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2026-10-25 21:18:41 GMT

“The Outer Reaches: Favorite Science-Fiction Tales Chosen by Their Authors”, August Derleth editor, 1951 Pellegrini & Cudahy
The Short: I read my second August Derleth anthology, The Outer Reaches: Favorite Science-Fiction Tales Chosen by Their Authors, August Derleth editor, 1951 Pellegrini & Cudahy. I own the 1958 abridged paperback edition, but I have no idea if I ever read it. My favorite was the superlative “Good Night, Mr. James“, a short story by Clifford D. Simak, Galaxy March 1951. I liked the Foreword by Derleth. Some of the essays by the authors about why they selected these stories are better than the stories. I recommend eight out of the seventeen stories. Rated 3.3/5, or “Good”. Entire anthology not recommended for many readers.
The Long: I read The Other Side of the Moon, August Derleth editor, 1949 Pellegrini & Cudahy last year. While there were some good stories, I was underwhelmed in general, see my review.
I had this to say about another Derleth anthology:
I own one anthology he edited, The Outer Reaches, in the abridged 1958 Berkeley edition. I am sure I read it many decades ago. My Book Database notes, “Some fun material, but not major”, and rates it as “Good”.
Considering that I had no firm memories of reading The Outer Reaches or most of the short fiction in it, and that I owned an abridged copy, I decided I might as well read the unabridged version which was in scanned version at Internet Archive and see what I had missed.
Before moving on to the review, here is my very bedraggled copy of the 1958 Berkley paperback. The cover is not in bad shape, but the spine and the binding are in deep trouble.
Cover artist uncredited
Aside from the different cover artist, there are several other differences between the abridged Berkley paperback and the original The Outer Reaches: Favorite Science-Fiction Tales Chosen by Their Authors, August Derleth editor, 1951 Pellegrini & Cudahy.
First, the cover does not mention that it’s “Favorite Science-Fiction Tales Chosen by Their Authors”. While this is stated on the title page in the paperback, I have no idea if I ever noticed that. This is pretty important information to me.
Second, there is a Foreword in the hardback version that is omitted from the paperback. I love Forewords and Introductions today. That probably would not have kept me from buy a cheap used paperback back in the day.
Third, there are brief story introduction essays by the authors in the hardback. While these are between essential and “What?”, I love seeing them to get some idea why the author chose the story.
Finally, and this is noted on the Copyright page in the paperback, the unabridged hardback includes a full seventeen stories and not the ten in the paperback. I suspect I never read this or noticed it when I bought the paperback.
The Outer Reaches: Favorite Science-Fiction Tales Chosen by Their Authors, August Derleth editor, 1951 Pellegrini & Cudahy, includes a Foreword by August Derleth, brief essays by the authors about why they selected the stories included and seventeen works of short fiction. It had 342 pages of fiction. I like the cover/dust jacket art.
R. T. Crane cover
Given how I love essays by editors on what an anthology is about, the not quite three page Foreword by August Derleth is a great start. It lays out how the stories were selected by the authors, and how much Derleth has wished he could occasionally have made such selections with his editors. Perhaps I am too suspicious, but I wonder if Derleth might have had input on these choices in conversation with the authors.
It also states that the work is science fiction, which I generally agree with although I have some doubts about “Finality Unlimited“, a novella by Donald Wandrei.
(Apologies for the truncation, but page vii was scanned that way)
Given that I own the 1958 Berkley paperback, I thought it was possible I had read some or all of the ten stories there a long time ago. I will never know.
I am sure that I had read six of these stories within the last six years:
“Death Sentence“, a short story by Isaac Asimov, Astounding November 1943, for the 1944 Retro Hugo nominations.
“Shock“, a short story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, Astounding March 1943, for the 1944 Retro Hugo nominations.
“The Power“, a short story by Murray Leinster, Astounding, September 1945, read inThe Best of Murray Leinster, J. J. Pierce editors, 1978, Ballantine.
“Good Night, Mr. James“, a short story by Clifford D. Simak, Galaxy March 1951, read in Robots Through The Ages, Robert Silverberg & Bryan Thomas Schmidt editors, 2023 Blackstone.
“Farewell to Eden“, a short story by Theodore Sturgeon, original to Invasion from Mars: Interplanetary Stories, Orson Welles, 1949 Dell.
“Co-Operate – or Else!“, a novelette by A. E. van Vogt, Astounding April 1942, for a group read at the Science Fiction Book Club on Facebook (I recommend this group).
I was pretty interested in reading the other eleven stories. If I had ever read them a long time ago, I did not remember.
My favorite was the superlative “Good Night, Mr. James“, by Clifford D. Simak, Galaxy March 1951, rated 4.1/5.
After that, there were three great stories that were new to me, or at least read so long ago I had no memory of them whatsoever:
“The Critters“, a short story by Frank Belknap Long, Astounding November 1945, rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“The Ship Sails at Midnight“, a short story by Fritz Leiber, Fantastic Adventures September 1950, rated 3.8/5.
“Interloper“, a novelette by Poul Anderson, F&SF April 1951, rated 3.8/5.
There were four stories that I felt were very good:
“The Power“, a short story by Murray Leinster, Astounding September 1945, rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”, and the only one of these I had read before.
“This Is the Land“, a short story by Nelson S. Bond, Blue Book Magazine April 1951, rated 3.7/5.
“Ylla“, a Martian Chronicles short story by Ray Bradbury, Maclean’s January 1, 1950, rated 3.7/5.
“The Green Cat“, a short story by Cleve Cartmill, Worlds Beyond January 1951.
At “Very good”, I was pleased to read all of these.
There were five stories that I rated as “Good”. For me, “Good” equates to adequately written but not that exciting or interesting. These are not stories I recommend for reading.
“The Plutonian Drug“, a short story by Clark Ashton Smith, Amazing Stories September 1934, rated 3.5/5.
“Farewell to Eden“, a short story by Theodore Sturgeon, original to Invasion from Mars: Interplanetary Stories, Orson Welles, 1949 Dell, rated 3.5/5. For me, an underwhelming Sturgeon story.
“Death Sentence“, a short story by Isaac Asimov, Astounding November 1943, rated 3.4/5.
“Pardon My Mistake“, a short story by Fletcher Pratt, Thrilling Wonder Stories December 1946, rated 3.3/5.
“Co-Operate – or Else!“, a novelette by A. E. van Vogt, Astounding April 1942, rated 3.2/5.
I reread two of these “good” stories, wondering if I had been too severe the first time. I had not; I don’t recommend any of them.
After this, it got even worse. There was “Shock“, a short story by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, Astounding March 1943, which I rated 2.9/5, or “Okay”. I reread it hoping I had first read it on an off day. Nope, still not very good, and far from their best.
Finally, there were three stories that I could not finish reading. These were all rated 2/5, or “Did not finish”.
“Service First“, a short story by David H. Keller, Amazing Stories Quarterly Winter 1931.
“Finality Unlimited“, a novella by Donald Wandrei, Astounding September 1936.
“Git Along!“, a Viagens Interplanetarias short story by L. Sprague de Camp, Astounding August 1950. I was hopeful, as I had vague memories of reading some of these Viagens Interplanetarias storise by L. Sprague de Camp a long time ago and enjoying them. I have not been able to finish either of the two stories in this series I have tried to read recently.
I recommend reading eight out of seventeen stories, rated from “superlative” to “very good”.
On the plus side, six of the eight stories I recommend were new to me. I liked the Foreword. I was generally very engaged with the brief author essays on why they selected the stories they did. These were among the high points of the anthology. Among these, the Asimov essay for “Death Sentence” was especially moving and informative even if I was underwhelmed by the story.
On the minus side, I could have skipped reading nine of the seventeen stories included. While the stories are nominally selected by the authors, I think August Derleth has to take some responsibility.
