Of Shadows, Stars and Sabers: An Anthology edited by Jendia Gammon and Gareth L Powell

I would like to thank the editors for an advance copy of this anthology in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher - Stars and Sabers Publishing

Published - Out Now

Price - £15.99 paperback £7.49 ebook

A cross-genre anthology edited by authors and editors Jendia Gammon and Gareth L. Powell featuring short stories from stellar writers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This is the debut anthology for Stars and Sabers Publishing. Authors include Adrian Tchaikovsky, Ai Jiang, Alice James, Antony Johnston, Cynthia Pelayo, D.K. Stone, David Quantick, Dennis K. Crosby, Eugen Bacon, Gemma Amor, Greg van Eekhout, Helen Glynn Jones, J.L. Worrad, John Wiswell, Jonathan L. Howard, Kali Wallace, KC Grifant, Khan Wong, Laurel Hightower, Lizbeth Myles, Mya Duong, Paul Cornell, Pedro Iniguez, Peter McLean, Ren Hutchings, Renan Bernardo, Sarah L. Miles, Stark Holborn, and T.L. Huchu.

The Anthology has in recent years often moved to a very narrow themed which stories are created around. That allows a lot of versatility still but does mean you can start to see what can happen next. The idea of a truly mixed anthology has tended to be more around year’s best short fiction and again that can often be settled around a sub-genre. In many ways the new anthology Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers edited by Jendia Gammon and Gareth L Powell recalls the feeling of the type I read a long time ago a truly mixed assortment where you’re not too sure where each story takes you next from tales of fear to wonders on Earth or across the galaxy or acts of magic - sometimes all three at once.

Among the stories I enjoyed in this large collection are

The Shadow Eater of Oriono-Rin by Eugen Bacon - what looks to be a long ago African folklore fantasy is soon revealed to be set far out in the future and space. A lovely mix of genres this start off with and a touch of horror develops as we follow a woman with a dangerous appetite causing trouble where she goes. Hugely enjoyable.

Under land by Gemma Amor - a gorgeous dark tale of a woman lost in grief taken to a mysterious underground realm. Powerful, eerie and hovers across the line between horror and fantasy really well. One of my favourites.

Existence: A Thought Experiment by Greg van Eekhout - what seems a bittersweet look back of childhood suddenly takes a sharp disturbing turn in just a few powerful pages. Impressive horror.

Sing Yourself Back to Sleep by Laurel Hightower - a very enigmatic dreamy nightmarish tale of a woman waking to find herself standing over her seriously injured body. It’s fascinating and yet doesn’t explain itself - a tale of moving on even when unsure what happens next that kept me compelled to read on.

The Magic Wood by Jonathan L Howard - Johannes Cabal Necromancer meets Dr Carnacki of cabinet fame for a dangerous adventure. That should be enough to tempt fans! Much fun is had as is a scary plot revealed!

Cruel Machinations by Pedro Iniguez -is an interesting mosaic tale set in Mexico following various tortured characters that could easily be about the dark underbelly of Mexico’s drug world but here suggests an even more ominous supernatural threat at work.

Last Gasp by Stark Holborn - a great take for fans of the Fractal series where an enigmatic character arrives in a dangerous town. This story works by a reader flipping a coin to decide what’s next - inventive and has many options!

Unremarkable by Alice James - two space smuggling siblings fall into all sorts of fun trouble from accidental body swaps, avoiding guns and getting into danger. It has a lovely light tone of romp more than gritty adventure and the storylines very nimbly fall together to give us a very satisfying payoff.

Donhagore by TL Huchu - this story takes us to Zimbabwe where a student finds himself summoned to the death of an old friend he does not remember. A story of clashing cultures, dreams to escape and friendship it really comes together well and has that lovely ridge to see what happened next. A sign I’m invested in a story I love even if I never will find out what took place after the last page.

Grey by Ren Hutchings - loved this story of a young man stuck in a very dull job on their birthday and a chance encounter suggests a lot more if going on. It has an excellent arc and shows no one ever truly gets everything that they want in life. Well worth a read and a favourite.

Holy Fools by Adrian Tchaikovsky - another tale set in the Tyrant Philosophers World and this explains one of the key images of the world - it involves a box and I’ll leave it that but some gorgeous character work awaits.

Hunger and The Lady by Peter McLean - this gives us the hard and grim origin story of a key character in the War for the Rose Throne series. Extremely well told in a handful of gripping scenes.

His Lord Recalcitrant by JL Worrad - this is a delightfully dark true weird tale of a devising bargain with added giants Ponds, insects and weaving timelines that is enigmatic, unsettling and compelling.

To The Rescue by David Quantick - a woman finds her quiet pub drink is interrupted by a stranger who needs five minutes to change her life. In many ways this encapsulates why we read. Fascinating story.

Alice Street by Paul Cornell - an unusual Wikipedia style tale telling us the life story of an enigmatic movie and tv star. As much fun for the alternate tv and movies we have but it also suggests something darker and stranger at work we can only just perceive through the reporting. Very impressive.

The Companionship of Lighthouses by Lizbeth Miles - I really enjoyed this alternate history folklore imagining humans battling the species of the sea. It feels both incredibly classic and new which keeps you wanting to see where we go next. Another favourite.

A Species Called Hope by Ai Jiang - an impressive finale to the collection as a lone space rover travels the ruined earth to see if humanity could have a future. I loved the surprising choices of this story and the resolution reminds us humanity is a lot more than our DNA.

This is an impressively varied collection not just in subgenres but also tone. It should work for a myriad of tastes and while not all stories worked for me I recognise that was often more to what I enjoy reading than the author’s quality. This is a collection you can have fun diving into and sometimes what more can I tempt with than that? Well worth a dip in the ocean!