This edition of The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Three © 2009 by Night Shade Books
Cover art © 2009 by Fred Gambino
Cover design by Eugene Wang
Interior layout and design by Ross E. Lockhart
Introduction, story notes and arrangement © 2009 by Jonathan Strahan.
First Edition
ISBN: 978-1-59780-149-2
Night Shade Books
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www.nightshadebooks.com
"Exhalation," by Ted Chiang. © 2008 Ted Chiang. Originally published in Eclipse Two (Night Shade Books). Reprinted by permission of the author and the Virginia Kidd Agency.
"Shoggoths in Bloom," by Elizabeth Bear. © 2008 Elizabeth Bear. Originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction, March 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel," by Peter S. Beagle. © 2008 Peter S. Beagle. Originally published in Strange Roads (Dreamhaven Books). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Fixing Hanover," by Jeff VanderMeer. © 2008 Jeff VanderMeer. Originally published in Extraordinary Engines (Solaris Books). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Gambler," by Paolo Bacigalupi. © 2008 Paolo Bacigalupi. Originally published in Fast Forward 2 (Pyr Books). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Dust Assassin," by Ian McDonald. © 2008 Ian McDonald. Originally published in The Starry Rift (Viking). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Virgin," by Holly Black. © 2008 Holly Black. Originally published in Magic in the Mirrorstone (Mirrorstone). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Pride and Prometheus," by John Kessel. © 2008 John Kessel. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Thought War," by Paul McAuley. © 2008 Paul McAuley. Originally published in Postscripts 15, September 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Beyond the Sea Gates of the Scholar Pirates of Sarsköe," by Garth Nix. © 2008 Garth Nix. Originally published in Fast Ships, Black Sails (Night Shade Books). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Small Door," by Holly Phillips. © 2008 Holly Phillips. Originally published in Fantasy Magazine, May 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Turing's Apples," by Stephen Baxter. © 2008 Stephen Baxter. Originally published in Eclipse Two (Night Shade Books). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates," by Stephen King. © 2008 Stephen King. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October/November 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Five Thrillers," by Robert Reed. © 2008 Robert Reed. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Magician's House," by Meghan McCarron. © 2008 Meghan McCarron. Originally published in Strange Horizons, July 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Goblin Music," by Joan Aiken. © 2008 The Estate of Joan Aiken. Originally published in The Serial Garden. Reprinted by permission of the author's agent.
"Machine Maid," by Margo Lanagan. © 2008 Margo Lanagan. Originally published in Extraordinary Engines (Solaris Books). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Art of Alchemy," by Ted Kosmatka. © 2008 Ted Kosmatka. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss," by Kij Johnson. © 2008 Kij Johnson. Originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction, July 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Marry the Sun," by Rachel Swirsky. © 2008 Rachel Swirsky. Originally published in Fantasy Magazine, June 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Crystal Nights," by Greg Egan. © 2008 Greg Egan. Originally published in Interzone, April 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"His Master's Voice," by Hannu Rajaniemi. © 2008 Hannu Rajaniemi. Originally published in Interzone, October 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Special Economics," by Maureen F. McHugh. © 2008 Maureen F. McHugh. Originally published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy (Del Rey). Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment," by M. Rickert. © 2008 M. Rickert. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October/November 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled . . . ," by Michael Swanwick. © 2008 Michael Swanwick. Originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction, February 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"If Angels Fight," by Richard Bowes. © 2008 Richard Bowes. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"The Doom of Love in Small Spaces," by Ken Scholes. © 2008 Ken Scholes. Originally published in Realms of Fantasy, April 2008. Reprinted by permission of the author.
"Pretty Monsters," by Kelly Link. © 2008 Kelly Link. Originally published in Pretty Monsters: Stories (Viking). Reprinted by permission of the author.
Each year the list of people who need to be thanked for their support in producing this preposterously complicated book grows and grows. This year I'm going to try to keep it as tight as possible. I'd especially like to thank Alicia Krasnostein, Ben Payne, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts from Not If You Were the Last Short Story on Earth who acted as readers for this book. Their honesty and support contributed inestimably to the book you now hold, and kept me honest when my spirits flagged at the sheer volume of fiction to be read and considered. I'd also like to thank Gary K. Wolfe and Charles N. Brown, for sharing their friendship and wisdom while I was assembling this book; and of course Howard Morhaim; Justin Ackroyd; Jack Dann; Brian Bieniowski; and Gordon Van Gelder. Thanks also to the following good friends and colleagues without whom this book would have been much poorer, and much less fun to do: Lou Anders, Deborah Biancotti, Ellen Datlow, Gardner Dozois, Sean Williams, and all of the book's contributors.
As always, my biggest thanks go to Marianne, Jessica, and Sophie. Every moment spent working on this book was a moment stolen from them. I only hope I can repay them.