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The Universe Box
Discover the vast worlds and pocket universes of Michael Swanwick (Stations of the Tide), the only author to win science fiction’s most prestigious award five times in six years. In his dazzling new collection, the master of speculative short stories returns with new tales in which magic and science improbably coexist with myth and legend.
In engaging stories, Mischling the thief races through time to defeat three trolls before the sun rises for the first time and turns the inhabitants of her city into stone. A scientist is on the run from assassins, because her research in merging human intelligence with sentient AI is too dangerous. An aging veteran obtains a military weapon from his past: a VR robotic leopard in which he rediscovers the consequences of the hunt. In the biggest heist in the history of the universe, a loser Trickster (and the girlfriend who is better than he deserves) sets out to violate every trope and expectation of fiction possible.
With two stories original to this collection, Michael Swanwick aptly demonstrates with poignant humor why he is widely respected as a master of imaginative storytelling.
In engaging stories, Mischling the thief races through time to defeat three trolls before the sun rises for the first time and turns the inhabitants of her city into stone. A scientist is on the run from assassins, because her research in merging human intelligence with sentient AI is too dangerous. An aging veteran obtains a military weapon from his past: a VR robotic leopard in which he rediscovers the consequences of the hunt. In the biggest heist in the history of the universe, a loser Trickster (and the girlfriend who is better than he deserves) sets out to violate every trope and expectation of fiction possible.
With two stories original to this collection, Michael Swanwick aptly demonstrates with poignant humor why he is widely respected as a master of imaginative storytelling.
304 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2026
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3775 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Short stories:
Starlight Express -- (5*) Haunting. Visceral, ghostly, and above all, rich in worldbuilding and future speculation. I'm sure it'll stick with me for some time.
The Last Days of Old Night -- (4*) A delightful retelling of old fairy tales, but with hardcore fantasy, rather SFish flare that's all Swanwick. Very entertaining.
The Year of the Three Monarchs -- (3*) Very Conan fantasy/allegory about living by, dying by swords.
Ghost Ships -- (4*) A self-proclaimed autobiographical story, down-to-earth and reflective for a ghost story.
The White Leopard -- (5*) Cool VR/Drone, but the connections with others gave it heart. Only then to twist a knife in by the end. Wicked.
Dragon Slayer -- (4*) Timey-Wimey fantasy done right.
The Warm Equations -- (4*) Disaster and friendship. But mostly about friendship.
Requiem for a White Rabbit -- (5*) DARK. So many great facets to this story, and each slams.
Dreadnought -- (5*) This one snuck up on me GOOD and kicked my ass. Loved, loved it. Wildly great characters.
Grandmother Dimetrodon -- (3*) I really wanted to like this more, but for the premise. It may be true, and the setting is interesting and strange, but the whole story just sat wrong to me.
The Star-Bear -- (4*) Reads like a love story to a literary friend. But very Russian, either way. :)
Nirvana Or Bust -- (4*) Change. Death, change, and synthesis. I rather liked this one.
Reservoir Ice -- (5*) Truly excellent time travel story. And extremely messy.
Artificial People -- (5*) People are people. What a damning sentiment.
Huginn And Muninn -- (5*) A proper send off for Alice Sheldon, her imagination, and a what-if about her suicide. Very creative.
Cloud -- (3*) More of a standard story without fantastical elements. Didn't really grab me.
Timothy: An Oral History -- (5*) Truly a fantastic story, stand out on all levels. No men. Just women in the world. :) Enter the only man... :)
Annie Without Crow -- (5*) Gods of Romance and Trickery up to their grand glories. Yet again.
The Universe Box -- (4*) Heist-like god wonkiness messing with them damn mortals again. And it's fun. Very fun.
Overall, I love this collection of short stories by Swanwick. I might even go as far to say that he's one of the best short fiction writers, period. The craft screams on page. I wouldn't miss it for the world, if I were you.
Starlight Express -- (5*) Haunting. Visceral, ghostly, and above all, rich in worldbuilding and future speculation. I'm sure it'll stick with me for some time.
The Last Days of Old Night -- (4*) A delightful retelling of old fairy tales, but with hardcore fantasy, rather SFish flare that's all Swanwick. Very entertaining.
The Year of the Three Monarchs -- (3*) Very Conan fantasy/allegory about living by, dying by swords.
Ghost Ships -- (4*) A self-proclaimed autobiographical story, down-to-earth and reflective for a ghost story.
The White Leopard -- (5*) Cool VR/Drone, but the connections with others gave it heart. Only then to twist a knife in by the end. Wicked.
Dragon Slayer -- (4*) Timey-Wimey fantasy done right.
The Warm Equations -- (4*) Disaster and friendship. But mostly about friendship.
Requiem for a White Rabbit -- (5*) DARK. So many great facets to this story, and each slams.
Dreadnought -- (5*) This one snuck up on me GOOD and kicked my ass. Loved, loved it. Wildly great characters.
Grandmother Dimetrodon -- (3*) I really wanted to like this more, but for the premise. It may be true, and the setting is interesting and strange, but the whole story just sat wrong to me.
The Star-Bear -- (4*) Reads like a love story to a literary friend. But very Russian, either way. :)
Nirvana Or Bust -- (4*) Change. Death, change, and synthesis. I rather liked this one.
Reservoir Ice -- (5*) Truly excellent time travel story. And extremely messy.
Artificial People -- (5*) People are people. What a damning sentiment.
Huginn And Muninn -- (5*) A proper send off for Alice Sheldon, her imagination, and a what-if about her suicide. Very creative.
Cloud -- (3*) More of a standard story without fantastical elements. Didn't really grab me.
Timothy: An Oral History -- (5*) Truly a fantastic story, stand out on all levels. No men. Just women in the world. :) Enter the only man... :)
Annie Without Crow -- (5*) Gods of Romance and Trickery up to their grand glories. Yet again.
The Universe Box -- (4*) Heist-like god wonkiness messing with them damn mortals again. And it's fun. Very fun.
Overall, I love this collection of short stories by Swanwick. I might even go as far to say that he's one of the best short fiction writers, period. The craft screams on page. I wouldn't miss it for the world, if I were you.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Since his debut in 1980, Michael Swanwick has been a well-respected and award-winning writer of speculative fiction that crosses subgenres including fantasy, science fiction, and slipstream. Besides his nine novels, he has published over 150 stories. The Universe Box is his fifth “summary collection,” containing 19 of his stories from 2012-2026, mostly from the more recent end of that time span. Be aware that about half of these were also included in another series of collections, specifically The Best of Michael Swanwick, Volume Two. If you’re previously unfamiliar with his darkly creative and adult writing, this collection would be an excellent place to dip in.
