Year's Best SF17
Edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

Harper Voyager
May 29, 2012 / ISBN 978-0062035875
SF / Anthology
Amazon

Reviewed by Carmen Ferreiro

Year's Best SF 17 is an outstanding anthology of the best (according to editors David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer) Science fiction short stories published in 2011.

But don't come to the reading expecting space operas where rebels fight the empire with sophisticated weapons, or explorers meeting alien races across galaxies. The stories in this collection are short and their scope is thus limited, but their quality is not.

These are well thought, realistic tales that, as the best SF does, hold a mirror to our society, a mirror that returns to us a distorted image and, by calling our attention to questions we had not considered, shock and challenge us.

The stories are as diverse as the worlds they describe. Some take place on Earth, some in distant planets or parallel universes. Some are mysteries, some are thrillers, and one is told as snippets of a struggling teen's thoughts. And although most protagonists are human, some are aliens while others are robots tottering in the threshold of humanity.

All of them raise questions:
How would you live your life if you knew the future?
If you could go back in time, would you kill a serial killer before he starts killing?
If the past is erased did it ever happened?
If your mind could take you safely wherever you wanted and create a world you believe it's real, would you want to give that up for a physical life?

Then proceed to explore these issues in an entertaining way leading readers to find their own answers.If you are a fan of SF, this anthology is a must read.

If you're not, but like well written stories with a soul and are willing to take a step out of your comfort zone, please give this anthology a try, you may be pleasantly surprised, as I was.