Year's Best SF 15, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

This is a pretty solid group of short stories. All science-fiction tales, all written and published in 2009. Exegesis by Nancy Kress was the most original (and my favorite), following a literary examination of the famous line, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” through 700 years of future history. Only five pages long, but the game of Chinese whispers to which we are treated is thoroughly entertaining. Also great was The Consciousness Problem by Mary Robinette Kowal which takes a unique look at where cloning might lead, and Edison’s Frankenstein by Chris Roberson exploring an alternate history where an alien power source is discovered in 1843, rendering the electrical pioneers like Edison and Tesla moot. There doesn’t appear to be any criteria for qualifying as the “Year’s Best” other than the editors whims, but I must say that they didn’t disappoint.

First Sentence (from the introduction):

The year 2009 began with some layoffs and firings in publishing, but not many affecting SF.