3.0
Year's Best Fantasy 2
ByPublisher Description
Undreamed-Of Wonders From The Farthest Reaches Of Imagination
In this second volume of the previous year's finest short fantastic fiction, acclaimed editor and anthologist David G. Hartwell showcases new works by stellar literary artists -- acknowledged masters of the genre and exceptionally talented newcomers alike. Astonishing worlds come alive in these pages -- realms of strange creatures and remarkable sorceries, as well as twisted shadow versions of our inhabited earthly plain. A bold and breathtaking compendium of tales -- including a new Earthsea story from the incomparable Ursula K. Le Guin -- Years's Best Fantasy 2 is the state-of-the-art of a unique and winning genre, offering unforgettable excursions into new realities wondrous, bizarre, enchanting...and terrifying.
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3.0
Colleen Wu
Created over 1 year agoShare
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Sarah
Created over 2 years agoShare
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“This book is a collection of 22 short stories, most of which I enjoyed, with a few that I didn’t.
1. The Finder by Ursula K LeGuin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A story of how the gatekeeper came to be on the island of Roke. I’ve actually never read anything by Le Guin but will have to change that after this. Really good story and I loved the writing.
2. Senator Bilbo by Andy Duncan ⭐️
I hated this. Racist senator in the shire that doesn’t like intermingling of races. Why would you write this. Horrible story.
3. Big City Littles by Charles de Lint ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A children’s book writer helps a colony of tiny magical creatures regain their wings. Really cute. I love this one, it had a cozy magical vibe.
4. What the Tyger Told Her by Kage Baker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A girl befriends the tiger in her family’s garden and learns to listen and see all of the family strife going on around her. Really good. Tyger over here stirring up trouble but in the best kind of way.
5. In the Shadow of her Wings by Ashok Banker ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not my fave but not bad. An agent sent to destroy a civilization of women led resistance finds the goddess Kali is more difficult to deal with than he had anticipated. A bit odd but the ending was a fun twist.
6. The Heart of the Hill by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L Paxson ⭐️
While this story was good on its own, I can’t rate it well because of the sexual abuse allegations against the author. There can be no separation of artist and art in this case.
7. Queen by Gene Wolf ⭐️⭐️✨
An old woman is escorted to a coronation by two strange men, but before she goes, the richest man in town gives her a feast and vows to take care of her house. Cryptic and kinda odd, but decent. An allegory about Jesus and Mary I believe but not 100% positive. Too vague.
8. The Black Heart by Patrick O’Leary ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An ancient being who consumes and destroys worlds and has his sights set on Earth is confronted in an airport and stopped by an unlikely hero, a fortune teller. Really like this one, wish it was a little longer, but enjoyed it just the same.
9. On the Wall by Jo Walton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The origin story of the evil Queen from the Snow White legend, and the origin of her mirror. Loved this. Told through the perspective of the mirror.
10. Hell is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang ⭐️✨
I actually ended up hating this. In a world where the Christian God and Angels actively participate in human life (for better or worse) a man loses his wife and tries to find love for God so he can reunite with her in heaven. I thought this was gonna go a different direction but by the end it just felt like religious propaganda. I don’t read fantasy for a sermon on why we should love God. Did not like this one. If you’re religious you might I guess but it was so heavy handed I felt like I was being forced into a “sinners repent” church sermon.
11. The Man Who Stole The Moon by Tanith Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A thief is sent on an impossible quest to steal the moon in order to save his life. Features a demon prince and his subjects. This one was great. Good ending, everyone gets what the deserve by the end. Loved every second.
12. Firebird by R Garcia y Robertson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A girl raised by a witch encounters a knight hiding in the woods with a mysterious treasure. She aims to help him escape his pursuers, but is captured herself. Humorous in spots. This one is a precursor to the full book by the same name. Made want to read the whole book to find out what happens, so it’s a success in my eyes.
13. My Case for Retributive Action by Thomas Ligotti ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed this one quite a bit despite not knowing what was going on really. It had a more horror vibe than fantasy. The story seems to be told as if he’s writing a letter, and follows a man sent “across the border” by his doctor to work for a mysterious company pushing papers. The guy he’s replacing disappeared mysteriously and he suspects he’s the new test subject they’re going to target. He takes swift and decisive action to ensure he is not, and described the events to the person he is writing his letter to. Good overall, wish there was more, interesting if kind of vague. Maybe seek out more as this is apparently a series of connected stories.
