Ellen Datlow has a fine reputation as an editor of original anthologies, both solo (Little Deaths, Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers) and with Terri Windling (their adult fairy-tale series includes Black Heart, Ivory Bones). With Windling she also edits the annual reprint volume The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. This collection, fifteen stories and one poem, is unusual in that the pieces are a mix of originals and reprints.

The central theme is that of endangered species: plant and animal, human and alien, real and imagined. The seven pieces that stand out include all four reprints. Bruce McAllister's "The Girl Who Loved Animals" and Karen Joy Fowler's "Faded Roses" are both set in near futures bereft of most of the mammal species we love. Both cultures try different solutions. Both stories are unbearably sad. Also poignant but uplifting in its theme of the redemptive power of music is Suzy McKee Charnas's "Listening to Brahms." M. Shayne Bell's "The Thing About Benny" is a more dispassionate examination of the practical impact of reduced biodiversity, and Mark W. Tiedemann gives us a cautionary tale of difference--and possibilities wrenched from our grasp. Interestingly, it is the oldest piece in the book, Avram Davison's "Now Let Us Sleep," that perhaps comes closest to mirroring third-millennial angst, cynicism, and despair. The last story, however, is the utterly delightful "Seventy-two Letters," a new novella from Ted Chiang, that allows the reader to close the book feeling hopeful about the perpetual self-renewal of life. --Luc Duplessis

From Publishers Weekly
Long-time fiction editor of Omni and editor (with Terri Windling) of the annual Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Datlow is one of the most respected anthologists of speculative fiction. Here she assembles a diverse and thoughtful array of 16 stories written around the theme of endangered speciesAbe they human or animal, mythical or alien. In her introduction Datlow writes, "The stories that most influence me are the gentle persuaders... those that are so engrossing and well-told that the reader doesn't realize they've been poleaxed until the story is done." That philosophy is borne out by such compelling works as Suzy McKee Charnas's "Listening to Brahms," where the last remaining humans find themselves preserved as "living history" by a race of benevolent and all-too imitative aliens. In "The Girl Who Loved Animals" by Bruce McAllister, a retarded girl's determination to carry a gorilla fetus to term becomes a powerful story about motherhood. Refusing to be exploited, Nature fights back in Paul J. McAuley's "The Rift" and Brian Stableford's "Tenebrio." David Schow's dark little "Blessed Event" and M. Shayne Bell's "The Things About Benny" lend a bit of humor to the proceedings. Karen Joy Fowler's marvelously subtle "Faded Roses" evokes a world of sadness in a single scene, while Avram Davidson's "Now Let Us Sleep" tells the woeful tale of alien Yahoos with biting, Swiftian skill. The stories here range from good to unforgettable, and constantly ask readers to question the value and fate of vulnerable species, as well as the true differences between man and animal, human and alien. (June) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Stories by Suzy McKee Charnas, Ted Chiang, Avram Davidson, Karen Joy Fowler, Paul McAuley, Brian Stableford, and others.

The theme of this anthology is "endangered species", loosely interpreted to include in some cases the human race. The contents are four excellent reprints and a dozen new stories, including a new novella from Ted Chiang, one of the hottest young story writers in SF. This is a distinguished original anthology fit to put on the shelf beside Starlight.


From the Back Cover
“Ellen Datlow’s splendid new original anthology”--The Washington Post

Stories by Suzy McKee Charnas, Ted Chiang, Avram Davidson, Karen Joy Fowler, Paul McAuley, Brian Stableford, and others

"Any new anthology from Ellen Datlow is cause for rejoicing"--Jonathan Carroll


“Listening to Brahms” by Suzy McKee Charnas

“The Rift” by Paul J. McAuley

“The Girl Who Loved Animals” by Bruce McAllister

“Sunflowers” by Ian McDowell

“Tenebrio” by Brian Stableford

“Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites” by William Shunn

“Blessed Event” by David J. Schow

“Faded Roses” by Karen Joy Fowler

“Links” by Mark W. Tiedemann

“Chimera 8” by Daniel Abraham

“Bite the Hand” by Michael Cadnum

“The Thing About Benny” by M. Shayne Bell

“Fast Glaciers” by A. R. Morlan

“Now Let Us Sleep” by Avram Davidson

“Seventy-Two Letters” by Ted Chiang

“Endangered Species” by Joe Haldeman


About the Author
Ellen Datlow is a winner of six World Fantasy Awards, of the Hugo Award for Best Editor, and of the Bram Stoker Award. In a career spanning more than twenty-five years, she has been the long-time fiction editor of Omni and more recently the fiction editor of SCIFI.COM. She has edited many successful anthologies, including Blood Is Not Enough, A Whisper of Blood, and with Terri Windling Snow White, Blood Red and the rest of their Fairy Tales series. She has also edited the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror series, The Green Man, and for younger readers The Wind at the Door and Swan Sister. Ellen Datlow lives in Manhattan.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Stories by Suzy McKee Charnas, Ted Chiang, Avram Davidson, Karen Joy Fowler, Paul McAuley, Brian Stableford, and others.

