Dark Matter Presents Monstrous Futures: A Sci-Fi Horror Anthology

by Alex Woodroe (Editor), Andrew F. Sullivan (Introduction), Simo Srinivas (Contributor)

The future is now, and it's not what we were promised. The optimistic science fiction of old was wrong. Progress is not linear, technology creates as many problems as it solves, and the concept of a better tomorrow has become an abstraction that is in no way guaranteed. When looking at the future now, we no longer ask what is possible, we wonder how we'll cope. Contained within this anthology are 29 never-before-published works by supremely talented authors. Brace yourself for the all too real horrors of what could very well be our terribly monstrous futures.


M. H. Ayinde, P. A. Cornell, Yelena Crane, Rodrigo Culagovski, Koji A. Dae, Kevin M. Folliard, Lew Furber, Andrea Goyan, Ivy Grimes, Kay Hanifen, D. A. Jobe, Wailana Kalama, Rae Knowles, Catherine Kuo, Rich Larson, Avra Margariti, J. A. W. McCarthy, Christi Nogle, Ashleigh Shears, D. Roe Shocky, Lisa Short, Hugh A. D. Spencer, Simo Srinivas, Kanishk Tantia, M. Elizabeth Ticknor, S. J. Townend, Kaitlin Tremblay, Emily Ruth Verona, Aigner Loren Wilson
Edited by Alex Woodroe. Introduction by Andrew F. Sullivan, author of THE MARIGOLD. Cover art by Olly Jeavons.

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

387 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 18, 2023

About the author

Romanian writer and editor of dark speculative fiction. Editor-in-chief of Tenebrous Press and writer of WHISPERWOOD, THE NIGHT SHIP, and TATRATEA, as well as short stories and articles.

Reviews

[Amir Sepahram · Rating 5 out of 5]

داستان کوتاه «بدن یادش می‌ماند» از «پی. اِی. کورنل» از این مجموعه توسط «امیر سپهرام» ترجمه و روی «فضای استعاره» منتشر شده.
این داستان به خوبی پیامدهای پایدار جنگ رو، حتی بعد از ترمیم کامل جراحت‌های مرگبار، (که در فضایی علمی‌تخیلی میسر می‌شه) نشون می‌ده.

"لحظه‌ای طول می‌کشد تا بفهمم صدای فریاد از دهان خودم است. کارکرد ذهن هم بامزه است؛ متوجه می‌شوم دارم با خودم بحث می‌کنم که به فریاد ادامه بدهم یا صدایم را ببرم. از پایم – دست کم جایی که زمانی پایم بوده – چیزی جز تکه‌هایی له شده که مرا یاد گوشت خوک ریش‌ریش می‌اندازد نمانده است. ساکت شدن را انتخاب می‌کنم. در برابر درد، فقط دندان‌هایم را به هم می‌فشارم و لحظاتی پایم را نگاه می‌کنم که از آن گوشت ریش‌ریش شدهٔ خونالود در حال بازسازی است و بعد چشمم را از آن منظرهٔ غیرطبیعی برمی‌گردانم. با این حال، از بوی فلزی خون گریزی نیست. تنها چیزی که می‌تواند با آن مقابله کند بوی تند و تیز عرق تنم است. خیلی‌ها نمی‌دانند بوی عرق، وقتی علتش ترس باشد فرق می‌کند. قوی‌تر. اسیدی‌تر. باور کن. آن قدر در این کار بوده‌ام که این را بدانم."

لینک داستان در فضای استعاره

[Pagefingers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved LOVED this anthology. Sci-fi horror is my favorite genre combo, and this diverse collection of stories really impressed the hell out of me. There was not a single story I didn’t enjoy. The sci-fi was not too “hard” and the horror not too “soft.” This is one of those rare anthologies I end up binge-reading and then hate myself for it later, because then the book ends and I need MORE. If you like Black Mirror and Love Death + Robots, then don’t miss Monstrous Futures. So. Freaking. Good.

[Hummingbird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow, the futures contoured up by the authors are so diverse and freaky that it made the book so hard to put down and so sad to finish. I loved it all.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5

[David Cluck · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not bring myself to finish this encyclopedia of boring dystopias. Think "Black Mirror" but not as clever.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

“My tongue is a mess of paper cuts, chiseled into bloodied flesh by beautiful pages and lovelier words.”
📚
Monstrous Futures presents 29 never-before-published sci-fi horror stories that explore terrifying realities where optimism is extinct, technology lies at the root of societal discord, and the future is no longer underscored by progress and prospect, but hindered by it, rendering those left standing unsure how they’ll survive. And the most frightening aspect? The plausibility of these scenarios based on the world’s current trajectory. Standouts include:

•“Consider This an Opportunity” by J. A. W. McCarthy: A disturbing tale of abuse and neglect, truth and recollection, and revenge and possibility.

