Revolutionary tales of resilience and growth, defiance and upheaval from
WC Dunlap
Tomorrow is here! Superpowered nationalists, CRISPR babies, alien communists, bloodsucking buildings, holy street justice, otherworldly anarchists, resurrection in the post-apocalypse, and more. There will be no going back.
July 26, 2021
This anthology of 12 incisive, politically engaged works of weird fiction delivers on the promise made by its subtitle. At under 200 pages, it packs a punch in a relatively short space, with the strongest pieces focusing on the smaller-scale upheavals of personal revolutions. In “Float Day” by S.B. Divya, a supernatural manifestation of class division drives a rift between three school friends. An ornate pocket watch endows the protagonist of “The Mystery Watch” by Gerald L. Coleman with a strange ability. “Sacred She-Devil” by Craig Laurance Gidney finds a trans woman summoning the spirit of a murdered sister so the two of them can seek revenge. And in the standout finale, Margaret Killjoy’s voicey and energetic “A Field, a Shadow, Indeed a Shadow,” two childhood friends and self-described “weird girls” sabotage a golf course development and stumble into the middle of a transdimensional conflict. Gable and Dombrowski (who previously collaborated on the anthology Nowhereville) employ their selections to artfully toe the line between genre- and reality-defying weirdness while also depicting an astute understanding of real-world political and social dynamics. This will appeal to readers of SFF magazines such as Uncanny and Fireside, and anyone with an interest in well-wrought weird fiction.