The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 15 Read online

  THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF

  BEST NEW

  SCIENCE FICTION

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  THE MAMMOTH BOOK

  OF BEST NEW

  SCIENCE FICTION

  15th Annual Collection

  Edited by

  GARDNER DOZOIS

  ROBINSON

  London

  Constable & Robinson Ltd

  55–56 Russell Square

  London WC1B 4HP

  www.constablerobinson.com

  First published in the USA by St. Martin’s Press 2002

  First published in the UK by Robinson,

  an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd 2002

  Copyright © Gardner Dozois 2002

  All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in

  Publication Data is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 1–84119–586–3

  eISBN 978–1–78033–720–3

  Printed and bound in the EC

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to print the following material:

  “New Light on the Drake Equation,” by Ian R. MacLeod. Copyright 2001 by SCIFI.COM. First published electronically on SCI FICTION, May 23, 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Susan Ann Protter.

  “More Adventures on Other Planets,” by Michael Cassutt. Copyright 2001 by SCIFI.COM. First published electronically on SCI FICTION, January 10, 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “On K2 with Kanakaredes,” by Dan Simmons. Copyright 2001 by Dan Simmons. First published in Redshift (Roc), edited by Al Sarrantonio. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “When This World Is All on Fire,” by William Sanders. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Computer Virus,” by Nancy Kress. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, April 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Have Not Have,” by Geoff Ryman. Copyright 2001 by Spilogale, Inc. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Lobsters,” by Charles Stross. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Dog Said Bow-Wow,” by Michael Swanwick. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Chief Designer,” by Andy Duncan. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Neutrino Drag,” by Paul Di Filippo. Copyright 2001 by SCIFI.COM. First published electronically on SCI FICTION, August 22, 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Glacial,” by Alastair Reynolds. Copyright 2001 by Alastair Reynolds. First published in Spectrum SF 5. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Days Between,” by Allen Steele. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, March 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “One-Horse Town,” by Howard Waldrop and Leigh Kennedy. Copyright 2001 by SCIFI.COM. First published electronically on SCI FICTION, March 4, 2001. Reprinted by permission of the authors.

  “Moby Quilt,” by Eleanor Arnason. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, May 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agents, the Virginia Kidd Literary Agency.

  “Raven Dream,” by Robert Reed. Copyright 2001 by Spilogale, Inc. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Undone,” by James Patrick Kelly. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Real Thing,” by Carolyn Ives Gilman. Copyright 2001 by Spilogale, Inc. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Interview: On Any Given Day,” by Maureen F. McHugh. Copyright 2001 by Maureen F. McHugh. First published in Starlight 3 (Tor), edited by Patrick Neilsen Hayden. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Isabel of the Fall,” by Ian R. MacLeod. Copyright 2001 by Interzone. First published in Interzone, July 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Susan Ann Protter.

  “Into Greenwood,” by Jim Grimsley. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines. First published in Asimov’s Science Fiction, September 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Know How, Can Do,” by Michael Blumlein. Copyright 2001 by Spilogale, Inc. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Russian Vine,” by Simon Ings. Copyright 2001 by SCIFI.COM. First published electronically on SCI FICTION, June 6, 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Two Dicks,” by Paul McAuley. Copyright 2001 by Spilogale, Inc. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “May Be Some Time,” by Brenda W. Clo
ugh. Copyright 2001 by Dell Magazines, Inc. First published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, April 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Marcher,” by Chris Beckett. Copyright 2001 by Interzone. First published in Interzone, October 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Human Front,” by Ken MacLeod. Copyright 2001 by Ken MacLeod. First published as a chapbook, The Human Front (PS Publishing). Reprinted by permission of the author.

