Another good list for 2015 SF novels: Finalists for the 2016 John W. Campbell Memorial Award: •The Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi (Orbit/Knopf) •Europe at Midnight, Dave Hutchinson (Rebellion) •Radiomen, Eleanor Lerman (The Permanent) •Luna: New Moon, Ian McDonald (Gollancz/Tor) •Galapagos Regained, James Morrow (St. Martin’s) •Going Dark, Linda Nagata (Mythic Island/Saga) •The Book of Phoenix, […]

Since the finalists for Retro-Hugo are less depressing, let’s spend a little time delving into them: The best place to see where these works have been published is on ISFDB. I confess to having never heard of Kallocain, but my knowledge of Swedish dystopian novels of the 1940’s is minimal.  Wondering if it will be […]

For those who sit around thinking, “What if they gave out Hugos for work published in 1940?” here’s what a modest group of voters came up with for nominations.  More info at http://midamericon2.org/home/hugo-awards-and-wsfs/1941-retro-hugo-finalists/ BEST NOVEL Gray Lensman by E.E. “Doc” Smith (Astounding Science‐Fiction, Jan 1940) The Ill‐Made Knight by T.H. White (Collins) Kallocain by Karin […]

BEST NOVEL Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie (Orbit) The Cinder Spires: The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher (Roc) The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit) Seveneves: A Novel by Neal Stephenson (William Morrow) Uprooted by Naomi Novik (Del Rey) BEST NOVELLA Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com) The Builders by Daniel Polansky (Tor.com) Penric’s Demon by […]

This looks like a pretty good subset of the best short fiction of 2015, chosen by the award committee.  Winners will be announced at Worldcon: “And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead”, Brooke Bolander (Lightspeed 2/15) “The Four Thousand, the Eight Hundred”, Greg Egan (Asimov’s 10/15) “The New Mother”, Eugene Fischer (Asimov’s […]

Jonathan Strahan’s Best SF and Fantasy of 2015 comes out May 16. Contents: “City of Ash”, Paolo Bacigalupi, (medium.com) “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson”, Elizabeth Bear (Old Venus) “The Machine Starts”, Greg Bear (Future Visions) “The Winter Wraith”, Jeffrey Ford (F&SF, Nov/Dec) “Black Dog”, Neil Gaiman (Trigger Warning) “Jamaica Ginger”, Nalo Hopkinson & Nisi Shawl (Stories […]

Prime Books is continuing their anthology of the best novellas of the year, due out in August. Contents: “The Citadel of Weeping Pearls” by Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s, Oct/Nov 2015) “The Bone Swans of Amandale” by C.S.E. Cooney (Bone Swans, Mythic Delirium Books) “Binti” by Nnedi Okorafor (Binti, Tor.com) “The Last Witness” by K. J. […]

Neil Clarke, editor of Clarkesworld Magazine, tries his hand at a new best-of anthology, published by Nightshade in June, with these stories: “Three Bodies at Mitanni” by Seth Dickinson (Analog, June) “The Audience” by Sean McMullen (Analog, June) “Empty” by Robert Reed (Asimov’s, Dec) “Calved” by Sam J. Miller (Asimov’s, Sept) “No Placeholder for You, My […]

Rich Horton’s Year’s Best Science Fiction 2016 comes out in June, and will contain the following stories from 2015: “The Daughters of John Demetrius”,  by Joe Pitkin (Analog, Oct) “Endless Forms Most Beautiful”,  by Alvaro Zinos-Amaro (Analog) “Twelve and Tag”,  by Gregory Norman Bossert (Asimov’s) “Mutability”,  by Ray Nayler (Asimov’s) “Acres of Perhaps”, by Will […]

Gardner Dozois has identified 36 stories for the next edition of his year’s best retrospective.  But it won’t come out until July, so you need to seek these out elsewhere to consider them for the Hugo ballot. “The Audience”, Sean McMullen (Analog, June) “The Daughters of John Demetrius”, Joe Pitkin (Analog, Oct) “The Children of Gal”, Allen […]