Swanwick’s writing is intoxicating, filled with creative plot twists and universe bending ideas. Some of his writing is fantasy and some is science fiction – although it’s almost as if science fiction is too confining for his imagination as he zooms off in time and space. Even I, an inveterate fan of science in my science fiction, appreciate and enjoy the ideas in most of his fantasy and slipstream writing. I’ve written a brief statement or two about each story, below. I’ve tried to avoid concept spoilers, but if you want to encounter each story with a totally blank slate, you might skip specific comments by me and others. My favorites? Starlight Express, Grandmother Dimetrodon, Reservoir Ice.
Thank you to Tachyon Publications for an Advance Review Copy of The Universe Box in epub format, in exchange for an honest review on social media platforms and on my book review blog. This new title is scheduled for release on 3 February 2026.
Starlight Express, Mag of Fantasy and Science Fiction Sep-Oct 2017. Science fiction. The woman walked out of the energy road into new old Roma with a look on her face that so distressed Flaminio that he thought he must befriend her and convince her not to suicide. The story took 6th place for 2018 Locus Short Story.
The Last Days of Old Night, Clarkesworld Dec 2022. Fantasy. Mischling was arbitrarily made from a mouse by the Three Brothers. Swanwick is an experienced writer, who writes for experienced readers who have already seen all the tropes, and like to be surprised by new twists.
The Year of the Three Monarchs, The Sword & Sorcery Anthology, 2012. Fantasy. Short piece about two turn-overs of rule in an imagined land.
Ghost Ships, Mag of Fantasy and Science Fiction Sep-Oct 2019. Slipstream. Attending a reunion and memorial, the narrator reminisces on interesting episodes from his college days, that touch on a nearly forgotten sighting of phantom sailing ships by some town kids he knew. "We are, all of us, involuntary passengers on fragile ships, visible from the shore for the briefest of moments and then forever gone."
The White Leopard, New Worlds Trade Paperback , 2022. Science fiction. A veteran of a future war, Ray has lost all meaning in his life until he buys up a broken-down leopard drone at an estate sale.
Dragon Slayer, The Book of Dragons, 2020. Fantasy. Olav is one of those who cannot stay home, who must venture out to follow his fate. “No man is more than three meals away from brigandage.” His road is complicated with many twists of magic and time travel.
The Warm Equations, The Sunday Morning Transport, Aug 7, 2022. Science Fiction. A pilot crashes his hopper on Mercury, and is facing the approach of a solar flair. He struggles with the logistics of saving himself, since rescue is unlikely.
Requiem for a White Rabbit, original to this collection. Science fiction. A robotic white rabbit becomes intelligent through a fluke accident and conspires with some other animatronics to escape the theme park where they live. It is a violent and wild ride out into the real world.
Dreadnought, The Mag of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Jul-Aug 2021. Fantasy. A homeless man named Luke tolerates the untiring ministrations of old Reverend Howe for food. The Rev is often accompanied by a strange teenager named in Luke’s mind as Cthulhu, who may take on a supernatural role in his life.
Grandmother Dimetrodon, original to this collection. Science Fiction. This is a first-person account of a man who fled to a settlement of humans and post-humans in the Permian Era, to avoid prosecution for the murder of his wife. He lives on a ranch where he raises dangerously aggressive Dimetrodons from egg up until it is time to harvest them for meat. A woman tourist hires him to demonstrate his operations for one week, but her motivations are dangerous in a different way. Is she the end product of our evolution?
The Star-Bear, Tor.com, Jun 7, 2023. Fantasy. An exiled Russian poet encounters a bear in Paris that debates politics and literature and changes his life.
Nirvana or Bust, Analog Mar-Apr 2022. Science Fiction. A woman scientist who wears an intelligent exoskeleton is tracked down by an ex-lover, that has become a secret agent of a repressive government. The symbiosis of the woman and the exoskeleton are representative of the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence.
Reservoir Ice, Asimov’s Jul-Aug 2022. Science Fiction. Matt and Laura met through an app that senses their inner sexual desires and matches partners, without any other considerations. Unexpectedly Matt falls in love. He is a mathematician who has invented a form of time travel where one can go back to re-do their lives at some critical point. So, he goes back to manipulate Laura into falling in love with him too. A growing cast of characters begins to use the capability, each with their own agenda. Where does it end?
Artificial People, Clarkesworld Jul 2020. Science Fiction. A robot comes to consciousness, owned by a profit-scheming scientist. As things don’t work out, he keeps putting the robot to sleep in order to fix his last mistake. In a nod to Isaac Asimov’s Susan Calvin, the robot comes to love the scientist’s associate researcher, as she ages away from him.
Huginn and Muninn – and What Came After, Asimov’s Jul-Aug 2021. Fantasy. A suicidal girl goes through the looking glass. She emerges in another world that reverses many things, including a gradual gender change among those who transit. Sexual exploration ensues, as the girl struggles to understand who she is, and her relation with a mysterious agent who is her guide to this world. The girl is named Alice in honor of Alice Sheldon (James Tiptree). The story took 9th place for 2022 Locus Short Story.
Cloud, Asimov’s Nov-Dec 2019. Slipstream. A wealthy young woman brings her fiancé to a dinner party with her family in their city penthouse. There he meets family elders who interact with many layers of manipulation.
Timothy: An Oral History, Clarkesworld Oct 2023. Science Fiction. Told through document record, a scientist has created a human that breaks all the sexual and gender norms of her society, portending radical social change.
Annie Without Crow, Tor.com, Apr 7, 2021. Fantasy. This story has a wide plot with lords and ladies careening through a magical neo-medieval universe. I am not a devotee of high fantasy; it is possible that there are references here, making some kind of sense, that went over my head.
The Universe Box, Asimov’s Sep-Oct 2017. Fantasy. A cosmic thief has pulled off the biggest heist in the history of existence, packing everything that anyone could possibly desire into a small box. The thief hides it in an unsuspicious tiny corner of existence – in the care of a meek young man living in a declining port city on Earth. Howard and his would-be fiancé Mimi are pulled off on a roller coaster ride of Swanwick’s imagining.
Swanwick’s writing is intoxicating, filled with creative plot twists and universe bending ideas. Some of his writing is fantasy and some is science fiction – although it’s almost as if science fiction is too confining for his imagination as he zooms off in time and space. Even I, an inveterate fan of science in my science fiction, appreciate and enjoy the ideas in most of his fantasy and slipstream writing. I’ve written a brief statement or two about each story, below. I’ve tried to avoid concept spoilers, but if you want to encounter each story with a totally blank slate, you might skip specific comments by me and others. My favorites? Starlight Express, Grandmother Dimetrodon, Reservoir Ice.
