Threads A NeoVerse Anthology

Threads is an anthology of twenty stories selected from thousands submitted, the selection basis being premise, story, technique, and the subjective enjoyment of casual and industry professionals. They made good choices.

The premises are plausible within the genre, such as outer space, deserted buildings, sibling rivalry, coast guard cutters, frozen bridges, or ground zero in a bombing raid. They are all different.

There are some common threads to the stories. They are not dystopian, and, although some plumb other cultures, there is not despair or complete societal destruction. The stories are much more turned in and tuned to the individual, even if the individual only exists as the mind of someone long since dead. That inward-looking theme is developed by stories about letting go of life, of pain, or of longing, of flint-hearted actions, of gentle lasting love, or of heroic greatness.

The techniques are what you would expect of short stories. There is only one using disjointedness instead of plot. Several leave the ending in doubt. Many have delightful silence in the prose, forcing reader involvement to fill in the details.

These are stories to be savored like a good dessert. They are too rich to be gobbled all at once, and most have enough of all the proper elements to foster inspection and introspection. I recommend it.