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Echoes and Embers: Speculative Stories
A wondrous collection of speculative stories from Bram Stoker Award finalist Pedro Iniguez.
Weaving fantasy and science fiction, Latinx themes, and traditional pulp stylings, this book collects 21 tales of outsiders, explorers, renegades, and dreamers as they navigate the mysteries and perils of the vast sandbox that is the universe.
From magic realism to military science fiction, Lovecraftian cyberpunk yarns, to swashbuckling tales in space, this collection spans the frontiers of the imagination and the vastness of the cosmos.
Weaving fantasy and science fiction, Latinx themes, and traditional pulp stylings, this book collects 21 tales of outsiders, explorers, renegades, and dreamers as they navigate the mysteries and perils of the vast sandbox that is the universe.
From magic realism to military science fiction, Lovecraftian cyberpunk yarns, to swashbuckling tales in space, this collection spans the frontiers of the imagination and the vastness of the cosmos.
Paperback
Published July 15, 2025
4 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Pedro Íñiguez
65 books19 followersPedro Iniguez is a speculative fiction writer who also enjoys reading and painting.
His work can be found in magazines and anthologies such as Space and Time Magazine, Crossed Genres, Dig Two Graves, Tiny Nightmares, Deserts of Fire, and Altered States II.
His cyberpunk novel, Control Theory (Indie Authors Press,2016) and his 10-year collection, Synthetic Dawns & Crimson Dusks, (Indie Authors Press,2020) are available on Amazon.
Originally from Los Angeles, he now resides in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he is currently working on his second novel.
His work can be found in magazines and anthologies such as Space and Time Magazine, Crossed Genres, Dig Two Graves, Tiny Nightmares, Deserts of Fire, and Altered States II.
His cyberpunk novel, Control Theory (Indie Authors Press,2016) and his 10-year collection, Synthetic Dawns & Crimson Dusks, (Indie Authors Press,2020) are available on Amazon.
Originally from Los Angeles, he now resides in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he is currently working on his second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 2, 2025
With Echoes and Embers, Pedro Íñiguez cements his place as one of the leading writers of Mexican American futurism. In prose that manages to be both lean and melodic, Pedro evokes well rounded characters and fully developed worlds, like a master painter might reveal a complex landscape with a small number of strokes. The reader is left both satisfied and mournful when the final word is scanned. And that complex, paradoxical joy seems a thematic thread holding the pieces together. Whether in old songs that call out to future travelers or traces of future suffering that echo back into the past, the stories in this lyrical collection are suffused with poignant hope that who we are—as individuals and communities—will somehow endure. Most of the science-fiction narratives give weight to that desire by depicting characters of Mexican descent struggling centuries from now to do as all humans do—keep the embers of their culture burning against the guttering wind of time.
November 22, 2025
I have read many short-story science fiction collections, but this speculative anthology about my people, mi gente, ranks among the top ten. The stories filled me with a deep sense of nostalgia. Iñiguez, despite his young age, writes about themes and a Mexican-American culture in a fulfilling way that is historic and challenges systems of oppression, like racism. The collection is intelligent and quite entertaining.
I loved all the stories, but one of my favorites was the first one, “Magic Lucha,” because it dealt with a downtrodden lucha libre fighter and incorporated elements of magical realism about curanderas and brujas. What a treat! I also loved the story, “Sierra Starfall and the Elders of the Spaceways,” which dealt with refugees and their exploitation.
This collection is uputdownable, and I recommend it for all ages.
I loved all the stories, but one of my favorites was the first one, “Magic Lucha,” because it dealt with a downtrodden lucha libre fighter and incorporated elements of magical realism about curanderas and brujas. What a treat! I also loved the story, “Sierra Starfall and the Elders of the Spaceways,” which dealt with refugees and their exploitation.
This collection is uputdownable, and I recommend it for all ages.
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March 19, 2025A big thank you to the publisher for an ARC for a blurb!
ECHOES AND EMBERS is filled with transmissions from both the future and the past, stories that are tender, beautifully strange, ancestral, cosmic, adventurous, yet mixed with the horrific and the folkloric in settings both familiar and far reaching into space—perfect for readers who want to be both transported yet grounded.
