Have you ever wondered if fish can sing? Seen bikinis kill? Been curious about whether or not there’ll be any justice at the end of the world, or if dogs are really psychopomps? Don’t worry if you haven’t, because C.A. Yates has already thought about all these things and more. Her debut collection gathers together most of her work with Fox Spirit Books, plus other outlets, and some new and previously unpublished work under one roof… which, admittedly, makes for some strange bedfellows. That’s how we like it though, right? It’s been a while since I’ve indulged my craving for fiction in the short form. Time to remedy that oversight. Gird your loins people, it’s time to enter the weird and wonderful world of C. A. Yates. This anthology is stuffed to the gunnels with fantastical fiction. Here are some thoughts about just a few of my favourites. How To Be The Perfect Housewife – Sometimes, when the mood takes me, I have to explore the pitch-black corners of my sense of humour. This darkly comic vision, which reads like a demented episode from Tales of the Unexpected, scratched that particular itch. A Kick in The Head – In every…

Celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of cutting-edge science fiction from the hit podcast, Escape Pod. Featuring new and classic stories from Cory Doctorow, Ken Liu, Mary Robinette Kowal, Ursula Vernon and more.  From editors Mur Laffterty and S.B. Divya comes the science fiction collection of the year, bringing together bestselling authors in celebration of the publishing phenomenon that is, Escape Pod. It’s been quite a while since I’ve read any short fiction so when I discovered an anthology was due to be published celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of the magnificent podcast Escape Pod I decided it was high time to remedy that oversight. This collection features fifteen science fiction tinged visions of our world and beyond and it’s just a bit awesome. Some random thoughts about each story – Citizens of Elsewhen by Kameron Hurley – If you’re going to protect history and the progenitors of humanity, then you need to get it right. Even if that means re-doing a mission over and over again. Kameron Hurley doesn’t mess about when it comes to kicking this anthology off. The nature of life, existence and how we shape our future is dissected and laid bare in just a handful of pages. I’m…

In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded city of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow south must figure out how to save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story “The City Born Great,” a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis’s soul. It has been quite a while since I’ve read an anthology, so when How Long ‘til Black Future Month arrived I was keen to give it a go. I’ve been trying to expand my reading horizons of late. I’ve never read anything by N K Jemisin, so a short story collection seemed like the ideal way to discover an author’s work for the first time. A little about some of my favourite stories then, don’t worry I’ll not going into too much detail. No spoilers here, my friend. The Ones Who Stay and Fight – Imagine a…

The Inspiration for the Upcoming TV Show Though perhaps most famous as a novelist, over the course of his career Philip K. Dick wrote more than one hundred short stories, each as mind-bending and genre-defining as his longer works. Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams collects ten of the best from across his career. In “Autofac,” Dick shows us one of the earliest examples (and warnings) in science fiction of self-replicating machines. “Exhibit Piece” and “The Commuter” feature Dick exploring one of his favorite themes: the shifting nature of reality, and whether it is even possible to really perceive the world as it is. And “The Hanging Stranger” provides a thrilling, dark political allegory as relevant today as it was when it was written at the height of the Cold War. Strange, funny, and powerful, the stories in this collection highlight a master at work, drawing on his boundless imagination and deep understanding of the human condition. When it comes to short story collection reviews, I normally cobble together a bit of a preamble. Gather together some thoughts about each of the entries. Discuss my favourites and then come to some sort of conclusion. Not so in this case. The anthology…

For the uninitiated – The Eloquent Page is just me, on my own. There are guest reviews from time to time but I read 99% of the books myself. I’m most definitely not a writer, I’m just a collector of stories, so I don’t bother with negative reviews. Life, as I have discovered, is way too short to be reading books you don’t enjoy. As has become habit over the last few years, I like to round off the reviewing calendar with a look back over the last twelve months, and dispense some awards that are entirely of my own devising. In 2016, I’ve read sixty-five books and the only criteria to be in the running for an award, except for one category, is that I’ve read and reviewed the book. Now that we’ve sorted that waffly preamble out… on with the show. “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It” Award – I enjoy a good apocalypse as much is the next person so I read as many of the Armageddon-esque gems as I can lay my hands on. This year I read some corkers. The Ship by Antonia Honeywell, Bite by K.S. Merbeth and The Last…