Thank you to Tachyon Publications for an Advance Review Copy of The Universe Box in epub format, in exchange for an honest review on social media platforms and on my book review blog. This new title is scheduled for release on 3 February 2026.
Starlight Express, Mag of Fantasy and Science Fiction Sep-Oct 2017. Science fiction. The woman walked out of the energy road into new old Roma with a look on her face that so distressed Flaminio that he thought he must befriend her and convince her not to suicide. The story took 6th place for 2018 Locus Short Story.
The Last Days of Old Night, Clarkesworld Dec 2022. Fantasy. Mischling was arbitrarily made from a mouse by the Three Brothers. Swanwick is an experienced writer, who writes for experienced readers who have already seen all the tropes, and like to be surprised by new twists.
The Year of the Three Monarchs, The Sword & Sorcery Anthology, 2012. Fantasy. Short piece about two turn-overs of rule in an imagined land.
Ghost Ships, Mag of Fantasy and Science Fiction Sep-Oct 2019. Slipstream. Attending a reunion and memorial, the narrator reminisces on interesting episodes from his college days, that touch on a nearly forgotten sighting of phantom sailing ships by some town kids he knew. "We are, all of us, involuntary passengers on fragile ships, visible from the shore for the briefest of moments and then forever gone."
The White Leopard, New Worlds Trade Paperback , 2022. Science fiction. A veteran of a future war, Ray has lost all meaning in his life until he buys up a broken-down leopard drone at an estate sale.
Dragon Slayer, The Book of Dragons, 2020. Fantasy. Olav is one of those who cannot stay home, who must venture out to follow his fate. “No man is more than three meals away from brigandage.” His road is complicated with many twists of magic and time travel.
The Warm Equations, The Sunday Morning Transport, Aug 7, 2022. Science Fiction. A pilot crashes his hopper on Mercury, and is facing the approach of a solar flair. He struggles with the logistics of saving himself, since rescue is unlikely.
Requiem for a White Rabbit, original to this collection. Science fiction. A robotic white rabbit becomes intelligent through a fluke accident and conspires with some other animatronics to escape the theme park where they live. It is a violent and wild ride out into the real world.
Dreadnought, The Mag of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Jul-Aug 2021. Fantasy. A homeless man named Luke tolerates the untiring ministrations of old Reverend Howe for food. The Rev is often accompanied by a strange teenager named in Luke’s mind as Cthulhu, who may take on a supernatural role in his life.
Grandmother Dimetrodon, original to this collection. Science Fiction. This is a first-person account of a man who fled to a settlement of humans and post-humans in the Permian Era, to avoid prosecution for the murder of his wife. He lives on a ranch where he raises dangerously aggressive Dimetrodons from egg up until it is time to harvest them for meat. A woman tourist hires him to demonstrate his operations for one week, but her motivations are dangerous in a different way. Is she the end product of our evolution?
The Star-Bear, Tor.com, Jun 7, 2023. Fantasy. An exiled Russian poet encounters a bear in Paris that debates politics and literature and changes his life.
Nirvana or Bust, Analog Mar-Apr 2022. Science Fiction. A woman scientist who wears an intelligent exoskeleton is tracked down by an ex-lover, that has become a secret agent of a repressive government. The symbiosis of the woman and the exoskeleton are representative of the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence.
Reservoir Ice, Asimov’s Jul-Aug 2022. Science Fiction. Matt and Laura met through an app that senses their inner sexual desires and matches partners, without any other considerations. Unexpectedly Matt falls in love. He is a mathematician who has invented a form of time travel where one can go back to re-do their lives at some critical point. So, he goes back to manipulate Laura into falling in love with him too. A growing cast of characters begins to use the capability, each with their own agenda. Where does it end?
Artificial People, Clarkesworld Jul 2020. Science Fiction. A robot comes to consciousness, owned by a profit-scheming scientist. As things don’t work out, he keeps putting the robot to sleep in order to fix his last mistake. In a nod to Isaac Asimov’s Susan Calvin, the robot comes to love the scientist’s associate researcher, as she ages away from him.
Huginn and Muninn – and What Came After, Asimov’s Jul-Aug 2021. Fantasy. A suicidal girl goes through the looking glass. She emerges in another world that reverses many things, including a gradual gender change among those who transit. Sexual exploration ensues, as the girl struggles to understand who she is, and her relation with a mysterious agent who is her guide to this world. The girl is named Alice in honor of Alice Sheldon (James Tiptree). The story took 9th place for 2022 Locus Short Story.
Cloud, Asimov’s Nov-Dec 2019. Slipstream. A wealthy young woman brings her fiancé to a dinner party with her family in their city penthouse. There he meets family elders who interact with many layers of manipulation.
Timothy: An Oral History, Clarkesworld Oct 2023. Science Fiction. Told through document record, a scientist has created a human that breaks all the sexual and gender norms of her society, portending radical social change.
Annie Without Crow, Tor.com, Apr 7, 2021. Fantasy. This story has a wide plot with lords and ladies careening through a magical neo-medieval universe. I am not a devotee of high fantasy; it is possible that there are references here, making some kind of sense, that went over my head.
The Universe Box, Asimov’s Sep-Oct 2017. Fantasy. A cosmic thief has pulled off the biggest heist in the history of existence, packing everything that anyone could possibly desire into a small box. The thief hides it in an unsuspicious tiny corner of existence – in the care of a meek young man living in a declining port city on Earth. Howard and his would-be fiancé Mimi are pulled off on a roller coaster ride of Swanwick’s imagining.
October 20, 2025
I was asked for a blurb by the publisher, which I just sent them:
As someone who has spent years reading, studying and admiring Swanwick’s brilliant fiction, I can happily report that his talent has never blazed more brightly than with this new collection. Whether writing about a mouse-turned-thief, a murderer ranching dimetrodons in the Permian, a Russian émigré poet in Paris visited by a star-marked bear, or a scientist fused with her sentient exoskeleton, Swanwick’s wondrous tales climb every imaginable rung of the cosmic distance ladder leading to our innermost constellations. As befits a true literary spellcaster, Swanwick’s universe box proves infinitely larger on the inside.
—Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, author of Being Michael Swanwick
As someone who has spent years reading, studying and admiring Swanwick’s brilliant fiction, I can happily report that his talent has never blazed more brightly than with this new collection. Whether writing about a mouse-turned-thief, a murderer ranching dimetrodons in the Permian, a Russian émigré poet in Paris visited by a star-marked bear, or a scientist fused with her sentient exoskeleton, Swanwick’s wondrous tales climb every imaginable rung of the cosmic distance ladder leading to our innermost constellations. As befits a true literary spellcaster, Swanwick’s universe box proves infinitely larger on the inside.
