Magic Can't Save Us: Eighteen Tales of Likely Failure

by Josh Denslow

Many relationships are doomed from the start. But what if there was a way to save them? The characters in Magic Can't Save Us think they may have the answers―why visit a human counselor when you could spend the night in a house haunted by a poltergeist that specializes in couples therapy? Others are ready to call it quits, like the pair that's torn apart, literally, by a bevy of belligerent harpies. Meanwhile, a scorned woman hires a dragon to guard her house from her cheating mate, a couple tries to combat the inertia of their marriage through the revitalizing charms of unicorn meat, and a centaur seduces a luckless man's girlfriend over a series of conference calls. In these eighteen tales of likely failure, when a magical creature shows up, you know things are only going to get worse from there.

Subverting the all-too-real emotions of romantic relationships with humor and iconoclastic takes on classic fantastical beings, Magic Can't Save Us makes us rethink the choices we have made in order to ask a harrowingly human Just what does it take to redeem a relationship?

"If Ukelele Ike and Hans Christian Andersen had babies, one of them could probably write imaginative, funny, playful stories, where otherworldly creatures often infiltrate the commonplace to create their own brand of magic, such as these." - Fernando A. Flores, author of Brother Brontë and Tears of the Trufflepig

"With the fabulist hand of Aimee Bender and Karen Russell and the humor and irreverence of Steve Almond, Denslow masterfully juggles crumbling relationships and beings of myth in a whirlwind of awkward silences, deceit, and failure to love. Whether these broken characters seek out magic or if magic seeks them, Denslow has proven himself to be a master of holding the unreal to our imperfect hearts, proving that no magic is ever enough to deliver happiness. A tragic, humorous, and wonderfully magical collection from a writer that you should be watching. "- Sequoia Nagamatsu, Bestselling Author of How High We Go in the Dark

"You need to read this wry collection that crackles with funny dialogue and page-turning action. Josh Denslow's writing will disturb and dazzle you. Be prepared to laugh and have your imagination expanded." - Ursula Villarreal-Moura, author of Like Happiness

"We all have writers we love, those whose work speaks to us, makes us happy, and serves as a gut punch. Sometimes these writers create something new, and we think, wow, I've always enjoyed their insight into relationships, and their use of wordplay and magical realism, and yet this new thing is bigger, better, more moving. Which is exactly what I felt as I read Josh Denslow's beautiful new collection Magic Can't Save Us. He made a leap, and as someone who already loves his writing, I'm happy that with this book everyone else will learn what I already know, Josh's writing is magical." - Ben Tanzer, author of After Scorsese, Grief and the Grammar of Cinema, The Missing & UPSTATE

Josh Denslow is the author of Not Everyone Is Special (7.13 Books), Super Normal (Stillhouse Press), and the upcoming collection Magic Can't Save Us (UNO Press). His most recent short stories have appeared in Electric Literature's The Commuter, The Rumpus, and Okay Donkey, among others. He is the Email Marketing Manager for Bookshop.org, and he has read and edited for SmokeLong Quarterly for over a decade. He currently lives in Barcelona with his family.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2025

About the author

I live outside Austin, TX with my wife, my mother-in-law, and my three sons. To keep things interesting, we also have four dogs and three cats, plus a bunch of scorpions hiding just out of sight.

My short stories have appeared in print and online in such fine places as Barrelhouse, Third Coast, Cutbank, Wigleaf, and Black Clock, among many others. NOT EVERYONE IS SPECIAL, my debut short story collection will be published in 2019 by 7.13 Books.

Reviews

[Lori]

Thrilled to be partnering back up with Josh to help promote this one! If you are into speculative fiction and short stories, this collection is for you. No matter how bad things may seem, when the magical creatures show up, things are about to get much, much worse!!

Hit me up for a review copy if you're interested in covering the book, interviewing the author, or doing a fun coverage feature!!

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.75/5]

An entertainingly eclectic assortment of comedic shorts that explore the realms of folklore and the supernatural in our normal day-to-day lives. Through a varied assortment of topics that go from a man's fear of being cucked by a kind centaur, encountering Bigfoot rummaging through your trash, facing “The Minotaur,” or challenging a dragon for your girlfriend’s hand, talking about sperm count with a water sprite, to even having a crush on the Tooth Fairy, Josh Denslow’s Magic Can’t Save Us is a fun and uniquely original ride. Each story brings a unique perspective, inviting readers to appreciate the whimsical nature of these refreshingly original and bizarrely random yet fun narratives. Ranging from the likes of Bret Easton Ellis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, Shakespeare, Dickens, Raymond Chandler, and others, each short opens up with a random thought-provoking topic-related quote. Adding an interactivity to the reading, I found myself really enjoying the mystery of which quote I'd get to next and becoming eager to discover how it would relate to the upcoming narrative.


