Since in three months or so I'll be posting my Best of 2009 list, I thought I'd take stock of the short fiction published in some new form or fashion in 2009 that I've read. This is not in chronological order or in level of preference:
Short Story Collections:
1. Peter S. Beagle, We Never Talk About My Brother
2. Caitlín R. Kiernan, A is for Alien
3. Otsuichi, ZOO
4. Terrence Holt, In the Valley of the Kings
5. Tobias Buckell, Tides from the New World
6. Brian Evenson, Fugue State
Anthologies (single-author and multiple authors):
7. John Davey, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, The Best of Michael Moorcock
8. Nick Gevers and Jay Lake, Other Earths
9. Gianpaolo Celli, Steampunk: Histórias de um Passado Extraordinário
10. Dean Francis Alfar and Nikki Alfar, Philippine Speculative Fiction IV
11. Bradford Morrow, Conjunctions: 52: Betwixt the Between
12. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Best American Fantasy 2
13. Lavie Tidhar, The Apex Book of World SF
In Progress:
14. George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, Songs of the Dying Earth
15. Vincent Michael Simbulan, A Time for Dragons: An Anthology of Philippine Draconic Fiction
16. John Scalzi, Metatropolis
On Order:
16. Jonathan Strahan, Eclipse 3
17. Peter Straub, American Fantastic Tales (two vols.)
Not too bad, I suppose, but I'm not satisfied with this. What anthologies/collections released in 2009 in the US (or first elsewhere in the world) am I missing that I ought to acquire so I can consider for inclusion in my wrapup on 2009 short fiction books?
Identities with Gaps
9 hours ago
Posts
15 comments:
How about pre-ordering the Datlow-edited anthology "Lovecraft Unbound," featuring stories by Laird Barron, Caitlin R. Kiernan, and a host of fabulous others?
Kelly S.
Nemonymous 9, perhaps? I think Des Lewis's tastes might overlap nicely with yours. (Admittedly this is somewhat in self-interest, as I have a story in it...but take a look at the Wikipedia page, and you'll get a sense of what writers he's published in earlier editions, including Jeff VanderMeer, Ekaterina Sedia, Rhys Hughes...)
And as long as I'm already commenting in self-interest...you could check out the flash fiction and poetry in Karen Romanko's Cinema Spec.
Scenting the Dark, by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Son of Retro Pulp Tales, by Joe R. Lansdale (editor)
The Apex Book of World SF, by Lavie Tidhar (editor)
Descended from Darkness: Apex Magazine Volume 1, by Jason Sizemore (editor)
The New Space Opera 2, by Dozois and Strahan (editors)
Viator Plus, by Lucius Shepard
Interfictions 2, by Delia Sherman and Christopher Barzak (editors)
That'll do for a start, no?
Clockwork Phoenix 2 - with the great assistance of anthology editor Mike Allen and the permission of the author, I posted a story from it "Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameel" by Saladin Ahmed on FBC some ten days ago or so
Nocturnes by K. Ishiguro - just read it tonight, 5 linked stories about music, relationships and celebrity culture today, and while it starts slowly with a good but not great story, it picks up steam and the last two stories are as good as anything I've read this year
For some reason, I forgot to list the Apex and Clockwork Phoenix anthologies, despite having both (and having read the Apex one). I guess I didn't bother to read my own handwriting, huh? :P
I'll look into the others - thanks everyone so far (and also for any other future suggestions!)
Hrmm...amusing that the four I chose to order first (Datlow, Kowal, Interfictions, Ishiguro) are all pre-orders from Amazon.
I'll come back and explore the others in a month or so.
Here's an incomplete list of anthologies coming out this year:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p0zUEk4idZvfpaEXrGLqWGQ
What you should acquire, however is a different list...
Thanks for the list, Charles. Certainly will be looking over that in the next few days!
On a side note, here are the anthos I've read that were published this year:
Poe edited by Ellen Datlow
Science Fiction: The Best of the Year 2008 Edition edited by Rich Horton
Nebula Awards Showcase 2009 edited by Ellen Datlow
Firebirds Soaring edited by Sharyn November
Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
Best American Fantasy 2 edited by Jeff & Ann VanderMeer
We Think, Therefore We Are edited by Peter Crowther
Federations edited by John Joseph Adams
Clockwork Phoenix 2 edited by Mike Allen
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction 3 edited by George Mann
Cern Zoo edited by D.F. Lewis
Postscripts #18
The New Space Opera 2 edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan
Year's Best SF 14 edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
I really need to get around to buying that Poe anthology. Don't know why I haven't done so yet, since Datlow almost always has great anthologies.
You definitely need the Poe anthology. It's wonderful. If you want a review first, try mine at SF Signal.
New antho that just arrived in the Inbox: Wilde Stories 2009
The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction
Don't know if I'd relate well to the presumed target audience for that antho, Charles, but I might consider it just to see how much of an "outsider" I would feel reading such. In fact, that might be part of the appeal for straight readers, that sense of "otherness" in that they themselves (and I) would be be viewing gay culture from the outside and trying to understand it better.
If you're going to list a book like The Best of Michael Moorcock, then it'd be worth mentioning The Best of Gene Wolfe and the NESFA Zelazny story compilations as well.
Polyphony 7 may be released before the end of the year.
Does Zivkovic's Impossible Stories 2 count as a collection of short fiction?
The Zelazny "Collected Stories" from NESFA Press. Just got volumes 1 & 2 today and it's a beautifully crafted edition, with a lot of "extras".
Also, Jonathan Strahan' BEST SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OF THE YEAR Volume 3 from Night Shade.
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