Sojourn: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction

by Laura K. Anderson (editor), Ryan J. McDaniel (Editor)

The moon's rings illuminate the desert path before you. Up ahead a ridge rises, obscuring the horizon. You cannot go back. There is nothing to go back to. A hundred worlds lie behind you and a thousand more lie ahead. You smell smoke in the air and hear a hint of music somewhere far away. One foot after another, you head toward the horizon, beckoned by the mystery of what lies beyond. The fifteen stories in this collection portray remarkable worlds for you to visit. These are worlds unlike our own -- worlds where a pastor attends the 68th Periodic Interspecies Theologians' Conference; worlds where a boy goes on a spiritual journey in the mists of prehistory; worlds where humans are enslaved and one freed woman will do whatever it takes to save her species; worlds where humans, zombies, and vampires rub elbows in the office.

We invite you on your own journey in the pages of Sojourn: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction, penned by the talented storytellers of the Fear the Boot podcast community. Some of these worlds will feel familiar, some will feel alien, and a few may entice you to sojourn just a bit longer. Within these pages, you will find stories by new and established writers alike.

Contents:
Foreword (Sojourn: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction) • essay by Dan Repperger
Introduction (Sojourn: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction) • essay by Ryan J. McDaniel and Laura K. Anderson
Keepers of the Flame / shortstory by Robert J. Freund, Jr.
Destiny / novelette by Elizabeth Roper
Crossing the River / shortstory by Peter Martin
Forgotten Dreams / novelette by Hans Cummings
The Paper Shield / shortstory by James Lowder
Temps of the Dead / shortstory by Thomas Childress
My Father's Son / shortstory by Johan Luebbering
Sick Day / shortstory by Wayne Cole
Blind Barthon • shortstory by Ryan J. McDaniel
Top of the Heap / shortstory by Tom McNeil
The Bookrunner / shortstory by Matt Forbeck
Foresight / shortstory by Laura K. Anderson
Unknowing Agents / novelette by Chris Hussey
Sermon for the Third Sunday of Epiphany: A Report from the 68th Periodic Interspecies Theologians' Conference / shortstory by Shannon Dickson
Surviving Sunset / novelette by Dan Repperberger

Genres: Science Fiction

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 14, 2014

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've listened to Fear the Boot for a year now, and I heard all about Sojourn from the podcast. I bought the book as a way to support the podcast which has brought me hours of entertainment for free, and because I like short story anthologies.

Some of the stories were the debut works of authors, and frankly it showed. There were cliched tropes, lots of purple prose, and some predictable plots and stories. All of the authors clearly love the genres that they're writing for and there were some really great stories throughout ("Temps of the Dead", "Sermon for the Third Sunday of the Epiphany" and "Surviving Sunset" were all very enjoyable). The editing and formatting of the book itself was superb (much more than I can say for other ebooks in the same genre), so it was a very professional collection despite some of the lackluster content.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it weren't for my love of Fear the Boot. If you're looking for some decent fiction and you're a fan of the show, you'll enjoy the book.

[Andrew Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were just "okay" whereas others were outstanding! The proportion of good to great was a little skewed toward the mediocre, but considering many of these were written by first timers it's easy to see a lot of potential in future works from any one of the authors.

[Casie Blevins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed most of the stories but there were a couple of stinkers. And some of the editing was dreadful.

[Aeron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked all but one story

Some stories are slow starting. Only one I didn’t like. Most grab my interest within short order. Good for those like me who can’t read for long bursts.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know I wanted to really like this book. To infrequently do I read short speculative fiction anymore, and to be honest I miss it. So, I read the reviews on Amazon about this collection of stories primarily by gamers, some authors never before published.

Well, it was ok, the stories were ok, none were terrific, several were awful and a few were good. So - 3 star rating.

Honestly, there are better collections out there, I would try those out.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I really enjoyed this anthology. There was a good mix of sci-fi and fantasy and I enjoyed most of the stories within.
Shout outs to Destiny by Elizabeth Roper, Forgotten Dreams by Hans Cummings, Sick Day by Wayne Cole, and Surviving Sunset by Dan Repperger.