I looked at the strength of the original seventeen stories versus the ten in the abridged version. On a purely numerical basis, they are pretty close, with an overall, average rating of 3.3/5 for the original, unabridged version versus 3.25/5 for the abridged version. One could have hoped that the abridged version table of contents weeded out some of the weaker works. At least for my taste, it actually got worse!
I liked the Foreword by Derleth, and most of the author essays about their selections, even when I did not care for the stories. Also a positive was that six of the eight stories I recommended were new to me. I recommend reading the eight stories rated “Very good” or better. I don’t recommend reading the entire The Outer Reaches: Favorite Science-Fiction Tales Chosen by Their Authors to most people.
I am reading Strange Ports of Call, August Derleth editor, 1948 Pellegrini & Cudahy. I am hoping it is an improvement over The Other Side of the Moon, August Derleth editor, 1949 Pellegrini & Cudahy and The Outer Reaches: Favorite Science-Fiction Tales Chosen by Their Authors, August Derleth editor, 1951 Pellegrini & Cudahy. It is explicitly stated to be science fiction, although I know Derleth has a broad definition there. If this does not pick up, I might be done reading August Derleth anthologies.
Finally, I had previously read “My Best Science Fiction Story“, Oscar J. Friend & Leo Margulies editors, 1949 Merlin Press. This is another anthology where it is claimed the authors selected the stories to be included. My overall, average rating for those stories was 3.58/5, or “Good”, with eight stories where I really questioned the selection. My general comment (see my review) was:
I do recommend it, but only to those with a substantial interest in SF before 1950 or in the reasons for the author’s choices.
That’s two speculative fiction anthologies with stories that were either stated as “My Best Science Fiction Story” or were called “Favorite Science-Fiction Tales Chosen by Their Authors”. Although I do suspect that editors Oscar J. Friend & Leo Margulies and August Derleth did have a hand in the stories chosen, I conclude that this general arrangement might be helpful for selling books but not for selecting great material.
DETAILED REVIEWS/COMMENTS – DEFINITELY SOME SPOILERS
“Foreword”, an essay by August Derleth. See above.
George Salter cover
“Interloper“, a novelette by Poul Anderson, F&SF April 1951. This is great early Poul Anderson. His story intro is quite articulate, noting “Myth and folklore have always fascinated me, together with history, anthropology, and the contrasts and conflicts of races and culture. Something of all that has gone into Interloper, as well as consideration of a question old in science-fiction but rarely handled with much thoroughness: How do you go about exploiting a backward planet, and why do you want to do it anyway?” Beoric comes to Earth and the attention of alien visitors who are living on Earth for their own purposes. Humans do not know there are aliens on Earth, and those that do know are ridiculed. Beoric is revealed to be a non-human but sentient humanoid native to Earth. Beoric and the other aliens have psionic powers beyond humans. He and the others of his race, who are nocturnal and essentially elves, steal an alien space ship to leave Earth. This felt a little like a story I had read before a long ago. Confirmed, as this is in the 1958 Berkley abridged paperback edition I own. Other reprints include Fiction #3 February 1954 (in French), the Poul Anderson collection Fantasy, 1981 Tor/Pinnacle, and They’re Here!, Hank Davis & Sean C. W. Korsgaard editors, 2023 Baen Books. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Elton Fax illustration
“Death Sentence“, a short story by Isaac Asimov, Astounding November 1943. This is a kind of fun, non-mainstream Asimov robot story, but ordinary. Read first for 1944 Retro Hugo Award nominations. A social misfit discovers a world of protoplasmic positronic robots who have been the subject of a 15,000 year experiment. After leaving to warn the Second Confederation (or something like that), he gets angry and goes back to warn the robot world because he likes them. We find out his destination is New York! There are inklings in the story that might relate to something like psychohistory. Upgraded to “Good” on reread. Asimov’s story introduction has is good, about how important selling this story after a year of working at the Philadelphia Naval Yard with a new wife and not writing. This was published after both first Foundation stories (two in 1942) and the first positronic robot stories (1940 and on), but seems out of sequence and series with both of them. I am somewhat underwhelmed by the voting for the Retro Hugo Awards; this was a runner-up to winner “R is For Rocket” (AKA “King of the Gray Spaces”) by Ray Bradbury. This kind of voting for Asimov because it’s Asimov is one of the reasons the Retro Hugo Awards were terminated. Other reprints included Galassia #77 May 1967 (in Italian), Histoires galactiques, Jacques Goimard, Demètre Ioakimidis, & Gérard Klein editors, 1975 Le Livre de Poche (in French), String 4 1991 (in Romanian), and many Asimov collections including The Early Asimov or, Eleven Years of Trying, 1972 Doubleday. Rated 3.4/5, or “Good”.
“This Is the Land“, a short story by Nelson S. Bond, Blue Book Magazine April 1951. A very good story of underground survivors of three huge wars, with the last destroying Earth’s atmosphere. The eight survivors were scientists in an underground complex. The father of them, the last survivor, is laid to rest, and they return underground. The now eldest turns them all off, as the last eight are all robots. Other reprints include the Bond collection No Time Like the Future, 1954 Avon, and Nova SF* #39 January 1979 (in Italian). Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
Charles Chickering illustration for “This Is The Land”
“Ylla” (AKA “I’ll Ask For Wine”), a Martian Chronicles short story by Ray Bradbury, Maclean’s January 1, 1950. A romance, of a Martian woman and an Earth man who have never met. Her husband might have killed the Earth man. I assume I read this in The Martian Chronicles a long time ago, but not remembered. Other reprints include the Bradbury collection The Martian Chronicles, 1950 Doubleday (in innumerable editions), Argosy July 1950, Fantasesso, Alex Vairo editor, 1967 Feltrinelli (in Italian), Histoires parapsychiques, Jacques Goimard, Demètre Ioakimidis, & Gérard Klein editors, 1983 Le Livre de Poche (in French), Space Movies II: Famous Science Fiction Television Series, Peter Haining editor, 1996 Severn House, Fernes Licht, Wolfgang Jesschke editor, 2000 Heyne (in German), and Lost Mars: The Golden Age of the Red Planet, Mike Ashley editor, 2018 British Library Publishing. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
Don Anderson illustration
No artist credited
“The Green Cat“, a short story by Cleve Cartmill, Worlds Beyond January 1951. A man picks inexplicably up a green cat and takes it home. He and his family appear to be under its influence. The green cat sends a message to outer space in a space ship that notes “It’s okay. Come on in”. We don’t know if this will be good or bad for Earth and humans. Other reprints in Supernatural Cats, Claire Necker editor, 1972 Doubleday, and Nova SF* #39 January 1979 (in Italian). Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
“Git Along!“, a Viagens Interplanetarias short story by L. Sprague de Camp, Astounding August 1950. A scoundrel and conman steals an idea for a Dude Ranch on an alien planet, along with ID and clothes. He sets it up when the man he swindled shows up. I could not finish, just bored
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2026-10-21 03:05:15 GMT

“The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2026”, Olivie Blake & John Joseph Adams editors, October 20, 2026
The Short: As always, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2026, Olivie Blake & John Joseph Adams editors, October 2026 Mariner, includes ten short fiction stories each of fantasy and science fiction. Twelve of these were new to me. There is also great essay content, with a “Foreword” by series editor John Joseph Adams, an “Introduction” by editor Olivie Blake, “Contributor’s Notes” which include some bio/career info on each author and some discussion by them on the stories, and essay “Other Notable Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025”. My favorites were two superlative Thomas Ha stories, “The Patron“, a short story, The Sunday Morning Transport April 2025 (new to me), and “In My Country”, a short story, Clarkesworld April 2025. My overall, average rating was 3.82/5, or “Great”. Recommended. I continue to be very happy this series reprints short speculative fiction from North America.
The Long: As noted elsewhere (such as in my essay “‘The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2021’ Veronica Roth/John Joseph Adams editors, 2021 Mariner Books”), I love “Year’s Best” and “Best of 20XX” anthologies. Especially with several of these, it’s a great way to triangulate on both the best short fiction and what is going on thematically within SFF that year.
Looking at my records, I have been reading these since the second one, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016, Karen Joy Fowler editor, 2016 Mariner. I have not read every single one, but I have read more than half. My reactions have varied, with some stories included that I either dislike or cannot finish reading. That’s life; my tastes never match that of an editor exactly.
I believe that the process by Adams and his editors has substantial limitations, such as “American” short fiction works. Furthermore, as I have noted elsewhere, I find the statement by Adams that these are truly blind readings by the editors to select the 20 works to be somewhat hopeful.
Regardless of my modest quibbles, I am still very pleased to see this anthology show up. In this era of uncertain publishing of Year’s Best/Best of 20XX anthologies, the The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy series, John Joseph Adams series editor with yearly editors, is a welcome presence.
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2026, Olivie Blake & John Joseph Adams editors, October 2026 Mariner, includes ten short fiction stories each of fantasy and science fiction. It also includes great essay content, with a “Foreword” by series editor John Joseph Adams, an “Introduction” by editor Olivie Blake, “Contributor’s Notes” which include some bio/career info on each author and some discussion by them on the stories, and essay “Other Notable Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025”. It includes 432 pages, and will be available in paperback, e-book, audio book, and audio CD.
No artist identified in ARC
I read the “Foreword” by series editor John Joseph Adams and the “Introduction” by editor Olivie Blake with interest before reading the fiction, especially as I was not familiar with Olivie Blake. I did not read the “Contributor’s Notes” until afterwards; finding that it included essay content about the stories by the authors, I was pleased about making that decision.
My favorites were two superlative Thomas Ha stories, “The Patron“, a short story, The Sunday Morning Transport April 2025 (new to me), and “In My Country”, a short story, Clarkesworld April 2025. I love science fiction best of the speculative fiction genres, and this may have played a role in my choices here.
After that, there were fourteen great stories.
“What We Don’t Know About Angels“, a short story by Kristina Ten, Lightspeed February 2025, rated 4/5, or “Great”.
“Never Eaten Vegetables“, a novelette by H.H. Pak, Clarkesworld January 2025, rated 4/5.
“A Nameless Thing“, a short story by P.C. Verrone, FIYAH Fall 2025, rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“An Even Greater Cold to Come“, a short story by Rich Larson, Clarkesworld April 2025, rated 3.8/5.
“Catch a Tiger in the Snow“, a short story by Ray Nayler, Asimov’s November-December 2025, rated 3.8/5.
“Chickenfoot Soup“, a short story by Marika Bailey, Lightspeed January 2025, rated 3.8/5.
“Drosera regina“, a short story by A.L. Goldfuss, Lightspeed October 2025, rated 3.8/5.
“Human Voices“, a novelette by Isabel J. Kim, Lightspeed September 2025, rated 3.8/5.
“Kolumbo 1619: Choose Your Own Adventure“, a short story by KÃNYIN Olorunnisolo, khoréo December 2024 & May 2025 podcast, rated 3.8/5. An author new to me that I will look for.
“Made to Be Broken“, a short story by Kari Maaren, The Orange & Bee, February 2025, rated 3.8/5. An author new to me that I will look for.
“Squid Teeth“, a novelette by Sarah Langan, Reactor May 7, 2025, rated 3.8/5.
“The Knight and the Butcherbird“, a novelette by Alix E. Harrow, 2025 Amazon Original Stories, rated 3.8/5.
“Shorted“, a novelette by Alex Irvine, Reactor July 30, 2025, rated 3.8/5.
“We, the Fleet“, a novelette by Alex T. Singer, Clarkesworld May 2025, rated 3.8/5.
There were four very good stories that I enjoyed reading:
“Domestic Disputes“, a short story by Naomi Kanakia, Lightspeed July 2025, rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
“Five Things You Can See“, a short story by Nadia Radovich, Strange Horizons May 2025, rated 3.7/5.
“The Name Ziya“, a novelette, by Wen-Yi Lee, Reactor June 18, 2025, rated 3.7/5.
“Resurrection Rum“, a short story by Stephanie Malia Morris, PodCastle 16 September 2025, rated 3.7/5.
As observed by John Joseph Adams, none of these were from an anthology (for the first time ever) or from a collection. I was pleased to find a great story from a genre source I was not familiar with, “Made to Be Broken“, a short story by Kari Maaren, from The Orange & Bee. I was glad there were two great stories by authors I was not familiar with, “Kolumbo 1619: Choose Your Own Adventure“, a short story by KÃNYIN Olorunnisolo, and the Kari Maaren story.
It’s just my personal opinion, but two novelettes included as fantasy, “The Knight and the Butcherbird” by Alix E. Harrow and “Squid Teeth” by Sarah Langan, could have been interpreted as science fiction. However, this is genre nit-picking that had no impact on my enjoyment of these two stories.
There were five stories from Lightspeed included, edited by John Joseph Adams. There were about that many works edited by John Joseph Adams in the 60 stories listed in “Other Notable Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2025”. I am not questioning any story inclusion, but John Joseph Adams certainly knew these stories well.
I loved the essay content, especially the somewhat over the top but sincere “Introduction” by Olivie Blake. I liked that she talked about her process to select the 20 stories included, and what got her attention about those stories.
My overall, average rating for The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2026 was 3.82/5, or “Great”. Recommended. I continue to be very happy this series reprints short speculative fiction from North America in the SF and fantasy areas (for the full criteria for inclusion, see the “Foreword”.
I will still read other Best Of/Year’s Best anthologies for speculative fiction published in 2025. The two I am aware of are “The Best Science Fiction of the Year: 2025“, Neil Clarke editor, 2026 Wyrm Publishing, and “Locus Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year: Volume 1“, Jonathan Strahan editor, 2026 Locus. Although I expect some overlap with these two anthologies due to be published by the end of the year, there is enough divergence that it should be worth reading all three of these. Editors have different tastes. The two upcoming anthologies noted above draw short fiction from beyond just North America. The upcoming “The Best Science Fiction of the Year: 2025“, Neil Clarke editor, 2026 Wyrm Publishing, will be only SF.
DETAILED REVIEWS/COMMENTS – SURELY SOME SPOILERS HERE
“Foreword”, an essay by series editor John Joseph Adams. Great like always. He explains why Olivie Blake was chosen. He adds a Novels/Novella section in his discussion although none are included, given that he has started publishing the Robot Wizard Zombie Crit! Newsletter, which covers some of those longer form works.
“Introduction”, an essay by editor Olivie Blake. Great introduction. Very personal yet insightful, somewhat over the top, with information on her selection process and what resonated for her on the works she selected.
Thomas Brissot cover
“In My Country”, a short story, Clarkesworld April 2025. A superlative story by a man in a country where there is no king. However, you can be sent to the far fields for education, and no one ever comes back. His son is a writer who crosses the line and is sent to the far fields. His daughter either dies or joins the Fallow (revolutionaries). This seems to have elements of Cambodia and the Killing Fields. Hugo and Locus Award winner, Nebula and World Fantasy Award nomination. Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.
