A collection spotlighting the “best of the best” science fiction stories published in 2016 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster.

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• “The Art of Space Travel” by Nina Allan — The staff of a hotel prepares for the crew of a one-way mission to Mars on the heels of earlier disasters.

• “They Have all One Breath” by Karl Bunker — An artist and his wife search for fulfillment in a utopian world created by AIs.

• “Patience Lake” by Matthew Claxton — An injured military cyborg helps defend a farm family that has rendered him aid.

• “Touring with the Alien” by Carolyn Ives Gilman — In a top secret job, an all too conscious bus driver takes a non-cognizant alien and his human translator on a tour of the United States.

• “My Generations Shall Praise” by Samantha Henderson — A woman on death row is persuaded to have her mind overwritten so that a wealthy relative can use her as a host body.

• “Elves of Antarctica” by Paul McAuley — People adapting to a melted Antarctica evolve new folklore, superstitions, and myths.

• “Red in Tooth and Cog” by Cat Rambo — A woman acquires a keen interest in the small domestic appliance AI ecosystem that evolves in a park after her phone is stolen.

• “Parables of Infinity” by Robert Reed — An ancient robot tells a human how it helped build the Great Ship, a planet-sized starship, from hyperfiber.

• “Prodigal” by Gord Sellar — An uplifted family dog questions the relationship between dogs and humans and then takes action.

• “Terminal” by Lavie Tidhar — In a Bradburyesque tale, people go to Mars via cheap, one-person, one-way spacecrafts called jalopies.