Jonathan Strahan: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year. Volume 10

“Well,” said Delegate Garas. “You may be right, at that. And if any of this were my concern in the least, I’d be getting a headache about now. Fortunately, it’s not my problem. I’ll see you ladies on your way home and...”

“Translation unavailable,” exclaimed the Sovereign, before he could finish. Got out of the groundcar, set her empty cup on the roof with a smack, opened the driver’s door, and slid in. Closed the door behind her.

“Young lady,” Delegate Garas began.

“I am the Voice of Iss!” the Sovereign declared. She did something with the controls and the groundcar started up with a low hum. Delegate Garas frowned, looked back at Ashiban.

Ashiban wanted to go home. She wanted to rest, and go back to her regular, everyday life, doing nothing much.

There had never been much point to doing anything much, not with a mother like Ciwril Xidyla. Anyone’s wildest ambitions would pale into nothing beside Ashiban’s mother’s accomplishments. And Ashiban had never been a terribly ambitious person. Had always wished for an ordinary life. Had mostly had it, at least the past few decades. Until now.

Those Raksamat farmers wanted an ordinary life, too, and the Gidanta townspeople. The Sovereign herself had been taken from an ordinary girlhood – or as ordinary as your life could be when your grandmother and your aunt were the voice of the planet – and thrown into the middle of this.

Delegate Garas was still watching her, still frowning. Ashiban sighed. “I don’t recommend arguing, Delegate. Assassins and a flier crash in the High Mires couldn’t stop us. I doubt you can do more than slow us down, and it’s really better if you don’t. Sovereign, I think first we should have a bath and clean clothes and something to eat. And get checked out by a doctor. And maybe get some sleep.”

The Sovereign was silent for a few seconds, and then said, “All right. I agree to that. But we should start on the language lessons as soon as possible.”

“Yes, child,” said Ashiban, closing her eyes. “But not this very moment.”

Delegate Garas laughed at that, short and sharp. But he made no protest at all as the Sovereign started the groundcar moving toward town.

Selection and “Introduction” by Jonathan Strahan. Copyright © 2016 by Jonathan Strahan.

“City of Ash” by Paolo Bacigalupi. Copyright © 2015 Windup Stories Inc. Originally published in Matter , 27 June 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“The Heart’s Filthy Lesson” by Elizabeth Bear. Copyright © 2015 Elizabeth Bear. Originally published in Old Venus. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“The Machine Starts” by Greg Bear. Copyright © 2015 Greg Bear. Originally published in Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft , November 2015. This story is reprinted with the kind permission of Microsoft and the author.

“The Winter Wraith” by Jeffrey Ford. Copyright © 2015 Jeffrey Ford. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction , November-December 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Black Dog” by Neil Gaiman. Copyright © 2015 Neil Gaiman. Originally published in Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Jamaica Ginger” by Nalo Hopkinson & Nisi Shawl. Copyright © 2015 Nalo Hopkinson & Nisi Shawl. Originally published in Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany . Reprinted by kind permission of the authors.

“Drones” by Simon Ings. Copyright © 2015 Simon Ings. Originally published in Meeting Infinity . Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Emergence” by Gwyneth Jones. Copyright © 2015 Gwyneth Jones. Originally published in Meeting Infinity . Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Dancy vs. the Pterosaur” by Caitlín R. Kiernan. Copyright © 2015 Caitlin R. Kiernan. Originally published in Sirenia Digest #111. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Another Word for World” by Ann Leckie. Copyright © 2015 Ann Leckie. Originally published in Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Inspired by Microsoft , November 2015. This story is reprinted with the kind permission of Microsoft and the author.

“The Game of Smash and Recovery” by Kelly Link. Copyright © 2015 Kelly Link. Originally published in Strange Horizons , 17 December 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn” by Usman T. Malik. Copyright © 2015 Usman T. Malik. Originally published in Tor.com, 22 April 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Botanica Veneris: Thirteen Papercuts by Ida Countess Rathangan” by Ian McDonald. Copyright © 2015 Ian McDonald. Originally published in Old Venus. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Little Sisters” by Vonda N. McIntyre. Copyright © 2015 Vonda N. McIntyre. Originally published by Book View Café. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Calved” by Sam J. Miller. Copyright © 2015 Sam J. Miller. Originally published in Asimov’s Science Fiction , September 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Ghosts of Home” by Sam J. Miller. Copyright © 2015 Sam J. Miller. Originally published in Lightspeed Magazine , August 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“The Deepwater Bride” by Tamsyn Muir. Copyright © 2015 Tamsyn Muir. Originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction , JulyAugust 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“The Empress in her Glory” by Robert Reed. Copyright © 2015 Robert Reed. Originally published in Clarkesworld Magazine , April 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“A Murmuration” by Alastair Reynolds. Copyright © 2015 Alastair Reynolds. Originally published in Interzone , March-April 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Oral Arguments” by Kim Stanley Robinson. Copyright © 2015 Kim Stanley Robinson. Originally published in Tor.com , 7 December 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Water of Versailles” by Kelly Robson. Copyright © 2015 Kelly Robson. Originally published in Tor.com, 10 June 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Capitalism in the 22nd Century, or, A.I.R.” by Geoff Ryman. Copyright © 2015 Geoff Ryman. Originally published in Twelve Tomorrows . Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“The Karen Joy Fowler Book Club” by Nike Sulway. Copyright © 2015 Nike Sulway. Originally published in Lightspeed Magazine , October 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“The Lily and the Horn” by Catherynne M. Valente. Copyright © 2015 Catherynne M. Valente. Originally published in Fantasy Magazine #59, December 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Blood, Ash, Braids” by Genevieve Valentine. Copyright © 2015 Genevieve Valentine. Originally published in Operation Arcana. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Kaiju maximus ®: ‘So Various, So Beautiful, So New’” by Kai Ashante Wilson. Copyright © 2015 Kai Ashante Wilson. Originally published in Fantasy Magazine #59, December 2015. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.

“Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers” by Alyssa Wong. Copyright © 2015 Alyssa Wong. Originally published in Nightmare Magazine , October 2015.

First published 2016 by Solaris

an imprint of Rebellion Publishing Ltd,

Riverside House, Osney Mead,

Oxford, OX2 0ES, UK