The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Four

(Paperback)

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From Hugo Award-winning editor Neil Clarke, the best science fiction stories of the year are collected in a single paperback volume.

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Clarke, publisher and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed and award-winning magazine Clarkesworld, has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year's writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome "sensawunda" that the genre has to offer.

• When We Were Starless-Simone Heller
• Intervention-Kelly Robson
• ll the Time We've Left to Spend-Alyssa Wong
• Domestic Violence-Madeline Ashby
• Ten Landscapes of Nili Fossae-Ian McDonald
• Prophet of the Roads-Naomi Kritzer
• Traces of Us-Vanessa Fogg
• Theories of Flight-Linda Nagata
• Lab B-15-Nick Wolven
• Requiem-Vandana Singh
• Sour Milk Girls-Erin Roberts
• Mother Tongues-S. Qiouyi Lu
• Singles' Day-Samantha Murray
• Nine Last Days on Planet Earth-Daryl Gregory
• The Buried Giant-Lavie Tidhar
• The Anchorite Wakes-R.S.A. Garcia Entropy
• War-Yoon Ha Lee
• An Equation of State-Robert Reed
• Quantifying Trust-John Chu
• Hard Mary-Sofia Samatar
• Freezing Rain, a Chance of Falling-L.X. Beckett
• Okay, Glory-Elizabeth Bear
• Heavy Lifting-A.T. Greenblatt
• Lions and Gazelles-Hannu Rajaniemi
• Different Seas-Alastair Reynolds
• Among the Water Buffaloes, a Tiger's Steps-Aliette de Bodard
• Byzantine Empathy-Ken Liu
• Meat and Salt and Sparks-Rich Larson
• Umbernight-Carolyn Ives Gilman

Reviews

Praise for Neil Clarkes Anthologies with Night Shade Books

Readers should savor the storiesa few at a time to get the most out of Clarkessuperior selections. . . but there areno inferior pieces here. This isa fine, thoughtful book.
Publishers Weekly,starred review for Not One of Us

Well-known SF authors grace this . . . top-notch selection of imaginative and thought-provoking stories.
Kirkus Reviews, starred review for More Human Than Human

Clarkesstellar reprint anthologyexplores the expansive variety of space exploration stories. . . .Outstanding worksin which extreme environments bring out the best and worst of human nature.
Publishers Weekly,Starred Review for The Final Frontier

Twenty one fascinating tales from some of science fictions new stars.The reprint collection is multicultural and diverse, with tales of all kinds and from some unusual places. . . .Many standouts in this one and likely something here for all sorts of different kinds of folks.
Manhattan Book Review,4.5/5 Stars for The Final Frontier

This hefty anthology of imperial SF covers great space battles, small dramas within an empire, hopeless bureaucracy, and even living space stations, zooming in and out to capture every nuance . . . The diverse array of stories ensures that theres plenty of interest for any fan of large-scale SF.
Publishers Weekly on Galactic Empires

Masterful editor Neil Clarke has assembled an exotic, bountiful treasure chest of reprint tales dedicated to that mode of SF that can arguably be said to constitute the very core of the field, the space opera.
Asimovs on Galactic Empires

Clarke has assembled a wide range of authors from old masters like Robert Silverberg to more recent talents such as Aliette De Bodard each offering a different take on the central premise. . . There isnt a bad piece amongst them . . . the Galaxy really is there for the taking.
Starburst on Galactic Empires, reviewed by Alister Davison

As editor Clarke points out in his introduction, when most people hear the term galactic empire, they immediately picture Darth Vader and Star Wars. But there is a long history of star-faring empires in the genre, with stories that imagine our human tendencies to explore and conquer among the stars. . . . The stories gathered here, all of which have appeared elsewhere, show the huge range of possibilities of the chosen theme.
Library Journal on Galactic Empires

The first must-read anthology of the year, no question, is Neil ClarkesGalactic Empires, an ambitious (read: huge) collection of SF tales featuring far-flung confederations in the stars. The TOC is a whos-who of virtually everyone doing important work at short length in science fiction.
John ONeil,Black Gate on Galactic Empires

Brings together some of the best voices writing in the genre today. . . . a stunning collection of short fiction.
WorldsInInk on Galactic Empires

Author Bio

Neil Clarke is the editor of Clarkesworld and Forever Magazine and owner of Wyrm Publishing, and a six-time Hugo Award Nominee for Best Editor (short form). He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two children.