Robot Uprisings Anthology Released Today

"Humans beware. As the robotic revolution continues to creep into our lives, it brings with it an impending sense of doom. What horrifying scenarios might unfold if our technology were to go awry? From self-aware robotic toys to intelligent machines violently malfunctioning, this anthology brings to life the half-formed questions and fears we all have about the increasing presence of robots in our lives. With contributions from a mix of bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming writers, and including a rare story by “the father of artificial intelligence,” Dr. John McCarthy, Robot Uprisings meticulously describes the exhilarating and terrifying near-future in which humans can only survive by being cleverer than the rebellious machines they have created."

Robot Uprisings is an anthology edited by John Joseph Adams (King of Anthologies) and Daniel H. Wilson (Robopacalypse, Amped) and as cool this anthology sounds, just look at the author lineup:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Foreword—Daniel H. Wilson
• Complex God—Scott Sigler
• Cycles—Charles Yu
• Lullaby—Anna North
• Eighty Miles an Hour All the Way to Paradise—Genevieve Valentine
• Executable—Hugh Howey (reprint)
• The Omnibot Incident—Ernest Cline
• Epoch—Cory Doctorow (reprint)
• Human Intelligence—Jeff Abbott
• The Golden Hour—Julianna Baggott
• Sleepover—Alastair Reynolds (reprint)
• Seasoning—Alan Dean Foster
• Nanonauts! In Battle with Tiny Death-subs!—Ian McDonald
• Of Dying Heroes and Deathless Deeds—Robin Wasserman
• The Robot and the Baby—John McCarthy (reprint)
• We are All Misfit Toys in the Aftermath of the Velveteen War—Seanan McGuire
• Spider the Artist—Nnedi Okorafor (reprint)
• Small Things—Daniel H. Wilson

Reynolds, Cline, Doctorow, and Charles Yu are favorites of mine, plus there's Hugh Howey, Nnedi Okorafor, Seasnan McGuire. In addition, editor John Joseph Adams is doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on reddit.com this very day. What are you still doing here?!

Giveaway Winner! Dangerous Women, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

I know I promised a giveaway winner on Friday, but the fact that I finally got a job and started this last week made that ... difficult. Now that I've caught my breath, our giveaway winner for Dangerous Women, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois is:

Mark Cooper from Ohio

Congrats to Mark and thanks to all who entered. We had record numbers for this pretty stellar anthology. If Mark doesn't respond in the next 24 hours I'll draw a new one, but don't get your hopes up. :)

Giveaway - Dangerous Women, Edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (With Stories from Joe Abercrombie, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, Martin Himself, and Plenty More!)

I'm very excited to bring this giveaway to you today, this is one of the biggest releases of the year with some of the greats of the fantasy genre and other genres as well. Dangerous Women [US] [UK] is exactly what the title says, it's an anthology with stories about dangerous women across multiple genres with some of the best authors writing today. This is one of the books I've been looking forward to all year and I'm happy to offer it to you, via the nice folks at Tor, as a giveaway.

But first, here's the lineup:

The Dangerous Women anthology contains following stories:
- Introduction by Gardner Dozois
- “Some Desperado” by Joe Abercrombie - A Red Country story
- “My Heart is Either Broken” by Megan Abbott
- “Nora’s Song” by Cecelia Holland
- “The Hands That Are Not There” by Melinda Snodgrass
- “Bombshells” by Jim Butcher - A Harry Dresden story
- “Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn
- “Wrestling Jesus” by Joe R. Lansdale
- “Neighbors” by Megan Lindholm
- “I Know How to Pick ’Em” by Lawrence Block
- “Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell” by Brandon Sanderson
- “A Queen in Exile” by Sharon Kay Penman
- “The Girl in the Mirror” by Lev Grossman - A Magicians story
- “Second Arabesque, Very Slowly” by Nancy Kress
- “City Lazarus” by Diana Rowland
- “Virgins” by Diana Gabaldon - An Outlander story
- “Hell Hath No Fury” by Sherilynn Kenyon
- “Pronouncing Doom” by S.M. Stirling - An Emberverse story
- “Name the Beast” by Sam Sykes
- “Caretakers” by Pat Cadigan
- “Lies My Mother Told Me” by Caroline Spector - A Wild Cards story
- “The Princess and the Queen” by George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire story

As you can see, we get stories from great authors like Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Jim Butcher, and even a George R.R. Martin novella from A Song of Ice and Fire. One of the big ones I've been looking forward to is Lev Grossman's story about Brakebills from his trilogy, The Magicians.