“Resurrection Rum“, a short story by Stephanie Malia Morris, PodCastle 16 September 2025. Robert Howard and the Browntown Boys are African-American bootleggers with a price on their heads from a corrupt white sheriff. The Wanted Posters are great. Resurrection rum brings back their white driver, the son of the sheriff and killed by the sheriff. Misunderstandings lead to a massive explosion and the death of the sheriff. They relocate to Norfolk. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
Erin Jia cover
“Shorted“, a novelette by Alex Irvine, Reactor July 30, 2025. A great story of a social capital influencer, corporate villains, getting shorted, and solving his own planned murder. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Tithi Luadthong cover
“Drosera regina“, a short story by A.L. Goldfuss, Lightspeed October 2025. A horrifying but wonderful story about a young woman who discovers she is a Venus fly trap sexually, and scumbag, lowlife, sexual predators are attracted to her. She eats them. She will be lonely, but she is living life on her terms. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“Five Things You Can See“, a short story by Nadia Radovich, Strange Horizons May 2025. A very good story of a teen whose mother has died and whose future self is training to survive an apocalypse. Seems very time travel looplike. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
Liu Zishan cover
“Human Voices“, a novelette by Isabel J. Kim, Lightspeed September 2025. A great story of a siren and three siblings abandoned by their parents. The middle sister has captured the siren, suspecting it killed the older brother. It did. There is very interesting dynamic between the two remaining sisters and the siren, who is not the brother. Finally, at the end, the siren cuts out everything else and comes back as the brother. Great plot and characters. Ignyte Award nomination. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Liu Zishan cover
“Domestic Disputes“, a short story by Naomi Kanakia, Lightspeed July 2025. An entertaining and insightful story of a Galactic Hero and her not so much partner. Rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
Liu Zishan cover
“What We Don’t Know About Angels“, a short story by Kristina Ten, Lightspeed February 2025. Clem (or “Clementine”) reluctantly works for disposable pod coffee company Chernobog. According to Wikipedia, Chernobog could be a Slavic god of misfortune, or could be associated with the Devil. Either way, a very interesting name for a coffee company. Clem’s girlfriend Sabrina has terminal cancer. Clem grows many, many extra fingers all over her body. Sabrina decides to end it all, and Clem and her extra fingers help. My first story read by Kristina Ten that I loved, and I will be looking for more. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.
Alex Rommel cover
“Never Eaten Vegetables“, a novelette by H.H. Pak, Clarkesworld January 2025. Wow. What a great and heartbreaking story of an AI generation ship sent to plant a Corporation population of infants on a new world. Things go wrong, and embryos gestate early. Bad things happen. Ship Never Eaten Vegetables does the best they can, but does not get the help or direction needed. Time goes on, and a trial for Never Eaten Vegetables is held with the Corporation. Senator Luwa, one of the survivors, points out that her research has shown Corporation malfeasance, and threatens the Corporation if Never Eaten Vegetables is terminated. The Corporation backs off. Just as great on reread. Hugo Award winner, Nebula and Ignyte Award nomination. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.
“Made to Be Broken“, a short story by Kari Maaren, The Orange & Bee, February 2025. The meat eating Crow and the Curator are in their place. A young woman falls through a manhole to their place. She is not eaten, but explains our screwed up world. She is allowed to take many of kinds of magic items with her back to our world. Crow and the Curator decide to come with her. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Diego Penuela cover
“Kolumbo 1619: Choose Your Own Adventure“, a short story by KÃNYIN Olorunnisolo, khoréo December 2024 & May 2025 podcast. Horrifying yet matter of fact training aid, perhaps, for Black interactions with the police. Of course, it requires perfect performance to survive, and even that is doubtful. Although I love this story, I wonder about it’s inclusion in the context of publication date. Adams notes in his “Foreword” that consideration criteria includes publication as text in 2025. December 2024 is outside of that. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Tithi Luadthong cover
“Chickenfoot Soup“, a short story by Marika Bailey, Lightspeed January 2025. Marnie has a teen daughter, the result of out of wedlock teen sex with a smooth talking older man. Marnie slaughters chickens and meets Baba Yaga, who might be taking a vacation or perhaps is there to help Marnie. Marnie takes care of the smooth man who sings to and is hoping to have sex with her daughter. Life is good. Chickenfoot soup as presented is probably not chicken. This is the best story I have read by Marika Bailey, and I will be looking for more. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Shutterstock cover
“Catch a Tiger in the Snow“, a short story by Ray Nayler, Asimov’s November-December 2025. A great story inspired by a mondegreen, of two very different people in a world with memory tailors who can erase parts of memory but must be careful of the gap. I started this, put it aside, but then came back and loved it. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Chloé Biocca cover
“Squid Teeth“, a novelette by Sarah Langan, Reactor May 7, 2025. Fantasy/horror, although it could be interpreted as SF. A woman is a spinner in a world where people have ink sacs in their heads and can spin clay plates in their mouths. The most popular of them can make big bucks. She sacrifices her principles and accepts surgery and a squid in her mouth. Her work is more perfect, but no longer creative. Stoker Award nomination. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“An Even Greater Cold to Come“, a short story by Rich Larson, Clarkesworld April 2025. A horrifying story of two little sisters amid a conflict, and their pregnant mother. Their mother gives birth to their brother when soldiers come,; the brother is a cloud of ravenous bio/nano machines. Most will die in the cities. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Odera Igbokwe cover
“A Nameless Thing“, a short story by P.C. Verrone, FIYAH Fall 2025. Ike and Chloe are platonic roommates in Hollywood, in 1973. They are both African-American and from Kansas. Ike is a screenwriter on the make, getting good money for uncredited screen plays during a writer’s strike. Chloe is an actor on Easy Livin’, a Sanford and Son knockoff. Ike is also queer and working as a sex worker to make ends meet. Ike is having blackouts after sex, gradually realizing people are missing too. He realizes he is harboring an Elder Horror entity. A Sun-Ra appearing occult group appeals to him to give it up, but he thinks about it and he likes it. Chloe is involved with a Black Power group. Ike and his entity magically remove (eat?) the many police from the outside of a studio taken over by Chloe’s group. The revolution has begun, an
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2026-10-19 03:31:50 GMT

“The Regicide Report”, Charles Stross, 2026 Tor, and the Laundry Files series
The Short: Charles Stross has finished* his Laundry Files series almost 25 years after starting it with The Regicide Report, January 2026 Tor. It’s a great, breakneck thriller of occult skullduggery and conflict with more than a touch of humor that brings the Laundry Files to a very satisfying conclusion. Strongly recommended.
Fred Gambino (variant of The Road to Nightfall 1996) cover
The Long: The first part of the Laundry Files series by Charles Stross was serialized as The Atrocity Archive in Paul Fraser‘s Spectrum SF #7 November 2001, Spectrum SF #8 May 2002, and Spectrum SF#9 November 2002. This was followed by publication as a novel in the Charles Stross collection The Atrocity Archives, 2004 Golden Gryphon Press, which also included The Concrete Jungle, a Laundry Files novella original to the collection, and essays by Charles Stross and Ken MacLeod.
ISFDB has an on-target description of The Atrocity Archive:
In a world where magic has been transformed into a reliable technology by application of advanced mathematics and is closely restricted by classified bureaus of the world’s governments, an IT support worker for the British service is assigned to a minor field assignment, only to become embroiled in a fight against creatures from a parallel universe who wish to consume ours.
I first encountered the Laundry Files when I read the 2006 Ace Books version of the The Atrocity Archives. My Book Database notes on that were “Great, mind-bending meeting of Len Deighton and H. P. Lovecraft – loved it” and I rated it “Superlative”. I have been reading the Laundry Files ever since, and loving them.
You could argue that it’s science fiction given that advanced mathematics (and programming or coding) means this is science fiction, but I am sticking with horror with a big dash of humor.
The big concern in this series and the universe depicted is Case Nightmare Green. As Reactor notes in their A Primer on Charles Stross’s The Laundry Files (2018), Case Nightmare Green is:
the Laundry’s plan for managing the impending Lovecraftian Singularity caused by the proliferation of computing machinery (including human brains) eating holes in the structure of reality. This is a runaway positive feedback loop, for as it proceeds magic becomes easier to practice, and an increasing number of uncontrolled magical phenomena intrude into our world, from amateur sorcerers discovering hitherto untapped powers, to the emergence of godlike alien intelligences out of legend and nightmare.
Depending upon where you are in reading the Laundry Files, there are possible spoilers at that Reactor post.
I have been looking forward for a while to how Charles Stross would wrap up the series. He has talked about this and other issues periodically at his blog antipope.org.
