Blending science fiction, fantasy, and horror, this anthology presents twenty-nine inventive short stories arranged into themed sections—Shadows, Stars, and Sabers—exploring everything from body horror and necromancy to interstellar travel and folklore. With contributions from both acclaimed and emerging authors, the collection showcases a diverse range of voices, experimental formats (including a choose-your-own-adventure and a Wikipedia-style story), and a rich tapestry of speculative concepts.

Reader Review Summary

This anthology is a cross-genre collection of short stories spanning science fiction, fantasy, and horror, edited by Jendia Gammon and Gareth L. Powell and published by Stars and Sabers Publishing. The book features contributions from both established and emerging authors, including Adrian Tchaikovsky, Ai Jiang, Cynthia Pelayo, Paul Cornell, Gemma Amor, Greg van Eekhout, and Ren Hutchings. The stories are organized into three themed sections—Shadows, Stars, and Sabers—and include a range of formats such as standalone tales, stories set in shared universes, and even experimental pieces like a choose-your-own-adventure story requiring a coin and one written as a Wikipedia article. The anthology contains 29 stories and is 364 pages long, with a publication date of February 11, 2025.

Readers appreciated the diversity of genres and storytelling styles, noting the seamless arrangement of stories and the variety of themes, from African juju and body horror to necromantic takes on classic characters and interstellar travel. The inclusion of both new and familiar authors was highlighted as a strength, offering readers exposure to a wide range of voices. The anthology was praised for its ability to appeal to fans of multiple genres and for its thoughtful curation, with several readers mentioning the engaging flow and the way the stories were grouped into themed sections. Specific stories such as 'Holy Fools,' 'Existence: A Thought Experiment,' 'His Lord Recalcitrant,' and 'A Species Called Hope' were singled out as favorites, and the anthology was credited with helping some readers out of reading slumps.

Some readers found the shifts in style and tone between stories to be jarring, with a few stories described as too experimental or abstract for their tastes. The wide variety of storytelling approaches, while generally seen as a positive, occasionally led to a lack of cohesion for certain readers. The diversity in author backgrounds and narrative forms meant that not every story resonated equally, and the experimental nature of some pieces was not universally appreciated.

The anthology is the debut title for Stars and Sabers Publishing and has received an average reader rating of 4.29 out of 5 from 17 ratings and 11 full reviews. The book is positioned as an introduction to speculative fiction for both new and seasoned readers, and several reviewers noted the inclusion of author biographies at the end of the book. The collection features stories with recurring motifs, such as multiple characters named Alice, and is available in ePub format with Adobe DRM. The editors' approach to curation and the publisher's focus on speculative fiction are recurring points in reader feedback.