But wait, there's more.

No, actually that was it. Sorry, I started feeling like an infomercial for a sec. My excitement has turned into a sales pitch, doh! Well, suffice it to say, I'm really looking forward to reading just about everything in this anthology, but for now I've already jumped into Martin's The Princess and the Queen, because yeah.

The Giveaway!

If you are interested in getting your hands on Dangerous Women, then follow the exceedingly simple instructions below:

E-mail me your name and address at onlythebestsff@[removethis]gmail.com, with "Definitely Not Femme Fatales" as the subject of the email (or at least something that lets me know what the email is about). This goes without saying, but double emails get you disqualified.

Snarky comments increase your chances of winning by getting you bonus entries for future giveaways. This is US Only (sorry!) as long as delivery doesn't require the mounting of an expedition into remote wilderness.

Review - Manifesto UF, Edited by Tim Marquitz and Tyson Mauermann

I like to read anthologies slowly and when the mood for that particular theme strikes me. This has been so for a while and it will probably never cease. I've come to believe that this type of reading schedule is exactly what anthologies were made for and it helps break up some of my other reading projects that are usually in either Science Fiction or Fantasy with little deviation, especially to Urban Fantasy. So, it took a while to read Manifesto UF [US] [UK], even there were some excellent stories. 

What will bring me to an anthology like this is the big named authors, even though this is a small-press publication. I've enjoyed authors like Jeff Salyards and heard lots of good things about Teresa Frohhock and Zachary Jernigan. Of course the big names** performed as expected, but I was even more impressed by the lesser known authors. 

**by which I mean, authors whose work I've seen at Barnes & Noble.

Nick Sharps scared the crap out of me with his creepy story of Toejam and Shrapnel and Abhinav Jain created a really interesting world with Indian influences. Kenny Soward impressed me with his debut, Rough Magic, and did so yet again with his story Dust Woman. I don't think I completely got That Old Tree by R.L. Treadway and yet the imagery was visceral. I enjoyed Lincoln Crisler's superhero anthology, Corrupts Absolutely?, and his short story, Queen's Blood, was an excellent addition here. I think my favorite, though, might have to go to Nephilim by TSP Sweeney. 

I think what keeps me away from urban fantasy mostly is the line between Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy can often be a fine one. I like to focus on the fantastical elements, magic, etc. rather than the rather mundane sex and whatnot (many things go in the "whatnot" category). While there's plenty of sex here that got to be a bit much for this prude at times, there's also a healthy dose of magic and interesting creatures and myths. 

Both the pros and the soon-to-be pros shine in this anthology. I didn't have time to list each story individually, but suffice it to say, I can't name a bad one in the bunch. Urban fantasy is not always my cup of tea, and that's because so many subscribe to a certain formula, but Manifesto UF really pushed those bounds and I like to see that. This is urban fantasy I like to read.

4 out of 5 Stars (highly recommended)

Note - Full disclosure: I'm a huge fan of Tim Marquitz, one of the editors of this anthology, and I consider Tyson Mauermann, the other editor, a friend I've met through blogging and forums. Take this as you will. 