The theme of this anthology is "endangered species", loosely interpreted to include in some cases the human race. The contents are four excellent reprints and a dozen new stories, including a new novella from Ted Chiang, one of the hottest young story writers in SF. This is a distinguished original anthology fit to put on the shelf beside Starlight.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Long-time fiction editor of Omni and editor (with Terri Windling) of the annual Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Datlow is one of the most respected anthologists of speculative fiction. Here she assembles a diverse and thoughtful array of 16 stories written around the theme of endangered species--be they human or animal, mythical or alien. In her introduction Datlow writes, "The stories that most influence me are the gentle persuaders... those that are so engrossing and well-told that the reader doesn't realize they've been poleaxed until the story is done." That philosophy is borne out by such compelling works as Suzy McKee Charnas's "Listening to Brahms," where the last remaining humans find themselves preserved as "living history" by a race of benevolent and all-too imitative aliens. In "The Girl Who Loved Animals" by Bruce McAllister, a retarded girl's determination to carry a gorilla fetus to term becomes a powerful story about motherhood. Refusing to be exploited, Nature fights back in Paul J. McAuley's "The Rift" and Brian Stableford's "Tenebrio." David Schow's dark little "Blessed Event" and M. Shayne Bell's "The Things About Benny" lend a bit of humor to the proceedings. Karen Joy Fowler's marvelously subtle "Faded Roses" evokes a world of sadness in a single scene, while Avram Davidson's "Now Let Us Sleep" tells the woeful tale of alien Yahoos with biting, Swiftian skill. The stories here range from good to unforgettable, and constantly ask readers to question the value and fate of vulnerable species, as well as the true differences between man and animal, human and alien. (June) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

KLIATT

A series of short stories tied together by the theme of extinction. In the introduction, Datlow relates how she hopes this collection will generate interest in saving endangered creatures. To assist, she includes Web sites, phone numbers and addresses for those moved enough to want to turn interest into action. Humans are among the permanent losses as a rain forest tribe is gradually obliterated by the missionaries who clothe and teach them Spanish, while the anthropologists recording their unique traits irretrievably contaminate them with every contact. Another human variation on the "last of their kind" is extrapolated in "Listening to Brahms," wherein a cryogenic team is revived by a lizard race, the Kondrai, to discover the Earth has been reduced to a barren rock by warfare. The Earthers are allowed to live among the lizards, but without their native habitat, they adapt poorly and succumb to bitterness and depression. "The Thing About Benny" concerns a botanist who searches office cubicle potted plants for rare plants. "Tenebrio" has an ethereal charm of a haunted forest targeted for highway clearance. "Sunflowers" brings a bit of wistful magic to the contemporary world of dull bullies, and Joe Haldeman contributes a nice progression piece, "Endangered Species," to finish it off. Although it's overwhelming to try to absorb the whole collection at once, the points are well made and the impetus behind them extremely important. KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2001, Tor, 380p., $14.95. Ages 13 to adult. Reviewer: Liz LaValley; Mattapoisett, MA , November 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 6)

Kirkus Reviews

Datlow's latest themed anthology (Off Limits, 1996, etc.) headlines endangered species, and sometimes the endangered species is humanity itself, as a result of its own behavior. Of these 16 pieces, 4 have appeared before. The reprints range from Avram Davidson's classic `Now Let Us Sleep,` the callous exploitation of a primitive sapient race, to Suzy McKee Charnas's stunning masterpiece, `Listening to Brahms,` in which a handful of bewildered and deeply disturbed survivors make contact with an alien race, the rest of humanity having exterminated itself. Unfortunately, the remaining stories—Neanderthals, gorillas, Arks, ecosystems, beetles, and all—tend to pale by comparison. There are two exceptions: Joe Haldeman's heartfelt poem, "Endangered Species," about gods, men, and war; and Ted Chiang's `Seventy-two Letters.` The latter, an impressive feat of extrapolation and ruthless logic, is set in an alternate world where kabalistic magic works, and the notion of preformation—creatures are created embodying all future generations of development—is literally true. In consequence, once the last preformed generation is born, humanity faces extinction. Worth a try.