Happy 5th Anniversary to BestScienceFictionStories.com! Yep, it was five years ago today that all the fun (if that’s what you call it) started, and we’ve been plugging away ever since. That means it’s time for my annual “thank you” speech, the cake image I always use and a list of my favorite stories from the past year. So here goes, drum roll please…
You Are My Number 1
I’ve said it before, but it is worth repeating: A very special thanks to all of you who read my web site, send me emails, make suggestions, help me find stories and everything else that makes BestScienceFictionStories.com a cool place to visit. I wouldn’t be doing this without all of you – so thanks for helping to feed my passion!
2 is Better Than 1
It’s true: many of you have helped to make this site better than it would have been. Of the 116 posts made during 2012 57 of them were guest posts! I think that is pretty cool and it helps to add a little bit of spice to my reviews. So thanks to all the guest reviewers who lent a helping hand! (Oh, and if you would like to review a SF story for our site please see the guidelines and then let us know – we would be glad to post your review here.)
I am Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Part of what makes this site so great (yes, I think it is great!) are the recommendations and suggestions I glean from several other fantastic short story sites on the big old interwebs. I get ideas from lots of sites, but here are my favorite ones that I think you really should check out:
10 Lords a’ Leaping
Whew! It was hard to narrow it down to just ten, but I finally did it. Here are my 10 favorite short stories I read during 2012:
- Sandkings by George R. R. Martin - a rich man collects exotic alien pets.
- The Merchants of Venus by Frederik Pohl - a prospecting guide on Venus leads a rich couple to some ancient alien artifacts.
- Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - a man find himself transformed into an insect-like vermin.
- The Dandelion Girl by Robert F. Young - a middle aged man falls for a young woman from the future.
- Questing Beast by Ilona Andrews - a small robot thinks he is Sir Pellinore.
- The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees by E. Lily Yu – super intelligent bees and wasps do battle.
- Grandpa by James H. Schmitz - a mischievous boy gets the chance to test his skills against unknown alien life forms.
- The Tomb of the Pontifex Dvorn by Robert Silverberg – an archaeologist on an alien world makes a tremendously important discovery.
- Ass-Hat Magic Spider by Scott Westerfeld - a teenage boy desperately tries to lose weight for his space colonist flight.
- The True Story of Merganther’s Run by David D. Levine - a group of scientists dismantle Jupiter to harvest its raw natural resources.
The Ghost of Stories Past!
Want to see my favorite science fiction stories from past years? Check out my posts for our first, second, third and fourth anniversaries to find some more excellent short stories for your reading pleasure!
Enjoy,
-Rusty
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6 users responded in this post
Sandkings actually creeped me out a bit…Great story!
Happy Anniversary!
Congratulations, Rusty. And thanks for mention.
I’m just your opposite – I’ve difficulty remembering my own birthday, let alone that of my blog.
There are a couple of stories here I’ve seen but not read – Metamorphosis & Dandalian Girl. Might check them out now. Thank you.
Thanks everyone for the good wishes!
@Avon: Yeah, Sandkings was my favorite story from this past year – totally cool and more than a little creepy.
@John: Hey – thanks for visiting! It is good to see that people from the big sites still wander over here once in a while!
@Tinkoo: No problem, I had to give a shout out to your site – the one which influences my reading more than any other. And both of those stories were really cool, I heartily recommend them!
Happy anniversary! I discovered the site about a year ago and have been coming back ever since. I like the way your reviews are allways informative so I immediately know if the story is for me or not. And the guest posts are allways interesting to read as well. Keep up the good work and thank you for making this great site.
@Alem: Thanks for your comments! I’m glad you like the site, and one of the goals has always been to give people enough information about a story so they can decide if they want to read it or not – I’m thrilled that it is working.