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The award-winning anthology series continues. Selected and introduced by Gardner Dozois, seven-time winner of the Hugo Award for Best Editor, this dazzling collection of the year's best science fiction stories includes tales by Pat Cadigan, Greg Egan, Ian MacLeod, and others.

From newcomers to veterans, 22 writers have crafted 24 short stories and novellas recognized for their excellence in themes such as hard science, pulp fiction, and first contact. The writers include Ursula K. LeGuin and Greg Egan, Joe Haldeman, Allen Steele, Poul Anderson, Terry Bisson, Maureen F. McHugh, and Mary Rosenblum. This well-chosen collection of 1995's best sf shorts is highly recommended. Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information.

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Once again, Dozois serves up a pleasurable mix of established luminaries as well as the newer stars of the SF realm. In Dan Simmons's "Looking for Kelly Dahl," an elementary school teacher journeys from despair to love with a former student who has the ability to teleport to parallel earths where dinosaurs never fell, no one else exists or the 1970s never ended. Maureen McHugh also offers a tale of redemption in an alternate Civil War era, but this time, the underground railroad rescues white former slave owners who have relocated by the thousands to die of exposure on the frontier. In the tradition of the best SF, Geoff Ryman explores homelessness in a credibly violent future where beggars are routinely crucified by hungry mobs. Fans will especially appreciate Dozois's introduction of talented young writers who have yet to publish their own collections or novels. Notable among these is David Murasek, whose novella, "We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy," imagines the couple of the next century almost having it all?that is, until they are issued a permit to have a child. But the truth is that all of the 24 short stories or novellas are rewarding, which is really the most outstanding feature of this collection. (July) Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information.