When I saw that the Stross novel The Regicide Report would be released in January 2026 and that it would wrap up the Laundry Files, I was pretty excited. There was also a bit of trepidation – would he stick the landing? I thought he would, but still…
The Regicide Report by Charles Stross was published January 2026 Tor, and also includes a useful one page Acknowledgements essay. The hardback is 336 pages. It’s also available in e-book, digital audio download, and audio CD. There is no trade paperback at this time.
Michael Heath cover
Bob (Howard) and his now wife Mo are both high level sorcerer’s at the Laundry. They are facing a number of challenges, such as the impending death of Her Royal Majesty Elizabeth, which signals big changes and opportunities for various godlike Elder intelligences to end our world as we know it. They also face the plotting of the Black Pharaoh’s somewhat human version Fabian Everyman, who both wants to retain power as the Prime Minister and to bring the even more godlike extra-dimensional entity he embodies to Earth.
Further complicating things is the plotting of Dr. Phibes, who is the doctor for HRM Elizabeth. He is plotting to use some power from the death of the queen to bring back his somewhat dead wife. There is another occult assassin involved. The Dr. Phibes movies, both real and imagined, play a role. Dr. Mabuse is mentioned as well.
The King in Yellow and the Matter of Britain both figure.
It’s a great, breakneck, thrilling end to the series after almost 25 years. Despite the very serious issues depicted, I love the humor of the series as well. I love the fun Easter Eggs from our universe (I wish I had taken notes on them all), and that the Epilogue frames the whole series as a report, making it epistolary. I think Stross nailed the ending. Strongly recommended.
*At top start of this essay, I said this:
Charles Stross has finished* his Laundry Files series almost 25 years after starting it with The Regicide Report, January 2026 Tor.
His August 2026 blog entry “Crib sheet: The Regicide Report” has quite a bit of speculation about this. He states that the main thrust of the Laundry Files is completed with The Regicide Report. However, there are both possible short works and novels in the New Management spinoff/sub-universe. Looking at this blog entry also runs the risk of spoilers.
When and whether any of these possible New Management works come out is definitely TBD. I remain hopeful, although I am also pleased that Charles Stross is working on a space opera, as his SF is amazing.
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2026-10-18 03:07:25 GMT

“The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Fourth Annual Collection”, Gardner Dozois editor, 1987 St. Martin’s Press
The Short: I read The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Fourth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois editor, 1987 St. Martin’s Press for the first time. In addition to a typically wonderful “Summation: 1986” essay and the “Honorable Mentions: 1986” essay by Gardner Dozois, it includes 27 works of short fiction. My favorites include the classic “The Winter Market“, a novelette by William Gibson, Interzone Spring 1986, and the superlative “R & R“, a novella by Lucius Shepard, Asimov’s April 1986, “Against Babylon“, a novelette by Robert Silverberg, Omni May 1986 (new to me), and “Tangents“, a short story by Greg Bear, Omni January 1986. I was pleased that it included ten more great stories I had never read before. My overall, average rating was 3.84/5, or “Great”. Strongly recommended.
The Long: I have been reading Gardner Dozois anthologies for a long time, with The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Third Annual Collection, 1986 St. Martin’s Press, the first that I own and read. My Book Database rated that one as “Great”.
I am far from a completist in terms of reading his The Year’s Best Science Fiction series (first on Bluejay and then on St. Martin’s Press) or the one preceding it, Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year (Sixth through Tenth) on E. P. Dutton. Looking at my Book DB, I have read less maybe one third of them. Clearly, I generally like them but have never felt the need to read each one.
Piet Nel of my Best Science Fiction and Fantasy – Short Fiction group on Facebook suggested that we should read The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Fourth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois editor, 1987 St. Martin’s Press. I believe he suggested it because he had purchased it ten years ago so he could read the stories on the 30th anniversary of their publication. While that did not happen, we agreed with him that reading it now was a good idea. I agreed because I checked my Book DB and found that I had never read it.
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Fourth Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois editor, 1987 St. Martin’s Press, includes a wonderful “Summation: 1986” essay and the “Honorable Mentions: 1986” essay by Gardner Dozois, and includes 27 works of short fiction from 1986. Those 27 stories include ten short stories, 16 novelettes, and one novella. Dozois also provides modest but helpful author bio/ story introduction essays. That’s 602 pages of fiction. The cover notes “More Than 250,000 Words of Fantastic Fiction.”
Alan Gutierrez cover
I was pleased to find that 19 of the 27 stories were either completely new to me or ones that I had no memory of reading.
My favorite story was the “The Winter Market“, a novelette by William Gibson, Interzone Spring 1986, rated 4.5/5, or “A classic”.
Following close behind that were “R & R“, a novella by Lucius Shepard, Asimov’s April 1986, “Against Babylon“, a novelette by Robert Silverberg, Omni May 1986 (new to me), and “Tangents“, a short story by Greg Bear, Omni January 1986, all rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.
There were 19 stories that I felt were “Great”:
“Tattoos“, a novelette by Jack Dann, Omni November 1986, rated 4/5, or “Great”. New to me.
“Night Moves“, a novelette by Tim Powers, 1986 Axolotl Press chapbook, rated 4/5.
“The Prisoner of Chillon“, a novelette by James Patrick Kelly, Asimov’s June 1986, rated 4/5.
“Sallie C.“, a short story by Neal Barrett, Jr., from The Best of the West, Joe R. Lansdale editor, 1986 Doubleday, rated 4/5. New to me.
“Jeff Beck“, a short story by Lewis Shiner, Asimov’s January 1986, rated 4/5. New to me.
“Strangers on Paradise“, a short story by Damon Knight, F&SF April 1986, rated 4/5. New to me.
“Pretty Boy Crossover“, a short story by Pat Cadigan, Asimov’s January 1986, rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.
“Grave Angels“, a novelette by Richard Kearns, F&SF April 1986, rated 3.9/5. Author and story new to me.
“The Beautiful and the Sublime“, a novelette by Bruce Sterling, Asimov’s June 1986, rated 3.9/5.
“Surviving“, a novelette by Judith Moffett, F&SF June 1986, rated 3.9/5.
“Down and Out in the Year 2000“, a short story by Kim Stanley Robinson, Asimov’s April 1986, rated 3.9/5. New to me.
“Fiddling for Waterbuffaloes“, a novelette by S. P. Somtow, Analog April 1986, rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
“Sea Change“, a short story by Scott Baker, F&SF March 1986, rated 3.8/5. Story and author new to me.
“The Pure Product“, a novelette by John Kessel, Asimov’s March 1986, rated 3.8/5.
“And So to Bed“, A Different Flesh short story by Harry Turtledove, Analog January 1986, rated 3.8/5. New to me.
“Fair Game“, a short story by Howard Waldrop, from Afterlives, Pamela Sargent & Ian Watson editors, 1986 Vintage Books, rated 3.8/5.
“Video Star“, a novelette by Walter Jon Williams, Asimov’s July 1986, rated 3.8/5.
“The Gate of Ghosts“, a novelette by Karen Joy Fowler, from the first Karen Joy Fowler collection, Artificial Things, 1986 Bantam Spectra, rated 3.8/5. A story new to me; I need to read this collection.
“Hatrack River“, an Alvin Maker novelette by Orson Scott Card, Asimov’s August 1986, rated 3.8/5.
There were three stories that I rated “Very good”. Upon checking, I had read all of these before in reprint but had not remembered them. While these did not get to “Great” for me and I might have selected other stories for this anthology, I was pleased to reread all of them.
“Covenant of Souls“, a novelette by Michael Swanwick, Omni December 1986, rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”.
“Snake-Eyes“, a Halo short story by Tom Maddox, Omni April 1986, rated 3.7/5.
“Into Gold“, a novelette by Tanith Lee, Asimov’s March 1986, rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”.
