psc@lzwi.UUCP (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (08/01/85)
Let's see. Carr's BEST SF OF THE YEAR #12 must have appeared in
1983 for it to have one a Locus Award in 1984, so this must be number
fourteen. Oddly enough, neither a series number nor the year appear
anywhere in the title; I think the name changed when Carr started
editing the series for Tor. But what'll they call it next year?
"Best of the Year" anthologies have a tendency to be pretty good,
Carr's more so (in my opinion) than others. His picks (like Gardner
Dozois's, for his anthology) tend to include more experimental stuff
than others. If that doesn't appeal to you, maybe you'd be better off
with another "Best".
The lead story is John Varley's Nebula-winning "Press Enter _", and
let me say something right here about the typography. The last
character in the title is supposed to be a blinking block cursor. Oddly
enough, none of the books that make reference to the story manage the
blinking. I can't even manage the block, so I've substituted a
underline (that's what my cursor looks like). I've got lots to say
about "Press Enter _"; I'll say it some other time.
The other stories? "Blued Moon" by Connie Willis is a funny,
twisted story about life in a research corporation where the most common
language is Jargon, one young man intends to use his three fiances
("fee-an-sees") as stepping stones to the boss's daughter, said daughter
is looking for someone who speaks English, and the company linguist is
wondering just what he was hired for. Charles L. Harness's "Summer
Solstice" is a historical tale of an alien in distress, and Eratosthenes
in Ptolemy's court in Alexandria. I don't know enough of the period to
know if this is supposed to be an alternate history story. Alternate or
ours, if you like historical SF, you'll like this story more than I did.
"Morning Child" is a typical Gardner Dozois tale, with vivid prose, a
gimmick you'll likely guess before the end, and not much "story" worth
mentioning. George Alec Effinger tells us about "The Aliens Who Knew, I
Mean, *Everything*" with wit and skill.
I don't usually care for Tanith Lee, but "A Day in the Skin (or,
the Century We Were Out of Them)" got to me. Neat idea, good execution.
Bob Leman's "Instructions" isn't a story, exactly, but it's a nice piece
of writing, and I liked it. Carr bought Kim Stanley Robinson's first
two novels, THE WILD SHORE and ICEHENGE, for Ace, and "The Lucky Strike"
for UNIVERSE 14. I liked it a lot there, I like it a lot here, it's
another Nebula winner, and I told you so. "Green Hearts" is Lee
Montgomerie's first story, a tale of genetic modification. It brings to
mind Alan Gopin's generic comment, "It seems to be vague, but is in fact
meaningless." The story's not bad, but I'm not sure it belongs in a
"Best of". (If Carr wanted something from INTERZONE, couldn't he have
found something stronger? I guess his tastes and mine diverge.)
Octavia E. Butler copped another Nebula award with "Bloodchild".
This is a hell of a piece of writing. This is a terrific story. Not
recommended for reading right before bedtime. Otherwise, highly
recommended.
Michael Stanwick's "Trojan Horse" is about a lot of things:
personality transfer and surgery, God, love, God, religion, and
psychology. Pamela Sargent's story is called "Fears"; it's a very
paranoid story about a person who, considering the world of the story,
is justifiably very paranoid. If you're still fighting "Women's Lib",
you won't want to read this one at all. (But maybe half a dozen tag-
team feminists will force feed it to you?) "Trinity" by Nancy Kress is
another story about God, this time using cloning and drugs to examine
divinity.
Quite a variety. You'll find something you'll dislike. You'll
find several stories that will haunt you. You'll find all three Nebula
award winners for short SF. "Best" is a hard title to justify; Carr
has.
- 30 -
--
-Paul S. R. Chisholm The above opinions are my own,
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"Of *course* it's the murder weapon. Who would frame someone with a fake?"