Full list of stories - authors:
Rev – Kirk Dougal | I’m an Animal. You’re an Animal, Too – Zachary Jernigan | Los Lagos Heat – Karina Fabian | Savage Rise – Adam Millard | Front Lines, Big City – Timothy Baker | Break Free – Ryan Lawler | Naked the Night Sings – Teresa Frohock | Double Date – Andrew Moczulski | That Old Tree – R.L. Treadway | Dharmasankat – Abhinav Jain | Nephilim – TSP Sweeney | Toejam & Shrapnel – Nickolas Sharps | Green Grow the Rashes – William Meikle | Under the Dragon Moon – Jonathan Pine | Gold Dust Woman – Kenny Soward | Wizard’s Run – Joshua S. Hill |Chains of Gray – Betsy Dornbusch | Bloody Red Sun of Fantastic LA – Jake Elliot | Queen’s Blood – Lincoln Crisler | Beneath a Scalding Moon – Jeff Salyards | Separation Anxiety – J.M. Martin | Blessing and Damnation – Wilson Geiger | Jesse Shimmer Goes to Hell – Lucy A. Snyder

Exclusive Excerpt From the Neverland's Library Fantasy Anthology

I don't promote too many Kickstarters even though I get a number of requests. Not all of them fit the mold of the blog subject matter and very rarely am I interested anyway, but that's mostly because I don't spend all that much time looking up Kickstarters. It would relieve me of my already limited funds way too easily hence the avoidance in general.

I am, however, interested in the Neverland's Library Anthology that is being Kickstarted at the moment because, well, look at this list of authors along with that beautiful cover above:

Tad Williams - Introduction

Mark Lawrence - Deception

Marie Brennan - Centuries of Kings

Tim Marquitz - Redemption at Knife’s End

Kenny Soward - The Machine

Stephen McQuiggan - Redfern’s Slipper

William Meikle - The Last Magician

Ian Creasey - Restoring the Magic

Peter Rawlik - The Rendition of Ephraim Waite

R.S. Belcher - An Equity in Dust

Joseph Lallo - The Stump and the Spire

Jeffrey J. Mariotte and Marsheila Rockwell - A Soul in the Hand

Jeff Salyards - The Height of our Fathers

Miles Cameron - The Tomb

Keith Gouveia - Fire Walker

Betsy Dornbusch - Season of the Soulless

Brian Staveley - Dead Ox Falls

Teresa Frohock - Love, Crystal and Stone

J.M. Martin - Untitled

Mercedes M. Yardley - Untitled

Don Webb - Untitled 

There's no wonder it's already been funded. Roger Bellini asked me to post an exclusive excerpt from the anthology and of course I jumped at the chance. This one's from one of my favorites, Tim Marquitz.

Without further blah blah blah...

--------------------

 Redemption at Knife’s End

by

Tim Marquitz

He wound his way to the horse rail that separated the tavern from the road, and slipped around the far end. The weathered planks of the porch creaked beneath his feet but against his instincts, he did nothing to quiet the sound. A few heads turned his way, a handful of men carrying on a loud conversation near the door, but no stares lingered. Gryl breathed a relieved sigh as they went back to their talk, and then crept closer, squeezing past the men with effort to avoid bumping them. He could smell the alcohol that clung to their sweat. They’d be easy to rile in such states, and he didn’t want that. Not yet, at least.

The discordant wail of drunk-fingered players struck him when he entered the tavern. The banners, which hung from the thick rafters above, fluttered as though the music was a physical force. Patrons gathered about an inebriated foursome who plucked away, almost at random, at the instruments in their laps, a fifth’s drumming so poorly timed it was if he was playing to his heartbeat. It made for poor accompaniment, but with that cluster of people enthralled by the attempt, Gryl let his eyes wander to take in the rest of the Broken Lizard.

Though Korbitt was nowhere to be seen, his men had found a home near the stairs, their table pressed into the far corner. They sat in a loose half-circle, most of their backs to the wall. Each was armed with a sword and short blades. They wore an assortment of armor, but none were without it. They hadn’t come to celebrate. That meant the other men the woman was bringing would be prepared the same as their companions, shifting the odds against him.

Time had run short.

Gryl quickly confirmed Vai was nowhere amidst the twenty-odd patrons of the bar and hoped Rayk had told him the truth. He moved close to the wall and headed for the stairs, suspecting Korbitt would be up there with the girl. Nothing in the tavern noises suggested Gryl had been noticed, so he went on. He cast furtive glances at the mercenaries from beneath the cover of his hood, but like the men outside, they seemed too involved to care about anything outside of their circle. That was perfect.

He reached the banister and grasped its rail, setting foot on the first step.

“And just where do you think you’re going?” A mercenary asked; one he hadn’t seen.

