An excellent eclectic short story collection from J. Dianne Dotson.

After finishing the Questrison Saga, I knew I’d be forever picking up J. Dianne Dotson’s books, because they’re a great lot of fun. I think there’s only one more book out that’s under the J. Dianne Dotson pen name: The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern, and from there on, her works will be published under the pseudonym Jendia Gammon. The Shadow Galaxy is a really nice short story collection featuring a mix of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, poetry and Appalachian mountain tales. It’s quite short, so I finished it in a day, but I found myself yearning for some of these stories to be expanded upon, because they’re so interesting.

Blurb

A mesmerizing first collection from the cross-genre author, science writer, and artist J. Dianne Dotson, THE SHADOW GALAXY features short stories and poetry spanning magical realism, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and Appalachian tales. With stories and poetry spanning three decades of work, the author taps into journeys both fantastical and deeply personal. Categories include Shadow Shores: Tales from the Sea; Other Futures: Tales of the Galaxy and a Place Called Earth; Into the Darkest Hollow: Tales of Horror; Love and Other Moments: Traces of the Heart; Far Appalachia: Tales from the Ancient Mountains; and Resonant Thoughts: Some Poetry.

Among these pages, Dotson captures the longing, regrets, and dreams of those living by the sea, such as in "One Evening in Fogvale." In "RODER," a young woman risks her life to help find a robot who captured her heart. "Topaz Sundered" explores an exoplanet mining expedition gone horribly wrong. In "The Queen and the Mountain Laurel," a young Appalachian girl teaches her father an important lesson with the help of mountain spirits. The poem "Obsidian" eviscerates with raw pain from betrayal. Dotson weaves these and many other tales and poems of mysticism, exploration, horror, pain, nostalgia, and wonder, for no shadow can exist without light.

Review

After that blurb, what more can I say? I really enjoyed this collection. I’ve grown to love short story collections, and this is up there among the best of them. My favourites were, surprisingly, not necessarily the sci-fi stories. There was a spooky ghost pirate tale, and a Halloween horror that have both really stuck in my mind. The aforementioned The Queen and the Mountain Laurel was excellent, as was RODER. Unfortunately I can’t much comment on the poetry, as it’s not my kind of thing, but the other stories were fantastic. I was surprised at the section titled Other Moments: Traces of the Heart, because for whatever reason I was expecting it to be more romancey, and while the stories in there did lean in that direction, they were more bittersweet, whimsical, and magical. Still really enjoyable, just not what I had expected. The first story in the book, One Evening in Fogvale, I think comes out on top as my favourite of the bunch.

Overall, an excellent collection, a fast read, full of wonder, magic and whimsy. Highly recommended.