Finally, there was one story that I could not finish reading, “Chance“, a novelette by Connie Willis, Asimov’s May 1986, rated 2/5, or “Did not finish”. This story of regret about the past went nowhere for me, and the characters bored me. I could not even tell if it was speculative fiction or not, although a more thorough read might pin that down. This could be the first Connie Willis work I have not been able to finish. It was a World Fantasy Award nomination. Dozois published it in Asimov’s before including it here, and included it again in Modern Classics of Science Fiction, Gardner Dozois editor, 1992 St. Martin’s Press, so he clearly liked it.
I loved 23 of the 27 stories included, and liked three more. While I might have selected four different stories, I am very appreciative of this look at what Gardner Dozois thought were the best stories of 1986.
The elephant in my room is the inclusion by Dozois of stories that are not science fiction. I have been aware of this choice by him for quite some time. It’s not something that I object to, but it’s worth discussion.
Dozois first edited a “Year’s Best” volume with Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Sixth Annual Collection, 1977 E. P. Dutton. He took over editing that series from Lester Del Rey.
I read that volume a few years ago, so I have information and opinions. The cover, and indeed the covers of the entire E. P. Dutton series by both Del Rey and Dozois, noted “Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year”.
The “Introduction – Summation: 1976” essay by Dozois had this to say about the transition to his editorship. He is explicit in saying that his taste is his own.
What he does not say is whether he plans to include only science fiction or not in this series. Looking at my notes on reading the stories in Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year: Sixth Annual Collection, they all looked liked science fiction to me.
I have not read the Seventh through Tenth E. P. Dutton volumes to see if Dozois included only SF in them or not, nor read all of the Introduction essays to see what Dozois might have said on the subject.
The Dozois The Year’s Best Science Fiction series on St. Martin’s Press consistently featured covers with the phrase “More Than XXX Words of Fantastic Fiction”. It was 250,000 words for a long time, and then 300,000 words. Either way, that’s a lot of great short fiction curated by one of my favorite editors.
When I reviewed The Year’s Best Science Fiction, First Annual Collection, Gardner Dozois editor, 1984 Bluejay Books (see my review), it included five out of 25 stories that I felt were not SF. That aligned with the cover phrase “More Than 250,000 Words of Fantastic Fiction”.
For The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Fourth Annual Collection, I consider ten out of 27 stories as not SF.
“Hatrack River“, an Alvin Maker novelette by Orson Scott Card, Asimov’s August 1986, rated 3.8/5, or “Great”. Fantasy.
“Into Gold“, a novelette by Tanith Lee, Asimov’s March 1986, rated 3.6/5, or “Very good”. Fantasy.
“Sea Change“, a short story by Scott Baker, F&SF March 1986, rated 3.8/5, or “Great”. Could have been written as SF but ended up more like fantasy.
“Covenant of Souls“, a novelette by Michael Swanwick, Omni December 1986, rated 3.7/5, or “Very good”. Seems like fantasy as written, but could have been written as SF.
“Grave Angels“, a novelette by Richard Kearns, F&SF April 1986, rated 3.9/5, or “Great”. Fantasy.
“Tattoos“, a novelette by Jack Dann, Omni November 1986, rated 4/5, or “Great”. Fantasy/horror.
“Night Moves“, a novelette by Tim Powers, 1986 Axolotl Press chapbook, rated 4/5, or “Great”. Fantasy.
“Chance“, a novelette by Connie Willis, Asimov’s May 1986, rated 2/5, or “Did not finish”. Not at all sure how to categorize this story, but not SF.
“Fair Game“, a short story by Howard Waldrop, from Afterlives, Pamela Sargent & Ian Watson editors, 1986 Vintage Books, rated 3.8/5, or “Great”. Rather meta but not SF.
“The Gate of Ghosts“, a novelette by Karen Joy Fowler, from the first Karen Joy Fowler collection, Artificial Things, 1986 Bantam Spectra, rated 3.8/5, or “Great”. Fantasy/horror.
Eleven of the stories were first published in Asimov’s, which Gardner Dozois was editing. He is honest about this, mentioning it in the Introduction. Although Dozois was a very broad consumer of short speculative fiction from 1986, he certainly loved more than a few stories that he bought. This seems very human to me. I have not done the work to consider if this unduly biased his choices and led to a lesser “Year’s Best” for 1986 short fiction.
For all my whinging about stories that are not science fiction, it’s a great anthology with great stories and essay content that is a great view of short SFF in 1986. I am very glad I read it, with eleven stories and several authors that were new to me that I will be looking for. My overall, average rating for the short fiction was 3.84/5, or “Great”. Strongly recommended, even with one story that I really feel Dozois whiffed on by choosing.
My thanks to Piet Nel for the suggestion to read it. I am not sure I will ever read all of these Dozois “Year’s Best” anthologies, but I will continue to look forward to reading them.
REVIEWS/DETAILED COMMENTS – CERTAINLY SOME SPOILERS!
“Introduction: Summation: 1986”, an essay by Gardner Dozois. A typical great introduction and summation of the Sf and speculative fiction year. I had not put the pieces together, but Dozois spelled it out; his Years Best went from Bluejay to St. Martin’s because of the Bluejay demise.
J. K. Potter cover for “R & R”
“R & R“, a novella by Lucius Shepard, Asimov’s April 1986. An American soldier in a war in Guatemala goes on R&R with his two buddies. After interesting and disturbing events, he alone returns to duty. A very good story of alienation, uncertainty and war. In the story intro, Dozois notes “… quite likely the single best story to appear in the genre this year.” On reread, even better, upgraded to “Superlative”, or 4.1/5, from 3.8/5. Locus and Nebula Award winner, Hugo Award finalist. Other reprints in the Shepard collection The Jaguar Hunter, 1987 Arkham House (where I first read it), The 1987 Annual World’s Best SF, Arthur W. Saha & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1987 DAW Books, Nebula Awards 22: SFWA’s Choices for the Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 1986, George Zebrowski editor, 1988 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, and The Best of Lucius Shepard, 2008 Subterranean Press (strongly recommended, see my review). Rated 4.1/5, or “Superlative”.
“Hatrack River“, an Alvin Maker novelette by Orson Scott Card, Asimov’s August 1986. This novelette comprises the first five chapters of the 1987 Card novel Seventh Son, which I loved when it was published. I don’t think I have ever read just the novelette before. A story of magic and pioneers in early America, in Ohio. The seventh son of a seventh son, is born. Little Peggy the torch sees the problem and gets people going to help Alvin Jr. and his family when the Hatrack River tried to kill them. Fantasy, not SF. Other reprints include Terry Carr’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year #16, Terry Carr editor, 1987 Tor, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazin 30. Folge, Friedel Wahren editor, 1987 Heyne (in German), Science Fiction almanah Monolit knjiga 6, Boban Knežević editor, 1990 Znak Sagite (in Serbian), The American Fantasy Tradition, Brian M. Thomsen editor, 2002 Tor, and New Magics: An Anthology of Today’s Fantasy, Patrick Nielsen Hayden editor, 2004 Tor. Rated 3.8/5, or “Great”.
Nicholas Jainschigg illustration
Ron Walotsky cover
“Strangers on Paradise“, a short story by Damon Knight, F&SF April 1986. A great story of Mr. Selby, who comes to the very purposefully isolated world of Paradise to write a biography of a famous poet who stopped writing ten years before death. Humans who have come there have no human disease, and they are reluctant to allow visitors to prevent disease. He is grateful they agreed to his visit. The native species are not compatible with humans, so they cannot be infected from them (I am not sure I find this plausible). Researching her papers and carvings, he finds that the humans killed the aboriginals when they arrived. He leaves and goes back to Earth and will never write the biography. I think this story is new to me. Other reprints include Fiction #379 October 1986 (in French), The 1987 Annual World’s Best SF, Arthur W. Saha & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1987 DAW Books, Millemondiestate 1987: 3 Romanzi brevi e 13 Racconti, Gianni Montanari editor, 1987 Mondadori (in Italian), Masters of Darkness II, Dennis Etchison editor, 1988 Tor, and the Damon Knight collection One Side Laughing: Stories Unlike Other Stories, 1991 St. Martin’s Press. Rated 4/5, or “Great”.