—Alvaro Zinos-Amaro, author of Being Michael Swanwick
September 25, 2025
***I thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review***
open sesame, and here you stumble on stories about cultures lost to time or cultures that are yet to come, jumping between timelines, and colliding with new people and stranger worlds. michael swansick’s the universe box is not merely a collection of dream-like tales but a tribute to the adventure genre—definitely a cornerstone in sci-fi fantasy.
the writing style was remarkably well and the plot always had something essential and weird to give. as someone who loved books like king solomon’s mines and anything of the like i could find when i was little, this felt genuinely personal to me. deserves so much more hype! excited to read more of the author’s works. he is a pioneer of the genre.
x
open sesame, and here you stumble on stories about cultures lost to time or cultures that are yet to come, jumping between timelines, and colliding with new people and stranger worlds. michael swansick’s the universe box is not merely a collection of dream-like tales but a tribute to the adventure genre—definitely a cornerstone in sci-fi fantasy.
the writing style was remarkably well and the plot always had something essential and weird to give. as someone who loved books like king solomon’s mines and anything of the like i could find when i was little, this felt genuinely personal to me. deserves so much more hype! excited to read more of the author’s works. he is a pioneer of the genre.
x
February 7, 2026
The Universe Box is the latest collection published by Tachyon, though I'd already read a lot of it through other sources. It's a very good collection, and includes "Ghost Ships," one of my favorite stories by Swanwick. I enjoyed the stories I hadn't read yet, and the ones I had were great ones. "Starlight Express," "Dragon Slayer," "Dreadnought," and "Grandmother Dimetrodon" are ones I'd call out for special attention, but all of them have food for thought.
November 2, 2025
This SFF short story collection pleasantly surprised me! It's not my usual genre as I tend to read more horror short stories, but this title, cover and blurb really intrigued me.
The collection as a whole is very interesting. It's creative, mind-bending and often plays with time in ways that leave you questioning what on earth is going on. Anything is possible in these stories and I was really impressed by the author's ability to craft entire worlds in so few words.
My favourites were:
- The Last Days of Old Night - very fable/fairytale/folklore feeling!
- The White Leopard - reminded me a little of Black Mirror and I loved the ending
- Requiem for a White Rabbit - looooved this one, I think this is my favourite. So surreal and fun to read.
- Reservoir Ice - kind of like About Time but anyone can go back?! I liked the romance element of this one.
- Artificial People - another favourite. I loved how much it made me care about this character in such a short story.
- Timothy: An Oral History - a fun concept and not something I would expect from a male author!
There were a few misses for me, particularly ones where they used other SFF references I'm not familiar with, or more personal stories that didn't resonate with me as much as the ones listed above.
However, I was really glad to have given this a go and I would recommend it as Swanwick is clearly a very talented writer!
The collection as a whole is very interesting. It's creative, mind-bending and often plays with time in ways that leave you questioning what on earth is going on. Anything is possible in these stories and I was really impressed by the author's ability to craft entire worlds in so few words.
My favourites were:
- The Last Days of Old Night - very fable/fairytale/folklore feeling!
- The White Leopard - reminded me a little of Black Mirror and I loved the ending
- Requiem for a White Rabbit - looooved this one, I think this is my favourite. So surreal and fun to read.
- Reservoir Ice - kind of like About Time but anyone can go back?! I liked the romance element of this one.
- Artificial People - another favourite. I loved how much it made me care about this character in such a short story.
- Timothy: An Oral History - a fun concept and not something I would expect from a male author!
There were a few misses for me, particularly ones where they used other SFF references I'm not familiar with, or more personal stories that didn't resonate with me as much as the ones listed above.
However, I was really glad to have given this a go and I would recommend it as Swanwick is clearly a very talented writer!
February 3, 2026
I absolutely adored Swanwick's Stations of the Tide when I read it a year or two age, so I was very excited to get the chance to read some of his short stories in this collection. The Universe Box is full of inventive tricks from an author clearly in command of his craft. While not all of it worked for me, it was a very fun read. Thanks to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Michael Swanwick has been writing since the 1980s, but the stories in this collection are gathered from the past few years. They really show Swanwick's control of the craft of writing. It's not the kind of writing where you can race through a story easily. Pretty much every sentence holds a different kind of surprise or twist and plays with language. There is not just the control of language, however, but also Swanwick's knowledge of the genres he's operating in. There is a confidence in how he moves away from the expected tropes and how he establishes his characters. In his preface to the collection, Swanwick talks about how the ending is crucial to a story and that some stories have had to wait on the shelf for years before he found an ending worthy of it. It is true that the stories in this collection don't usually end how you might expect them to and usually that twist is well-earned and set up properly in retrospect. For readers who are experienced in reading speculative fiction, sci-fi and fantasy, this makes his stories incredibly fun to read. I can imagine that perhaps, for readers less familiar with these waters, however, this can make some of the stories a bit more challenging. I think the work you might have to put in will be rewarded though!
As with every story collection, there are some stories that align more with a reader than others. The collection begins with 'Starlight Express', where a woman arrives in old Roma by an energy road and it is unclear where she is from. There were aspects to this story I really enjoyed. 'The Last Days of Old Night' was one of my faovurites, in part because of its main character and in part because it was inspired by Iceland. Mischling is made human from her previous mouse-existence by three brothers with awesome powers. What comes next is an exploration of abuses of power, of creation, and the end of an endless night. 'The Year of the Three Monarchs' is brief but fun and reads more like a mini-history for an imagined empire than a full story. 'Ghost Ships' is, according to Swanwick's preface, a very personal story that is also a ghost story and although it didn't work entirely for me, I did think it was veyr well-written. 'The White Leopard' is a very intriguing story about a drone leopard, friendship, and marital betrayal. 'Dragon Slayer' was another favourite, I loved Swanwick's take on time travel in a magical storyworld. 'The Warm Equations' is also very short, almost like a one-shot, of a pilot who has crashed and is sure he won't be saved. 'Requiem for a White Rabbit' is a stunning story about robots, intelligence, violence, and the question of what is real and whether that really matters. 'Dreadnought' is very intriguing, combining a kind of dark social commentary about addiction, poverty, and being unhoused with a seemingly apocalyptic battle for the soul of the world. 'Grandmother Dimetrodon' is really intriguing, as a protagonist travels back in time and begins raising dimetrodons in order not to be found guilty for a crime. But a strange visitor throws his life off balance. It is a story about violence and evolution but it didn't fully pull those strings together in a decisive manner for me. 'The Star-Bear' is something of a double-edged love letter to Russian emigrees in Paris. 'Nirvana and Bust' was a delightful story about human and artificial intelligence that I really liked despite my general disdain for current AI. 'Reservoir Ice' is a really interesting take on time-travel, but also on consent and how the linearity of time matters. 'Artificial People' is about a robot learning about life and gaining consciousness in a strangely gentle way. I had some difficulty with 'Huginn and Muninn - and What Came After', which I will address below. 'Cloud' was a little unfocused for me, but this somehow added to its vibe. 'Timothy: An Oral History' is about a female world in which a man is once again created. Here it is the form that is interesting, which is made up of various testimonies, but the politics of it are also intriguing. 'Annie Without Crow' is a delightful medievalist tale of gods and powers and little baby Elizabeth I. Finally, 'The Universe Box' is a fun heist story that moves at an intense pace and is full of fun images and figures.
