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

IN ADDITION, THERE ARE TWENTY MORE STORIES HERE BY THE FIELD'S MASTERS AND BY UP-AND-COMING NEW WRITERS, INCLUDING:

• William Barton
• Stephen Baxter
• Rob Chilson
• Tony Daniel
• Cory Doctorow
• Greg Egan
• Jim Grimsley
• Gwyneth Jones
• Chris Lawson
• Tanith Lee
• Paul J. McAuley
• Ian McDonald
• Robert Reed
• William Browning Spencer
• Allen Steele
• Michael Swanwick
• Howard Waldrop
• Cherry Wilder
• Liz Williams
• Robert Charles Wilson

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.

But be prepared. While this book is packed with the year's