Passageways: Short Speculative Fiction - Lisa Fox - ★★★.¾

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AUTHOR: Lisa Fox
GENRE: Speculative Fiction Anthology
PUBLICATION DATE: July 1, 2024
RATING: 3.65 stars.

In a Nutshell: A speculative fiction collection with stories from various SFF subgenres, with the title working as the theme. Lyrical writing, great exploration of feelings, amazing premises that are distinct from each other. The endings didn’t work for me in a few cases, but overall, this is one heck of an imaginative collection. Recommended!

Last year, I had read Lisa Fox’s ‘Core Truths’, a speculative fiction collection focussing on our internal core emotions. I had been quite impressed by that collection, and hence didn’t miss the chance to check out her second offering. The experience has been so similar that I could have simply saved some time by copy-pasting that review here.

(I won’t; every book deserves its own review.)

This collection of twenty-seven stories is yet again rooted in speculative fiction, but it covers a range of subgenres such as dark fantasy, sword & sorcery fantasy (which I don’t really enjoy), cosy fantasy, horror, magical realism, and science fiction. The lengths of the stories are quite varying, with some being just microfiction. So don’t be apprehensive on looking at the high story count. The stories also span an assortment of characters, with narrators ranging from children to senior citizens, male and female.

The theme this time is, as indicated by the title, passageways. The author’s eloquent introductory note highlights how ‘passageways’ are dominant in our lives, whether literally – through actual doors and corridors, or metaphorically – vide a life-changing path or a difficult choice, or even a journey across space and time. When I read this note, I recollected another indie anthology I had read last year - 'Forbidden Doors', which had the similar-sounding idea of ‘doors’ as its theme, but unfortunately, it stuck to literal doors for most of the stories. Lisa Fox’s collection handles the theme much better, as there is no repetitiveness in the “passageways” she chose to write about. 

In fact, there was no feeling of déjà vu at all as I went through the twenty-seven stories herein. There was no overlap across any premise. Rather, the stories offered an individual flavour to each situation, covering journeys, personal challenges, curious peeks, worrisome life changes, … The collection tests myriad themes under the speculative fiction umbrella and comes out with flying colours. 

There is an emotional undertone to many of the stories, something not common in SFF. And based on my experience with ‘Core Truths’ and ‘Passageways’, I feel that this author is at her best when she writes about human sentiments in the speculative world. She captures emotions in a vivid style, and never lets the situation or the human response appear unrealistic. Her prose is also very lyrical, lending a beauty to the proceedings even when they are not charming.

The endings for some of the stories didn’t work so well for me. While they were not exactly abrupt, they didn’t offer the satisfaction we usually get on completion. I felt like the story had something more to say, but was cut off prematurely. (I had the same issue with ‘Core Truths’ also.) Regardless, I am stunned by the uniqueness of the tales. Even when the stories didn't click for me, each of them had a distinct feel. There's no denying that the author’s creative thinking is astounding. 

I must also mention something that hardly ever captures my attention: the title of the stories. For the first time in ages, reading the titles in the table of contents made me curious about the stories as they sounded so enticing! 

I wish the author would change her cover designer. The current cover art  for both her collections don't do her writing justice.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Most of the stories reached or crossed the 3-star mark, with eleven stories going to 4 stars and beyond. These were my top favourites, with 4.5+ stars each:

🌀 Her Memory Uncloaked - A speculative futuristic story about a man trying to save his beloved wife. I could see where it was going, but still enjoyed it. The author's imagination was impressive. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🌀 In the Image of Evie - Oh my! This was so sad but so well-written! So many emotions within just a few pages. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🌀 And the Light Faded - No words! Scary and scintillating at once. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌀 A Longing for the Old Days – A couple together for fifty years will necessarily have at least some regrets. This story takes this idea to the next level, especially with the fabulous ending. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🌀 An Uprising of Stones – Explored the evergreen theme of good vs. evil with an unusual source of assistance. This has almost a fable-like quality. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🌀 Joey - Speechless! This story made me realise that while the author's specialty lies in speculative fiction, she is equally adept at handling human stories, and not necessarily ones with positive feelings. Loved this poignant tale! My favourite from the collection. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌀 A Time for Understanding - A mellow and touching ending to the collection. As this was somewhat long, I couldn’t see how a speculative aspect would be introduced into the narrative, but once it came, it blew me away. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Honourable mentions with 4 stars: 
🚪 There's a Monster in Jacob's Bedroom - Would have been an easy 5 star had the ending explained more.

🚪 I Know About the Dragon - A nice twisty story with one dragon, three friends, and many surprises. The writing style with multiple perspectives was well handled.

🚪 Aunt Tessa's Special Blanket - Could see where it was going but still had me hooked! Needed a better ending.

🚪 A Menu of Moments - Bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter.


All in all, I enjoyed these stories a lot, and had I enjoyed S&S fantasy, I might have loved it even better. Regardless, the freshness of each plotline makes this collection tick three important Es: eclectic, emotional, and entertaining. 

Definitely recommended to speculative fiction lovers who enjoy short stories focussed on the emotions as much as on the fantastical elements. 

3.65 stars, based on the average of my ratings for the individual stories. 

My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and author Lisa Fox for a complimentary copy of “Passageways”, and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

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Blurb:

Twenty-seven speculative short stories celebrating the value of the journey: how lessons learned traveling the path between two points often transcend the goal of reaching the destination. These tales—including science fiction, fantasy, and horror—introduce characters who traverse unusual and often unsettling routes toward their desired objectives.

A man ventures through the depths of his beloved's subconscious to save her, only to discover a deep-rooted secret that could destroy everything. A young girl and a newly found friend travel to the Middle of Nowhere, desperate to find a way Out. A teenager struggles to escape the clutches of a demonic blanket inherited from a deceased family member. An "ugly" vampire goes through hell on earth to find his true self and his one true love. A woman revisits her past to determine whether it’s time to pull the plug on a scientific experiment that’s sustained—and devastated—her family for decades.

Passageways is the second short story collection from author Lisa Fox, following her acclaimed debut Core Truths. In these pages, readers voyage through darkness and light, fear and faith; toward understanding and peace. Sanctuary. Self-awareness. Being heard. Being loved. As speculative literary fiction, the stories in this anthology harmonize the excitement and otherworldly escapism that genre-based tales offer with the lyrical poeticism of language that makes storytelling sing.

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Author Lisa Fox:

Lisa Fox is a pharmaceutical market researcher by day and fiction writer by night. She thrives in the chaos of suburbia, residing in New Jersey (USA) with her husband, two sons, and Double-Doodle puppy. 
Her work has been featured in Dark Matter, Bards and Sages Quarterly, Metaphorosis, New Myths, Brilliant Flash Fiction, and Luna Station Quarterly, among other journals and anthologies. 
Lisa has had work nominated for the Pushcart Prize and for Best Small Fictions and is a previous winner of the NYC Midnight Short Screenplay competition. 

Connect with her on:


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Check out this book:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211118303-passageways

Purchase from:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D19Z7S3Q/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0D19Z7S3Q/

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This has been a stop on the #Passageways blog tour conducted by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources) Thanks for stopping by!

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