Reviews
I won this signed anthology from Goodreads Giveaways. This well-curated anthology showcases an all-star selection of up-and-coming speculative fiction writers and trend-setters in the genre. Starting with the gastronomical vampirism of Alyssa Wong's Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers and ending with a grandfather's Jinn in Usman T. Malik's The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn, the nineteen stories collected here are not (by-and-large) your grandfather's fantasy of elves, dragons and castles, but represent a newer take on the genre. Sometimes bordering on urban fantasy or even horror. As is to be expected in any anthology, I found the stories to be a bit uneven in quality, but the highlights made up for any fallow patches I encountered along the way. The real strength of this collection for me was that it allowed me to touch base with a genre that I loved as a teenager but have grown a bit distant from since. Although each story did not rate five stars from me, the collection as a whole was strong enough that I feel comfortable giving it that rating. Special thanks to Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman who were both gracious enough to sign my copy. Thanks guys.