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Summation: 2001

  NEW LIGHT ON THE DRAKE EQUATION Ian R. MacLeod

  MORE ADVENTURES ON OTHER PLANETS Michael Cassutt

  ON K2 WITH KANAKAREDES Dan Simmons

  WHEN THIS WORLD IS ALL ON FIRE William Sanders

  COMPUTER VIRUS Nancy Kress

  HAVE NOT HAVE Geoff Ryman

  LOBSTERS Charles Stross

  THE DOG SAID BOW-WOW Michael Swanwick

  THE CHIEF DESIGNER Andy Duncan

  NEUTRINO DRAG Paul Di Filippo

  GLACIAL Alastair Reynolds

  THE DAYS BETWEEN Allen M. Steele

  ONE-HORSE TOWN Howard Waldrop and Leigh Kennedy

  MOBY QUILT Eleanor Arnason

  RAVEN DREAM Robert Reed

  UNDONE James Patrick Kelly

  THE REAL THING Carolyn Ives Gilman

  INTERVIEW: ON ANY GIVEN DAY Maureen F. McHugh

  ISABEL OF THE FALL Ian R. MacLeod

  INTO GREENWOOD Jim Grimsley

  KNOW HOW, CAN DO Michael Blumlein

  RUSSIAN VINE Simon Ings

  THE TWO DICKS Paul McAuley

  MAY BE SOME TIME Brenda W. Clough

  MARCHER Chris Beckett

  THE HUMAN FRONT Ken MacLeod

  HONOURABLE MENTIONS: 2001

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The editor would like to thank the following people for their help and support: Susan Casper, Ellen Datlow, Craig Engler, Peter Crowther, Paul Frazier, Mark R. Kelly, Gordon Van Gelder, David Pringle, Mark Watson, Eileen Gunn, Sheila Williams, Brian Bieniowski, Trevor Quachri, Michael Swanwick, Linn Prentis, Vaughne Lee Hansen, Jed Hartman, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Susan Marie Groppi, Patrick Swenson, Tom Vander Neut, Andy Cox, Steve Pendergrast, Al Sarrantonio, Laura Ann Gilman, Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Leigh Kennedy, William Sanders, Warren Lapine, Shawna McCarthy, David Hartwell, Darrell Schweitzer, Bruce Holland Rogers, Paul Witcover, Jennifer A. Hall, Bryan Cholfin, and special thanks to my own editor, Marc Resnick.

  Thanks are also due to Charles N. Brown, whose magazine, Locus (Locus Publications, P.O. Box 13305, Oakland, CA 94661, $49 for a one-year subscription [twelve issues] via second class; credit card orders (510) 339-9198), was used as an invaluable reference source throughout the Summation. Locus Online (www.locusmag.com), edited by Mark Kelly, has also become a key reference source. Thanks are also due to Andrew Porter, whose magazine, Science Fiction Chronicle (DNA Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 2988, Radford, VA 24143-2988, $45 for a one-year / twelve-issue subscription via second class), was also used as a reference source throughout.

  SUMMATION: 2001

  Right here in this space last year I talked about how we were unlikely to do any better a job forecasting what’s ahead of us in the twenty-first century then prognosticators at the beginning of the twentieth century did peering ahead at what lay in store for them, and made a (safely generalized) prediction of my own: unprecedented and unanticipated horrors and wonders both lay ahead for us. The “unprecedented horrors” part has come true with startling speed, with the atrocities of the 9/11 attacks rocking the world just a couple of months after the book hit the bookstore shelves. And it’s not impossible that there may be worse horrors yet to come. But the unprecedented and unanticipated (unpredictable, really, in the literal sense) wonders are out there too, waiting for us in the years ahead. Actually, we already live surrounded by wonders that would have dropped the jaw of anybody from the ’50s, or even the ’70s, and that would have seemed like supernatural miracles and unbelievable marvels to anybody from earlier periods; wonders large and small that affect almost every aspect of our lives . . . but they’ve become commonplace enough that we don’t notice them anymore. When the wonders that lie ahead – and I firmly believe they are out there – come along, we’ll soon ignore them and take them for granted, too. But next time things look dark, next time you’re shaken by a new tally to add to the “new horrors” category, next time somebody tells you that we’ve made no social progress in the last fifty years and things are worse now than they’ve ever been (another lie – I remember the ’50s, let alone more distant and even worse periods, and in spite of all the very real problems we still have to deal with today, today is better in almost every respect – I certainly wouldn’t swap today for yesterday, and think that most people who did so would find themselves incomparably worse-off than they are here in the twenty-first century), just remember that those peering into the onrushing twentieth century from the lip of the nineteenth could no more predict the unprecedented progress and the good things that the new century would bring than they could predict the tragedies and horrors – and that we can’t either, except to make a fairly confident assertion that there will indeed be both.

  For those of you who just peeked into the book to check: No, science fiction isn’t dead yet.