14. The Shadow by Thomas M Disch ⭐️
Did not like this one. Angie Seawater loses her body to the control of her shadow, the impulsive nature of humans personified. Interesting concept, but ruined by the audacity of a man. I will always rate a story poorly that uses sexual assault the way it is treated in this story. Sometimes men just…absolutely disgust me. He mentions that she is SAd by the attendants at the nursing home and then two pages later says this “But who is to say there is no joy in Africa or in the prisons of Texas? Or none in the life of Angie Seawater, at least in her life as a shadow? She enjoyed good physical health, the attentions of two devoted admirers, and an uncommonly long life”. Her “admirers” are the men that SA her but oohhh her shadow is usually in control so it’s probably fine right she most likely would agree if she has the choice /sarcasm. He rationalizes this by saying her and her shadow are basically the same so it’s more or less consensual except for when she realizes her situation every now and then when the shadow isn’t in control and sits there and cries. Like I’m not joking this is absolutely disgusting. And from the man who wrote the Brave Little Toaster books too. Repulsive.
15. Stitchery by Devon Monk ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This story follows a woman who has the ability to stitch living things, and a man with two heads who can connect with the minds of animals. Not much happens, it is simply a short life story that delves into them being a bit odd and having found one another. I do wish there’d been some more development and that the author had explained what exactly Stitchery is and how the mind melding worked and why, but if you take it at face value it’s a cute story overall.
16. To Others We Know Not Of by Kate Riedel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A sweet story about a woman remembering her college sweetheart and their relationship, prompted by his sudden appearance on her doorstep after many years. He has a strange ability to know things nobody else could possibly know, and feels the emotions of people and places very intensely. An empath in the truest definition. I liked the reveal at the end.
17. The Lady of the Winds by Poul Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
A man, on the run from a lord after sleeping with his wife, seeks passage through an early winter in the mountains, and must appease a goddess who is raging there after being ridiculed by the other gods for her song. He helps her to write a song in hopes she will quell the storm and grant them passage. This one was a little dull at first and the writing is kinda dry. But I liked the story well enough even though I did skim a couple paragraphs here or there.
18. His Own Back Yard by James P Blaylock ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A man returns to the past when he visits his old family house. This one was very sweet and nostalgic. The ending confused me at first but once I realized what had happened it was super sweet. Made me smile.
19. A Place To Begin by Richard Parks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Follows a young girl who is sold to a witch by her family. She is given only the job of fetching water twice a day and sweeping the path. After being told not to drink the water, but doing so anyway, she gains the gift of sight and begins to see things she couldn’t before. This one was good, set in what seems to be ancient Japan.
20. Nucleon by David D Levine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This story follows an artist that visits a junkyard full of strange things that seem to come from another time, and the man that seems to always know where they are among the mess. He befriends the man as he works on his art pieces. Very good story about friendship and the oddities of the world.
21. My Stolen Sabre by Uncle River ⭐️
This story is about the life of a war sabre as it changes hands from person to person. It was incredibly boring. I feel like I wasted 15 minutes of my life by reading this story. Felt like a story a great grandpa would tell you about the war. But not a good war story, one where he falls asleep in the middle because he’s 97 and forgot he was talking.
22. Apologue by James Morrow ⭐️⭐️✨
A two page story about the movie monsters coming out after 9/11 and helping with relief efforts. Relevant to the time the book was published (early 2002) but not really very remarkable on its own.
And that’s all folks!
Probably won’t ever read a compilation by Hartwell again, as it appears we have differing fundamental moral values. However, I did love some of these stories and am glad to have been exposed to them so I can support them directly in the future.”
Mark Gerrits
Created almost 11 years agoShare
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Danielle Stobie
Created almost 11 years agoShare
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Megan Glascock
Created almost 11 years agoShare
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About David G. Hartwell
David G. Hartwell is a senior editor of Tor/Forge Books. His doctorate is in Comparative Medieval Literature. He is the proprietor of Dragon Press, publisher and bookseller, which publishes The New York Review of Science Fiction, and the president of David G. Hartwell, Inc. He is the author of Age of Wonders and the editor of many anthologies, including The Dark Descent, The World Treasury of Science Fiction, The Hard SF Renaissance, The Space Opera Renaissance, and a number of Christmas anthologies, among others. Recently he co-edited his fifteenth annual paperback volume of Year's Best SF, and co-edited the ninth Year's Best Fantasy. John Updike, reviewing The World Treasury of Science Fiction in The New Yorker, characterized him as a "loving expert." He is on the board of the IAFA, is co-chairman of the board of the World Fantasy Convention, and an administrator of the Philip K. Dick Award. He has won the Eaton Award, the World Fantasy Award, and has been nominated for the Hugo Award forty times to date, winning as Best Editor in 2006, 2008, and 2009.
Other books by David G. Hartwell
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