•“Shiny™️ People” by Rae Knowles: An eerily prescient account of hate, ignorance, insanity, corruption, and the nurturing, restorative power of the written word.

•“A Smooth Handover” by Ashleigh Shears: A disquieting story of memory, individuality, corporate callousness, and technology’s destructive, soul-sucking reality (and that ending!😫).

•“All Parts of a Mermaid That I Can Recall” by S. J. Townend: A chilling narrative of technological advancement gone awry where man is (once again) both victim and aggressor.

•“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” by Andrea Goyan: A heartrending chronicle of misfits and monsters, humanity and hope, angst and longing, freedom and isolation, and love and self-sacrifice.

A huge thank you to Dark Matter INK for sending me a copy of this incredible anthology. Next up: Monster Lairs.

[Daniel Mowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Matter Presents continues to kill it with this second installment of their Monster anthologies. The best writers are brought together with their best horror/sci-fi works to an amalgamation of speculative terror that is so visionary, but never farther than the tips of our fingers.

Good sci-fi horror faces us with future possibilities that places a glaring mirror to our past, the deepest, darkest, immutable flaws of humanity, and our capability and capacity for innovation and advancement without care for cost or consequence. Mostly in the name of capitalism, and occasionally in the grandmother’s clothes of progress, comfort, and convenience. Great sci-fi horror does all this, but in such believable scopes that the dreadful premises of both the technological and societal advancements seem to be not only attainable, but are just around the corner. Things you’ve heard about in the news or on your twitter feed, that we are inching closer and closer towards. Stories that feel more like predictions than speculations. Even the outlandish and surreal anchored and rooted from a world we know as our own to a future that makes us believe that the course is already set and doomed.

This collection is great sci-fi horror.

Editor Alex Woodroe compiles a wide variety of stories and voices that explore every possible timeline of our horrific futures. The breadth of imagination, identity, diversity, and creativity are truly what lay the foundations of this mind-blowing anthology. There are explorations of household machines gone mad in ways that will chill you and break your heart—should your vacuum really be intelligent?—, body augmentations and implantations with unsettling repercussions (How much do you want to assimilate into acceptable cultural behavior? How closely do you want to watch your kids?), horrific and inhumane (and inhuman) forms of punishment and rehabilitation, deadly effects of entertainment gone wrong or way too right, and the entirely disturbing ways that humans are beginning to approach medicine, healthcare, and death.

Even when the speculative elements and stories are the more far-fetched ideas—the time travel autopsies, astral projection nightmares, and cheeky surrealist capitalist apocalypses—every single one of the 29 stories herein strike home in such a meaningful, familiar way. You’ll find reflections of yourself and the world you know, and it will scare you, break your heart, and blow your mind. You won’t leave this collection unscathed.

I face the same issue I had with the preceding Human Monsters anthology: that the entire anthology is so good from start to finish that it’s quite impossible to choose favorites. Some of the stories that continue to live rent-free in my head include but are not limited to: “Fully Comprehensive Code Switch” by M.H. Ayinde, “About a Broken Machine” by Catherine Kuo, “Who Sees All” by Avra Margariti, “Nanny Clouds” by Kay Hanifen, “A Front Row Seat for Miss Evelyn” by D.A. Jobe, and “You Don’t Have to Watch This Part” by Rodrigo Culagovski. Again, as I said in my HM review, you see how many I just listed? You see how impossible it is to select standout stories from such an across the board slam dunk anthology?

If you’re a fan of sci-fi, if you’re a fan of horror, if you’re a fan of looking to the future with any mixture of hope, curiosity, dread, outrage, and dismay, you’ll love this collection. If you’re a fan of great story telling, emotional impact, and rich, diverse voices, you’ll love this collection. I cannot commend Woodroe’s hard work enough, and I cannot recommend this anthology enough. Read it now, before the futures within come to pass.

[Tom Sterling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monstrous Futures is a fun and sometimes scary collection of stories that take place in the near-future, or possibly somewhere on a parallel Earth. Each tale explores some unique and unexpected direction that new technologies and our society might take us. Some of those visions are pretty frightening. I loved it!