Sharp of mind and instinct; with poise and grace and power – Eve’s Daughters are a match for any opponent. Whether seeking out a worthy test or assailed by brave (but foolish) foes, she is determined and cunning, and will not fail. Here are fifteen tales from across the ages; full of prowess both martial and magical, from an array of unique voices Time for some short fiction. Occasionally I like to mix things up a little, and an anthology is always a good way to do exactly that. Eve of War collects together fifteen tales of inner strength, determination and an unquenchable will to succeed featuring female protagonists. Miranda’s Tempest by S.J. Higbee – The collection kicks off with an inventive sequel to one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. And they all lived happily ever after, or did they? Have you ever wondered what happens after the story your familiar with ends? The Devil’s Spoke by K.T. Davies – Young Chey dreams of a warrior’s life. Her ma, and her nan, have other ideas. An incident in the tavern they own brings this argument to a head. Three generations of a family and some long hidden revelations come together…

The music of Rush, one of the most successful bands in history, is filled with fantastic stories, evocative images, and thought-provoking futures and pasts. In this anthology, notable, bestselling, and award-winning writers each chose a Rush song as the spark for a new story, drawing inspiration from the visionary trio that is Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. Enduring stark dystopian struggles or testing the limits of the human spirit, the characters populating 2113 find strength while searching for hope in a world that is repressive, dangerous, or just debilitatingly bland. Most of these tales are science fiction, but some are fantasies, thrillers, even edgy mainstream. Many of Rush’s big hits are represented, as well as deeper cuts . . . with wonderful results. This anthology also includes the seminal stories that inspired the Rush classics “Red Barchetta” and “Roll the Bones,” as well as Kevin J. Anderson’s novella sequel to the groundbreaking Rush album 2112. 2113 contains stories by New York Times bestselling authors Kevin J. Anderson, Michael Z. Williamson, David Mack, David Farland, Dayton Ward, and Mercedes Lackey; award winners Fritz Leiber, Steven Savile, Brad R. Torgersen, Ron Collins, David Niall Wilson, and Brian Hodge, as well…

KnightWatch Press is proud to present Sunny, with a Chance of Zombies: a sensational selection of strangely uplifting stories to help raise a smile at the end of the world. “This is gonna sound a bit weird, but do you think all people taste this good, or just zombies, or just this zombie?” Our authors have dug deep to bring you brand new tales of anarchy, heartbreak and revenge, leavened with a little bit of love, life and laughter. Within these pages you’ll find a variety of zombies, from the classic Shamblers to the Working Dead and the sentient Other. Ranged against them are a motley bunch of survivors. Some will take cynical advantage of the situation whilst others try to build a better life in the dead new world. “Pop bought me my first zom when I was eighteen. She was a real bitch; wiry and evil, and she won me a few races before her left leg dropped off and she couldn’t race no more.” We’ve got all sorts waiting in store for you here, from necromancy to technomancy; savagery to comedy; lovers, liars, looters, and the very tenderest of tragedy. All in all, the outlook’s good. I…

SHARKPUNK: an anthology of killer shark stories. Sharks – the ultimate predators, masters of their watery domain, a world that is entirely alien and inhospitable to man. So many aspects of the shark are associated with humankind’s most primal fears. The tell-tale dorsal fin slicing through the water, the dead eyed-stare, the gaping jaws full to unforgiving teeth, the remorseless drive to kill and feed…Inspired by such classic pulp movies as Jaws and Deep Blue Sea – as well as such ludicrous delights as Sharknado and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus – the stories contained within are rip-roaring page-turners and slow-build chillers that celebrate all things savage, pulp and selachian. Covering the whole range of speculative fiction genres, from horror and Steampunk, through to SF and WTF, these are stories with bite! Come on in. The water’s fine… Dur duh… dur duh…dur duh, dur duh, dur duh, dur duh, duh duh dah!  I’m so sorry, I couldn’t resist, I just had to get that out of my system before I could even begin to start discussing this new anthology from Snowbooks. Sharks have always fascinated me. Ever since I first saw a certain movie as a child, I have been…

“I don’t normally talk about work.” A call handler for an insurance company that offers out of this world cover, a broker of Faustian pacts, the best man at a doomed stag night, a PR consultant who’s way out of his depth, and a ninja: everyone has a job to do. Eight stories, eight people, eight jobs: some find their work takes them just beyond reality; for others, “beyond reality” is just another day at the office. A lot of us never quite manage to achieve our dreams when it comes to our careers. Rather than doing what we want to do, we do what we need to do in order to pay the bills, to get by and cover the basic necessities. When you’re a cubicle monkey like me, you wish for escape. Like Sam Lowry in Brazil, you dream about getting away from it all and never having to come back. This short story collection by Chris Farnell plays with the theme of work and how it makes us feel. The Broker – If you are going to make a deal with a devil it only makes a certain amount of sense to have professional available to ensure…