Like I said above, Swanwick is an excellent writer and there are images and ideas in this collection that will definitely stick with me. I did have, as said, a weird feeling about the story 'Huginn and Muninn'. In and of itself it is a stunning story about identity, gender, and depression. There are Alice in Wonderland-vibes, there are vultures, there is mild body horror suggested, and I think that the way mental health issues are addressed is really interesting. It is, however, also a story about Alice Sheldon, whose penname was James Tiptree, and her suicide, which includes the potential murder of her husband. Swanwick addresses some of his intent behind writing this story in the Preface and this had me intrigued about reading the story itself. I think that there is something beautiful about working through the violent loss of a respected colleague through art, but after reading the story I also just wonder where the line is between an author's public persona and their own personal struggles, and how much oft hat should (posthumously) be explored by others. I don't necessarily have a clear answer to this, I just know that it stuck with me, after the story was done. However, I still had a great time with this collection. While some stories are a bit briefer and more like one-shots than full stories, the ones that felt more worked out were stunning. I will definitely keep reading Swanwick's work and hope to get into more of his novels soon.
Not every story worked quite as well for me, but there are some very inventive approaches here and some very stark imagery, which will stay with me for quite some time!
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...
Michael Swanwick has been writing since the 1980s, but the stories in this collection are gathered from the past few years. They really show Swanwick's control of the craft of writing. It's not the kind of writing where you can race through a story easily. Pretty much every sentence holds a different kind of surprise or twist and plays with language. There is not just the control of language, however, but also Swanwick's knowledge of the genres he's operating in. There is a confidence in how he moves away from the expected tropes and how he establishes his characters. In his preface to the collection, Swanwick talks about how the ending is crucial to a story and that some stories have had to wait on the shelf for years before he found an ending worthy of it. It is true that the stories in this collection don't usually end how you might expect them to and usually that twist is well-earned and set up properly in retrospect. For readers who are experienced in reading speculative fiction, sci-fi and fantasy, this makes his stories incredibly fun to read. I can imagine that perhaps, for readers less familiar with these waters, however, this can make some of the stories a bit more challenging. I think the work you might have to put in will be rewarded though!
As with every story collection, there are some stories that align more with a reader than others. The collection begins with 'Starlight Express', where a woman arrives in old Roma by an energy road and it is unclear where she is from. There were aspects to this story I really enjoyed. 'The Last Days of Old Night' was one of my faovurites, in part because of its main character and in part because it was inspired by Iceland. Mischling is made human from her previous mouse-existence by three brothers with awesome powers. What comes next is an exploration of abuses of power, of creation, and the end of an endless night. 'The Year of the Three Monarchs' is brief but fun and reads more like a mini-history for an imagined empire than a full story. 'Ghost Ships' is, according to Swanwick's preface, a very personal story that is also a ghost story and although it didn't work entirely for me, I did think it was veyr well-written. 'The White Leopard' is a very intriguing story about a drone leopard, friendship, and marital betrayal. 'Dragon Slayer' was another favourite, I loved Swanwick's take on time travel in a magical storyworld. 'The Warm Equations' is also very short, almost like a one-shot, of a pilot who has crashed and is sure he won't be saved. 'Requiem for a White Rabbit' is a stunning story about robots, intelligence, violence, and the question of what is real and whether that really matters. 'Dreadnought' is very intriguing, combining a kind of dark social commentary about addiction, poverty, and being unhoused with a seemingly apocalyptic battle for the soul of the world. 'Grandmother Dimetrodon' is really intriguing, as a protagonist travels back in time and begins raising dimetrodons in order not to be found guilty for a crime. But a strange visitor throws his life off balance. It is a story about violence and evolution but it didn't fully pull those strings together in a decisive manner for me. 'The Star-Bear' is something of a double-edged love letter to Russian emigrees in Paris. 'Nirvana and Bust' was a delightful story about human and artificial intelligence that I really liked despite my general disdain for current AI. 'Reservoir Ice' is a really interesting take on time-travel, but also on consent and how the linearity of time matters. 'Artificial People' is about a robot learning about life and gaining consciousness in a strangely gentle way. I had some difficulty with 'Huginn and Muninn - and What Came After', which I will address below. 'Cloud' was a little unfocused for me, but this somehow added to its vibe. 'Timothy: An Oral History' is about a female world in which a man is once again created. Here it is the form that is interesting, which is made up of various testimonies, but the politics of it are also intriguing. 'Annie Without Crow' is a delightful medievalist tale of gods and powers and little baby Elizabeth I. Finally, 'The Universe Box' is a fun heist story that moves at an intense pace and is full of fun images and figures.
Like I said above, Swanwick is an excellent writer and there are images and ideas in this collection that will definitely stick with me. I did have, as said, a weird feeling about the story 'Huginn and Muninn'. In and of itself it is a stunning story about identity, gender, and depression. There are Alice in Wonderland-vibes, there are vultures, there is mild body horror suggested, and I think that the way mental health issues are addressed is really interesting. It is, however, also a story about Alice Sheldon, whose penname was James Tiptree, and her suicide, which includes the potential murder of her husband. Swanwick addresses some of his intent behind writing this story in the Preface and this had me intrigued about reading the story itself. I think that there is something beautiful about working through the violent loss of a respected colleague through art, but after reading the story I also just wonder where the line is between an author's public persona and their own personal struggles, and how much oft hat should (posthumously) be explored by others. I don't necessarily have a clear answer to this, I just know that it stuck with me, after the story was done. However, I still had a great time with this collection. While some stories are a bit briefer and more like one-shots than full stories, the ones that felt more worked out were stunning. I will definitely keep reading Swanwick's work and hope to get into more of his novels soon.
Not every story worked quite as well for me, but there are some very inventive approaches here and some very stark imagery, which will stay with me for quite some time!
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...