  Actually, other than the nationwide trauma and upheavals caused by the 9/11 attacks, it was another pretty quiet and stable year, on the genre level of publishing at least, although events like the reorganization of Amazon.com probably affected publishing in ways that are not yet clear. There weren’t too many big stories in 2001, as far as direct changes to the genre publishing world are concerned. One story was the demise of the much-hyped and much-talked-about iPublish, AOL-Time Warner’s e-publishing subsidiary, which failed miserably after spending spectacular amounts of money, leading neo-Luddites to dance around in joy and declare that that was the end of the e-book, whose commercial viability had thereby been disproved forever (except, of course, that it means nothing of the sort, as time will no doubt demonstrate; neither e-books nor Print-On-Demand books are going away, and sooner or later somebody will learn how to make money effectively selling them). Another big story was that Betsy Mitchell, editor-in-chief of Aspect, Warner Books’s SF and Fantasy imprint, left to become editor-in-chief of Del Rey Books.

  Most of the real action this year, though, for better or worse (actually, for better and worse), was elsewhere.

  2001 was another generally bad year in the magazine market, although we only lost one magazine this year, Aboriginal SF, as opposed to two in 2000, and there were even one or two minorly encouraging signs, with the circulation of Absolute Magnitude, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and Weird Tales creeping up a bit – although overall sales were down at several others.

  Asimov’s Science Fiction registered a 2.9 increase in overall circulation in 2001, reversing several years of decline; actually, subscription sales continued to dwindle, with Asimov’s losing 2,000 more subscribers in 2001, but newsstand sales were up more by more than 3,000 since last year. Analog Science Fiction & Fact registered a 9.7 loss in overall circulation in 2001, 4,459 in subscriptions, although newsstand sales dropped by only 200. The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction registered an 11.6 loss in overall circulation, more than 3,000 in subscriptions, but only 188 in newsstand sales. Realms of Fantasy registered a 13.6 loss in overall circulation (on the heels of last year’s 12.1 loss), losing over 1,500 in subscriptions, and over 3,000 in newsstand sales. As they have for several years now, Interzone held steady at a circulation of about 4,000 copies, more or less evenly split between subscriptions and newsstand sales.

  The new Scottish SF magazine Spectrum SF ought by rights to be listed in the semiprozine section, judging it by its circulation rate, but it’s such a thoroughly professional magazine, and such a high-quality one at that, that I’m going to list it here with the professional magazines anyway, and let the irate letters fly as they may. Spectrum SF managed only two
issues this year – they need to work on their reliability of publication – but the quality of the fiction published was very high, including strong work by Alastair Reynolds, Eric Brown, David Redd, Charles Stross, and others, and they deserve your support.

  PS Publishing (www.editorial-services.co.uk/pspublishing), a British small-press, brought out another sequence of novellas, in individual chapbook form, edited by Peter Crowther; this year’s crop was perhaps slightly less impressive overall than last year’s, but featured an excellent novella by Ken MacLeod, The Human Front, as well as other good stuff, such as A Writer’s Life, by Eric Brown, and Diamond Dogs, by Alastair Reynolds.

  Every year I have to address the question in the summation of why magazine circulation has been declining over the past several years, a question also raised on many of the convention panels that I do, and a question I do get tired of answering, since I go over it here every year, and nobody ever seems to pay any attention to what I say, so I have to repeat it all again the following year. Everyone seems to love to blame the decline in circulation of the magazines on the content, almost as if it’s punishment for sin, an idea that’s often widened beyond the magazines themselves as indication that science fiction as a genre is dying. And yet, there are technical behind-the-scenes reasons for the decline in circulation of most magazines during the last four or five years that have nothing to do with the content of the magazines, and that affect magazines way outside of genre boundaries, not just SF magazines.

  Most of these reasons have to do with the chaos in the domestic distribution network over the last few years, where distributors collapsed and absorbed each other with lightning speed, until where you once had more than three hundred such distributors, as recently as 1996, today you have so few that they can easily be counted on the fingers of one hand. This throws the whole physical way that magazines reach newsstands into total disarray, and creates a situation where there are so few distributors that they can afford to be picky and only carry the very top-selling magazines, not wanting to be bothered with the others. The large-scale collapse of the stamp-sheet industry in the last few years, which has cut way into the business that used to be generated by cut-rate stamp-sheet subscription sellers such as Publisher’s Clearing House, hasn’t helped either (although that may be a blessing in disguise, since those kind of subscriptions looked good on paper, seeming to swell your circulation figures, but usually cost more to fulfill than the revenue they actually bring in).