Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Jaclyn Desforges GENRE: Speculative Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: RATING: Can't decide. In a Nutshell: A collection of somewhat absurdist short stories. Highly creative, but a bit too random in development. This collection has its merits but it wasn't the right book for me. A good option for those who don’t seek a destination but enjoy a meandering journey. The title and the cover called out to me so strongly that I had to try this collection. The description was also intriguing. Unfortunately for me (and the book), the stories had fewer babies and more weirdness than I would have liked. From the description, I understood this to be a speculative fiction collection. The thirteen stories herein are indeed speculative, but more towards the absurd side of the spectrum than the fantastical side. I don't mind absurd fiction when there's some rhyme or rhythm to the plot, but this set of stories was a combination of stream of consciousness and abstract bizar...

AUTHOR: Rachel Khong GENRE: Speculative Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: April 7, 2026 RATING: 3.45 stars. In a Nutshell: A collection of (mostly) speculative fiction stories. Excellent in creativity. Diverse in humans yet unified in emotions. Good writing and pacing. A bit too much of back-and-forth in a few stories. Recommended to SFF lovers. This collection contains ten stories, mostly from the speculative fiction genre. There is no introductory note or foreword, but the publisher’s note called this a set of stories "about love, life, and the anguish of becoming oneself in a time when it's so easy to be someone else." It sounds almost abstract, but oddly, it fits the stories well. The stories cover a wide range of emotions and timelines. Each story feels innovative, with no repetition of themes. The blurb says that they are stories about love, and it is right. But they aren’t about romance, which makes all the difference. The writing and the character development ar...

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...

  AUTHOR:  Louise Beech GENRE: Contemporary Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 1, 2026 RATING:   4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A dual-timeline fiction featuring three women from three different eras. Two of the women are popular names: Mother Mary and Marilyn Monroe. Creative alternate history. Great historical research. Excellent character development. A bit slow but introspective. Realistic themes, some of which might be triggering. (Nothing devious happens on page though.) Not religious or preachy. A *wonderful* option for those looking for unusual storylines. Plot Preview:  4th August 1962. Hollywood. On the night she should have died, Marilyn Monroe receives an unexpected visitor in her home. The Virgin Mary comes to her with a cryptic message that will end up changing (and saving) her life. 2016. Hull, England. Flora has not had an easy life but does the best she can to survive. The last thing she expects to find in her filthy tenement home is the Virgin Mary bat...

AUTHOR: Nikki Erlick NARRATORS: Marin Ireland; Dan Bittner; Stacey Glemboski; Graham Halstead; Mia Barron; Callie Dalton; Janina Edwards; Shawn K. Jain; Christian Barillas; Jason Culp. GENRE: Speculative Fiction PUBLICATION DATE: June 17, 2025 RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A speculative fiction novel about an innovative treatment facility and the individuals whose life it affects. An imaginative plot with some solid unforeseen reveals. Literary in style. Character-driven. Slow but steady pacing. A bit sad though there are moments of joy. Quite introspective. Recommended. I am an outlier… on the positive side! 🥳 Go in with the right expectations to enjoy this better. Plot Preview: In a secluded stretch of the California desert, a new establishment is making waves. ‘The Poppy Fields’ is an experimental treatment centre, claiming to offer relief to those burdened by grief through their revolutionary yet free therapy that involves extended sleep. Only those vetted by their elaborate...

AUTHOR: Lim Sunwoo TRANSLATOR: Chi-Young Kim GENRE: Speculative Fiction Collection PUBLICATION DATE: February 10, 2026 RATING: 3.7 stars In a Nutshell: A speculative stories collection. True to the genre, with a good mix of real and surreal. Character-oriented despite having tricky plots. Good translation. A bit disjointed at times in the storytelling but on the whole, a great debut. Recommended. This debut collection contains eight stories that delve into human feelings while still reaching beyond the human experience into the surreal and the bizarre. It is ‘speculative’ in the true sense of the word, with each of the stories transcending logic without offering pragmatic justifications. There is no foreword or note introducing the theme of the collection. But the blurb says that these stories “explore feelings unseen, unconveyed, unexplainable” and that “each sparkling story asks you to look within, to encounter all that is desired and strange and possible in life and death.” This ef...

AUTHOR:  Karmen Špiljak GENRE: Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: January 23, 2026 RATING: 4.05 stars. In a Nutshell: A short story collection containing some dark speculative fiction tales. The darkness isn't outright paranormal, more like suspenseful or atmospheric. Creative plots, good writing, mostly good endings. A tad repetitive and/or confusing at times due to flashbacks, but this isn't a major issue. I enjoyed most of the stories. Much recommended.  I am very much a judge-a-book-by-the-cover reader. ( Feel free to judge me for this! 🤭) This often results in my missing out on some exemplary works just because the cover didn’t catch my eye. This is one such case. Had an offer to read-&-review this book not popped up through another source, I would have missed out on an entertaining collection of dark suspense.  This indie collection contains ten stories from varied speculative fiction subgenres. None of the stories are outright paranormal, though there are...

AUTHOR: Sommer Schafer GENRE: Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: November 14, 2023 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A short story collection about ordinary women caught in extraordinary circumstances. A nice range of plots and genres, going from grounded to speculative. Intriguing and unusual storylines. Some were a bit too metaphorical for my brain. But overall, a clever character-driven collection. As the title suggests, this debut collection of seventeen stories focusses on women. Women from varied backgrounds, varied familial situations, and varied age groups. What’s common to them all is that they face a challenge, not necessarily a routine one. How they tackle it forms the crux of each tale. As we know, each person handles difficulties differently. The women in these book fall in the same boat. Some accept their fate, some rebel, some introspect, some opt for wild coping mechanisms. The resultant display covers an eclectic array of human behaviour, all of which provides...

AUTHOR: Nnedi Okorafor GENRE: Literary Science Fiction. PUBLICATION DATE: January 14, 2025 RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: An OwnVoices literary fiction with sci-fi elements, NOT science-fiction with literary elements. Story within a story. Interesting disability representation (but mild vibes of ableism), great character detailing (but mostly unlikeable characters), unusual combination of futuristic elements with traditional family drama (but the two don’t blend well), good use of Nigerian + American setting and immigrant experience (no buts here; this was great). Plot Preview: Zelu’s life has not been easy. Disabled since her teen years, unexpectedly fired from her university job, and facing rejection yet again for her latest manuscript, she’s the least successful in a family of high-achievers. In frustration, she decides to write a book that is unlike her earlier works and isn’t even in a genre she likes. She pens a science fiction novel titled “Rusted Robots” about an apocalyp...

AUTHOR: Hanna Thomas Uose NARRATOR: Lydia Wilson GENRE: Speculative Literary Fiction. PUBLICATION DATE: March 27, 2025. RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A literary speculative-fiction novel coming from multiple characters and timelines. Innovative concept, thought-provoking exploration, excellent character-driven writing, slow pace. Can’t believe this is a debut! Much recommended but not to all. Don’t read the GR blurb. Plot Preview: 2025, London. Yuki and Sam, both in their mid-to-late thirties, are just another ordinary married couple. Happy with each other, a bit bored with their routines, desperate to have kids but not successful yet. Yuki is an enthusiastic member of the local MP’s team and is passionate about causes. Sam is a slightly frustrated work-from-home graphic designer with ambitions of becoming a musician. An American pharma company plans to introduce Yareta in the UK market. Yareta is a drug that can extend human life by at least 200 years and already successful in ...

AUTHOR: Carmen Maria Machado GENRE: Speculative Short Story Collection PUBLICATION DATE: October 3, 2017 RATING: Can't decide! In a Nutshell: Might make a good story collection for the right reader, but not for me. It went a bit too meandering and surreal for my taste. I had chanced upon one story by this author, an amazing tale titled ‘The Husband Stitch’ and also the first story in this collection, a couple of years ago on the Granta site. Having been impressed with it, I looked up the author on Goodreads and discovered this debut collection. But after reading it, I feel like I should have stopped after that first experience. Let's be clear: she's not a bad writer at all, but her writing isn't for me. There’s no disputing the creativity of the storylines. The eight stories in this book transcend several fantastical genres, delving into sci-fi, surrealism, fantasy, comedy, horror, and psychological fiction. However, what connects each of them is the strong thread of...