Minstrels in the Galaxy: Stories in the Key of Tull, Volume 1

by M.C. Tuggle, Garrett Rowlan, Jesse A. Barrett

Jethro Tull has an amazing discography, spanning everything from folk music to heavy metal. Over the past 50 years, their music has influenced generations of artists working in a variety of media.

Here, a dozen science fiction authors have spun their own Tull-inspired yarns. So belly up to the bar somewhere out among the stars. Grab yourself a drink, and settle in for some colorful tales from our minstrels in the galaxy. Stories of things that could have been, things that might have been...and of things that should have been, but never were.

Genres: Science Fiction

296 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2024

Reviews

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gifted to me by a friend who knows I am a fan of Jethro Tull.

This collection of science fiction stories are all inspired by the music of Tull. If you're wondering who Jethro Tull is, they're a band that's been around since the 70s, creating music of various styles, anything from hard rock to folk rock to prog rock to - well, you get the idea.

I very much enjoyed the stories though my favorites were "The Glutton of Borgas Drift" by Tobias Youngblood, which tells of a young girl and her cannibalistic father; "Path to Transformation" by Dana M Evans, which tells of a young prince with a weird past and a dangerous secret even to himself; and "Demons, Occasionally" by Grant M Martin, with a very purposeful dog and the man who works with him. "Locomotive Breath" was also a fun alternate history story with a touch of steampunk by Jesse Barrett.

Would recommend this collection for fans of Tull and also folks who enjoy short SF stories.

[Bryan Woerner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up at a book fair where I met the author Tobias Youngblood. I was intrigued by the concept of the book, though my knowledge of Jethro Tull is nowhere near any of the authors. Made for a great collection of short sci-fi spanning different genres

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun anthology with stories inspired by Jethro Tull's amazing discography. Each story comes with a little write up as to what song the author picked and why. I loved that (full disclosure I'm a Tull fan and am annoyed they aren't - at the time of writing this review - in the rock n roll hall of fame)

As always anthologies are a mixed bag and no story hits the same for all readers but all of them were good. there weren't any I regretted reading or DNFed. Some of the stand outs to me are Demons, Occassionally about portal travel bounty hunting sort of deal, The Path to Transformation when a young prince's life is exploded but the starship rescuing him is being stalked by a killer, pleasure in the leaving, which explores VR being used to ease people's passing in hospice (something that hits home right now with me having relatives in hospice)

We also have sentient mice being used to explore themes of fascism and experimentation on groups of oppressed people and so much more in these pages. It's worth picking up, if nothing else you can get to know Tull's music including some rarely heard deep cuts.