From Hugo Award-winning editor Neil Clarke, the best science fiction stories of the year are collected in a single paperback volume.

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Clarke, publisher and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed and award-winning magazine Clarkesworld, has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year’s writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome sensawunda that the genre has to offer.

When We Were Starless-Simone Heller
Intervention-Kelly Robson
ll the Time We’ve Left to Spend-Alyssa Wong Domestic Violence-Madeline Ashby
Ten Landscapes of Nili Fossae-Ian McDonald
Prophet of the Roads-Naomi Kritzer
Traces of Us-Vanessa Fogg
Theories of Flight-Linda Nagata
Lab B-15-Nick Wolven
Requiem-Vandana Singh
Sour Milk Girls-Erin Roberts
Mother Tongues-S. Qiouyi Lu
Singles’ Day-Samantha Murray
Nine Last Days on Planet Earth-Daryl Gregory
The Buried Giant-Lavie Tidhar
The Anchorite Wakes-R.S.A. Garcia Entropy
War-Yoon Ha Lee
An Equation of State-Robert Reed
Quantifying Trust-John Chu
Hard Mary-Sofia Samatar
Freezing Rain, a Chance of Falling-L.X. Beckett
Okay, Glory-Elizabeth Bear
Heavy Lifting-A.T. Greenblatt
Lions and Gazelles-Hannu Rajaniemi
Different Seas-Alastair Reynolds
Among the Water Buffaloes, a Tiger’s Steps-Aliette de Bodard
Byzantine Empathy-Ken Liu
Meat and Salt and Sparks-Rich Larson
Umbernight-Carolyn Ives Gilman