Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year

Strahans fifth anthology contains 29 wide-ranging tales. Neil Gaimans The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains is a deceptively simple folktale-styled story of the price one may pay for gold. The Sultan of the Clouds by Geoffrey Landis untangles a complex knot of childish power. Sarah Rees Brennans The Spy Who Never Grew Up gives a beloved childhood icon a sinister update; Diana Peterfreunds The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn turns unicorn lore on its head; and Rachel Swirskys The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queens Window puts a fantasy spin on the temporal culture shock of immortality. This year the fantasy tales outdo the SF in depth of storytelling and characterization, though all the inclusions are strong, with few ideas left by the wayside.