The Best of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
Edited by Gardner Dozois
This is a collection of pieces published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine during the 80s. A few notable stories:
- “The Peacemaker” by Gardner Dozois: The editor apologized for including one of his own works in this collection, but I was glad he did. It was a powerful story about a post-catastrophe US. We learn about the catastrophe through a young boy, and about what a community will do to stay prosperous.
- “Fire Watch” by Connie Willis: In this story, historians travel back in time to observe history as it happens. We follow a historian as he joins the fire watch at St. Paul’s cathedral during WWII.
- “Her Furry Face” by Leigh Kennedy: This one was just disturbing. The story is about an orangutan researcher working with orangutans who have learned to communicate. The researcher falls for one of the orangutans…’nuff said.
- “Hardfought” by Greg Bear: This is one of those stories that starts long before it needed to and includes far more than it needed to tell the story that was there. I was bored before the real story even began.
The other stories were good. Overall a decent book, but not one I’d go out of my way to find.