ECHOES AND EMBERS is filled with transmissions from both the future and the past, stories that are tender, beautifully strange, ancestral, cosmic, adventurous, yet mixed with the horrific and the folkloric in settings both familiar and far reaching into space—perfect for readers who want to be both transported yet grounded.
July 20, 2025
My Thoughts
———————
I thoroughly enjoyed this short story collection and I liked that each of these stories had an emotional depth to them.
Out of all of them the following stories had a memorable impact on me :
- “Echoes and Embers”, I loved the link between ghosts and time travel;
- “Sierra Starfall and the Elders of the Spaceways” was a great adventure, I loved Sierra;
- “Do as I do” was so beautiful and made me emotional at the end;
- “Calypso and the Kami” made me reflect on the importance of accepting your identity;
- “The Final Gift” is one I will think about for a long time, cannot say much without giving it away, you must read it.
These are just a few I could fit into this post, but every story had something unique to offer and if speculative fiction is your thing then this short story collection has a bit of everything for every lover of the genre. I wholeheartedly recommend it!
Add it to your TBR if you love:
✨Magic realism
✨Military science fiction
✨Lovecraftian cyberpunk yarns
✨Swashbuckling tales in space
✨Latinx themes
Thank you to the author, publisher, and MTMC Tours for the review copy!
12/07/2025:
This story collection was amazing! Review to come soon, but for now I can say I highly recommend it to any speculative fiction lover!
———————
I thoroughly enjoyed this short story collection and I liked that each of these stories had an emotional depth to them.
Out of all of them the following stories had a memorable impact on me :
- “Echoes and Embers”, I loved the link between ghosts and time travel;
- “Sierra Starfall and the Elders of the Spaceways” was a great adventure, I loved Sierra;
- “Do as I do” was so beautiful and made me emotional at the end;
- “Calypso and the Kami” made me reflect on the importance of accepting your identity;
- “The Final Gift” is one I will think about for a long time, cannot say much without giving it away, you must read it.
These are just a few I could fit into this post, but every story had something unique to offer and if speculative fiction is your thing then this short story collection has a bit of everything for every lover of the genre. I wholeheartedly recommend it!
Add it to your TBR if you love:
✨Magic realism
✨Military science fiction
✨Lovecraftian cyberpunk yarns
✨Swashbuckling tales in space
✨Latinx themes
Thank you to the author, publisher, and MTMC Tours for the review copy!
12/07/2025:
This story collection was amazing! Review to come soon, but for now I can say I highly recommend it to any speculative fiction lover!
July 16, 2025
I loved this collection of stories that started off with a tale of brujas and curanderas. It moves on to tales of science fiction, horror, reflection and issues that ring true in today’s world. The stories are all engaging, impactful and full of Latinx representation that made my heart so happy. My favorite story was “Do As I Do”. I also really enjoyed “Second Chances” which is a change of perspective if Selena had lived. “Echoes and Embers” was my third favorite because it is an interesting tale of horror. I think everyone needs to check out this book!!
March 5, 2025
With a selection of stories from one of the most talented multi-genre writers working today, Echoes and Embers lends a unique voice to speculative fiction. Iniguez skillfully subverts tropes and often blends genres, taking the reader on a tour filled with magic, alien worlds, and eldritch horrors, to name a few. Many of the stories take inspiration from the author’s Mexican heritage, but even when they don’t, the reader can be assured they always have something profound to say.
March 2, 2025
What if Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the Queen of Tejano music, never died (“Second Chances)? What if the universe is a tapestry of cosmic fabric woven by an unseen tailor (“The Tailor of Worlds”)? What will become of humanity in the distant future, as generation ships carry the last of our descendants to new, hostile worlds? These are but some of the gripping scenarios conjured with dreamlike fidelity and kinetic grit in Echoes and Embers.
