Wollheim's Year's Best anthologies (with the assistance in most years of Arthur Saha) were my bread and butter reading over many of their 26 years of issuance (1965-1990). This one has ten OK to very good stories, as follows:

Introduction (1982) • essay by Donald A. Wollheim
Blind Spot • (1981) • shortstory by Jayge Carr
Highliner • (1981) • shortfiction by C. J. Cherryh
The Pusher • (1981) • shortstory by John Varley
Polyphemus • (1981) • novella by Michael Shea
Absent Thee from Felicity Awhile... • (1981) • shortstory by Somtow Sucharitkul
Out of the Everywhere • (1981) • novelette by James Tiptree, Jr.
Slac// • (1981) • novelette by Michael P. Kube-McDowell
The Cyphertone • (1981) • shortstory by S. C. Sykes
Through All Your Houses Wandering • (1981) • novella by Ted Reynolds
The Last Day of Christmas • (1981) • novelette by David J. Lake

I won't detail each story, but there are very good stories in here mixed with some that didn't ring my bells much, which is expected of virtually all anthologies. Won't name a favorite story in here as each has different strengths. There is very much a theme of alien first contact in these tales. I did notice a tendency to paint ship's captains as inflexible and/or not so bright so that the crewmember can be proven right or save the day. "Blind Spot" by Jayge Carr certainly starts the collection off well with this story of a blind artist and the doctor obsessed with trying to restore his patient's vision. Very different. One of the few non-alien stories, "The Pusher" creeped me out with the sexual predator tone that was implied. However there was a twist and we were intentionally misled, and it was a little different than expected. It won the Hugo Award in 1982 for best short story in 1981. Really? Me, I didn't think it was that good and this wouldn't be the first Hugo award winner to make me wonder why.

Another non-alien story, Cherryh's 'Highliner' puts us into the far far far future New York - the sun has begun to die and yet the Cityscraper that is New York builds and builds. There are special people who build and maintain and this is about them, and also about that part of human nature that apparently hasn't changed in the least. My least favorite story in here was the novella 'Polyphemus' a heavily science based story set on another world. What didn't work for me were the interpersonal relationships which were critical to the story. I felt like the story went on far too long.

Each of the remaining stories was interesting. A few quite thought provoking even when they didn't really succeed. ( )