The Motorman's Coat

Contains twenty-nine short science fiction and fantasy stories, chosen by editor Jonathan Strahan as the best of 2009, including selections by Stephen Baxter, Holly Black, Ellen Kushner, and Geoff Ryman. Introduction / Jonathan Strahan -- It takes two / Nicola Griffith -- Three twilight tales / Jo Walton -- The night cache / Andy Duncan -- The island / Peter Watts -- Ferryman / Margo Lanagan -- "A wild and a wicked youth" / Ellen Kushner -- The pelican bar / Karen Joy Fowler -- Spar / Kij Johnson -- Going deep / James Patrick Kelly -- The coldest girl in Coldtown / Holly Black -- Zeppelin City / Michael Swanwick & Eileen Gunn -- Dragon's teeth / Alex Irvine -- This wind blowing, and this tide / Damien Broderick -- By moonlight / Peter S. Beagle -- Black swan / Bruce Sterling -- As women fight / Sara Genge -- The Cinderella game / Kelly Link -- Formidable caress / Stephen Baxter -- Blocked / Geoff Ryman -- Truth and bone / Pat Cadigan -- Eros, Philia, Agape / Rachel Swirsky -- The motorman's coat / John Kessel -- Mongoose / Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear -- Echoes of Aurora / Ellen Klages -- Before my last breath / Robert Reed -- JoBoy / Diana Wynne Jones -- Utriusque Cosmi / Robert Charles Wilson -- A delicate architecture / Catherynne M. Valente -- The cat who walked a thousand miles / Kij Johnson -- Recommended reading / Jonathan Strahan.