* Bova, Ben : The Best of Bova, Vol. 2
(Baen 978-1-4767-8159-4, $16, 432pp, trade paperback, July 2016, cover art Adam Burn)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jul 2016
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 978-1-62579-510-6

Collection of stories, the second volume of three, from across Bova’s career.
• Baen’s site has this description with links to several chapters.

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* Guran, Paula, ed. : Beyond the Woods: Fairy Tales Retold
(Night Shade Books 978-1-59780-838-5, $15.99, 536pp, trade paperback, July 2016)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jul 2016

Anthology of 30 stories of fairy-tale retellings.
• Authors include Tanith Lee, Gene Wolfe, Yoon Ha Lee, Kelly Link, Margo Lanagan, Neil Gaiman, Gardner dozois, Ken Liu, and Jeff VanderMeer.
• Night Shade’s site has this description with the table of contents.

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* Reynolds, Alastair, edited by Jonathan Strahan & William Schafer : Beyond the Aquila Rift: The Best of Alastair Reynolds
(Subterranean Press 978-1-59606-766-0, $45, 784pp, hardcover, June 2016)
Nominal Publication Date: Thu 30 Jun 2016

Anthology of 18 stories from across Reynolds’ career.
• Subterranean’s site has this description with the table of contents.
• Amazon’s “Look Inside” function provides previews.
Publishers Weekly gives it a starred review: “When Reynolds resorts to twist endings, the final revelations are logical and never gimmicky, serving a larger purpose than simply causing shock or surprise. Readers will greatly appreciate the breadth and variety of this deeply enjoyable collection.”
• Paul Di Filippo reviewed the book for Locus Online: ” This collection should stand as a cornerstone of the contemporary SF edifice, showing us exactly how to elegantly fuse those separate but overlapping magisteria.”

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* Simak, Clifford D. : Earth for Inspiration and other stories
(Open Road B01FGVUVX8, $7.99, 309pp, ebk, July 2016)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 5 Jul 2016
• SF Encyclopedia: Clifford D. Simak

Collection of 11 stories, including the classic “Desertion”.
• This is the ninth volume in Open Road’s “complete short fiction” of Simak, that began last year. Open Media’s site has this description.
• Fourth volume Grotto of the Dancing Deer was listed here in March, with links to earlier volumes; subsequent volumes were No Life of Their Own, New Folks’ Home, A Death in the House, and Good Night, Mr. James.

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* VanderMeer, Ann, & Jeff VanderMeer, eds. : The Big Book of Science Fiction
(Random House/Vintage 978-1-101-91009-2, $25, 31+1178pp, trade paperback, July 2016)
Nominal Publication Date: Tue 12 Jul 2016
Ebook ISBN [link to Amazon Kindle edition]: 9781101910108

Massive retrospective anthology of 105 SF stories, with an emphasis on including non-English language writers.
• Authors include H.G. Wells, W.E.B. Du Bois, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Jorge Luis Borges, Clifford D. Simak (“Desertion”, noted above), Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, J.G. Ballard, R.A. Lafferty, Frederik Pohl, Samuel R. Delany, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Silverberg, James Tiptree Jr., George R.R. Martin, William Gibson, Angelica Gorodischer, Michael Moorcock, Connie Willis, Gene Wolfe, Kim Stanley Robinson, Leena Krohn, Robert Reed, Cixin Liu, Ted Chiang — and many others.
• Penguin Random House’s site has this description with an excerpt of the introduction.
Publishers Weekly gives it starred review: “The VanderMeers, longtime SF/F editors, provide a critical survey of the field as well as incisive biographies of the contributors. The book is dedicated to the late Judith Merril, one of SF’s most highly regarded anthologists, and it is a worthy homage to her enshrinement of genre excellence.”

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