August 3, 2025
I opened The Universe Box expecting what I would out of any sci-fi collection: dark themes of a far flung future, echoes of human civilization long lost, machinery corrupted into evil by the hands of its creators-
What I got, however, was the most unexpected series of stories ranging from stories that made me feel like I was watching events unfold through the bright orange lens of an 80s film, a fantasy tale with elements of time travel and folklore, heartache and wonder learned and loved by a machine, and so much more.
I loved and couldn't get enough of the anachronistic elements throughout the stories in The Universe Box, it being one of my favourite themes already, Swanwick does an incredible job at seamlessly creating these encapsulated worlds that, while having their feet on the ground, explode with abstract elements that at some points have me feeling like I've been dreaming.
Thank you to net galley for the ARC of this book. I look forward to the release date!
What I got, however, was the most unexpected series of stories ranging from stories that made me feel like I was watching events unfold through the bright orange lens of an 80s film, a fantasy tale with elements of time travel and folklore, heartache and wonder learned and loved by a machine, and so much more.
I loved and couldn't get enough of the anachronistic elements throughout the stories in The Universe Box, it being one of my favourite themes already, Swanwick does an incredible job at seamlessly creating these encapsulated worlds that, while having their feet on the ground, explode with abstract elements that at some points have me feeling like I've been dreaming.
Thank you to net galley for the ARC of this book. I look forward to the release date!
February 8, 2026
This is the latest collection of stories by veteran SF&F writer Michael Swanwick, showcasing recent stories crafted in the past few years of his 45 year career (so far). Clever, creative and excellently written, Swanwick's stories always are a treat to read.
In an introduction he provides some comments about the genesis of some of the stories, which is especially helpful when reading the story that's an homage to Alice Sheldon, aka the writer James Tiptree, Jr. Also, it's amusing to note that his wife claims that everything in the story "Ghost Ship" actually happened, and that it's not really fiction. Really? If so, he had a pretty wild younger life.
In an introduction he provides some comments about the genesis of some of the stories, which is especially helpful when reading the story that's an homage to Alice Sheldon, aka the writer James Tiptree, Jr. Also, it's amusing to note that his wife claims that everything in the story "Ghost Ship" actually happened, and that it's not really fiction. Really? If so, he had a pretty wild younger life.
January 27, 2026
*To be published February 3rd, 2026*
This was fun! Swanwick has great writing range across genres, settings, characters, and paces. The only thing that didn’t work for me was how abruptly some stories ended.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!
This was fun! Swanwick has great writing range across genres, settings, characters, and paces. The only thing that didn’t work for me was how abruptly some stories ended.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!
September 19, 2025
Short stories of black holes in Martian's Rome; crashing in the Mercury; robotic White Rabbit with the clock. Myths about giants in the never-ending night, kings, trolls and Alice in the other side of dark mirror; gruesome living in the Permian period with dinosaurs. Oh, and don't forget about lost box which contains whole universe. And that is by no means all there is.
It is an eclectic book indeed. I recommend taking it in batches and not cracking it all at once. Enjoy the stories individually, so you won't have chaos in them, they are so different from each other.
Personally, I liked twists in the stories which you think you know what's going on, but in fact, you don't. Sometimes, stories was too much for me, but overall, I think I need to research Michael Swanwick's other books. I cannot help myself but marvel at author's creativity to stretch reality into fantastical fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley for ARC. Tachyon Publications need more attention, I love their books.
It is an eclectic book indeed. I recommend taking it in batches and not cracking it all at once. Enjoy the stories individually, so you won't have chaos in them, they are so different from each other.
Personally, I liked twists in the stories which you think you know what's going on, but in fact, you don't. Sometimes, stories was too much for me, but overall, I think I need to research Michael Swanwick's other books. I cannot help myself but marvel at author's creativity to stretch reality into fantastical fiction.
Thanks to NetGalley for ARC. Tachyon Publications need more attention, I love their books.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
THE UNIVERSE BOX
RATED 92% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.0 OF 5
19 STORIES : 4 GREAT / 13 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 1 DNF
This is Michael Swanwick 20th appearance in a book that I’ve reviewed: beaten only by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. When you notice that one of those books was a large single author collection, Swanwick becomes the author I’ve reviewed more than any other. Any for good reason. He is on the short list of greatest science fiction writers and one of the very few who are still producing an ocean of good short stories. And this collection shows that he hasn’t lost a step. The stories in this collection cover 2012 to 2026, but that vast majority of them around from the 2020s
One thing I noticed reading Swanwick this time was how good his first sentences were. More than once, I finished a story, thinking I’d goto bed, and that first sentence pulled me all the way into the next story. Well done.
“Driving from Philadelphia to Williamsburg that morning, casting about in my mind for memories of Rabbit’s exploits to share at his memorial, I found myself thinking of the time that Sam the Townie saw the ghost ships. ….
Dimetrodons are a nasty piece of business. You have no idea how they stink. Nor how violent they are. In a good mood, a dimetrodon will bite you for no reason at all. Which, their bite being septic, is bad news no matter how you look at it. They’re predators and scavengers and if one of their kind dies nearby, they’re cannibals. But it’s possible to like them, once you get to know their ways. …
It begins with a half-cyborg girl dangling her legs over the edge of the Grand Canyon at midnight. Below her are hundreds of millions of years of geological history, sliced open by a knife of water. Billions of years of stellar evolution shine down on her from above. Her head is raised and her eyes are wide.”
Four Stories Join My All-Time Great List:
https://www.shortsf.com/beststories
“The White Leopard” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. Great. Ray is a former military drone operator. He is retired and unhappy until he rebuilds a ground surveillance drone and starts hunting at night.
“Requiem for a White Rabbit” © copyright 2026 by Michael Swanwick. Great. A robot in a Disney-like amusement park achieves a higher level of sentience, liberates a violent cinderella (Cindy), and kidnaps a cleaning gnome. They escape into the wild and pick up a hitchhiker. But nothing is quite what it seems.
“Cloud” © 2019 by Michael Swanwick. Great. At an opulent party held high above Manhattan on a man-made Cloud, a corporate lawyer begins to sense that both his world and his carefully curated life may be far less stable than he believes.
“Timothy: An Oral History” © copyright 2023 by Michael Swanwick. Great. Transcript of a series of interviews. In a future Earth where only women exist, a scientist discovers how to make a male and it creates upheaval.
94 Anthologies + 30 Author Collections + 18 Slates of Award Finalists + 3 Magazine Issues + 2 Novel(la)s. at https://www.shortsf.com
***
THE UNIVERSE BOX: Complete Story Reviews
19 STORIES : 4 GREAT / 13 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 1 DNF
“Starlight Express” © copyright 2017 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September-October 2017.
Good. In a future Rome, where humanities technology persists as a tourist attraction, a woman arrives via a teleporter that no one believed what able to receive.
