Winning Mars
One liner: First Mars colony accidentally started by reality TV show.
Recognition: Honorable Mention, 2005 Year’s Best Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois; Virtual Best of the Year, 2005, by Rich Horton
What the reviewers say: Jason Stoddard’s ‘Winning Mars’ is a glittering string of pearls (The Agony Column)
Saving Mars
One liner: Geeks on Mars vs power players on Earth.
Recognition: Honorable Mention, 2005 Year’s Best Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois; Virtual Best of the Year, 2005, by Rich Horton
What the reviewers say: Heady stuff, and Stoddard manages to pack in a lot of political machination with a dash of the human condition. (Tangent Online)
Panacea
One liner: What if one of those 19th-century patent medicines actually worked—and extended life indefinitely?
Recognition: Finalist, Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award; Finalist, The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History; Honorable Mention, 2005 Year’s Best Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois; Virtual Best of the Year, 2005, by Rich Horton
What the reviewers say: When it comes to alternate history, Stoddard handles this extremely well: his alternative takes on World War II and on the first use of nuclear weapons are particularly persuasive — and extremely chilling. (IROSF)
Changing the Tune
One liner: Actually, Cory’s summary says it all.
Recognition: Honorable Mention, 2005 Year’s Best Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois
What the reviewers say: A sweet dystopian short about a world where every utterance is subject to offended micro-lawsuits from eavesdropping, entrenched Gen-X and Boomer busybodies. (BoingBoing, Cory Doctorow)
Terms of Service
One liner: A young government employee must renegotiate a very strange contract.
What the reviewers say: A delicately constructed confection of a story which is immensely entertaining whilst never once going for the cheap laugh. A surprise of the most pleasant kind. (Tangent Online)
Jack’s Gift
One liner: Santa’s in Alaska. No, really.
What the reviewers say: “Jack’s Gift” is a quirky, delightful seasonal short story about the rise of the artificial, institutionalized Santa. (Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing)
True History
One liner: What if we could make ourselves anything we wanted to be?
What the reviewers say: Stoddard is an effortlessly ambitious author, able to balance intimate character moments with colossal ideas. (The Fix Online)
Fermi Packet
One liner: What if it was the network, not the planet, that our visitors were after?
What the reviewers say: While post-singularity fiction is one of the leading flavours of big-name sf at the moment, particularly in the UK, I don’t encounter many short stories of the type, and very few that simultaneously press as many buttons as Stoddard’s output manages to. (Velcro City Tourist Board)
Unfinished
One liner: When you’re Editing minds, what do you really see?
Recognition: Honorable Mention in L. Blunt Jackson’s Best of 2004 on IROSF
Revision
One liner: Designer minds and the cult of the collaborative mind.
Recognition: As with last year, my favorite novelette (from Strange Horizons) was a Gillam Anderson story by Jason Stoddard, “Exception”. (Rich Horton)
Exception
One liner: One of the strangest minds you’d ever hope to Edit.
Recognition: Honorable Mention, 2005 The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Gardner Dozois.
What the reviewers say: As with last year, my favorite novelette (from Strange Horizons) was a Gillam Anderson story by Jason Stoddard, “Exception”. (Rich Horton)
Mini Jesus Clones Replacing Elvis As Most Popular Holiday Gift
One liner: The title says it all.
What the reviewers say: “One of the most deranged, inventive, and original pieces we’ve seen all year.”
Moments of Brilliance
One liner: Baby go boom.
What the reviewers say: The language is provocative and the imagery borders on lush. Once I caught the flow of the story, I was captivated. (Tangent Online)
Making Payments
One liner: Life in the Young Couples Colony.
Taos Melody
One liner: “The most Fortean story we’ve seen.”
Softly Shining in the Forbidden Dark
One liner: In a lonely universe, how far will we go for contact?
What the reviewers say: Intensely poetic . . . if the reader can plough through the opening, he’ll have a mind-stretching experience in reward. (Tangent Online)
The Best of Your Life
One liner: Leverage your entire future value for a life you could never otherwise afford.
What the reviewers say: A dark and scarily believable take on the Brave New World that may await us. (Best SF)
Far Horizon
One liner: What would you do if you could do anything?
What the reviewers say: This is one of those increasingly rare stories that reminds the jaded reader of why they started reading SF in the first place. (Colin Harvey)
Anima, Animus
One liner: Finding a soul. Losing another.
Recognition: Honorable Mention in The Year’s Best Science Fiction 2006, Gardner Dozois.