“Pretty Boy Crossover“, a short story by Pat Cadigan, Asimov’s January 1986. Great story of a young man who is very happening and who might be asked to join the digital existence. He decides not to. Nebula Award nomination. Other reprints include The 1987 Annual World’s Best SF, Arthur W. Saha & Donald A. Wollheim editors, 1987 DAW Books, Sirius #142 March 1988 (in Croatian), Univers 1989 March 1989 (in French), the Pat Cadigan collection Patterns, 1989 Ursus Imprints, Atomic Avenue, Michael Nagula editor, 1990 Heyne (in German), The Legend Book of Science Fiction, Gardner Dozois editor, 1991 Legend, Simulations: 15 Tales of Virtual Reality, Karie Jacobson editor, 1993 Citadel Twilight, Paragons: Twelve Master Science Fiction Writers Ply Their Craft, Robin Wilson editor, 1996 St. Martin’s Press, Beyond Flesh, Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois editors, 2002 Ace Books, Gigamesh 41 September 2005 (in Spanish), The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., Arthur B. Evans, Joan Gordon, Veronica Hollinger, Rob Latham, & Carol McGuirk editors, 2010 Wesleyan University Press, Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction, Leigh Ronald Grossman, 2011 Wildside Press (I might have read it here first), and The Big Book of Cyberpunk, Jared Shurin editor, 2023 Vintage Books. Rated 3.9/5, or “Great”.
Terry Lee illustration
“Against Babylon“, a novelette by Robert Silverberg, Omni May 1986. Another story I don’t think I have read before. A superlative story of aliens coming to Los Angeles during fire season, with their ships ac
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2026-10-16 03:12:24 GMT

“In Space, No One Can Hear You Laugh: Humor in Sci-fi”, an Lacon V panel
The Short: I had a great virtual panel on humor in contemporary SF at Lacon V with authors Effie Seiberg, Olivia Waite, and Valerie Valdes, and fan and quiz enthusiast Brick Barrientos. We came up with a great list of panel and audience recommendations for humor in contemporary SF, with some humorous fantasy and older Sf as well. My thanks to my fellow panelists for making this a fun, entertaining and helpful experience.
The Long: I signed up to moderate a virtual panel at Lacon V (the 2026 World Science Fiction Convention) on humor in SF. I volunteered to do this because I love humor in SF, although in my opinion the paucity of great humorous in SF signals to me that either it is hard to do or not that easy to publish. It assumed it would be a fun subject and that I might get some TBR recommendations, which I did! I also volunteered to do this because I have some history in moderating panels, and I believe I am reasonably good at it.
The panel included authors Effie Seiberg (author of Nebula Award winner and Hugo Award finalist and very funny short story “Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything“, Diabolical Plots May 2025) , Olivia Waite (New York Times Book Review romance fiction columnist and author of Hugo Award finalist and Locus Award nomination novella “Murder by Memory“, a novella, 2025 Tordotcom), and Valerie Valdes (author of the humorous Arthur C. Clarke Award finalist novel Chilling Effect and co-editor of Escape Pod which has multiple Hugo Award finalist finishes), and fan and quiz enthusiast Brick Barrientos.
Before the panel, I communicated with Effie, Olivia and Valerie and we came up with a game plan and questions for the panel. We shared some of our favorite funny SF, which became the basis for our Media Recommendations that were posted to the panel Discord afterwards. Finally, we concluded that “contemporary” for us generally meant 21st Century,
The panel description was:
Dystopias got you down? Let’s turn that frown upside down with a discussion about humor in science fiction and what examples stand out in contemporary publishing.
I started by introducing myself, and mentioned that we would take questions at the end via Zoom chat. I noted that we would focus on 21st Century SF as “contemporary”, but that we would surely talk about some older works and also dip into funny fantasy.
I asked Olivia, Brick, Valerie and Effie to introduce themselves and mention why they were on the panel.
Most of the titles we discussed here are SF unless noted otherwise, but the information on the list is definitive on our opinions on this issue. The list I have linked to is updated slightly from the prior version posted to Discord, with a few spelling errors corrected and a bit more information added on a few entries.
For all of the “quotes” of the panelists below, I have edited for length and clarity and removed some of the verbal mannerisms we all have. I hope I have preserved the meaning and general conversation.
We continued with this question, “Is it difficult to write good science fiction that is funny or humorous? Any thoughts on why?”
Effie had thought about the question and was quite articulate.
I think writing humor is tricky, whether it’s in SF or in anything else, in that everyone’s sense of humor is different. Something that for me is completely hilarious might completely bomb for you. One thing I figured out pretty early in my writing career is that, if you’re writing science fiction and the dialogue isn’t good, but everything else is strong, it’s fine because everything else will carry it. Or if the worldbuilding is kind of weak, but everything else is strong, that will carry it. But if your humor doesn’t land, even if everything else is strong, you have broken the experience completely. You have disappointed the reader, and they hate you now…it’s tougher to write humorous science fiction, because you take a smaller slice of the world that is science fiction fans, and then out of those, you have the even smaller slice of people who agree that you are funny, and that’s a small set of people as an available audience.
Valerie added this:
Just to echo what Effie said, I definitely think that humor is just difficult, period, because of what she talked about in terms of the subjectivity of it, that what makes one person laugh isn’t gonna make another person laugh. I think for science fiction we may be relying on specific knowledge or allusions or life experiences, so if you don’t have a science background, potentially some of that stuff isn’t going to land as much. I think of the XKCD comic about average familiarity, and how experts wildly overestimate how much the average person knows about their field. So, you’re gonna make a feldspar joke, huh? It’s not necessarily gonna land for everyone. I also think humor relies on surprise a lot of the time, and the kind of people reading science fiction are maybe harder to surprise, a little more skeptical, a little deeper knowledge. So in that sense, maybe it’s easier to write humorous sci-fi. Regardless, I think humor also requires a level of observation, just a level of interest that I think science fiction is really good at. We are a lot of nerds who are just deeply interested in stuff. While I don’t think the core components of humor are especially different, it is really just about what people are doing with it, what the subject matter is, what the story is, and what the characters are doing.
Brick continued on with:
The surprise you have to have in science fiction is based on knowing what is the setup in your world. There is also a quote by someone to the effect that horror is when it happens to you and humor is when it happens to someone else.
I mentioned that I had been thinking about what a writer has to do to successfully write good science fiction, and that adding funny to that is like adding a whole new skill and perhaps a complicating factor in the writing. I asked if there was anything to this?
We talked a bit about how horror and comedy can be related. Olivia mentioned that Mel Brooks had said that about comedy and tragedy. Looking this up today, Mel Brooks said this in the 2000-Year Old Man Album, 1963:
To me, tragedy is if I’ll cut my finger. That’s tragedy. It bleeds, and I’ll cry, and I’ll run around, and I’ll go into Mount Sinai for a day and a half. I’m very nervous about it. And to me, comedy is if you walk into an open sewer and die. What do I care? That’s comedy. My finger is important.
Olivia continued with:
There’s this idea that comedy is a skill in itself, that you have to practice, something you have to develop, something you have to work on. Two of my favorite current funny science fiction writers are mostly in the romance space, where a lot of this stuff is happening, Kimberly Lemming and Constance Fay, and both of them have this slightly exaggerated horror element. Kimberly Lemming has these heroines who are spunky Earth women, and her heroes are 8-foot tall, horned, fire-breathing alien men. The battle scenes are surprisingly gory, and it throws you off. There’s a scene in her recent one where a heroine has just been kidnapped by aliens, and ends up on a massive, terrifying battle field with dinosaurs and these fire-breathing horned aliens, and she’s so upset by the carnage that she gets sick. The aliens see this, and think, how kind of her to spit acid at our enemies. She must be on our side. This brings up the idea that comedy must be rooted in a point of view. That’s where the Mel Brooks quote really shines, because the perspective on the event happening doesn’t just depend on the nature of the event, whether it’s a big thing like dying or a small thing like a hangnail. It depends on who is looking at it and where they’re standing. Creating that for a reader is really difficult.
