Lit Reactor’s Chris Rosales heaps praise upon The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume 2.

The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume 2 is a great addition to any reader’s library because it chronicles the genres’ changes over time. All of the stories are enjoyable, despite older Sci-Fi’s occasional tendency to come off precisely as Dirda claims it does not, which is “out of date or corny”; I agree wholeheartedly with him that even when out of date, these stories are not “irrelevant”. In fact, I’d just as quickly recommend this anthology for use as a textbook in a Science-Fiction writing or reading class as I would for a pleasant poolside reader, as we wean ourselves off summer.

What’s more, the anthology’s final story, Paper Menagerie, is the best choice for the end of an anthology representing the best of two genres that deserve to be read as Literature. Liu’s story, published in 2011, was the first story ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and the World Fantasy awards, and it is a work of art. Save it for the end, and savor it. In it, a woman breathes life into origami pets she makes for her son, and he finally learns how to appreciate them far too late.

Read the rest of Rosales’ review at Lit Reactor.

For more info on The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Volume 2, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Thomas Canty.