Writers of the Future, Volume XXVIII

I have always had a cordial relationship with science-fiction anthologies in the past. Whether it's something like Zoo 2000 that included various stories from different authors, or The Complete Robot  which included many short stories from one author I always enjoyed the bite-sized tidbits of science fiction goodness. And there were plenty of hours between exams or on long road trips where a handy anthology saved me from utter boredom. Plus, one of the great benefits of an anthology like the one I'm talking about today is you get to experience the writing styles of many different authors in one book and get introduced to some authors who you might to read more stories from in the future.

Writers of the Future, Volume XXVII, contains thirteen stories from 2011 written by first-time fantasy and science fiction authors and judged by a professional panel. I think it's really great that there's a way for aspiring authors to put their work out there and have the opportunity for it to be read by a wide variety of people and maybe get doors opened for them in the publishing world. I also enjoyed the stories contained within this anthology so I am thankful to the panel of judges for picking excellent stories for publication.

If I were to go into specific detail about all thirteen short stories we'd be here all day, so I'll instead keep this brief. There were definitely a few stories that I didn't really care for, but that was more my personal taste rather than the stories being outright bad or offensive. This book is a great way to kill time if you're waiting for an appointment or have a spare half hour, because you can read just one story and then put the book back down. Plus you might end up really liking what the author wrote and look for more stories and books from those authors in the future.

Overall it's a good anthology and I like its mission. If you're looking for thirteen quick stories to tide you over on the bus then you could definitely do worse than this.

- Kalpar