transhumanism and artificial intelligence. The weird language is just right for a narrative about the boundaries of human experience. What's more, the protagonist goes on a physical and emotional journey that is deeply moving, even though we strain to imagine the characters and the world they inhabit. It's not a perfect story - some of Jones' parallels between transhumanism and the transgender experience fall flat - but it was ambitious and I loved that.

Meanwhile, "Gypsy" is the most grimdark antidote to technological optimism I've ever read, a very bleak fable about space travel. It's heavy-handed and emotionally manipulative and I kind of adore Scholz for writing it. As a polemic, it's inherently an imperfect story, but goddamn does it make a contribution to science fiction literature.

What I want more of, and didn't find in these stories: aliens! stories set in the far future! general weirdness! If I pick this one up again, we'll see what I get. ( )

I don’t read nearly as much science fiction as I used to, my tastes having turned more toward the mystery genre in recent years, but one thing that I always make sure to buy each year is the volume of science fiction short stories and novellas edited by Gardner Dozois. This is the 33rd straight year that he has edited this outstanding anthology, and as always he has chosen some of the best work in the field. As ever with such a collection, my favourites are not necessarily the favourites of others, but anyone who is interested in this genre is going to find at least some stories in this book that they will love. In addition to excellent work by such authors as Nancy Kress, Paolo Bacigalupi, Allen M. Steele, Ian McDonald, Kelly Link, Aliette de Bodard and Eleanor Arnason (to name just a few), Dozois also provides a summation of the previous year in terms of publishing, both with respect to publishing houses, magazines, semi-prozines and sales, as well as an extensive obituary list and a list of “honorable mentions.” If you are interested in speculative fiction in short(ish - some stories here are quite long) form, this is the single most essential volume to read. Very highly recommended! ( )