Best Christmas Reading

The seasonal break is always a good chance to catch up on some reading.  The book I most enjoyed was Alastair Reynolds' Zima Blue, a collection of some of his short fiction.  All fourteen stories were worth reading, with several being excellent.  The best were:

Understanding Time and Space

Does what it says on the tin, but enlightenment is possible only with the help of Elton John.  Sure to appeal to fans of Aliya Whiteley.

Signal to Noise

A widower enters a parallel universe to say goodbye to his wife.  Low-key but surprisingly poignant.

Minla's Flowers

Old-style space opera which is also a merciless exploration of the corruption of power.

Beyond the Aquila Rift

A deep-space epic where nothing is quite what it seems.  This is one of the best SF shorts I've ever read, packed twists and ideas enough to fill a novel.  There's an amazing film waiting to made here.

Better known for his novels, this collection shows that Reynolds is also vastly talented in the shorter format.