THE YEAR'S TOP TEN TALES OF SCIENCE FICTION

The year in question is 2008, and the stories are by a wide assortment of writers, including Ted Chiang, James Alan Gardener (whose “Ray Gun” may be the best of the lot), Stephen Baxter, and others. Editor Allan Kaster has put together a delightful mix of stories ranging from the unimaginable to just a few steps away from our own world. The works are read by Tom Dheere, Vanessa Hart, and Sue Bilich, with each bringing something different to the mix. Everyone will have favorites. In “Fixing Hanover,” Dheere shows appropriate humility and dignity as a primitive tinker asked to do the impossible: repair a robot. One thing needed is a break between each story—they almost run into each another. M.S. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2011]