The thirty stories in this collection imaginatively take us far across the universe, into the very core of our beings, to the realm of the gods, and the moment just after now. Included here are the works of masters of the form and of bright new talents, including: Paolo Bacigalupi, Stephen Baxter, Elizabeth Bear, Aliete de Bodard, James L. Cambias, Greg Egan, Charles Coleman Finlay, James Alan Gardner, Dominic Green, Daryl Gregory, Gwyneth Jones, Ted Kosmatka, Mary Robinette Kowal, Nancy Kress, Jay Lake, Paul McAuley, Ian McDonald, Maureen McHugh, Sarah Monette, Garth Nix, Hannu Rajaniemi, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Mary Rosenblum, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Geoff Ryman, Karl Schroeder, Gord Sellar, and Michael Swanwick. Supplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a lengthy list of honorable mentions, making this book both a valuable resource and the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination, and the heart. “This is a worthy addition to a venerable series.” ― Publishers Weekly “The 25th installment of editor extraordinaire Dozois's annual collection packs a wallop.” ― Publishers Weekly “For more than a quarter century, Gardner Dozois's THE BEST SCIENCE FICTION OF THE YEAR [25th Annual Collection] has defined the field. It is the most important anthology, not only annually, but overall.” ― Charles N. Brown, publisher of Locus Magazine Gardner Dozois (1947-2018), one of the most acclaimed editors in science-fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Editor 15 times. He was the editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine for 20 years. He also served as the editor of The Year’s Best Science Fiction anthologies and co-editor of the Warrior anthologies, Songs of the Dying Earth , and many others. As a writer, Dozois twice won the Nebula Award for best short story. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2011 and received the Skylark Award for Lifetime Achievement. He lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Year's Best Science Fiction Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection By Gardner Dozois St. Martin's Press Copyright © 2009 Gardner Dozois All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-312-55105-6 Contents Acknowledgments, Summation: 2008, TURING'S APPLES · Stephen Baxter, FROM BABEL'S FALL'N GLORY WE FLED · Michael Swanwick, THE GAMBLER · Paolo Bacigalupi, BOOJUM · Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette, THE SIX DIRECTIONS OF SPACE · Alastair Reynolds, N-WORDS · Ted Kosmatka, AN ELIGIBLE BOY · Ian McDonald, SHINING ARMOUR · Dominic Green, THE HERO · Karl Schroeder, EVIL ROBOT MONKEY · Mary Robinette Kowal, FIVE THRILLERS · Robert Reed, THE SKY THAT WRAPS THE WORLD ROUND, PAST, THE BLUE AND INTO THE BLACK · Jay Lake, INCOMERS · Paul McAuley, CRYSTAL NIGHTS · Greg Egan, THE EGG MAN · Mary Rosenblum, HIS MASTER'S VOICE · Hannu Rajaniemi, THE POLITICAL PRISONER · Charles Coleman Finlay, BALANCING ACCOUNTS · James L. Cambias, SPECIAL ECONOMICS · Maureen McHugh, DAYS OF WONDER · Geoff Ryman, CITY OF THE DEAD · Paul McAuley, THE VOYAGE OUT · Gwyneth Jones, THE ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY OF LORD GRIMM · Daryl Gregory, G-MEN · Kristine Kathryn Rusch, THE ERDMANN NEXUS · Nancy Kress, OLD FRIENDS · Garth Nix, THE RAY-GUN: A LOVE STORY · James Alan Gardner, LESTER YOUNG AND THE JUPITER'S MOONS' BLUES · Gord Sellar, BUTTERFLY, FALLING AT DAWN · Aliette de Bodard, THE TEAR · Ian McDonald, HONORABLE MENTIONS: 2008, CHAPTER 1 summation: 2008 The publishing world proved not to be immune to the deepening recession, and the genre suffered several major losses in 2008. About the best spin that can be put on it is to say that things could have been worse. (And things may yet still get worse, of course. The rumored possible bankruptcy of the Borders bookstore chain, which has been buzzed about for months now, would, if it happens, likely have an adverse effect on many publishers.) Much of 2008's bad news was delivered on December 3, what has come to be called Black Wednesday in the publishing industry, when Random House announced major restructuring and layoffs, making Bantam Dell part of Random House instead of an independent operation; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt saw resignations and firings even at the highest levels of the company (and caused a furor by announcing a "buying freeze" on new titles); and Simon & Schuster also announced significant staff cuts. Earlier, many people had been let go by Doubleday, and later there were huge layoffs at Macmillian, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, and elsewhere. Random House, the largest publisher in the United States, was the most strongly affected, undergoing sweeping changes, with many divisions being consolidated. The Random House Publishing Group swallowed the adult imprints of the Bantam Dell Publishing Group, including Bantam Spectra and Del Rey. The Knopf Publishing Group will absorb Doubleday as well as imprint Nan A. Talese. Senior Bantam Spectra ed