Gryl ignored him and took a few more steps.

“I’m talking to you, you drunken son of a sheep-assed whore.” The man came around behind, chest puffed with misappropriated authority.

Chairs scraped across the wooden floors as the rest of the men got to their feet and started over. Gryl bowed his head. This was what he was trying to avoid. He muttered an incoherent apology and turned with aggravating slowness, but remained on the stairs. These weren’t the kind of men to simply let him apologize and walk away without consequence. He cast his eyes across the tavern for the clearest route to the door.

“Come here,” another of the mercenaries called out, waving him down. He already had a dagger in his hand, the steel shining in the glow of the lanterns. Several more men wandered over to be a part of the commotion. The charade had come to an inglorious end. He looked up at them.

“I know you,” the first said, his face twisted in an effort to place a name to the memory of Gryl’s face. “You’re—”

Gryl didn’t let him finish. He snapped the clasp of his cloak and spun it off, loosing it in their direction before he leapt over the banister. He bounced across a table and onto the floor as the mercenaries flung his cloak aside and gave chase, weapons drawn. The makeshift musicians stopped their clatter and the tavern went silent, Gryl drawing every open eye with his maneuver. He clenched his teeth hard, frustrated he was forced to abandon the stairs with Vai so close, but he couldn’t risk bringing a ravaging army to her doorstep. As of now, the mercenaries knew nothing of his purpose at the Lizard even if he had been recognized. As long as they didn’t stop him, they would never know why he was there. He made to bolt for the door.

Right then, the buxom woman burst into the tavern. A dozen men in ramshackle armor stormed in behind her, seeming curious about the disconcerting silence. Their eyes went wide at the scene before them. The woman screamed and bolted, shoving her way past the men at her back, but the mercenaries weren’t so easily dismissed. The smell of blood was in the air. They drew their weapons and advanced to reinforce their companions.

--------------------

Check out the Kickstarter for Neverland's Library Fantasy Anthology here. In case you don't know who Tim Marquitz is (new to the blog?):

He is the author of numerous books, including the Demon Squad series and Blood War trilogy. His most recent project is editing the Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters anthology. 

Exclusive Excerpt from Kaiju Rising, Last Chance to Back This Kickstarter Anthology

The Kickstarter for Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters is almost at an end and I've got an exclusive (I'm mostly positive about that) excerpt from one of the short stories in the anthology. This kickstarter has exceeded all expectations reaching it's goal of $10,000 rather quickly and even every single stretch goal. What's great about contributing now is that you already know everything you'll get and it's quite a bit at this point.

Not including the stretch goals authors.

So without further ado...

--------------------

From Joshua M. Reynolds' "Dead Men's Bones":

          Despite the distance, and the lead the monster had on them, they caught up with it far too quickly for St. Cyprian’s liking. He pushed the car’s engine to its limit, until smoke was boiling out from under it, and his body was numb from the shaking. The car was racing parallel to the beast as it smashed aside trees and ruins both old and new in its stumbling scramble towards Vyones. Yellow smoke clung to it, oozing from its pores and even from a safe distance, the thought of it made St. Cyprian itch for a gas mask. 

          St. Cyprian cursed as a splintered tree-trunk crashed down in front of the car and he jerked the wheel, narrowly avoiding it. He nearly crashed then and there, as a massive bloody foot stomped down in front of him, causing the car to bounce up and his head to crack against the roof. He tasted blood and spat. “Any time you’d like to start shooting is fine by me!” he shouted over his shoulder. A snarl sounded from the heavy machine gun in Bass’ hands a moment later. The American gave a screeching wail, like the cry of some angry hunting cat, as he depressed the barrel, stitching the colossus’ ankles and thighs with bullets. Carnacki fed a steady stream of ammunition into the gun even as the floor was covered in spent casings. The colossus might have been immune to small arms fire, but it felt the machine gun and it stooped with a bone-rattling howl, its fingers digging trenches through the muddy road as it sought to scoop them up. Poison gas swept towards them, driven their way by the furious motion of the beast’s arm.

--------------------

I know that was a short teaser, so here's a behind-the-scenes video from Ragnarok Publications for your viewing pleasure:

Kaiju Rising Kickstarter Opens Today

I don't get behind too many Kickstarters, but that's mostly because I just don't have the funds to pledge to the thousands of things I'd love to back. I wanted to let you know about another to get behind, Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, edited by Tim Marquitz and Nick Sharps. I don't know how many of you saw Pacific Rim, but boy did I have a good time with that movie and I think this anthology will be a blast as well. I mean, look at that author list!



Now check out the list of authors, it's got some big names:

With not even a day under its belt, Kaiju Rising already has a quarter of the $10,000 goal. From copies of the book to authors killing you or your city in their story and even a video made just for you, its no wonder this Kickstarter is filling up fast. For you writers, there's even an opportunity to get a short story in the anthology.

Of all the Kickstarter projects, this is one of the few that gets me this excited. You probably know by now that I love Tim Marquitz, but there's so much to this anthology to love in addition to a great editor. Head over here to pledge.

Triumph Over Tragedy - An Anthology for the Victims of Hurricane Sandy

You may have heard of this before today, but it bears repeating. Triumph Over Tragedy is a genre anthology which proceeds will go to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Not only is this for a good cause, but Triumph Over Tragedy is quickly becoming THE anthology to read, with stories from some of the biggest names in fantasy and science fiction writing today. 

Sarah, from Bookworm Blues, has been a major factor in bringing the anthology to light and here's the list of authors from her blog along with a little of what she has to say about getting word out (full post here):

—–

For those of you who haven’t been keeping tabs, this incredible anthology’s updated list of contributing authors is as follows:

• Robert Silverberg (Hugo and Nebula Award winner)
• Marion Zimmer Bradley (Locus Award winner) (donated by the MZB Literary Trust)
• Timothy Zahn (Hugo Award winner)
• Elizabeth Bear
• Michael J. Sullivan
• Mark Lawrence
• Bradley P. Beaulieu
• Philip Athans
• Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Tobias Buckell
Tim Marquitz
• Stephen D. Sullivan
• Rick Novy
• Jean Rabe
• Maxwell Alexander Drake
• SM Blooding
• Erik Scott de Bie
• Alex Bledsoe
• Elisabeth Waters
Bryan Thomas Schmidt
• R.T. Kaelin
• Ari Marmell
• Matt Bone
• Sarah Hans
• Rob Rogers
• Jaym Gates
• C.S. Marks
• C.J. Henderson
• Marian Allen
• Bryan Young
• Donald Bingle
• Janine Spendlove
• T.L. Gray
• Miya Kressin
• Matthew Wayne Selznick
• Steven Saus
• Addie King
• Rob Knipe
• Vicki Johnson-Steger
• Tracy Chowdhury
• Doris Stever

As of right now we are still aiming for a December 20 publication date, but that’s not set in stone. To learn more about the anthology click here. To contact me about various ways I can drive the entire planet crazy with the awesomeness that is Triumph Over Tragedy, email me at Sarah (at) Bookwormblues (dot) net with Triumph Over Tragedy in the subject.

(partial) Review - AfroSF, Edited by Ivor W. Hartmann

AfroSf  is a science fiction anthology solely by African authors and hence from an African perspective. Not only did this spark my interest, but one of the authors, Dave de Burgh, is a fellow blogger and all-around stand up kind of guy. He's the reason I wanted to at least read a couple of the stories in this anthology. 

I feel like if bloggers can make exceptions for their harsh no-indie-published-books rules, it should be for other bloggers (if anything to hold the door open if I ever decide to write my masterpiece *grins*).

I don't have lots of time and I'm already far behind in my review queue for the end of the year, so I figured I'd give at least a couple stories a go and maybe some day I'll have time in the future (yeah, still holding out for the invention of the 33 hour day).

As Goodreads says:

AfroSF is the first ever anthology of Science Fiction by African writers only that was open to submissions from African writers all across Africa and abroad.

"AfroSF is an intense and varied anthology of fresh work. Readers and writers who like to explore new viewpoints will enjoy this book." — Brenda Cooper, author of The Creative Fire.

