Review of More of the Best of Science Fiction & Fantasy (ed. by unknown)

After thousands of books and stories, and almost ten years reading exclusively fantastika, there are a few things I've become aware of. One is that The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is likely the best venue for quality short fiction. Hardcore readers will have their own favorites, and within specific niches there are likely better venues available. But when looked at across the scope of fantastika, the magazine is consistently able to commission the best short fiction. Naturally, this means they are able to pull together the best anthologies. An overflow of riches, in 1995 the magazine published More of the Best of Science Fiction & Fantasy.

Things kick off with an oldie but a goodie. Precursor to 2001: A Space Odyssey, “The Sentinel” by Arthur C. Clarke channels a mysterious sense of wonder after a scientist discovers a strange artifact on the moon. Clarke really gets all he can from mood—not something you can often say about Clarke. While the story doesn't fit in very well to the rest of the collection in terms of era and style, it remains one of Clarke's absolute best shorts. A story with a dim view to human evolution, “Fat Farm” by Orson Scott Card tells of an obese businessman who checks himself into a futuristic fat clinic. They clone his sentience into a slimmer version, send it back into the real world, then give his fat self a choice: die or labor. The end of this story, while indeed dim, has more than a whim of truth to it.

With strong shades of Jurassic Park, “Our Lady of the Sauropods” by Robert Silverberg tells of a female scientist living alone with dinosaurs. Not the most profound story ever written, to say she goes native would begin to describe the tale's progression. A sentimental, almost romantic story, “Why I Left Harry's All Night Hamburgers” by Lawrence Watt-Evans tells of a teenager living in rural West Virginia. Getting a job at a local diner to earn money for his family, he soon comes to understand many late night customers are literally not of this world. Learning a valuable life lesson in the process, this story is for the dreamer in all of us.

A story with strong 2021 vibes despite being published decades ago, “Options” by John Varley tells of a world where sex changes are a quick medical procedure. Centered on an open marriage with children, the twists and turns sex-change options place upon the family feel right at home in internet dumpster fires—ahem—internet commentary, today. The sociological science has evolved since, but the sentiment still echoes, and Varley handles the subject with primarily human interest. “Feedback” by Joe Haldeman is the tale of a artist in the future who captures images with more than just paint or canvas, which leads to an interesting conundrum. The story has a very strong odor of “Here's all the research I put into art and photography.”, but is partially saved by the underlying theme.

With a premise similar to King's book The Shining, “Permafrost” by Roger Zelazny features a man living alone on an Arctic planet, overseeing the maintenance facilities through a long winter. This man classic Zelazny, he finds a peculiar ice statue in a cave one day, and his personal troubles are revealed. Closing the collection is a story with an obvious theme, “Skin Deep” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, which sees humans colonizing a planet where skin changers exist. Rusch spins this tried-and-true alien premise into a plea: Why do we value things based on appearance? Whether or not you buy into the idea humanity can escape judgment based on appearance will be the litmus test of this story.

In the end, this is not the cream of the crop from the 'best of' anthologies collecting stories from The Magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy. But it does have some solid stories worth a read. “The Sentinel” is one of the best of Clarke's short fiction ouevre. “Options” by John Varley was cutting edge at the time for its discussion on gender transitions, and now is fully in the mainstream (whether the story knows it or not). “Why I Left Harry's All Night Hamburgers” by Lawrence Watt-Evans is an innocent, pleasant piece of fiction that has been lost to time, but at least worth one read. Again, not an anthology to track down and read immediately, but if the opportunity arises, it's at least worth a read.

The following are the nine stories collected in More of the Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy:

Sentinel by Arthur Clarke

Fat Farm by Orson Scott Card

Our Lady of the Sauropods by Robert Silverberg

Options by John Varley

Why I Left Harry's All Night Hamburgers by Lawrence Watt-Evans

The Poplar Street Study by Karen Joy Fowler

Feedback by Joe Haldeman

Permafrost by Roger Zelazny

Skin Deep by Kristin Kathryn Rusch