TED KOSMATKA “The Art of Alchemy.” First appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2008. Reprinted in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume Three, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Night Shade Books, 2009) and The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009 Edition, edited by Rich Horton (Prime Books, 2010).

   There is a recurring th4eme to a certain number of similar stories, perhaps not as many as there used to be, in which an inventor of an improved means of propelling automobiles goes to a gigantic company which produces and sells gasoline worldwide, and he ends up in all kinds of trouble. You man consider this as one of them, although the invention is rather a material stranger than steel, which someone brings a thread of to research scientists at a steel company.

   Which is all I tell you, as what’s the fun in that, just in case you run across a copy of the story which you can read for yourself. It is of course embellished with several other major factors, and in fact it is also a romance, although it is absolutely not a necessary part of the story.

   This is the first story I’ve ever read by the author, and between you and me, I confess that I had never even noticed his name before. He is, however, the author of three novels and several dozen short stories, starting in 2000, so he’s been around for a while. While this story may not be an award-winner, it is very very good. It is also nice to be confirmed in this statement by being able to point out that it also appeared r in two different “Best SF of Year” collections later on.