“The Last Days of Old Night” © copyright 2020 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Clarkesworld, December 2022.
Good. In a time before light, three powerful trolls turn a mouse into a woman and give her the power to rally the people. The purpose is to build a boat that will help them escape the coming Sun.
“The Year of the Three Monarchs” © copyright 2012 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Sword & Sorcery Anthology, edited by David G. Hartwell and Jacob Weisman (Tachyon Publications: San Francisco).
Good. Short, but powerful, vignettes about power, monarchy, assassination, and trust.
“Ghost Ships” © copyright 2019 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September-October 2019.
Good. Swanwick mentions in his introduction that nothing in this story is fiction, except a few name changes. This is a powerful story of nostalgia for the friends we lose after college. And the way that small decisions - made in fear or selfishness - change the course of lives. This is a great story but because it isn’t science fiction, it cannot get a great rating on this blog.
“The White Leopard” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in New Worlds, edited by Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers (PS Publishing: Hornsea).
Great. Ray is a former military drone operator. He is retired and unhappy until he rebuilds a ground surveillance drone and starts hunting at night.
“Dragon Slayer” © copyright 2020 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Book of Dragons, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Harper Voyager UK: Glasgow).
Good. A pleasant fable with time travel, dragons, magical artifacts, and a coming-of-age moment.
“The Warm Equations” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on The Sunday Morning Transport, August 7, 2022.
Good. When you look past the name, you find a story about a man dying alone on the surface of a planet. He doesn’t believe the rest of the crew will rescue him, because he didn’t make friends with them.
“Requiem for a White Rabbit” © copyright 2026 by Michael Swanwick. Original to this collection.
Great. A robot in a Disney-like amusement park achieves a higher level of sentience, liberates a violent cinderella (Cindy), and kidnaps a cleaning gnome. They escape into the wild and pick up a hitchhiker. But nothing is quite what it seems.
“Dreadnought” © copyright 2021 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July-August 2021.
Good. A homeless man under a bridge and a crazy evangelist may be the last line defense against the destruction of the world.
“Grandmother Dimetrodon” © copyright 2026 by Michael Swanwick. Original to this collection.
Good. A man murders his wife and starts a new life in the distant past raising Dimetrodon’s as a luxury meat for the wealthy. He get entangled with a woman who can a strange obsession for violence.
“The Star-Bear” © copyright 2023 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Tor.com, June 7, 2023.
Good. A Russian political exiled writer is tempted to return home by a magical bear.
“Nirvana or Bust” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in Analog, March-April 2022.
Good. In a future where artificial intelligence dominates the Solar System, one researcher believes that technological progress cannot be stopped. Only delayed. This story explores inevitability, fear, and the moment when humanity’s future quietly slips beyond its control.
“Reservoir Ice” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, July-August 2022.
Good. A man invents a way to travel back in time and uses it to ‘fix’ his relationship. Unfortunately, his invention is now public science and everyone is using it. This leads to chaos in his life and the lives of everyone in the world.
“Artificial People” © copyright 2020 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Clarkesworld, July 2020.
Average. From the perspective of a robot that is awakened and bonds in love to one of the scientists who created him. Well written, but we’ve read this kind of thing over and over.
“Huginn and Muninn—and What Came After” © 2021 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, July-August 2021.
Good. A strange, sexual fantasy of what control you really have over your life. Much more powerful if you know that this Alice is Alice Sheldon (author James Tiptree Jr) in the moment before her Murder-Suicide.
“Cloud” © 2019 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, November-December 2019.
Great. At an opulent party held high above Manhattan on a man-made Cloud, a corporate lawyer begins to sense that both his world and his carefully curated life may be far less stable than he believes.
“Timothy: An Oral History” © copyright 2023 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Clarkesworld, October 2023.
Great. Transcript of a series of interviews. In a future Earth where only women exist, a scientist discovers how to make a male and it creates upheaval.
“Annie Without Crow” © 2021 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Tor.com, April 7, 2021.
DNF. I couldn’t get through this chaotic tale where medieval romance and 20th century counterculture collide.
“Universe Box” copyright 2016 by Michael Swanwick. (Dragonstairs Press: Philadelphia).
Good. Wildly fun sexual romp with orgies, demi-gods, tricksters, bored girlfriends and their boring boyfriends, and the theft of a cigar box that contains everything in the universe that anyone could ever want. Felt a lot like a Neil Gaiman story, but - you know - not written by a monster..
RATED 92% POSITIVE. STORY SCORE 4.0 OF 5
19 STORIES : 4 GREAT / 13 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 1 DNF
This is Michael Swanwick 20th appearance in a book that I’ve reviewed: beaten only by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. When you notice that one of those books was a large single author collection, Swanwick becomes the author I’ve reviewed more than any other. Any for good reason. He is on the short list of greatest science fiction writers and one of the very few who are still producing an ocean of good short stories. And this collection shows that he hasn’t lost a step. The stories in this collection cover 2012 to 2026, but that vast majority of them around from the 2020s
One thing I noticed reading Swanwick this time was how good his first sentences were. More than once, I finished a story, thinking I’d goto bed, and that first sentence pulled me all the way into the next story. Well done.
“Driving from Philadelphia to Williamsburg that morning, casting about in my mind for memories of Rabbit’s exploits to share at his memorial, I found myself thinking of the time that Sam the Townie saw the ghost ships. ….
Dimetrodons are a nasty piece of business. You have no idea how they stink. Nor how violent they are. In a good mood, a dimetrodon will bite you for no reason at all. Which, their bite being septic, is bad news no matter how you look at it. They’re predators and scavengers and if one of their kind dies nearby, they’re cannibals. But it’s possible to like them, once you get to know their ways. …
It begins with a half-cyborg girl dangling her legs over the edge of the Grand Canyon at midnight. Below her are hundreds of millions of years of geological history, sliced open by a knife of water. Billions of years of stellar evolution shine down on her from above. Her head is raised and her eyes are wide.”
Four Stories Join My All-Time Great List:
https://www.shortsf.com/beststories
“The White Leopard” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. Great. Ray is a former military drone operator. He is retired and unhappy until he rebuilds a ground surveillance drone and starts hunting at night.
“Requiem for a White Rabbit” © copyright 2026 by Michael Swanwick. Great. A robot in a Disney-like amusement park achieves a higher level of sentience, liberates a violent cinderella (Cindy), and kidnaps a cleaning gnome. They escape into the wild and pick up a hitchhiker. But nothing is quite what it seems.
“Cloud” © 2019 by Michael Swanwick. Great. At an opulent party held high above Manhattan on a man-made Cloud, a corporate lawyer begins to sense that both his world and his carefully curated life may be far less stable than he believes.
