A mixed bag this in terms of quality but many of the stories were thought provoking and it did it’s job in that I found some new authors to check out. Highlights for me were Iteration by Deirdre Gould, Imperfect by David Adams, PePr, Inc. by Ann Christy, The Assistant by Angela Cavanaugh, The Grove by Jennifer Foehner Wells, and Humanity by Samuel Peralta. ( )

Just buy this. Future Chronicles is really good and I think I’ll use the phrase outstanding for its type as well, a special sci-fi collection with stings in the tails and brains in the formulation and I recommend it to you without hesitation. Usually I don’t go overboard like that (okay, sometimes, but never previously for short stories) but this one deserves flagging. The thing is, most short story collections I’ve read have included one or two quite good ones, then a dozen others at a much lower standard (incl. one written by the editor) which the publication carries, making up the numbers. The stories in this book are pretty much all five or four star reads, imaginative, well-constructed and delivered in a flowing style. It’s a great feeling to have finished an impressive short story, then start the next and feel after a few pages that that it might be even better. I have tried to think of a higher quality sci-fi/fantasy short story collection but I’m stuck as I honestly can’t come up with any. Better individual stories, yes, but not a better set in one volume. These were the classics, in my view: A Dream of Waking (Sam Best), Don’t Tell (Peter Cawdron), Iteration (Dierdre Gould), The Assistant (Angela Cavanaugh) and The Grove (Jennifer Foehner Wells). My favourite? Probably The Assistant, but a blogger can’t help but notice that one. ( )

A mix of different types of sci-fi short stories. The majority are quite interesting, but there are a few that did not grab my attention. Overall a good introduction to some new authors and their worlds. ( )