The “Moonshadows” collection combines three previous collections: Hurricane Season, Storm and Shadow, and Desperate Lives. Though each collection has a theme, the stories are a varied assortment, so readers may have to look for the types of tales that appeal most to them. Many explore the folklore of other cultures. All seem to be excellently researched.
Particular favorites were “Ascension” and “Artifacts.” In “Ascension” (from the Storm and Shadow collection), an Icarus-like boy discovers sentient remnants in the ruins of the technological past. It offers him a surprising chance to set his dissolute civilization back on track. The computer programmer in “Artifacts” (Desperate Lives collection) analyzes ancient human remains and creates holographic images for display at the museum. But as the program misbehaves, a mysterious time-traveling intruder appears.
A journey into the Moonshadows is highly recommended:
“Ground Zero,” introduces us to a near-future team hired to find a mysterious (probably nuclear) item at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee. One of the pair has a flex steel exoskeleton. If you’re a fan of can-do augmented-android stories like “All Systems Red” or “Autonomous,” you’re sure to like this one.
“Possession” - A moody, atmospheric gothic, reminiscent of a Charlotte Bronte tale, in which a man hires a housekeeper/companion for his sick daughter. But then the full moon rises…
“Nightside” - A space salvage vessel pilot has come across an apparently abandoned cargo craft. When she tries to assist the nearly dead occupant, she herself is injured, losing a quantity of blood. It seems like she will get little reward for her efforts.
“Mixed Heritage” - In a story originally appearing in “Alternate Hilarities,” a girl explains that she likes her boyfriend’s dog better than her boyfriend. As in “The Ballad of Lost C’mell,” we meet a human who seems to have some animal in her DNA.
“The Hatchling” - In this amusing medieval parody, Lord Clovis has a little dragon problem at his castle on the Rhine. Desperate to free his daughter Flora, whom he’s locked in the tower, he turns to the court sorcerer.
Dragon Rain - A girl visiting relatives in Japan gets magical help forgetting an old boyfriend.
The Winter People - Our bloodlines: In a prehistoric Ice Age, a Neanderthal group traveling south comes across a Cro-Magnon boy wounded by a bear.
Hurricane Season - In a post apocalyptic future, a family collects wreckage from ships along the drowned coastlines, trying to stay under the radar of an enhanced humanoid cop patrolling for pirates.
Haunted - A woman waits until after midnight for her lover on Valentine’s Day.
Night at Sloan Pond - A skin-walker tale. After a bear spooks a farm girl’s horse, she spends a night in the wild, comforted by a wild coyote
Carnival - A warning not to get too drunk at Mardi Gras.
Souls - Woman helps an ex-lover on the run by taking him along on a salvage dive. Together, they face down a big storm, as well as the haunted demon that is stalking them.
Ascension - A very nice postapocalyptic story! An Icarus-like boy discovers sentient remnants in the ruins of the technological past. It offers him a surprising chance to change his dissolute civilization. This reminded me a lot of one of this year’s Hugo finalists, “When We Were Starless” by Simone Heller. Recommended.
Shadows - An erotic vampire tale about a young widow and her husband’s family house that’s said to be haunted.
The White Owl - A nobleman captures the bastard son of the sorcerer who cursed him and his unborn son. Though the prisoner claims to be powerless, he does have a few tricks up his sleeve. Nicely done.
Moonshadow - A poetic flash fiction about a lady wolf under the moon
Artifacts - Christine’s computer program analyzes ancient human remains and creates holographic images for display at the museum. But it is misbehaving, and a mysterious time-traveling intruder has appeared. Seems like the start of a pretty great adventure. Recommended.
Entwined - In this moody piece dripping with dark and decadent Southern scenery, a man ignores his new fiancé’s warning about the local vampires
Survival - Over a futuristic domed city, a bureaucrat’s air limo is attacked and shot down. It becomes an opportunity to meet the inhabitants outside.
Poison - An agent for a shadowy alternate-reality Company wants to quit. Maybe if she explains her mission to her target… This one reminded me of an anthology I once submitted to (and didn’t get in), called All the King’s Men.
“Moonshadows: A Collection of Short Stories” by Lela E. Buis is available from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TCV53NN
