30 review for The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2018 Edition

1. 

   5 out of 5

   Nick Fitzhenry – Nov 22, 2018

   I 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 onli I 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.

2. 

   5 out of 5

   Bogdan – Oct 15, 2017

   Very nice story with some Lovecraftian elements. A short & effective text.

3. 

   4 out of 5

   Melinda Brasher – Apr 20, 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 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.

4. 

   5 out of 5

   Kevin Leung – Jun 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)" 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)"

5. 

   5 out of 5

   Mark Jensen – Mar 12, 2019

   Three and a half, I suppose. I almost gave up on this extremely long compilation after the first story. One would think that in a "Year's Best..." book that the first story would be really really good, like maybe even the best of the batch. I can truthfully say it was, for me at least, truly awful. Stupid plot, stupid characters, bad writing. The plot centered around a tub of goose fat. One thing that irked me (minor, I know) was the author's use of gender-neutral pronouns. Not that this would be Three and a half, I suppose. I almost gave up on this extremely long compilation after the first story. One would think that in a "Year's Best..." book that the first story would be really really good, like maybe even the best of the batch. I can truthfully say it was, for me at least, truly awful. Stupid plot, stupid characters, bad writing. The plot centered around a tub of goose fat. One thing that irked me (minor, I know) was the author's use of gender-neutral pronouns. Not that this would be much of a deal, even though I hate using the plural "they" when not wanting to state a person's gender or not knowing it, but in this story the author (narrator, in this case, as it's written in the first person) is not consistent in its use. Sometimes it's "he", sometimes "she", sometimes "they", and in at least one case, both "she" and "they" in the same sentence, referring to two different people. This was not a situation in which the narrator would know that one preferred to be called "she" and the other "they"--both were total strangers seen for the very first time. I suppose the unwritten assumption the reader is supposed to make is that the narrator can tell for one but not the other, but this seems presumptuous on the narrator's part and irritating on the author's part. Anyway, I forged on, and this book does have some very good and some excellent stories. One fun story dealt with an early AI robot that gets into fan fiction and writes it so well that nobody can tell it is a robot (maybe I should say "they are a robot"). Two dealt with the perils of internet dating apps in ways which I guess are probably inevitable but both stories were handled quite well. One dealt with a convention of Sarahs from alternate universes that involves a murder. It made my head hurt a bit to think of all of the paradoxes, spinoffs into new universes because of the divergent points. Well done. So--I recommend the book; I just wish the overall quality was higher. And who knows, maybe you'll love the first story, goose fat and all.

6. 

   5 out of 5

   Robert – Mar 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 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.

7. 

   4 out of 5

   Bill – Jan 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 Coll 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.

8. 

   4 out of 5

   JJacy1 – Mar 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.

9. 

   4 out of 5

   Sara Saab – Sep 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.

10. 

    4 out of 5

    Todd – Nov 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. 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.

11. 

    5 out of 5

    Deven Kane – Jun 24, 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.

12. 

    5 out of 5

    Lbech – Nov 25, 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. 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.

13. 

    4 out of 5

    Mike Weinstein –

14. 

    4 out of 5

    Karen L. Harmon –

15. 

    5 out of 5

    Van Madray –

16. 

    5 out of 5

    Jane –

17. 

    5 out of 5

    Leslie Bernard –

18. 

    4 out of 5

    James Maloney –

19. 

    5 out of 5

    Vicky –

20. 

    5 out of 5

    Lettie Prell – Jul 09, 2019

21. 

    4 out of 5

    jennet wheatstonelllsl –

22. 

    5 out of 5

    Hazel –

23. 

    4 out of 5

    Deborah Lee –

24. 

    4 out of 5

    Michael Daines –

25. 

    4 out of 5

    Mark Catalfano –

26. 

    5 out of 5

    Caty –

27. 

    4 out of 5

    Karl Kendall –

28. 

    4 out of 5

    Duane B. Hopper –

29. 

    5 out of 5

    Pat Dant –

30. 

    4 out of 5

    Bappaditya Banerjee –