By Gardner Dozois
St. Martin’s Griffin, $40.00, 658 pages

A Great Compilation for Sci-Fi Fans

Taking stock of the science fiction short-fiction offerings is no small task, but editor Gardner Dozios has taken on this enormous feat and come up with his most recent compilation,  The Year’s Best Science Fiction:  Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection. The book itself is massive at a full 658 pages, but readers who jump in won’t be disappointed. Some story highlights include:  Damien Broderick’s tale about a beancounter, her cat and the origin of a universe, Elizabeth’s Bear’s fantastic story, Dolly, about android rights, Carolyn Ives Gilman’s story of a mother-daughter conflict on a universal level and Catherynne M. Valente’s strange and beautiful story about being human. In addition to the stories, the introduction of the book gives a general overview of the book industry, particularly related to the science fiction genre, and has a nice overview about how e-books have affected the business. This book is one that sci-fi fans will not want to miss.

Reviewed by Barbara Cothern

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