Gateways, edited by Martin H. Greenberg (DAW, 2005)

This anthology explores the concept of gateways, with each of the 29 original stories collected within detailing a different portal, of one kind or another. Whether they link distant galaxies, the past and future, or even life and death, they … Continue reading

Low Port, edited by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Meisha Merlin, 2003)

Inspired by, though not based upon, the Low Port setting from Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s popular Liadan series, Low Port is a collection of stories aimed at giving characters who normally remain in the background a turn to shine. … Continue reading

Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy, edited by Al Sarrantonio (Roc, 2004)

Following up on his previous anthology, Redshift, which was a collection of science fiction stories that sought to redefine the boundaries of expectations, Al Sarrantonio has now come out with the companion volume, which looks towards raising the bar for … Continue reading

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume XIX, edited by Algis Budrys (Galaxy Press, 2003)

Now in its second decade of existence, the Writers of the Future competition continues to turn out new authors in an inexorable, almost mechanical process. Each year, fourteen winners are chosen from the best stories submitted in each of four … Continue reading

The Magic Shop, edited by Denise Little (DAW, 2004)

There are days when I love theme anthologies. You have a vague idea of what you’re getting, and they approach the same ideas with such a wide variety of styles that there’s usually something for everything. Denise Little has put … Continue reading

The Dark, edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor Books, 2003)

I’ve had this book since it first came out, reading it in small doses both to savor the contents, and to avoid from overloading my brain with too many ghost stories all at once. For that’s the theme here. Ellen … Continue reading

Space Stations, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and John Helfers (DAW, 2004)

Partially in honor of the International Space Station to be completed in 2006, and in memory of those orbiting habitats which have come and gone such as Skylab and Mir, Space Stations is an anthology of original stories which all … Continue reading

Path of the Just, edited by James Lowder (Guardians of Order, 2003)

When I received this, I was hoping it would be along the lines of the excellent anthology, Superheroes, edited by John Varley and Alicia Mainhardt (Ace, 1995). Based on the roleplaying game Silver Age Sentinels, Path of the Just contains … Continue reading

Microcosms, edited by Gregory Benford (DAW, 2004)

In this anthology, noted author Gregory Benford collects a baker’s dozen of stories that all explore the concept of limited spaces, or microcosms. As usual, the stories range the spectrum from good to excellent as the authors take the concept … Continue reading

Haunting the Dead, edited by Philippe Boulle (White Wolf Publishing, 2003)

This macabre quartet of short stories is based on White Wolf’s Orpheus line of games. Like the name suggests, the stories all touch upon the delicate, occasionally breached barriers between life and death, and the traumas that ensue. The dead … Continue reading