The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 8

Literature & Fiction

Buckell, Tobias S.

Lee, Yoon Ha

Watts, Peter

Wilson, Daniel H.

Ryman, Geoff

Gilman, Carolyn Ives

Kaster, Allan

Künsken, Derek

Steele, Allen M.

Landis, Geoffrey A.

Short Stories & Anthologies

Infinivox

An unabridged collection spotlighting the best hard science fiction stories and novellas published in 2021 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster.- "Light Up the Clouds" by Greg Egan - Inhabitants in the floating forests of a gas giant that orbits a dwarf star launch a glider on an orbital trajectory to investigate unnatural asteroid-like objects that threaten their survival.- "Striding the Blast" by Gregory Feeley - As a form of punishment, a thief is forced by posthumans to race on a set of wings across a cloud-covered Mercury.- "Little Animals" by Nancy Kress - Using entangled quantum effects, a researcher goes back in time and unexpectedly becomes immersed in the life of the daughter of Antonj van Leeuwenhoek.- "Flowers Like Needles" by Derek Künsken - A metallic crablike creature living on a planet orbiting a pulsar confronts other warriors in its quest for wisdom.- "The Planetbreaker's Son" by Nick Mamatas - Interstellar posthuman emigrants, on a starship the size of a football stadium, grapple with vessel maintenance and family preservation while destroying worlds.- "Paley's Watch" by Anil Menon - Fishermen find a peculiar artifact in the Gulf of Alaska that is older than Earth and models the structure of the universe.- "The Metric" by David Moles - A billion-year-old ship delivers a message to a far-future Earth that could mean the destruction of space and time.- "Año Nuevo" by Ray Nayler - Listless aliens, resembling oversized plastic garbage bags, suddenly disappear thirty years after arriving on a California beachfront.- "Vaccine Season" by Hannu Rajaniemi - A boy ventures out to an island to inoculate his secluded grandfather with a transmissible vaccine in a post-pandemic.- "Submergence" by Arula Ratnakar - An investigator uncovers the exploitation of an unusual marine sponge while optogenetically accessing the memories of a scientist who died unexpectedly.- "Aptitude" by Cooper Shrivastava- A woman from a slowly dying universe finds herself having to take a rigorous standardized exam after cheating her way into the selection process to become a universe builder.- "The Egg Collectors" by Lavie Tidhar - Two wild ballooners, forced to land during an ice storm, discover humming black eggs melting into the ice of Titan's Ligeia Mare.

The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 6

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Kress, Nancy

Tidhar, Lavie

Science Fiction

An unabridged collection spotlighting the best space adventures, alternate histories, and time travel stories published in 2022 by current and emerging masters of the science fiction genre, edited by Allan Kaster. “The Lonely Time Traveler of Kentish Town” by Nadia Afifi—A Palestinian hires a time traveler to record his grandfather’s meeting with one of Britain’s most famous historical figures. “The Sufficient Loss Protocol” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa—Hostile alien tech is discovered aboard a corporate spaceship. “Kingsbury 1944” by Michael Cassutt—A chemist recalls working with an eccentric team of scientists at a munitions plant in Indiana during World War II. “Of All the New Yorks in All the Worlds” by Indrapramit Das—Long-distance relationships are hard; those across timelines even more so. “Boy in the Key of Forskaen” by Eric Del Carlo—An abandoned boy on an alien planet bonds with a discarded semi-organic spaceship. “Bishop’s Opening” by R.S.A. Garcia—The crew of a cargo spacecraft get caught up in the deadly court intrigue of a space-faring kingdom. “An Expression of Silence” by Beth Goder—An explorer who struggles to interact with her crewmates tries to communicate with an alien. “A Letter to Merlin” by Theodora Goss—Time travelers go to King Arthur's court to repair humanity's final timeline. “Proof of Concept” by Auston Habershaw—An amorphous alien has amnesia on a spaceship full of hostile aliens. “The Mercy of the Sandsea” by T. L. Huchu—An old sand marine faces down an assassin on a planet with sandseas. “The Chronologist” by Ian R. MacLeod—A boy plots against the winds of time only to see his life unravel. “The Beast of Tara” by Michael Swanwick—Scientists detect residual sounds from the past at Ireland's Lia Fáil (aka the Speaking Stone).

The Year's Top Tales of Space and Time 3

Afifi, Nadia

Das, Indrapramit

Swanwick, Michael

Goss, Theodora

MacLeod, Ian R.

Cassutt, Michael

Garcia, R.S.A.

Huchu, T.L.

Ashing-Giwa, Kemi

An unabridged collection spotlighting the best hard science fiction stories and novellas published in 2022 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster. “The Lichens” by Nina Allan — A 22nd century botanist asks a teacher in Scotland, at the time of Culloden, for help with her research. “Beneath the Surface, a Womb of Ice” by Deborah L. Davitt — A biochemist involved in the search for underground water on Mars finds refuge in the mechanics of science. “A Stone’s Throw” by Gregory Feeley — Romance burns hot amidst the cold moons of Neptune. “The Wine-Dark Deep” by Sheila Finch — A cephalopod researcher discovers petroglyphs on the walls of a deep underwater cave. “Cloudchaser” by Tom Jolly — A collector of rare artifacts hides his valuables on darkworlds. “The Ploughshare and the Storm” by Gwyneth Jones — Post-humans find a time capsule on Europa. “Nonstandard Candles” by Yoon Ha Lee — A cartographer and her apprentice map the outer darkness of space. “Timekeepers’ Symphony” by Ken Liu — The colonization of the cosmos transforms humanity’s sense of time. “Maryon’s Gift” by Paul McAuley — Set in the author's Jackaroo series, monks fight to keep a newly discovered pristine world free of humans. “Goldie” by Sean Monaghan — Scientists learn a lot about themselves while studying the ecosystems of an alien planet. “The Abacus and the Infinite Vessel” by Vikram Ramakrishnan — A scientist recalls the struggles of her and her mother after immigrating to Mars. “I Give You the Moon” by Justina Robson — A history student yearns for a dose of reality in an AR-immersed future. “The Difference Between Love and Time” by Catherynne M. Valente — A woman has a relationship with the space-time continuum that’s a bit different than most of us. “Critical Mass” — An avant-garde artist, past his prime, discovers his works are being vandalized. “Communion” — A pilot is caught in a life and death struggle between his ship’s AI and an alien microbe after crash landing on an ice moon.

The Year's Top Hard Science Fiction Stories 7

Valente, Catherynne M.

Liu, Ken

ROBSON, Justina

Allan, Nina

Finch, Sheila

Jones, Gwyneth

MCAULEY, PAUL.

Davitt, Deborah L.

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