In tales that are as likely to touch your heart as they are to dazzle or horrify, Pedro Iniguez displays his storytelling prowess and passion for crafting worlds that are anchored to characters that feel deeply real and painfully human. By the end of this anthology, you will fall in love with a robot (“Do as I Do”), root for a grandmother who is tougher than the most lissome luchador (“Magic Lucha”), and re-evaluate the cosmic significance of the seemingly innocuous act of sneezing (“Sneeze”). The tenuousness of belonging, the desolation that follows migration and the fragility of heritage are themes that recur across the sweep of narratives, especially the introspective “Calypso and the Kami” and the heart-wrenching “Seeds of Foundation”. A searing meditation on loneliness and precarity, “A Final Song for the Ages”, entwines the life of two sole survivors from different worlds who both lack the capacity to communicate with their people. A veteran of the horror genre, Iniguez dazzles with “The Incident at Chicxulub” and “The Protean Tether”, tales that wax between the strange and the mythic, the blood-soaked ancient past and the neon glow of cyberpunk futures. Fans of military science fiction will be delighted by the pulp and grit of “The Carnivorous Planet”, “The Facsimile War”, and “The Gentle War”, which conjure up familiar trappings of space opera with a Chicane twist that will leave readers gasping for air. Mad Max enthusiasts will find thrill in the alternate history Cold War romp of “The Revolution Engine”, a dieselpunk retelling of David and Goliath sputtering with kerosene fumes that linger in the mind like tracks in the sand. There are also quieter stories like “The Sandbox”, “Portals to the Past”, “Dracosaurus reborn” and “The Tailor of Worlds”, which feel like parables designed to sow a kernel of profound, yet subtle truth about the universe and our place in it. With a cast of unforgettable characters that include humanity’s last survivor – an eldery man waging a last stand against an unstoppable, extraterrestrial foe armed only with paper airplanes (“Legacy”) – and a hedonistic pirate captain who recovers her sense of morality upon discovery of a casual evil lurking in an asteroid mining operation in “Sierra Starfall and the Elders of the Spaceways”, this collection is a medley of science, magic and horror that while fantastic in scope, remains always relatable and firmly tethered to the human. Like the titular “Echoes and Embers”, this collection will haunt and inspire readers long after the last pages are turned, leaving them to wonder how magic and science equally fail to narrate the supernatural.
In tales that are as likely to touch your heart as they are to dazzle or horrify, Pedro Iniguez displays his storytelling prowess and passion for crafting worlds that are anchored to characters that feel deeply real and painfully human. By the end of this anthology, you will fall in love with a robot (“Do as I Do”), root for a grandmother who is tougher than the most lissome luchador (“Magic Lucha”), and re-evaluate the cosmic significance of the seemingly innocuous act of sneezing (“Sneeze”). The tenuousness of belonging, the desolation that follows migration and the fragility of heritage are themes that recur across the sweep of narratives, especially the introspective “Calypso and the Kami” and the heart-wrenching “Seeds of Foundation”. A searing meditation on loneliness and precarity, “A Final Song for the Ages”, entwines the life of two sole survivors from different worlds who both lack the capacity to communicate with their people. A veteran of the horror genre, Iniguez dazzles with “The Incident at Chicxulub” and “The Protean Tether”, tales that wax between the strange and the mythic, the blood-soaked ancient past and the neon glow of cyberpunk futures. Fans of military science fiction will be delighted by the pulp and grit of “The Carnivorous Planet”, “The Facsimile War”, and “The Gentle War”, which conjure up familiar trappings of space opera with a Chicane twist that will leave readers gasping for air. Mad Max enthusiasts will find thrill in the alternate history Cold War romp of “The Revolution Engine”, a dieselpunk retelling of David and Goliath sputtering with kerosene fumes that linger in the mind like tracks in the sand. There are also quieter stories like “The Sandbox”, “Portals to the Past”, “Dracosaurus reborn” and “The Tailor of Worlds”, which feel like parables designed to sow a kernel of profound, yet subtle truth about the universe and our place in it. With a cast of unforgettable characters that include humanity’s last survivor – an eldery man waging a last stand against an unstoppable, extraterrestrial foe armed only with paper airplanes (“Legacy”) – and a hedonistic pirate captain who recovers her sense of morality upon discovery of a casual evil lurking in an asteroid mining operation in “Sierra Starfall and the Elders of the Spaceways”, this collection is a medley of science, magic and horror that while fantastic in scope, remains always relatable and firmly tethered to the human. Like the titular “Echoes and Embers”, this collection will haunt and inspire readers long after the last pages are turned, leaving them to wonder how magic and science equally fail to narrate the supernatural.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews