Thirty stories from 2008. Favorites:
“Turing’s Apples” – Stephen Baxter – Finally…a return message from alien life. Not a good idea to make contact.
“From Babels’ Fall’n Glory We Fled” – Michael Swanwick – A human ambassador has a ringside seat for a war between two alien civilizations. The best thing to keep in mind is that aliens don’t think like humans.
“The Gambler” – Paolo Bacigalupi – If you think the media is headed in the wrong direction this story about a future internet journalist will confirm that. A lot of this rings true.
“The Six Directions Of Space” (novella) – Alastair Reynolds – The Mongol Empire rules the Earth. The have to battle it out with aliens from other universes known as phantoms.
“N-Words” -Ted Kosmatka – Thanks to cloning, the Neanderthals are back. Some even make the NFL
“Shining Armour – Dominic Green – A retired warrior comes out of retirement to take on a greedy corporation that wants to destroy his village.
“Crystal Nights” – Greg Egan – A multi-billionaire wants to develop Artificial Intelligence. He funds a project to develop it by evolution.
“His Master’s Voice” – Hannu Rajaniemi – A dog and a cat team up to find out what happened to their master after he was kidnapped.
“Balancing Accounts” -James L. Cambias – A robot space ship tries to stay honest but his principals are tempted as he takes on an unusual cargo.
“Days Of Wonder” _Geoff Ryman – The story takes place after humans are long extinct. It surrounds a horse and a relationship with cats that use horses as a food supply. One horse befriends a cat to the anger of its group.
“City Of The Dead” – Paul McAuley – In a small town on a distant planet a woman soldier retires and becomes the town constable. An old friend 0versees a colony of hive rats that have a secret. She has to protect her as some heavies are on the attack.
“The Illustrated Biography Of Lord Grimm” -Daryl Gregory – It’s no fun living in a comic book type society with superheroes and villains complete with capes as they battle it out.
“The Ray Gun:A Love Story” -James Alan Gardner – A fourteen year old finds a ray gun from an ancient alien war. The story shows how it influences his life as he keeps it a secret over the years.
“Lester Young And The Jupiter’s Moons’ Blues” – Gord Sellar – Aliens hire Jazz musicians to entertain on their space ships. It’s a great gig until they find out the catch.
Other authors: Elizabeth Bear w/Sarah Monette, Ian McDonald, Karl Schroeder, Mary Robinette Kowal, Robert Reed, Jay Lake, Mary Rosenblum, Charles Coleman Finlay, Maureen McHugh, Gwyneth Jones, Kathryn Rousch, Nancy Kress, Garth Nix and Aliette de Bodard.
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