While the humor is abundant, a poignant theme of love and the human experience runs through each vignette. There is a stark and consistent throughline of love, which Denslow interestingly pairs within stories of the fantastical and even monstrous at times. Perhaps I'm reading into it more than expected, but I appreciate Denslow’s ability to subtly remind us how no matter how fantastical these creatures and magical beings can be, we as humans are also special in our own ways and in how we persevere for the sake of feeling welcome and loved by another. This touch of depth elevates the enjoyment, offering readers a chance to reflect on their own lives in this strange and engaging collection.

Recommended to fellow fans of the short story collections of Otessa Moshfegh and Darrin Doyle.

*Thank you Lori for sending me an advanced review copy*

[Runalong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very engaging set of stories exploring relationships start and end via the help of otherwise of magical beings. Slightly too much of the same format but I really enjoyed it.

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[Jan Stinchcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty much perfect collection of stories, for fans of the surreal and the all too real.

[Sarai Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magic Can't Save Us: Eighteen Tales of Likely Failure by Josh Denslow is a wonderfully unique and engaging collection that explores the messy, often futile nature of human effort with a blend of wit, heart, and just the right touch of magic. Each story offers a fresh perspective on failure—sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking—but always compelling. Denslow's sharp prose and imaginative storytelling kept me hooked, making this a thoroughly enjoyable read. While not every story resonated equally, the collection as a whole was a fantastic mix of thought-provoking and entertaining, earning it a solid four stars.

Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina | Instagram

[Allison Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Magic Can’t Save Us: 18 Tales of Likely Failure, Josh Denslow delivers a sharp, genre-blurring short story collection that’s equal parts funny, heartbreaking, and weirdly tender. Through eighteen inventive tales, Denslow injects magical realism into the messy, intimate spaces of human relationships. He uses dragons, harpies, and zombie apocalypses not as escapes from emotional conflict, but as magnifying glasses that reveal what’s already broken or breaking.

Read the full review here: https://www.birchbarkediting.com/micr...

[sophie! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of short stories, but by the time I had reached the end, it felt a bit formulaic. I love magical realism/low fantasy (is that what it's called when fantasy elements are in a "regular" world?) We don't need to explain the lore of how we tamed dragons 1,000 years ago and built a society around them. We just have dragons and television now, and that's cool and we're moving on. But again, the formula. Every couple is a male/female couple, assumedly in their mid-20s to mid-30s. Every story is told from the POV of the boyfriend/husband, and the inciting incident is almost always something he did, or how he reacted to something his partner did. Spoiler alert: most of them end with the man being alone, and I'm rooting for the girlfriend/wife in most of the scenarios. In two separate stories, the man and woman are separated, and the woman leaves the man without him knowing. A magical creature (in one story, a ghost, and in another, a harpy) has to break the news to the man. The first time this happened, I was honestly really sad for the husband. The second time, the moment lost a lot of weight. I would recommend this to others, as it has a bit of the "short story you read in middle school that will stick with you forever" je nais se quois, but I wish there was a bit more diversity in the storytelling.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 2 1/2. The stories lack beauty in their prose, though their concept (human follies and foibles paired with magical and mythological creatures) kept me reading. Some of the stories, the ones involving the Minotaur, the time loop, the dragon, and the harpies did work for me. The flatness of the characters held me back from fully engaging with the rest of them (5 out of 18 isn't great; not even good).
The similarities between the foolish and hesitant occupants who people these vignettes (I use the word stories, but most of them have endings so open, they aren't proper stories) made several of them blend together in my mind.
Please note, this book is literary fiction, which I do enjoy in small doses. In so many small doses, I found them like eating too many greens. They didn't in the main do me any great harm however, I do have much gas to expell as a result of them. Maybe in 5 or 10 years, my mind will have deepened sufficient to see more in them than I do now.

[Daniel DiFranco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brilliant collection of stories is unputdownable. Denslow creates very real worlds and then throws in magical elements (or the possibility of them) that underscore the truths about relationships—the good, the bad, and the uncomfortable. While there might have been a drum that was beat two or three times, the rhythm is different enough in all of these to keep you going. Denslow is one of the best short form writers out there currently (imo) and this was a real treat. A real treat!

[Miriam Gershow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I roared through this collection. These monster-filled stories manage to be deeply human and so funny and surprisingly hopeful even when most of the relationships inside of them are doomed. Denslow's writing is my favorite combination of funny and honest and painfully familiar - even if I don't have a harpy crashing through my skylight. Do yourself a favor and read this book!

[Sheldon Birnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one, you guys