“This is a book of subtle refractions and phantasmic resonances. The accumulated reading effect is one of deep admiration at the exuberance of the twenty-first century human imagination.” — A. Igoni Barrett, author of Love is Power, Or Something Like That

“The stories in AfroSF feature all the things fans of science fiction expect: deep space travel, dystopian landscapes, alien species, totalitarian bureaucracy, military adventure, neuro-enhanced nightlife, artificial intelligence, futures both to be feared and longed for. At once familiar and disarmingly original, these stories are fascinating for the diversity of voices at play and for the unique perspective each author brings to the genre. This is SF for the Twenty-first Century.” — David Anthony Durham, Campbell Award winning author of The Acacia Trilogy.

“I’d like the repurpose the title of an old anthropological study to describe this fine new anthology: ‘African Genesis.’ The stories in this unprecedented, full-spectrum collection of tales by African writers must surely represent, by virtue of their wit, vigor, daring, and passion, the genesis of a bright new day for Afrocentric science fiction. The contributors here are utterly conversant with all SF subgenres, and employ a full suite of up-to-date concepts and tools to convey their continent-wide, multiplex, idiosyncratic sense of wonder. With the publication of this book, the global web of science fiction is strengthened and invigorated by the inclusion of some hitherto neglected voices.” — Paul Di Filippo, co-author Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010.

Moom! by Nnedi Okorafor - The World Fantasy Award-winning author of Who Fears Death gives us a story from the perspective of a swordfish. I can't say I've ever read a story from this perspective, but I can definitely say she nailed it. I thought I was swimming along, witnessing the destruction of its habitat by those greedy for oil. Very unique and interesting. (4/5 Stars)

Home Affairs by Sarah Lotz - This story really resonated with me. I recently had to make a call and go through what seemed like an infinite set of automated responses while my query was unique enough I knew I needed to talk to someone. After going down so many automated paths I was about to scream, I finally found the number to press for a human, where I was told it was too busy and it hung up on me! Not even a hold. Anyway, that's as frustrated as you'll get reading this story, but it's so well done, and even humorous at times though serious for the most part. I couldn't put this one down, great story. (4.5/5 Stars)

Angel Song by Dave de Burgh - Angel Song is a great burst of military action with a very interesting idea, the angels as beings of light who have begun attacking humanity's distant settlements. Some believe they are actually angels sent from God, hence the name, but not all, especially with the death and destruction they cause. Well done. (4/5 Stars)

AfroSf will be available on December 1, 2012 (this Saturday). Also check out their Facebook page for information and updates. With these few stories alone, it's looking to be a good one, something to come back to when I have time and probably even when I don't.

EDIT: AfroSF is now available on eBook at Amazon. EDIT: I couldn't find the list of contributors the other day, but thanks to David Anthony Durham, I have it:

‘Moom!’ Nnedi Okorafor

‘Home Affairs’ Sarah Lotz

‘Five Sets of Hands’ Cristy Zinn

‘New Mzansi’ Ashley Jacobs

‘Azania’ Nick Wood

‘Notes from Gethsemane’ Tade Thompson

‘Planet X’ Sally Partridge

‘The Gift of Touch’ Chinelo Onwualu

‘The Foreigner’ Uko Bendi Udo

‘Angel Song’ Dave-Brendon Burgh

‘The Rare Earth’ Biram Mboob

‘Terms & Conditions Apply’ Sally-Ann Murray

‘Heresy’ Mandisi Nkomo

‘Closing Time’ Liam Kruger

‘Masquerade Stories’ Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu

‘The Trial’ Joan De La Haye

‘Brandy City’ Mia Arderne

‘Ofe!’ Rafeeat Aliyu

‘Claws and Savages’ Martin Stokes

‘To Gaze at the Sun’ Clifton Gachagua

‘Proposition 23’ (Novelette) Efe Okogu 

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher

Review - Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous, edited by Tim Marquitz

I picked up this anthology not only because it was an ARC given to me by a favorite author of mine, Tim Marquitz, but also because I felt like it would be some fun to read ... and the story by Mark Lawrence may have helped as well. 

