Through Shadows: An Anthology of Speculative Short Fiction Paperback – September 12, 2021

Short stories, to me, are an art form; one I’m not very good at. This means, when I read a good short story, I am amazed by how the writer creates something so powerful is so few words, in this case under two thousand. I was sent a free advance copy of this collection for an honest review and I am so pleased that I was as it was a thoroughly good read.Last Day at the Observatory by A M Justice tells of, the last twenty minutes before the world ends. The emotions running through the narrator’s head are raw fear, panic, regret and, by the end acceptance. Beautifully written and it certainly had the desired impact.Old Superheroes Never Die by Alex McGilvery. The story is simple – what does happen to old superheroes? A thought provoking take on the superhero genre and the problems old age brings to all of us.New Hope by J E Hannaford. Set in a world totally different from our own it is the moving story of a lonely woman who finds salvation by saving someone herself.Wrangling Twisters by Laura Shank. Full on excitement from beginning to end set in a world of magic and extreme weather.Job Security in an Apocalypse by Anela Deen is a story of renewal and reinvention in a post-apocalyptic world.Re-Boot by Liam Hogan. A time traveller tries to save the world. All I can say without giving too much away is that this story certainly takes the readers through a whole range of emotions.I have to say this is up there with some of the best anthologies I have read recently and I found all six stories to be satisfying and/or thought provoking and well worth a read.

I quite enjoyed this anthology, that covers fantasy to science fiction as well as different tones and styles. As with any short story collection there's some that worked better for me than others, but overall they were all more than worth the read!