Science fiction is ideally suited to the short novel form: long enough to conjure an alien or future society in our imaginations, yet elegant and powerful - free of padding. Award-winning editor Gardner Dozois presents here the 13 finest science fiction novellas of the last two decades.Contents:- Sailing to Byzantium (1985) by Robert Silverberg- Surfacing (1988) by Walter Jon Williams- The Hemingway Hoax (1990) by Joe Haldeman- Mr. Boy (1990) by James Patrick Kelly- Beggars in Spain (1991) by Nancy Kress- Griffin's Egg (1991) by Michael Swanwick- Outnumbering the Dead (1990) by Frederik Pohl- Forgiveness Day (1994) by Ursula K. Le Guin- The Cost to Be Wise (1996) by Maureen F. McHugh- Oceanic (1998) by Greg Egan- Tendeleo's Story (2000) by Ian McDonald- New Light on the Drake Equation (2001) by Ian R. MacLeod- Turquoise Days (2002) by Alastair ReynoldsFront cover illustration by Joe Roberts