Short Stories | Portland Book Review

Nebula Awards Showcase 2018 edited by Jane Yolen

by Katie Richards | Dec 6, 2018 | Anthologies, Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), Science Fiction, Short Stories

The Nebula Awards Showcase 2018 stands out from the many other science fiction and fantasy short story anthologies, not just because the Nebula Awards are the best of the best in genre fiction, but because each anthology is slightly different. Where many anthologies...

My Old Faithful by Yang Huang

by Stephen Febick | Jun 26, 2018 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), General Fiction, Short Stories

Set between China and The US over a thirty-year period, My Old Faithful tells the story of one Chinese family and their growth over ten interconnected stories. Author Yang Huang’s debut novel, Living Treasures, told the story of two young lovers in the summer of 1989...

World Gone Missing: Stories by Laurie Ann Doyle

by Sarah Hutchins | May 30, 2018 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), General Fiction, Short Stories

The twelve stories that comprise Laurie Ann Doyle’s debut short story collection World Gone Missing are a relatable expression of Baby Boomers’ experiences. Characters are often in their late 40s or 50s navigating memories transposed with today. Clothing becomes...

Mad Hatters and March Hares edited by Ellen Datlow

by Barbara Cothern | May 16, 2018 | Anthologies, Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), Fantasy, Horror, Short Stories

The story of Alice in Wonderland is one that has captivated the imaginations of children and adults for years. Both fanciful and dark, the original story weaves a tale that cannot be forgotten and has inspired countless films, books, and even video games. In the book...

We’ve All Been There edited by Elisabeth Ashlin

by Eric Stalker | Jan 5, 2018 | Anthologies, Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), Short Stories, Sponsored

We’ve All Been There, an anthology put together by Elisabeth Ashlin and several others, is a collection created and inspired by the National Novel Writing Month. Writers from around the world were given the theme “going back or returning” with a prompt of concealment...

Madame Zero: 9 Stories by Sarah Hall

by Sarah Hutchins | Oct 2, 2017 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), General Fiction, Short Stories

Sarah Hall’s Madame Zero: 9 Stories begins and ends with the two strongest short pieces, which both examine heterosexual marriage from a male perspective. The husbands, willing but almost passive participants, marvel at the changes that overcome their wives. In “Mrs....