Best Gardner Dozois Books

The best books by Gardner Dozois — 7 titles spanning Fantasy, Sci-Fi, averaging 3.57 BLT stars.

Read more

Gardner Dozois shaped the landscape of science fiction and fantasy more as an architect than a builder — his true legacy is curatorial. The anthologies he assembled, from the genre-bending Dangerous Women to the swashbuckling The Book of Swords, have a consistent editorial philosophy: take the best working writers in the field, give them room to do something unexpected, and trust readers to keep up. His collections read less like grab-bags and more like carefully argued cases for what speculative fiction can do when it stops playing it safe. Songs of Love and Death showcases his instinct for emotional range alongside genre spectacle. If you're new to short fiction and don't know where to start, Dozois is the most reliable guide in the room — opinionated, widely read, and allergic to mediocrity.

Gardner Dozois's highest-rated book in our collection is The Book of Magic (3.66 BLT stars). Browse the full list below.

Where to Start with Gardner Dozois

  1. 1
    The Book of Magic cover

    The Book of Magic

    Spiritwalker #Bloom

    by Gardner Dozois, K.J. Parker, Megan Lindholm, John Crowley, Matthew Hughes, Ysabeau S. Wilce, Rachel Pollack, Eleanor Arnason, Tim Powers, Liz Williams, Garth Nix, Elizabeth Bear, Lavie Tidhar, Greg Van Eekhout, George R.R. Martin, Andy Duncan, Kate Elliott, Scott Lynch

    3.66 BLT Score (839 ratings)
    ★ 3.7 Goodreads (839)
  2. 2
    The Book of Swords cover

    The Book of Swords

    Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz #7 - A Long, Cold Trail

    by Gardner Dozois, K.J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Ken Liu, Matthew Hughes, Kate Elliott, Walter Jon Williams, Daniel Abraham, C.J. Cherryh, Garth Nix, Ellen Kushner, Scott Lynch, Rich Larson, Elizabeth Bear, Lavie Tidhar, Cecelia Holland, George R.R. Martin

    3.66 BLT Score (2.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.67 Goodreads (2.2K)
  3. 3
    The New Space Opera 2 cover

    The New Space Opera 2

    by Gardner Dozois, Jonathan Strahan

    3.63 BLT Score (977 ratings)
    ★ 3.79 Goodreads (977)
  4. 4
    Old Venus cover

    Old Venus

    by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Ian McDonald, Garth Nix, Joe Haldeman, Gwyneth Jones, Matthew Hughes, Paul McAuley, Lavie Tidhar, Allen M. Steele, Stephen Leigh, Eleanor Arnason, David Brin, Michael Cassutt, Tobias S. Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, Joe R. Lansdale, Mike Resnick

    3.61 BLT Score (734 ratings)
    ★ 3.57 Goodreads (734)
  5. 5
    Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love cover

    Songs of Love and Death: All-Original Tales of Star-Crossed Love

    Guardians #3.6 - The Demon Dancer

    by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Daniel Abraham, Jacqueline Carey, Lisa Tuttle, Linnea Sinclair, Mary Jo Putney, Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, Yasmine Galenorn, Diana Gabaldon, Jo Beverley, Carrie Vaughn, M.L.N. Hanover, Cecelia Holland, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman, Marjorie M. Liu, Jim Butcher

    3.57 BLT Score (4.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.76 Goodreads (4.3K)
  6. 6
    Dangerous Women cover

    Dangerous Women

    The Dresden Files #13.1 - Bombshells

    by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Carrie Vaughn, Lev Gossman, Joe R. Lansdale, Megan Lindholm, Lawrence Block, Brandon Sanderson, Sharon Kay Penman, Lev Grossman, Nancy Kress, Diana Rowland, Diana Gabaldon, S.M. Stirling, Sam Sykes, Pat Cadigan, Caroline Spector, Joe Abercrombie, Megan Abbott, Cecelia Holland, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Melinda M. Snodgrass

    3.56 BLT Score (13.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.67 Goodreads (13.2K)
  7. 7
    Rip-Off! cover

    Rip-Off!

    by Gardner Dozois, John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, Tad Williams, Elizabeth Bear, Mary Robinette Kowal, Robert Charles Wilson, Allen M. Steele, Daryl Gregory, Lavie Tidhar, Nancy Kress, Paul Di Filippo, James Patrick Kelly, David Marantz, Dina Pearlman, Allyson Johnson, Marc Vietor, Ilyana Kadushin, Nicola Barber

    3.29 BLT Score (914 ratings)
    ★ 3.39 Goodreads (914)

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →