Rabbit Test and Other Stories - Samantha Mills - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Samantha Mills

GENRE: Speculative Short Story Collection

PUBLICATION DATE: April 21, 2026

RATING: 3.65 stars.

In a Nutshell: A speculative fiction collection containing some truly imaginative stories. Introspective and dystopian – a strangely effective combination. I love the creativity but the random back-and-forth in some stories was a bit challenging. A great option for those who enjoy speculative SFF tales.

This story collection contains thirteen stories from the speculative genre. The stories come from varied speculative set-ups such as dystopian, fantasy, science fiction and paranormal.

The collection begins with an enthusiastic introduction by Meg Elison. I had no clue who she was, but her writing in this foreword impressed me so much! It's one of the most lyrical and heartfelt introductions I've read. I was happy to discover that she too is an author because it means that this single collection has given me the names of two talented writers I need to keep an eye out for.

The writing in this collection is powerful and imaginative. Many of the stories seem to have some kind of a guardian-child relationship, though their theme isn't necessarily that of parental love. The relationships are also complex as a result. In fact, most of the stories aren’t *happy* stories. Rather, they have a strong undercurrent of introspection, and some, even of doom. But to my surprise, a couple of the darkest stories have a lovely silver lining of hope at the end.

On the flip side, some stories are a bit slow-paced, so they feel overly lengthy. Further, many stories involve an abrupt change in perspective or timeline (usually because of flashbacks.) This gets a bit confusing. It might have been better if the flashbacks/backstories had been kept to a minimum.

To my surprise, some of the stories contain a social message that’s relevant to us. Even if they come from a futuristic timeline, they feel like something that could very well happen in our contemporary lives thanks to autocratic politicians and unstable climactic conditions. This might be a turnoff for readers who do not like social commentary in fiction. But I appreciated how the stories don’t thrust the agenda aggressively; rather, they allow the plot to put the point across subtly. It is more of a warning bell than a wagging finger.

The endings of many stories are apt. But a few left me wanting more. A couple of the tales had enough potential to be novellas. The complexity of their plot didn't allow them to make a greater impact in this short length.

The final section of the book contains two really interesting elements. First, it has a listing of the stories in the order in which they were originally written. The author calls this the table of contents as per “evolution of style”. I loved this idea, and more than that, I loved correlating this chronological listing with my favourites. The list showed me that while her earlier works had a mixed hit rate with me, her latest five stories all ended up in my top favourites list. This makes me believe that her writing has evolved in the direction of my reading taste and hence I can readily try more of her future works.

Furthermore, the backmatter contains detailed notes for each included story, talking about how the story was inspired. This was also wonderful to read, though I wish these had been placed at the end of the respective tales.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the thirteen entries, seven reached or crossed the four-star mark for me, which is a highly successful hit rate. A couple more stories would have easily touched four had they not jumped around so much in the timeline. One story was too abstract for my comprehension, though I was intrigued by its start. (Looking at you, “Laugh Lines”!)

These are my top favourites with 4+ stars each.

👑 The Death of the God-King: Creative and complex! How I wish this had been a novella because the story length couldn't do its potential complete justice. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌊 Strange Waters: The title sounds plain but it suits the story perfectly. Did I understand everything that happened? Nope! Did I like it? Heck, yes! One of the most creative depictions of time travel based on the concept of time as an endless flow. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🐇 Rabbit Test: Probably one of the best and most intricate stories I've ever read. This is dystopian and contemporary and historical at once, and also a mind-boggling mix of fact and fiction. A deserving title story. I would have given it more stars if possible. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

👻 A Shadow is a Memory of a Ghost: For a good part of the story, I thought this would be a five star. But the vague detailing about the ghostly elements and the sudden ending made me want more. Regardless, the concept was just fascinating! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

👓 10 Visions for the Future; or, Self-care For the End of Days: Given the bleakness of the content, I didn't expect this to be a story of hope and love and resilience. A truly creative structure with some wild imaginings of futures that I hope never come true but I'm afraid some are already occurring. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

😈 Kiki Hernández Beats the Devil: I certainly didn't expect the title to be so literal. One of the most enjoyable stories in the book, and possibly the only heartwarming one despite the satanic danger. If you have ever been annoyed by claims that rock'n'roll is the devil's music, you're going to love this one! Docked off half a star only because I wanted more about Kiki's backstory. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🚀 Anchorage: Honestly, my first read of this story was a strange one. I simply couldn't put a finger on why the first-person narration sounded so odd. By the time the reveal came, I had already lost my concentration. But the author's story notes about this tale intrigued me so much that I returned for a second attempt. I'm so glad I did! Reading the whole story knowing the identity of the narrator proved to be a much better experience. This was one of the stories that needed to be a novella. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

On the whole, this ended up a satisfying story collection. Even though a few of the stories could have worked better for me, I cannot deny the powerful imagination of the author and the creativity of these tales. Combining speculative with social messages is not that easy, but the author handles it wonderfully.

Definitely recommended to short story lovers who would appreciate thoughtful speculative fiction.

3.65 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story.

My thanks to Tachyon Publications for providing the DRC of “Rabbit Test and Other Stories” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.