The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy

From the book cover
From Del Rey Books and award-winning editor Ellen Datlow, two of the most respected names in science fiction and fantasy, comes a collection of fifteen all-new short stories, plus a science fiction novella, that add up to a virtual "best of the year" anthology. Here you will find slyly twisted alternate histories, fractured fairy tales, topical science fiction, and edgy urban fantasy.


In "Daltharee," World Fantasy Award-winning author Jeffrey Ford spins a chilling take of a city in a bottle - and the demented genius who put it there. In "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall," John W. Campbell Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear pens a poignant and eerie requiem for the heavyweight forever associated with his controversial loss to Cassius Clay. From hot new writer Margo Lanagan comes "The Goosle," a dark, astonishing take on the Hansel and Gretal tale. In the novella "Prisoners of the Action," Paul McAuley and Kim Newman take a trip down a rabbit hole that leads to a Guantanamo-like prison whose inmates are not just illegal but extraterrestrial.
Many of the writers you'll recognize. Others you may not. But one thing is certain: These stars of the today and tomorrow demonstrate that the field of speculative fiction is not only alive and well - it's better than ever.
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The Elephant Ironclads by Jason Stoddard
In this short story, two young Dine boys agree to serve as guides to two white men in exchange for $30 US - a large sum of money to the boys. Shortly after setting off through Dinetah, the boys, Niyol and Wallace, learn that the men are not rock hounds, as they've been told but are in fact looking for uranium, which is considered the heart of the Diyin Dine (the god who lives in the earth). The boys are caught in a moral and ethical dilemma. Will they go against all the beliefs they've been taught about honouring the Diyin Dine or will they opt for the power that comes with owning weapons of mass destruction?

Ardent Clouds by Lucy Sussex
Bet is a documentarian and volcano chaser who is on the caldera of a volcano in South America when it erupts. She was with a group of volcano chaser but she's the only one who survives.This short story gets its name from nuee ardente (ardent clouds in French). Ardent clouds describe the fast-moving clouds of hot ash and other materials produced by a volcanic eruption.

Gather by Christopher Rowe
Despite reading this story twice I didn't it. This is what I could make out:
Gather, an autistic? man, finds God in a piece of paper he and his scientist neighbour, Miss. Charlie, were using for an experiment. Set in Virginia, somewhere in the future, only a select few members of the community are allowed to read the bible and 'God' lives across the river on the far bank. To go to the house of God is forbidden, according to the bible. So, when Gather and Miss. Charlie find God they have three choices: take it to the preacher; hide it and never speak of it; or return God to the other side of the river.

Sonny Liston Takes the Fall  by Elizabeth Bear
In this alternate history the author suggests that maybe Sonny Liston lost his two fights with Cassius Clay (later known as Mohammad Ali) not because he was threatened by the mob but because he knew that the black community needed a symbol, and he (Sonny Liston) couldn't be that symbol.

North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
This short story is about two monsters: the one that washes up from the lake and the recently paroled father who has rage issues and is unintentionally alienating his wife and daughter. The story spans one day. While contemplating how to dispose of the dead monster's body, Grady downs his sorrows in a bottle of vodka and comes to the realization that he is a monster.

All Washed Up While Looking for a Better World by Carol Emshwiller
After wishing for a fresh start, the protagonist finds herself washed up on a shore inhabited by human-like people who treat her like a pet. She can understand them but they can't understand her.

Special Economics by Maureen F. McHugh
Jieling is a 19-year-old girl who's leaves her home in Northern China to take advantage of the job boom in Shenzhen and ends up working for a company that practice serf-like work conditions. Instead of getting a pay cheque she gets a debt notice. The company charges its workers more for food and board than they make resulting the workers being in constant debt to the company.

Aka St. Mark's Place by Richard Bowes
The lives of three young people intertwine when they find each other on St. Mark's Place in the summer of 1965. All three are able to see visions of the future and realize that they will meet again in 1971. Are the visions self-fulling prophecies?

The Goosle by Margo Lanagan
This controversial retelling of the classic fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" is not for the faint of heart. Gretel is eaten by the witch and Hansel is repeatedly raped by Grinnan, a thief who rescues him from the witch's cage.

Shira by Lavie Tidhar
Nur, a Damascus University students, finds herself the protagonist of a science fiction short story. Shira is set in the Middle East sometime in the future. A 'small holocaust' has taken place and Jerusalem is no more. The pain and destruction of losing Jerusalem has resulted in peace throughout the Middle East.

The Passion of Azazel by Barry N. Malzberg
This twisted tale explores reincarnation and animal sacrifices. Schmuel, the narrator and protagonist believes that he was a scapegoat in a previous life. In his current life, as a soon-to-be-rabbi and Kabbalist, he creates a golem in the form of a goat. The golem, Azazel, turns out to be Schmuel's brother from his previous. Schmuel's goat brother was sacrificed before Schmuel and is now determined to get his revenge on all rabbis.

The Lagerstatte by Laird Barron
When Danni's husband and son are killed in a plane crash she suffers from depression and eventually starts to see her husband in every man she sees.

Gladiolus Exposed by Anna Tambour

When the protagonist and his wife go to a couples retreat he finds a bone specimen that he calls a gladiolus because it is so perfect. His fondness for the gladiolus drives a deep wedge in the strained relationship he has with his wife, who can't stand the gladiolus.One night he returns from a business trip to find that his wife has thrown the gladiolus away.

Daltharee by Jeffrey Ford
Mando Paige is a mad scientist obsessed with creating miniature life. After serving a prison sentence for creating the town of Daltharee in a bottle, he returns to the lab and shrinks himself!

Jimmy by Pat Cadigan
When Jimmy a troubled boy goes missing, no one cares with the exception of his social worker and his only friend, the story's narrator. The narrator discovers Jimmy in a force field where humans can't see or hear you, even when you are directly in front of them. In the force field strange creatures impart knowledge. To receive their knowledge is to be marked an outsider in the regular world.

Prisoners of the Action by Paul McAuley and Kim Newman
The story takes place on St.James Island, a Guantanamo-like army based that is the centre of a national controversy because alien Prisoners of the Action (POTA) are being held captive and have been abused, and a large portion of the army's officers are suffering from St. James Syndrome (island fever). When the army sends Colonel Dice to investigate, he must go into an Alice in Wonderland type rabbit hole to understand what is going on the island.
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