Read The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction: 23rd Annual Collection for Free Online Page B

Parkway, Markham, ON, L3R 4T8, Canada; www.sfwriter.com/rjsbooks.htm. Rackstraw Press , http://rackstrawpress. nfshost.com. Candlewick , www.candlewick.com. Zubaan , 128 B, First Floor, Shahpur Jat, New Delhi 110019, India; www.zubaanbooks.com. Utter Tower , www.threeleggedfox.co.uk. Spilt Milk Press , P.O. Box 266, Bettendorf, IA 52722; www.electricvelocipede.com. Paper Golem , www.papergolem.com. Galaxy Press , 7051 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 200, Hollywood, CA 90028; www.galaxypress.com. Twelfth Planet Press , P.O. Box 3027, Yokine, WA, 6060, Australia; http://twelfthplanetpress.wordpress. com. Senses Five Press , www.sensesfive.com. Elastic Press , 85 Gertrude Road, Norwich, NR3 4SG, UK; www.elasticpress.com. Lethe Press , 118 Heritage Ave., Maple Shade, NJ 08052; www.lethepressbooks.com. Two Cranes Press , www.twocranespress.com. Wordcraft of Oregon , P.O. Box 3235, La Grande, OR 97850; www.wordcraftoforegon.com.
    In spite of the recession, there were still a huge number of novels published in the SF/fantasy genres during the year – more than ever before, in fact, and it looks likely that there’ll be even more next year.
    According to the newsmagazine Locus , there were a record 2,901 books ‘of interest to the SF field’ published in 2009, up 2 per cent from 2,843 titles in 2008. Sixty-seven percent of those were new titles, not reprints. (It’s worth noting that this total doesn’t count novels offered as downloads on the Internet or on Kindle, media tie-in novels, gaming novels, novelizations of genre movies, or most Print on Demand books – all of which would swell the total by hundreds if counted.) Paranormal romances remained strong, with 339 titles this year as opposed to 328 in 2008; one of the paranormal romance writers, Stephanie Meyer, edged out J. K. Rowling in sales, and others such as Charlaine Harris, Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, and Diana Gabaldon are among the bestselling writers in America. The number of new SF novels was down slightly, by 7 per cent, to 232 as opposed to 2008’s total of 249 (still far larger than the field was even a few years back, and more novels than any one person is going to have a chance to read in the course of a year). The number of new fantasy novels was up by 30 per cent, to 572 titles as opposed to 2008’s total of 439. Horror novels were up to 251 titles as opposed to 2008’s total of 175, the biggest gain since the Big Horror Boom busted; in 2002, for instance, there were only 112 horror titles published.
    As usual, busy with all the reading I have to do at shorter lengths, I didn’t have time to read many novels myself this year, so I’ll limit myself to mentioning the novels that received a lot of attention and acclaim in 2009. These include:
    Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America (Tor Books), by Robert Charles Wilson; Steal Across the Sky (Tor Books), by Nancy Kress; Drood (Little, Brown and Company), by Dan Simmons; The Empress of Mars (Tor Books), by Kage Baker; The Caryatids (Del Rey/Ballantine Books), by Bruce Sterling; This Is Not a Game (Orbit), by Walter Jon Williams; House of Suns (Ace Science Fiction), by Alastair Reynolds; The Revolution Business (Tor Fantasy), by Charles Stross; Gardens of the Sun (Gollancz), by Paul McAuley; The High City (Forge), by Cecelia Holland; Ark (Gollancz), by Stephen Baxter; The Sunless Countries (Tor Books), by Karl Schroeder; Transition (Orbit Books), by Iain M. Banks; Galileo’s Dream (HarperVoyager), by Kim Stanley Robinson; Mind Over Ship (Tor Books), by David Marusek; Yellow Blue Tibia (Gollancz), by Adam Roberts; The Devil’s Alphabet (Del Rey), by Daryl Gregory; Boneshaker (Tor Books), by Cherie Priest; The City & The City (Del Rey), by China Mieville; Coyote Horizon (Ace), by Allen Steele; Regenesis (DAW Books), by C. J. Cherryh; Conspirator (DAW Books), by C. J. Cherryh; The Walls of the Universe (Tor Science Fiction), by Paul Melko; Avilion (Gollancz), by Robert Holdstock; The Magicians