Anthologies, for me, are going way out of my comfort zone. I'm typically a lazy person and can only take so much "new" at a time and anthologies are always filled with "new," each and every story in fact. But, I love a good monster story, be it zombies, vampires (maybe not as much), or other ghoulies, but I had no idea what I was in for.

Fading Light [US] [UK] blew my mind in terms of monsters. This anthology covers them from small ones to large ones and even sometimes asks the question about who the real monsters are, is it us? Humans can easily fall in the category all too easily. 

I don't think I can really describe how good this anthology is. It kept me up at night and not only because I was shaking under my blanket, it had me constantly thinking, and it was oh so easy to come back to. I can't praise this anthology enough, just go read it, you won't regret it.

Short reviews:

“Parasitic Embrace” by Adam Millard - What a great start to the anthology. It had me from the very beginning as a mysterious volcanic cloud sweeps the world. What could it be bringing? (4.5/5)

“The Equivalence Principle” by Nick Cato - This was a very interesting story with a great protagonist who seems to be a paranoid schizophrenic who things that gravity is about to give out any second. He races from his home to his car with an actual rope tied between just to get to and from work. Great story, but I didn't quite "get" the monster all that well. (4/5)

“A Withering of Sorts” by Stephen McQuiggan - So far, this was the most atmospheric and scary of the bunch. A guy walks into a bar (this is not a joke) with his wife and kid outside in the car. He's then told why strangers aren't welcome in these parts, especially children. (4.5/5)

“Goldilocks Zone” by Gary W. Olson - This was an all-out, everyone's a monster story. It quickly jumps into the premise that everyone starts becoming a monster from a mysterious such-n-such. While good, I don't know if I got this one all that well either. (3/5)

“They Wait Below” by Tom Olbert - This was a creepy story of an ancient monster slowly taking over the crew of a deep sea oil rig. I thought the monster was great although the story seemed to take a few leaps and bounds in logic that I wasn't willing to go to. Still a great story. (3.5/5)

“Blessed Be the Shadowchildren” by Malon Edwards - This story was both impressive and entertaining. There's a TON of world-building about how this particular being left his home on/in the sun and became a god. In the end it all works. (4/5)

“The Beastly Ninth” by Carl Barker - Barker takes us back to the 19th century where Napoleon is a sorcerer for the French and wages war against the English. The entire story is one battle with all kinds of undead monsters. It was enjoyable but not quite my favorite. (3.5/5)

“Late Night Customer” by David Dalglish - This was my first taste of Dalglish although I own a couple of his other books. I have to say I'm impressed and looking forward to the rest. I was sufficiently creeped out in this story about a waitress at a diner who serves a customer who's at his wit's end. All I can say is, "Don't look!!!!" (4.5/5)

“Rurik’s Frozen Bones” by Jake Elliot - You had me at Vikings, sailing, and Kraken. This was really a story within a story. Rurik, a Viking who looks exceptionally haggard is asked his story. The story itself was great and the main bulk, but it was dimmed a bit by the outer story, which ending didn't seem to fit these rough and tumble Vikings. (3.5/5)

“Wrath” by Lee Mather - I'm pretty sure I should suffer some type of damnation for liking this story, but it was really good. A priest starts going crazy, Biblical stuff goes down, nobody's safe. (4/5)

“Friends of a Forgotten Man” by Gord Rollo - Leaning more toward the gross-out horror for me, a man is unjustly imprisoned and conditions are just barely enough to keep him alive. He makes some...friends while contemplating his revenge. (3/5)

“Altus” by Georgina Kamsika - A woman attempts to dive the deepest any human has dived, doing so aboard the Altus. Maybe there's a reason we're not meant to dive so deep. (4/5)

“Angela’s Garden” by Dorian Dawes - This story definitely has a place among my favorites in the anthology. A woman in a retirement home sees things that others can't, dark things that only bode poorly for anyone in the vicinity. (4.5/5)

“The Long Death of Day” by Timothy Baker - Another story that tops my list of favorites, a comet comes close to Earth only to miss it...and completely destroy Venus. I thought the cover of this anthology was just some random monster, but turns out that's from this story. (4.5/5)

