Even on the best of days, the world can be a scary place. When we are constantly bombarded with bad news and tragedies, it can be hard to find hope. Reading has always been a great escape from the anxieties of the world and with the release of their anthology, Fantastic Hope, Laurell K. Hamilton and William McCaskey have teamed up to bring readers 16 short stories from science fiction and fantasy authors that will bring a smile to their face and a bit of hope to their hearts.
Within the pages of Fantastic Hope, you will find stories of a blade wielding teddy bear that has helped generations of a family fight their inner demons, a crime lord finding a way to honour his mother during his imprisonment in a mining colony, Anita Blake dealing the repercussions of one of the most life like zombies she’d ever raised, and much more.
Anthologies can be hard for readers. It’s like in cooking competition shows (stick with me, it’ll make sense soon), when a chef presents a plate of Beef Four Ways. Nine times out of ten, one of the ways isn’t going to be as successful as the others and the judges will call the chef out for it. I always think of this when reading anthologies and it’s the same with Fantastic Hope. Yes, there were stories that didn’t work as well for me as others, but that didn’t take away the overall feeling this anthology is trying to give, which is hope.
Hope does not necessarily mean happily ever after or a perfectly tied up ending. Sometimes the hope is found in a girl sacrificing her mortality to save the life of her baby brother or getting shot in the chest to guide your life in a more meaningful direction. Hope is something different for everyone, and Fantastic Hope gives us 16 different stories in which to find our own courage or optimism to face a world that sometimes brings us down.
Hamilton and McCaskey cultivated a rich and diverse offering of short stories from science fiction and fantasy writers. Some of the authors are well established in their genres, like Patricia Briggs and Jonathan Maberry, but there are quite a few newcomers as well. Anthologies like Fantastic Hope are great ways to find new favourite authors, whether they are well known or just getting their foot in the door.
With such a large collection of stories, the writing styles vary wildly. The urban fantasy stories are more straightforward and wry, while the science fiction or straight up fantasy tend to skew a little more cerebral and emotional. The short stories that focused on already established worlds or characters are surprisingly easy to read, as the authors’ managed to give enough history to educate the reader without clunky info dumping. There truly is a story for everyone in this anthology, though likely not every story will work for every person.
While I enjoyed each story in this anthology there were a few that shone a bit brighter for me personally. William McCaskey’s Ronin is a poignant exploration of PTSD and after reading the foreword to Fantastic Hope, the story struck an even deeper chord with me. Mr. Positive, The Eternal Optimist by Larry Correia is a wild ride that takes an assassin story and turns its frown upside down. Asil and the Not-Date by Patricia Briggs is particularly amusing and makes me want to read more about this anti-social werewolf with a penchant for gardening. And as a particular fan of reincarnation stories, I was especially fond of Not in This Lifetime by Sharon Shinn, which focuses on a woman constantly finding the same friends in each life she leads, and while also being murdered by the same man, until this lifetime, when she fights back.
Our world can feel overwhelming with the panic-inducing news, anxiety laced social media feeds, and the general feeling of unrest whenever we venture out. Hamilton and McCaskey have gathered 16 worlds in Fantastic Hope for you to jump into whenever ours is feeling like too much. And I don’t know about you, but I could do with some world-hopping right about now.
Fantastic Hope is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of April 7th 2020.
Will you be picking up Fantastic Hope? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A collection of sixteen sci-fi and fantasy stories edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton and author William McCaskey.
A child’s wish for her father comes true. The end of the world has never been so much fun. Conquering personal demons becomes all too real. It’s not always about winning; sometimes it’s about showing up for the fight. It’s about loving your life’s work, and jobs that make you question everything.
In this anthology, seventeen authors have woven together brand-new stories that speak to the darkness and despair that life brings while reminding us that good deeds, humor, love, sacrifice, dedication, and following our joy can ignite a light that burns so bright the darkness cannot last.
Laurell K. Hamilton and William McCaskey are joined by Kevin J. Anderson, Griffin Barber, Patricia Briggs, Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell, Monalisa Foster, Robert E. Hampson, John G. Hartness, Jonathan Maberry, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Jessica Schlenker, Sharon Shinn, M. C. Sumner, Patrick M. Tracy, and Michael Z. Williamson in this collection. (
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