This weekâs review covers Worlds of Light and Darkness: The Best of DreamForge and Space & Time, edited by Angela Yuriko Smith and Scot Noel. As usual, this post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org, an online bookstore that financially supports independent bookstores.
Worlds of Light and Darkness comes out on May 25, but you can preorder it now.
![An image of an eReader displaying the Worlds of Light and Darkness anthology cover.](https://www.bookwitch.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/wolad-insta-1024x1024.jpg)
The Book Witchâs One Sentence Review
Worlds of Light and Darkness is a wide-ranging collection of insightful speculative fiction from two respected magazines that will introduce readers to a number of lesser-known, but worth knowing, writers across many sub-genres.
Overview
I learned of this collection because I used to read submissions for DreamForge, a speculative fiction magazine with a bent toward the hopeful based in Pittsburgh. An advance review copy was available through NetGalley, so I jumped at the chance to be an early reader.
I was also pleased to see that one of the stories I helped select, âA Sip of PombĂ©â by Gustavo Bondoni, made it into this collection. I might be biased, but it was easily one of my favorite stories in the collection.
While I was familiar with DreamForge, this was my first introduction to fiction from Space & Time. The collection is arranged with ten stories from DreamForge (worlds of light) at the beginning, and ten stories from Space & Time (worlds of darkness) at the end.
Although the selections from DreamForge were noticeably more upbeat overall than those from Space & Time, it would be false to say the Space & Time stories were universally dark or depressing. On the contrary, stories across the collection showed a range of themes, tackled the full depth of human emotions, dealt with difficult topics, and ended on mostly positive notes.
âMostlyâ being the key word, as there were a few stories that ended on darker notes, including âHumaniâ by John Palisano, âJoy of Lifeâ by Alessandro Manzetti, and the collectionâs final story, âA Glass Darklyâ by Ian Rogers.
Overall, I think the editors did a good job of balancing the uplifting with grim possibilities, and I appreciate that stories ranged from Mars exploration (âA Sip of PombĂ©â) to high-tech heist (âArtifactâ by Jonathan Maberry) to modern speculative western (âThe Spiral Ranchâ by Sarena Ulibarri).
Stand Out Stories
My favorite two stories in the collection were âThe Feline, the Witch, and the Universeâ by Jennifer Shelby and the aforementioned âA Sip of PombĂ©â by Gustavo Bondoni.
![Another shot of the eReader with the cover of Worlds of Light and Darkness anthology.](https://www.bookwitch.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/wolad-insta2-1024x1024.jpg)
âThe Feline, the Witch, and the Universeâ follows a witch as she rides her bike through space in search of her missing familiarâa cat who is mad at her because they didnât take a vacation. Although this story appeared in Space & Time, it was actually quite lighthearted. I enjoyed the world building and the implied tension between magic and science. Plus, the image of a witch riding her magical bike through the cosmos just tickled me.
âA Sip of PombĂ©â takes place in a near-ish future where various countries have begun setting up settlements on Mars. Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, Uganda develops its own space program and launches its own Mars mission in secret. The story addresses nationalism and, more importantly, various factionsâ ability to rise above nationalism in the name of scientific progress and humanity at large.
Another stand out story for me was Austin Graggâs âCollecting Violet:â a cautionary tale about ecological destruction disguised as a touching account of the tenderness of Death. It was beautifully written, and featured a talking corvid, something I canât resist.
I also really enjoyed the concept of a vertical, indoor ranch in Sarena Ulibarriâs âThe Spiral Ranch,â and the whimsical magical bookshop in the opening story, âAnswered Prayersâ by Scott Edelman.
An Unfortunate Turn of Phrase
Of course, the wide range of sub-genres and stories included in this collection meant a few didnât connect with meâand thatâs okay. I canât say I disliked any of the stories, although the way Alessandro Manzetti describes a woman in âJoy of Lifeâ did have me cringing.
The line in question was âThe thing that is moving is a human female, alive. The reptile senses her ovaries rotating in the estrogen broth.â
![A screen shot of an eReader with text that reads "No, it's not yet time to change. The heartbeat hunter is not mistaken. The thing that is moving is a human female, alive. The reptile senses her ovaries rotating inside the estrogen broth. Warm blood, tides."](https://www.bookwitch.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20210407_224308-01-1024x298.jpeg)
I know this is written from the perspective of a sentient lizard that may or may not fully understand human anatomy, if your ovary is rotated, itâs a medical emergency. The author could have opted for any number of verbs, like âhummedâ or âvibratedâ, but he went with the anatomically inaccurate and impossible ârotating.â
Despite that unfortunate line, Worlds of Light and Darkness is a strong collection that highlights the diversity of genres and ideas percolating in the galaxy of speculative fiction, and is worth picking up.
Who are some of your favorite speculative short story authors? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram or Twitter @bookwitchblog!