Publisher details: "Long regarded as the premier annual collection of science fiction stories, Gardner Dozois's latest volume of The Year's Best Science Fiction continues this tradition of excellence with twenty-five representing the finest offerings in the field.
Among the gems included here are:
"Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, in which the story of alien contact and a very human drama merge beautifully
"The Island of the Immortals" by Ursula K. Le Guin, in which a brave traveler investigates the reasons why people shun the exotic island
"Approaching Perimelasma" by Geoffrey A. Landis, which boldly takes us into a black hole and through the stunning changes that ensue
"Taklamakan" by Bruce Sterling, a wildly inventive tale of future spies in a Lost World
"The Summer Isles" by Ian R. MacLeod, a moving novella reflecting an alternate history in which the Great War turned out a bit differently
Completing the collection are Dozois's insightful survey of the year in science fiction and a long list of Honorable Mentions.
With its explorations of outer space and inner space, with its examinations of what it means to be human today and tomorrow, and with its love of a good yarn, this volume remains the single best source for science fiction stories.
Table of Contents:
Summation: 1998 - essay by Gardner Dozois
Oceanic - (1998) - novella by Greg Egan
Approaching Perimelasma - (1998) - novelette by Geoffrey A. Landis
Craphound - (1998) - shortstory by Cory Doctorow
Jedella Ghost - (1998) - shortstory by Tanith Lee
Taklamakan - (1998) - novelette by Bruce Sterling
The Island of the Immortals - (1998) - shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Sea Change, with Monsters - (1998) - novella by Paul J. McAuley
Divided by Infinity - (1998) - novelette by Robert Charles Wilson
US - (1998) - shortstory by Howard Waldrop
The Days of Solomon Gursky - (1998) - novella by Ian McDonald
The Cuckoo's Boys - (1998) - novella by Robert Reed
The Halfway House at the Heart of Darkness - (1998) - shortstory by William Browning Spencer
The Very Pulse of the Machine - (1998) - novelette by Michael Swanwick
Story of Your Life - (1998) - novella by Ted Chiang
Voivodoi - (1998) - shortstory by Liz Williams
Saddlepoint: Roughneck - (1998) - novella by Stephen Baxter
This Side of Independence - (1998) - shortstory by Rob Chilson
Unborn Again - (1998) - shortstory by Chris Lawson
Grist - (1998) - novella by Tony Daniel
La Cenerentola - (1998) - shortstory by Gwyneth Jones
Down in the Dark - (1998) - novelette by William Barton
Free in Asveroth - (1998) - shortstory by Jim Grimsley
The Dancing Floor - (1998) - novelette by Cherry Wilder
The Summer Isles - (1998) - novella by Ian R. MacLeod
Honorable Mentions: 1998 - essay by Gardner Dozois
Series: The Year's Best Science Fiction: Book 16
Cover details: Bob Eggleton