Effie added this:
I think speculative fiction, whether fantasy, horror, or science fiction, is actually really ripe for comedy, and in particular satire, because you can take any element of reality today that you don’t like and want to make fun of. You can take that and exaggerate it into something fantastical, or science fictional, or whatever, and now you have the beginnings of your worldbuilding. You can use this not only as a tool towards not just the comedy but also towards making a point from your own perspective that regular, modern literary fiction doesn’t get to do. Yes, it’s an additional thing you have to learn, and it’s a skill, but you also get a way better toolkit to do it.
Next, I asked, “What draws us to write humor, and how do we approach the process?”
Valerie kicked this off with:
I definitely like to write humor because the world is a hot mess, and I need a break, and it helps me process and helps me get my head around it. I also think that humor can be a great way to observe reality around us, and break it down to components, take it apart, look at all the pieces, and consider what makes it tick, along with a number of questions including “why is it doing this?”, “What are we doing?”, “Why are we like this?”, “How did we get here?”, and “How did this happen to us?” That sort of observation and analysis can lead to insights that are humorous because they’re showing a deeper understanding of the material, of human nature, of society, of cultures, of technology, and then with science fiction we are projecting all of that stuff forward, sideways, backwards, sometimes into these what-ifs, and “If this, then what else?” The humor can come from something we’ve created and saying, “Okay, but you see how this is silly? If you turn it around, or if you look at it from this other angle, or if you extrapolate this into some other dimension, or extend it forward into the future in a very specific way, you see how this is really ridiculous?” Humor can be a way of finding and communicating these different truths about things that is sort of like hiding a pill in a piece of cheese so your dog will eat it. This is not to say that humor is necessarily, intrinsically pedantic, or that it’s trying to teach you lessons, or what have you, or Ursula K. Le Guin would roll over in her grave. But a lot of good, deep humor does have these kinds of core truths that you may not notice consciously because you are laughing and its funny. But you do recognize them, and you relate to them, and that’s how you are kind of interacting with the comedy of it.
Valerie continued with this:
That’s part of what makes it dangerous. When you are making a joke, you are kind of making a claim about truth, and you’re expecting your audience to buy in with you. This is why we have so many arguments about what’s funny and what’s over the line, and things like that. You’re staking a claim, and you’re establishing the basis for disagreement or agreement. If you agree, you get this wonderful catharsis, and if you don’t, you get this very negative catharsis. It’s a very high-stakes juggling act.
Brick noted:
Humor can be the one that effectively gets at the root of it more than just pointing it out. Some people don’t like to be laughed at.
Effie responded:
The basis for not just getting a message across, but to activate people….[she recounted the story of the Barrel of Laughs action against the Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević, which activated action against him with humor and was today’s equivalent of going viral – DEH]…so, it’s not only a way of making a message more palatable. It also dismantles a lot of barriers that people have from connecting with that truth, and when they can connect with that truth, they can act more effectively.
Olivia added:
And that self selection in and out, the way it takes all of the people kind of choosing in, that’s part of what distinguishes the really fascinating kind of humor, the rebellion kind of humor, from something that’s just straightforward mockery, which can be less useful. There’s a kind of humor where by mocking someone you think you have taken action, and that’s not necessarily always the case.
Valerie came back with:
There is also the saying that it’s only gallows humor if it’s your neck in the noose. To some extent, whoever is doing the thing that is humorous, it can be contextually important to note that if you’re an outsider mocking a thing, it may be not as useful or successful as if you are the person being affected by it.
Effie added:
Rage about our current reality has proven very, very fruitful for writing. I’ve written many political satires in the past year and a half, and many non-political satires as well, and some of us need that catharsis, either from writing it or from reading it, and just showing that you are not alone in that rage. This makes it easier for that sharing experience to spread.
We moved on to “Examples of great ‘contemporary’ SF that include humor, including short novels, short fiction & anthologies?“
Olivia mentioned:
Kimberly Lemming, high-spice, wacky hijinks end of the scale [Lemmin’s novel I Punched an Alien and Now We’re in Couples Therapy, 2026 Berkley, is on the list].
Rebecca Fraimow, for her novel Lady Eve’s Last Con, 2024 Solaris [on the list], wonderful sapphic space heist that’s based on old screwball comedy.
Anne Leckie, who Olivia felt does not get enough credit for humor. She notes finding quite a bit in the Imperial Radch trilogy, and that it’s more of Leckie using humor to help give you the tools to process challenges.
Effie started with book length works:
Martha Wells’ Murderbot series (we all endorsed these).
Unidentified Funny Objects, a series of anthologies from 2012 to 2026 UFO Anthology Series, Alex Shvartsman editor.
The Chilling Effect series by Valerie Valdes.
She went on to discuss short fiction:
McSweeney’s on the Internet. Meg Elison‘s work there, Chris Baker with “Why Are You So Surprised That All The Office Chairs On Earth have Simultaneously Achieved Sentience and Started Killing Everyone“.
Mari Ness, with “Enchanted Mirrors Are Making a Comeback“, Psychopomp 89, and “The Great Sock Experiment“, Bourbon Penn 39.
The Escape Artists podcast.
Brick added:
Starter Villain, a novel by John Scalzi, 2023 Tor.
Dreadful, a novel by Caitlin Rozakis, 2024 Titan Books.
Connie Willis short fiction, such as her Christmas stories like “All Seated on the Ground“.
Star Trek: Lower Decks, animated TV series.
He mentioned that in Murderbot, and elsewhere, part of the humor worked because it was looking at the situation from the perspective of a outsider.
Before we moved on, I reminded our audience that most of these examples were on our list, which will be shared.
Valerie had these, noting they’re often Escape Pod stories:
The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, a 2023 Tor novel by Samit Basu. First person, very strong opinions.
Murderbot by Martha Wells, same deal.
Innkeeper Chronicles, a series by Ilona Andrews (Andrew and Ilona Gordon). SF/fantasy, absurd situational humor and wry quips.
Midsolar Murders, a series by Mur Lafferty, Ace.
“I am Graalnak of the Vroon Empire, Destroyer of Galaxies, Supreme Overlord of the Planet Earth. Ask Me Anything.“, 2015 flash fiction by Laura Perlman. It’s epistolary, which I love.
From Escape Pod which she edits, “The Automatic Grocery Store“, Escape Pod 19 February 2026 by GM Paniccia (I need to read this, as it features a dog), Rocky Cornelius stories short stories by Andrew Dana Hudson, “Grifting the Zaxonite“, Escape Pod 11 September 2025 by Cooper C. Wilms, “A Thousand Names for God and Infinite Mustard“, Escape Pod 3 July 2025 by Matt Wallace, “That Thing With Bob and the Crop Circles“, Escape Pod 15 May 2025 by T. Kingfisher, “The Interdimensional Rift at the Lucky Sunrise Bingo Palace“, Escape Pod 3 March 2025 by Ryan Cole, and “Laser Squid Goes House Hunting“, Escape Pod 18 August 2022 by Douglas DiCicco.
Brick mentioned the “Take a Look at the Five and Ten” novella by Connie Willis.
I talked about novels:
Two novels by Connie Willis, Bellwether, 1996 Bantam Spectra (a bit out of our contemporary window), and The Road to Roswell, 2023 Del Rey.
When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi, 2025 Tor.
I continued with a bit of short fiction:
“R.U.R.-8?“, a short story by
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