The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020

by John Joseph Adams (Editor), Diana Gabaldon (Editor)

Overview

The best science fiction and fantasy stories from 2019, guest-edited by author of the mega-best-selling Outlander series, Diana Gabaldon.

Today’s readers of science fiction and fantasy have an appetite for stories that address a wide variety of voices, perspectives, and styles. There is an openness to experiment and pushing boundaries, combined with the classic desire to read about spaceships and dragons, future technology and ancient magic, and the places where they intersect. Contemporary science fiction and fantasy looks to accomplish the same goal as ever—to illuminate what it means to be human. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and Diana Gabaldon, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 explores the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328613103
Publisher:	HMH Books
Publication date:	11/03/2020
Series:	Best American Series
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	40,020
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

DIANA GABALDON, guest editor, is the author of the award-winning, #1 New York Times best-selling Outlander novels. She serves as coproducer and adviser for the Starz network's Outlander series based on her novels.

JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS, series editor, is the editor of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s John Joseph Adams Books imprint, as well as numerous anthologies and the magazines Lightspeed and Nightmare.

Table of Contents

MATTHEW BAKER: Life Sentence
S. P. SOMTOW: Another Avatar
DEJI BRYCE OLUKOTUN: Between the Dark and the Dark
KELLY BARNHILL: Thirty-Three Wicked Daughters
ELIZABETH BEAR: Bullet Point
GWENDOLYN KISTE: The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt from Lucy Westenra’s Diary)
CAROLINE M. YOACHIM: The Archronology of Love
RION AMILCAR SCOTT: Shape-ups at Delilah’s
TOBIAS S. BUCKELL: The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex
CHARLIE JANE ANDERS: The Bookstore at the End of America
NIBEDITA SEN: Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island
JAYMEE GOH: The Freedom of the Shifting Sea
ADAM-TROY CASTRO: Sacrid’s Pod
CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL: Canst Thou Draw Out the Leviathan
KEN LIU: Thoughts and Prayers
E. LILY YU: The Time Invariance of Snow
ANIL MENON: The Robots of Eden
ELIZABETH BEAR: Erase, Erase, Erase
REBECCA ROANHORSE: A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy
VICTOR LAVALLE: Up from Slavery

Editorial Reviews

10/26/2020

Gabaldon (the Outlander series) brings together 20 stories that memorably and creatively explore genre themes. “Up From Slavery” by Victor LaValle pulls off the impressive feat of weaving Lovecraftian elements into the story of a copy editor working on a new edition of Booker T. Washington’s memoir of the same name. Charlie Jane Anders’s masterful, dystopian “The Bookstore at the End of America” looks at the U.S. political divide through the prism of a bookstore located on the border between blue and red America. The standout is Deji Bryce Olukotun’s “Between the Dark and the Dark,” a sci-fi story in which crystalline blooms appear on Earth’s mountains, triggering disastrous seismic events and forcing a desperate effort to find a new home for humanity. That venture is threatened when the crew of one vessel is discovered to have engaged in cannibalism, leading to calls for the ship’s destruction. And, though Matthew Baker’s “Life Sentence” remains vague about the details of its science-fictional conceit, it still maintains emotional engagement in its suspenseful account of a man whose memory was wiped after he committed a serious crime. The variety of styles and themes on offer here demonstrate the sustained vitality of genre fiction. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY:

"This long-running anthology series continues its tradition of excellence with guest editor Gabaldon's selections... The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 is highly recommended for anyone interested in contemporary speculative fiction, or just some of the best current American fiction, period." --Booklist, starred review

"Gabaldon (the Outlander series) brings together 20 stories that memorably and creatively explore genre themes.... The variety of styles and themes on offer here demonstrate the sustained vitality of genre fiction." --Publishers Weekly

"Every year, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy series collects some of the best examples of the genre, highlighting some of our greatest writers." --Tor.com

From the Publisher

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