“Out of the Black” by William Meikle - The world's gone cold, only a few survivors live underneath the frozen surface. But the ore's running out and must be replenished. "Out of the Black" is another favorite in this anthology that's full of favorites. What great setting and atmosphere in such a small package. Loved it. (4.5/5)

“Degenerates” by DL Seymour - Set in the 60's amidst racial segregation, the town of Dunwich is looking to come back to its former glory. I really didn't expect this story in this collection, it's quite the deviation, but still good. It almost doesn't belong, until we find out about Dunwich's disturbing secret. (3.5/5)

“Dust” by Wayne Ligon - There's kind of a theme of dust or particles being the cause of some type of apocalypse for the earth. It provides a good setting for some monsters to come out of the closet and each one of these types of stories takes the concept in a different way. "Dust" really takes the concept in a whole new direction and inserts some really interesting ideas about space and aliens. I'm a big fan of this one. (4.5/5)

“Der Teufel Sie Wissen” by TSP Sweeney - I was really looking forward to this one - you had me at the German. Set during WWII, some Hitler Youth are assigned the simple task of taking out an enemy. Just one guy, it's almost too easy...right? The monster in this was great the story entertaining. Great work. (4/5)

“Born of Darkness” by Stacey Turner - Another of the "Dust" variety, a man is able to prepare his family for the ending of the world in a dream. They're doing okay until they take on a mute girl and suddenly they have another visitor at the door. A preacher who the mute girl obviously dislikes. Who can you trust at the end of the world? I enjoyed this one and it seemed like it could become a bigger project, at least from the setup at the end. (4/5)

“Lottery” by Gene O’Neill - I know Stephen King tells me it's juvenile to want things wrapped up nicely, but I really wanted a lot more information in this story. It was good, but then I had no idea why things happened how they did. (3/5)

“Where Coyotes Fear to Tread” by Gef Fox - I didn't know what to expect from his one at first, but I really liked it in the end. The Moon and the Sun are gone and monsters have taken over. The Moon has a plan to destroy them and a dangerous mission for Coyote and Eagle. (4/5)

“The Theophany of Nyx” by Edward M. Erdelac - I had to look up the title to see how it actually fit the story. Yes, it does. In this one, the moon is being colonized by earth, but the colonists may have gone too far and put the earth in big trouble. (4/5)

“Double Walker” by Henry P. Gravelle - If your shadow is killing people how do you make someone believe? It's not easy. Another good one. (4/5)

“Light Save Us” by Ryan Lawler - I was not expecting this ending. Great story, I'll say no more. (4/5)

“Dark Tide” by Mark Lawrence - This story, by the author of the excellent Prince of Thorns, did not suffer for my lack of anticipation (since I jumped ahead to read it). Wow, what a powerful story. I was up late and could not put it down, talk about creepy. I will say no more for fear of ruining it. (5/5)

The following are bonus stories, available only for NOOK and Kindle:

“Torrential” by Regan Campbell - Wow, I'm so glad I have the Kindle version because this story blew my mind. Great stuff. An obviously exhausted mother and son enter a diner with an unusual request. (4.5/5)

“Roadkill” by CM Saunders - Taking place with a couple of amateur ambulance drivers in Brazil, they find a motorcycle accident that no one could survive...or could they? Another solid entry. (4/5)

“Night Terrors” by Jonathan Pine - Not one to read in the wee hours of the night, this took me back to my childhood frights and that's a good thing. "Night Terrors" also reminded me a bit of Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz, but way scarier. (4.5/5)

“Final Rights” by Peter Welmerink - In a future earth, giant wolves and bears roam the earth and civilization is barely keeping it together. Lots of action and lots of bloody monsters. (4/5)

“Evensong” by Alex Marshall - I would be very interested to read a full novel based on this world where civilization has moved under the earth and is solely governed by The Seers. Great read and great ending. (4.5/5)

If you're looking for a great Halloween read, it would be hard to find better. If you're looking for an excellent anthology in general, you've found it. Fading Light is easily one of the best anthologies I've ever read, second only to Songs of the Dying Earth.

4.5 out of 5 Stars (Very Highly Recommended!)

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher