XIII: Stories of Transformation

by Mark Teppo (Editor), Liz Argall (Contributor), Rik Hoskin (Contributor)

The thirteenth Tarot card is Death, and he is a symbol not of the end, but of transformation and rebirth. This is the genesis and root of Thirteen: Stories of Transformation. The twenty-eight authors of this collection are voices—new and old—who are not afraid to explore what comes next. Whether it be a life after death, a life without love, a life filled with hunger, or the life shared by a ghost. These are stories of the weird, the mythic, the fantastic, the futuristic, the supernatural, and the horrific.

The ghosts of the past have been eaten by the children of the future: this endless cycle of birth, death, and renewal is the magic of thirteen.

Do not fear change. Embrace it. Let Thirteen be the handbook for the new you.

With stories from:
Liz Argall
M. David Blake
Richard Bowes
George Cotronis
Amanda C. Davis
Julie C. Day
Jetse de Vries
Jennifer Giesbrecht
Daryl Gregory
Rik Hoskin
Rebecca Kuder
Claude Lalumière
Marc Levinthal
Grá Linnaea
Alex Dally MacFarlane
Juli Mallett
Lyn McConchie
Fiona Moore
Gregory L. Norris
AJ Odasso
Cat Rambo
Andrew Penn Romine
David Tallerman
Tais Teng
Richard Thomas
Fran Wilde
A. C. Wise
Christie Yant

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction

343 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2015

About the author

Mark Teppo has written more than a dozen novels across a number of genres. He's a book-seller, paper-hoarder, and troublemaker. Not necessarily in that order.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC at my local bookstore. Since I'm partial to short story anthologies, I was predisposed to like this, but I was surprised at the quality of writing (I'm so used to pulp anthologies, it never occurred to me that this wouldn't be one). The stories were at turns delightful and challenging, never weak in their imaginings. Containing both sci-fi and fantasy, this book delivers on its promise of stories (and two poems) of transformation.

With the exception of three or so stories that were more surrealistic than is my taste, I was drawn into each of the worlds, where the characters (and sometimes settings) underwent transformations both mental and physical.

Kudos to the editor, too, for assembling the stories with a flow that differentiated each one without making a jarring transition.

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies are usually hit-and-miss by nature, yet an impressive set of patterns emerged from this one. Transformation means two things to people: accessing another realm of existence or transcending death. It's crazy how these two themes came back over and over again. Jennifer Geisbrecth, Christie Yant, A.C Wise, Daryl Gregory, George Cotronis, Cat Rambo and Claude Lalumière's stories all stood out to me as the best in the anthology in their own way and they circled the aforementioned themes in haunting fashion.

Some of the story were too fantasy oriented for me, but XIII stands out through its themes and uncanny patterns. Worth a read.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited about this book but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. I bought the book for the Richard Thomas and Daryl Gregory contributions but it turned out I had already read both of them.

[E.A.]

I enjoyed Tais Teng’s “With Musket and Ducat,” A.C. Wise’s “Letters to a Body on the Cusp of Drowning,” and Cat Rambo’s “The Ghost Eater.”
The other stories weren’t to my taste or didn’t hold my interest.

[H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some pretty good ones. Some baffling, tedious and annoying ones.

[Ryan White · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/4
Cool stories, I like the variety, but lots of editing errors that definitely affected the continuity as a whole.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually one for short story collections. But I was gifted this around the holidays and finishing it got lost in the hustle and bustle of moving. However, I finally did get around to it. There were some amazing stories in there which have left me wanting for the author to have released a full-blown novel. There were a few duds I didn't care for and powered through just to make sure I gave them all a fair shake. But, for the most part, i enjoyed the collection very much.

[Tom Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

an amazing, eclectic collection of the wonderful and bizarre. i have to be honest - the cover of this book drew me in, and i am very glad that it did. were it a different cover, i might have missed some of the most creative stories out there.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book on the Goodreads giveaway.

A short story anthology for those in need of a little change. This compendium of new fiction that has a little something for everyone, including a list of new authors to explore!

[Kaite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a free copy from the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway Program and think that it interesting. I would recommend it to everyone.

[Cathy]

Note to self: has a Cat Rambo Tabat story