The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 2 »

Holly Black spent her early years in a decaying Victorian mansion where her mother fed her a steady diet of ghost stories and books about faeries. Her first book, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, was an ALA Top Ten Book for Teens, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and has been translated into twelve languages. Her second teen novel, Valiant, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Locus Magazine Recommended Read, and a recipient of the Andre Norton Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

The depth and breadth of what science fiction and fantasy fiction is changes with every passing year. The two dozen stories chosen for this book by award-winning anthologist Jonathan Strahan carefully maps this evolution, giving readers a captivating and always-entertaining look at the very best the genre has to offer.

Publishers Weekly

Australian anthologist Strahan's second annual "best of" collection is too small to hold all the great speculative stories of 2007, but it provides an excellent sampler, focusing on the recent trend of interstitiality. Kelly Link's "The Constable of Abal," which revolves around an unscrupulous fortuneteller and her daughter's search for home, is equal parts fantasy, coming-of-age tale and unconventional ghost story. Ken MacLeod's "Jesus Christ, Reanimator," about the inglorious Second Coming of a blogging messiah from outer space, wraps social commentary in sardonic science fiction. Holly Black's poignant "The Coat of Stars" blends together elements of folklore and urban grit to create an unlikely and deeply moving story about love and loss. If these 24 stories are any indication, SF and fantasy are continuing their evolution-or "dissolution," as Strahan calls it-just as they always have: through innovative writers re-examining conventions and redefining boundaries. (May)

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