Jonathan Strahan, himself an author, has packed a great deal of content into this second edition of THE YEAR’S BEST SCIENCE FICTION. He comments in his introduction about the great novels of 2020, including Network Effect by Martha Wells and The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. The effects of the Pandemic were starting to bite at magazines and publishers, but more people were turning to reading Sci-Fi online. The New Zealand Worldcon had to be held online for the first time.

The short stories collected here are a mix, as always, but well mixed in this case. The cheerful meet the cyberpunk, and the tales focusing on young people correspond with those featuring the jaded.
 
Go. Now. Fix. by Timons Esaias is actually my favourite story. This features a PandaPillow, a cross between a teddy bear and a pillow connected to a network. While almost obsolete, the pillow with a small brain manages to help save a stricken airliner. Yes, it does. You will have to read the story to find out how.
 
Drones to Ploughshares by Sarah Gailey is one I’ve met previously, a positive thinking way for automated spy drones to escape the work of, well, spying on the citizens.
 
Father by Ray Nayler revisits the theme of an automaton taking the place of a deceased person, in this case, a husband and father. The young boy who benefits from getting a father back has never known a father figure, but this one doesn’t seem too bad. Sadly, not everyone agrees with having a robot around the house.
 
Don’t Mind Me by Suzanne Palmeris another hopeful story about finding ourselves. When kids have to learn at school, but neural blocks are placed on anything their parents dislike, from strong language to mentions of politics, the kids have to find their way around the memory blocks in order to pass exams. And that’s all they want to do. Parents are so dumb.
 
There are some rather more horrifying stories, so don’t imagine they are all cute. Dive in, find one to read, and if you don’t like it, try the next. THE YEAR’S BEST SCIENCE FICTION Volume Two is not suitable for children but contains something for everyone else.