The thin, often relatable line between good and evil is what Shadowed Souls, a new speculative fiction anthology edited by Kerrie L. Hughes and Jim Butcher (author of Dresden Files), works to explore, with short stories from some of the best fantasy authors of the moment that show the complicated nature of good and evil. As Butcher puts it in his foreword: Some of the short stories in the Shadowed Soulscollection succeed at exploring this theme better than others, but there is something in here for most lovers of speculative fiction — and you might just come away with a new author to check out. No doubt the Dresden Filesstory “Cold Case,” which gives us deeper insight into character Molly Carpenter will draw a lot of people to this anthology, but my personal favorite was Seanan McGuire’s “Sleepover.” The story of a sardonic lesbian succubus who gets kidnapped by a band of teenage boys explores questions of intimacy, marginalization, and Pacific Northwest sewers with a healthy dose of roller derby thrown in for good measure. In addition to Butcher and McGuire, Shadowed Soulsincludes stories from: Kevin J. Anderson, Rob Thurman, Tanya Huff, Kat Richardson, Jim C. Hines, Anton Strout, Lucy A. Snyder, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, and Erik Scott de Bie. Stories include such fantastical subjects as zombies, genies, wizards, bogeyman, ghosts, and fae. Shadowed Souls is available to buy on November 1st.
