''Year's Best SF'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

edited by

David G. Hartwell David Geddes Hartwell (July 10, 1941 – January 20, 2016) was an American critic, publisher, and editor of thousands of science fiction and fantasy novels. He was best known for work with Signet, Pocket, and Tor Books publishers. He was also no ...

that was published in 1996. It is the first in the Year's Best SF series, which was published every year until 2013. As a "Best Of" anthology, all the stories in this book previously appeared either in

science fiction magazine A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard-copy periodical format or on the Internet. Science fiction magazines traditionally featured speculative fiction in short story, novelette, nov ...

s, original short fiction collections, or online publications. Its importance lies in that it, and the competing

Year's Best Science Fiction ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' was a series of science fiction anthology, anthologies edited by American Gardner Dozois until his death in 2018. The series, which is unrelated to the similarly titled and themed ''Year's Best SF'', was publish ...

anthology, are representative of the best short science fiction of the year.

The book itself, as well as each of the stories, has a short introduction by the editor. *

James Patrick Kelly James Patrick Kelly (born April 11, 1951) is an American science fiction author who has won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. Biography Kelly made his first fiction sale in 1975. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of N ...

: "

Think Like a Dinosaur "Think Like a Dinosaur" is a science fiction novelette written by James Patrick Kelly, originally published in the June 1995 issue of ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' magazine. Significance The story won the 1996 Hugo Award for Hugo Award for Best N ...

" (Originally in ''

Asimov's ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines, which is owned by Penny Press. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac A ...

'', 1995) *

Patricia A. McKillip Patricia Anne McKillip (February 29, 1948 – May 6, 2022) was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. She wrote predominantly standalone fantasy novels and has been called "one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy ge ...

: "Wonders of the Invisible World" (Originally in '' Full Spectrum 5'', 1995) *

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is a prolific American science fiction author and editor. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a SFWA Grand ...

: "Hot Times in Magma City" (Originally in '' Omni Online'', 1995) * Stephen Baxter: "Gossamer" (Originally in ''

Science Fiction Age Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

'', 1995) *

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the department of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason ...

: "A Worm in the Well" (Originally in ''

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

'', 1995) *

William Browning Spencer William Browning Spencer (born 1946) is an American novelist and short story writer living in Austin, Texas. His science fiction and horror (genre), horror stories are often darkly and surrealistically humorous. Awards and honors His novel ''R� ...

: "Downloading Midnight" (Originally in ''Tomorrow'', 1995) *

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American people, American science fiction author and former college professor. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974), which was inspired by his experiences as a combat soldier ...

: "For White Hill" (Originally in '' Far Futures'', 1995) * William Barton: "In Saturn Time" (Originally in '' Amazing Stories: The Anthology'', 1995) *

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

: "Coming of Age in Karhide" (Originally in ''

New Legends ''New Legends'' is a 2002 action video game developed by Infinite Machine, a studio founded by former employees of LucasArts, and published by THQ, for the Xbox gaming console (not compatible with Xbox 360). It would be the only game released by ...

'', 1995) *

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for '' The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominatio ...

: "The Three Descents of Jeremy Baker" (Originally in ''

F&SF ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Bouche ...

'', 1995) *

Nancy Kress Nancy Anne Kress (born January 20, 1948) is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo- and Nebula-winning novella '' Beggars in Spain'' (1991), which becam ...

: "Evolution" (Originally in ''Asimov's'', 1995) *

Robert Sheckley Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 – December 9, 2005) was an American writer. First published in the science-fiction magazines of the 1950s, his many quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, Absurdist fiction, absurdist, and ...

: "The Day the Aliens Came" (Originally in ''New Legends'', 1995) *

Joan Slonczewski Joan Lyn Slonczewski (born August 14, 1956) is an American microbiologist at Kenyon College and a science fiction writer who explores biology and space travel. Her books have twice earned the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Ficti ...

: "Microbe" (Originally in ''Analog'', 1995) *

Gene Wolfe Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and no ...

: "The Ziggurat" (Originally in ''Full Spectrum 5'', 1995)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Years Best SF 01 1996 anthologies Year's Best SF anthology series 1990s science fiction works

Contents

External links