Ho Ho Ho!!!

Festive times call for selection boxes to be eaten with yummy chocs and short story collections and anthologies also offer delicious morsels of fiction for our delight. This year I’ve read some brilliant ones showcasing author’s imaginations and in particular this year exposed me to areas of our genre community outside the usual UK/US bloc I am used to. These cover SF, fantasy and horror and sometimes the collections deal with all three

Here are some recommendations

Eurasian Monsters edited by Margret Helgadottir — The seventh and final volume int his collection exploring the myths of monsters around the world. This time the tales of far Eurasian countries. I love exploring the similarities and differences in folklore and this is a spectacular achievement.

A Tiding of Magpies by Pete W Sutton —  and The Museum For Forgetting by Pete W Sutton — two great short story collections from one of the UK’s most talented short story wroters and also editors. One plays with the old magpies nursery rhyme in imaginative ways while the others plays with the concept of memory. Both well worth your time

We Are Wolves edited by Gemma Amor, Laurel Hightower & Cynthia Pelayo — a very good anthology exploring women’s role in genre and often attacking some of the stereotypes. This collection is powerful stuff and also the profits help domestic violence charities.

Relics Wrecks & Ruins edited by Aiki Flinthart — this is one of the best anthologies of the year containing work from Neil Gaiman, Ken Liu, Jasper Fforde and far more. It’s varied and engrossing. It also is the final edited from Aiki Flinthart who died from cancer just as this was released. The proceeds here also go to a worthy cause in Aiki’s name. I strongly recommend this.

Made to Order: Robots and Revolution edited by Jonathan Strahan — A really interesting anthology playing with the concept of robots again with a wide selection of tales from the likes of Sofia Samatar, Tochi Onyebuchi and Saad Z Hossain. From laughs, satire to hard sf something for everyone.

Beyond the Latch and Lever: Speculative Short Stories edited by Susanna Skarland and Elle Blackwood — A really interesting indie collection focused on writers of the Pacific North-West in the US. A blend of genres and some new names for me to enjoy.

Love. An Archaeology by Fabio Fernandes — This short story collection is rather brilliant and showcases the talent’s of Fernandes’ speculative fiction. Not just love but many more emotions explored and another highly rated collection to pick up!

Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora edited by Zelda Knight and Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald — Personally if you like SF, fantasy and horror short fiction you must get this collection exploring african authors. An absolute triumph and exposes readers to many new voices I think we’ll be hearing from for years to come.

Nova Hellas - Stories From Future Greece Edited by Francesca T Barbini & Francesco Verso — I loved this collection for giving us a glimpse of SF froma  country we tend to only consider as a land of myth. Knowing the many issues Greence has tackled recently seeing how that has impacted SF is absolutely fascinating.

Vampires Never Get Old - Tales With Fresh Bite edited by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C Parker — in the realm of YA an inventive tale reinventing vampires for a 21st century diverse audience with a barnstormer of a tale from VE Schwab and any more to enjoy

From the Neck Up by Aliya Whiteley — One of my favourite authors who mixes genres and always move their stories into unusual directions. Highly entertaining and the writing is brilliant

Out of the Darkness edited by Dan Coxon — After 2021 this collection puts the hope into horror and provides a host of excellent authors giving us thoughtful stories exploring mental health in horror. Also aids a very good charity.

Seeds by Tabatha Wood — A delicious flash fiction collection with a focus on the darker side of speculative fiction well worth a look.

Even Greater Mistakes by Charlie Jane Anders — Another of my favourite authors who manages to mix the genres nimbly and also ensures a refreshing modern feel to their characters and plots.

A Universe of Wishes: A We Need More Diverse Books Anthology edited by Dhonielle Clayton — Another YA collection filled with progressive tales and a diverse group of authors putting characters into the spotlight mainstream fiction often ignores.

Sinopticon - A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction translated and edited by Xueting Christine Ni — Another collection demonstrating the quality of authors in other countries. In this case a fascinating selection of Chinese SF over the last thirty years. Highly engaging and I loved exploring the common themes in the stories.

The Terralight Collection by Pamela Jeffs — another short short fiction collection of dark and weird tales (including a female Van Helsing tale which is awesome) and its so great to have a story where I always was wrongfooted where the story was going.

The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction (2021) Volume One edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki — Another brilliant must have collection and showcasing more authors you may not have been aware of. I strongly recommend this and cannot wait until Volume 2 comes out!

Unexpected Places to Fall From, Unexpected Places to Land by Malcolm Devlin — Last but not least a very intelligent unusual set of tales from another of the UK’s interesting short fiction authors. Parallel worlds, lives and more await and again you’ll go on some interesting journeys.