Title: THE YEAR'S BEST AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY (THIRD ANNUAL VOLUME)
Publisher: MirrorDanse Books
Edited by: Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt
Edition released: 2007
ISBN: 978-097577362-8
224 pages
Reviewed by: Adam Donnison

I love anthologies. They give you a chance to read authors you may not know about or choose normally. And when they feature the best authors in your country, then how can you go wrong?

THE YEAR'S BEST showcases 11 Australian authors: Kaaron Warren, Simon Brown, Margo Lanagan, Geoffrey Maloney, Terry Downling, Deborah Biancotti, Lee Battersby, Ben Peek, Chris Lawson, Kim Westwood and Alistair Ong. It is a shame to say that of these I really have only heard of two or three. But this is what anthologies are all about, introducing new readers to new authors, and this book does it well.

The stories cover a great range of the Science Fiction and Fantasy spectrum and there is sure to be one or two to appeal to any taste. Of all of the book I really only skimmed one story, and that was "Terning tha Weel" by Kim Westwood, not because it was a bad story, but because the use of a phonetic style for me came in the way of the narrative.

In any anthology you have to have a standout, and for me this was "The Souls of Dead Soldiers are for Blackbirds, not Little Boys" by Ben Peek. A quirky little story this really was poignant and thought provoking while still being entertaining.

If you want to know who to read next year, take a look at THE YEAR'S BEST and get a glimpse of the best in Australian SF&F.