Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic

by Alex Shvartsman (Editor), A.C. Wise, Ken Liu

Coffee plays a major role in each of the stories collected in this book. Brewed from such fine ingredients as magic, wonder, humor, and romance, -Coffee- serves up a unique blend of the fantastic you won't be able to put down.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Science Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2013

About the author

Alex Shvartsman is a writer, editor, and translator from Brooklyn, NY. He's the author of The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani's Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Kakistocracy, a sequel to The Middling Affliction, is forthcoming in 2023.

Over 120 of his stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and many other venues. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a two-time finalist (2015 and 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction.

His collection, Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and his steampunk humor novella H. G. Wells, Secret Agent were published in 2015. His second collection, The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories followed in 2018.

Alex is the editor of over a dozen anthologies, including the Unidentified Funny Objects annual anthology series of humorous SF/F.

Reviews

[Heather Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of short stories with coffee as a main ingredient in each story. It is a fast read and thoroughly entertaining. A mix of genres, sci-fi/romance/magic/haunted/humorous, with coffee as the common thread make for a great selection of short stories. This was just flat out an enjoyable read! There wasn’t a story that I didn’t like! This is a great selection for anyone who likes coffee and wants to smile! Top book and one of my favorite short story collections of the year!

(From the book blurb): “Coffee plays a major role in each of the stories collected in this book. Brewed from such fine ingredients as magic, wonder, humor, and romance, -Coffee- serves up a unique blend of the fantastic you won't be able to put down.”

[Cat Girczyc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's full of light hearted and entertaining tales that involve coffee. Each story has a science fiction or fantasy angle and most are comedic. Worth a read and there are some gems in here.

[Darien · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent short story compilation - fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, humor - it has a little bit of everything. A quick and amusing read for lovers of Coffee, in all it's forms....

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of coffee themed stories, ranging from caffeinated barbarians to coffee loving ghosts. Nice short reads to enjoy with your mocha and biscotti.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic collection. Each story is unique and engrossing. I now want to read more from each of the authors.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wholly enjoyable collection of stories which feature the world's best beverage. I especially enjoyed 'From the shores of Tripoli' and 'Caution, contents hot...' These two stories provoke more thought in their few pages than many novel manage to do in several hundred. Would be great to snuggle in with during the winter I imagine.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coffee and Fantasy stories? Who would have thought that would work?
Overall I enjoyed these! There were a few that didn't capture me but for the most part I enjoyed them. It was also a short collection, so a fast read.

[Lea Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A snowy day. Love of caffeine. Tales by many speculative fiction writers. What could go better with a hot triple espresso?