Imagine a chessboard that can control a person’s life, even cause death. Lucy has friends over, but when they tire of their games, she pulls out the mysterious chessboard. The rules are laid out clearly and the game must proceed from beginning to end. In...

The Greatest Game by Greg Rajaram is a light read that I would consider as one of the most philosophical works of fiction I have ever read. While Sophie’s World is too didactic for my taste, The Greatest Game is simply impressive in its uniqueness....

Twilight in Saigon by Zev Cohen is a mix of short stories and one short novella that covers the whole gamut of human emotions and experiences. If there is one feature that ties these disparate ideas together it is probably the bittersweet nature of the...

Loyal to its title, The Warning Signs: Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy by M. Ainihi is simply that, ranging from the familiar and beloved horror themes to the fantastical and grim tales from the past, present, and of the near future. Part I is...

In Petrina Binney's The Good in Goodbye, Charlotte likes to mind her own business and wants people to do the same for her, but her mother, Carol, is quite the opposite. Charlotte spends her days mixing cocktails and talking to her sister, Kelly, about their...

In this collection of short stories, prepare to be immersed in the day-to-day activities of some charming characters from different walks of life. David Joseph combines several romantic and dreamy themes in The Old Men Who Row Boats and Other Stories: boat rides, art galleries,...

There’s nothing like a good fairy tale to teach us, yet again (as we often need countless reminders), that true beauty is not something we see – true beauty comes from deep within a person. Life is hard and not always fair, but each of...

“I never gave much thought to magic until the day I went for a walk through the woods.” In The Unexplained by David Serra, a young man, Scott, encounters a strange magician who holds him captive when he tries to cross a woodland bridge. If...

Following the defining fantasy tradition of Tolkien, The Day You Were Born by Daniel Greenbrook presents us with a dark fantasy tale set in an age-long war between humans and elves. The war is not the subject of the story; rather it shows us the...

Three Tamales for the Señor and Other Stories by James Tipton is a collection of the late author and former literature and writing professor's work. Tipton zeroes in on his retirement in Mexico as the inspiration for each of the seventeen pieces in this anthology,...