This year I decided to try something different with this years annual volume of the best new WOTF volume. I have been driving to Atlanta a lot for VA appointments and picked up the Audiobook to keep me company.
This is a multi-cast recording and it keeps the audio interesting as the stories flow from one to the other and the different readers add a voice to the story that you would not necessarily find in the reading of the stories.
“ Life and Death and Love in the Bayou” by Stephannie Tallent is one of my favorites of this years crop of new writers. A young girl who thinks of herself as a witch goes into the swamp to create a spell to protect her mother from a violent suitor. It is a well done story with a very descriptive attention paid to the landscape of the bayou.
“Da-ko-ta” by Amir Agoora combines the story of a young Native American taken from his tribe to be educated by his captors and befriended by President Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt's interest in the native story of the Wedigo, the boys knowledge of the legend, and a hunting trip add up to a very interesting story.
"The Wall Isn’t a Circle” by Rosalyn Robilliard is a novel tale of time travel. Now there is an app that lets you travel back in time and witness history through the eyes Henry the VIII or Genghis Khan or whomever you can think of. It is also the story of a young lawyer trying to prove her worth in finding the information to resolve another case.
There is plenty here to fill the needs of every type of reader. also included are stories by L. Ron Hubbard, Nancy Kress, and S.M. Stirling (his story based on the cover art). Also included are essays on writing and illustration by Gregory Benford, Bob Eggleton, L. Ron Hubbard, and Dean Wesley Smith.
As it has been over the last 39 volumes, this years anthology is filled with a very interesting variety of stories from various genres that will entertain and some to make you pause and think. Others will make you grin and snicker.
If you do a lot of traveling, go with the Audiobook for a different experience.
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