“Timothy: An Oral History” © copyright 2023 by Michael Swanwick. Great. Transcript of a series of interviews. In a future Earth where only women exist, a scientist discovers how to make a male and it creates upheaval.
94 Anthologies + 30 Author Collections + 18 Slates of Award Finalists + 3 Magazine Issues + 2 Novel(la)s. at https://www.shortsf.com
***
THE UNIVERSE BOX: Complete Story Reviews
19 STORIES : 4 GREAT / 13 GOOD / 1 AVERAGE / 0 POOR / 1 DNF
“Starlight Express” © copyright 2017 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September-October 2017.
Good. In a future Rome, where humanities technology persists as a tourist attraction, a woman arrives via a teleporter that no one believed what able to receive.
“The Last Days of Old Night” © copyright 2020 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Clarkesworld, December 2022.
Good. In a time before light, three powerful trolls turn a mouse into a woman and give her the power to rally the people. The purpose is to build a boat that will help them escape the coming Sun.
“The Year of the Three Monarchs” © copyright 2012 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Sword & Sorcery Anthology, edited by David G. Hartwell and Jacob Weisman (Tachyon Publications: San Francisco).
Good. Short, but powerful, vignettes about power, monarchy, assassination, and trust.
“Ghost Ships” © copyright 2019 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September-October 2019.
Good. Swanwick mentions in his introduction that nothing in this story is fiction, except a few name changes. This is a powerful story of nostalgia for the friends we lose after college. And the way that small decisions - made in fear or selfishness - change the course of lives. This is a great story but because it isn’t science fiction, it cannot get a great rating on this blog.
“The White Leopard” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in New Worlds, edited by Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers (PS Publishing: Hornsea).
Great. Ray is a former military drone operator. He is retired and unhappy until he rebuilds a ground surveillance drone and starts hunting at night.
“Dragon Slayer” © copyright 2020 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Book of Dragons, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Harper Voyager UK: Glasgow).
Good. A pleasant fable with time travel, dragons, magical artifacts, and a coming-of-age moment.
“The Warm Equations” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on The Sunday Morning Transport, August 7, 2022.
Good. When you look past the name, you find a story about a man dying alone on the surface of a planet. He doesn’t believe the rest of the crew will rescue him, because he didn’t make friends with them.
“Requiem for a White Rabbit” © copyright 2026 by Michael Swanwick. Original to this collection.
Great. A robot in a Disney-like amusement park achieves a higher level of sentience, liberates a violent cinderella (Cindy), and kidnaps a cleaning gnome. They escape into the wild and pick up a hitchhiker. But nothing is quite what it seems.
“Dreadnought” © copyright 2021 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, July-August 2021.
Good. A homeless man under a bridge and a crazy evangelist may be the last line defense against the destruction of the world.
“Grandmother Dimetrodon” © copyright 2026 by Michael Swanwick. Original to this collection.
Good. A man murders his wife and starts a new life in the distant past raising Dimetrodon’s as a luxury meat for the wealthy. He get entangled with a woman who can a strange obsession for violence.
“The Star-Bear” © copyright 2023 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Tor.com, June 7, 2023.
Good. A Russian political exiled writer is tempted to return home by a magical bear.
“Nirvana or Bust” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in Analog, March-April 2022.
Good. In a future where artificial intelligence dominates the Solar System, one researcher believes that technological progress cannot be stopped. Only delayed. This story explores inevitability, fear, and the moment when humanity’s future quietly slips beyond its control.
“Reservoir Ice” © copyright 2022 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, July-August 2022.
Good. A man invents a way to travel back in time and uses it to ‘fix’ his relationship. Unfortunately, his invention is now public science and everyone is using it. This leads to chaos in his life and the lives of everyone in the world.
“Artificial People” © copyright 2020 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Clarkesworld, July 2020.
Average. From the perspective of a robot that is awakened and bonds in love to one of the scientists who created him. Well written, but we’ve read this kind of thing over and over.
“Huginn and Muninn—and What Came After” © 2021 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, July-August 2021.
Good. A strange, sexual fantasy of what control you really have over your life. Much more powerful if you know that this Alice is Alice Sheldon (author James Tiptree Jr) in the moment before her Murder-Suicide.
“Cloud” © 2019 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, November-December 2019.
Great. At an opulent party held high above Manhattan on a man-made Cloud, a corporate lawyer begins to sense that both his world and his carefully curated life may be far less stable than he believes.
“Timothy: An Oral History” © copyright 2023 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Clarkesworld, October 2023.
Great. Transcript of a series of interviews. In a future Earth where only women exist, a scientist discovers how to make a male and it creates upheaval.
“Annie Without Crow” © 2021 by Michael Swanwick. First appeared on Tor.com, April 7, 2021.
DNF. I couldn’t get through this chaotic tale where medieval romance and 20th century counterculture collide.
“Universe Box” copyright 2016 by Michael Swanwick. (Dragonstairs Press: Philadelphia).
Good. Wildly fun sexual romp with orgies, demi-gods, tricksters, bored girlfriends and their boring boyfriends, and the theft of a cigar box that contains everything in the universe that anyone could ever want. Felt a lot like a Neil Gaiman story, but - you know - not written by a monster..
August 11, 2025
This is a review of an ARC from Netgalley and publisher Tachyon.
I first read Michael Swanwick back in the 80s, when he was regularly featured in the Gardnor Dozois World’s Best annual anthologies.
I had thought I had gone off the short story, as so many I have read (or tried to read) recently left me impatient and bored (I’m looking at you Someone in Time). But it turns out I was just missing decent writing.
Michael Swanwick has a masterful ability to drop you into the middle of a world, give you exactly what you need to get started, and then deliver the rare, the unusual, the unexpected, in a deceptively easy way. Two pages, max, is what it takes to deliver enough back story, or information, to have you hooked on whatever current story you’re reading.
An eclectic mixture of science fiction, fantasy, time travel, and the simply strange, this is thought provoking, easy-reading, entertainment.
I first read Michael Swanwick back in the 80s, when he was regularly featured in the Gardnor Dozois World’s Best annual anthologies.
I had thought I had gone off the short story, as so many I have read (or tried to read) recently left me impatient and bored (I’m looking at you Someone in Time). But it turns out I was just missing decent writing.
Michael Swanwick has a masterful ability to drop you into the middle of a world, give you exactly what you need to get started, and then deliver the rare, the unusual, the unexpected, in a deceptively easy way. Two pages, max, is what it takes to deliver enough back story, or information, to have you hooked on whatever current story you’re reading.
An eclectic mixture of science fiction, fantasy, time travel, and the simply strange, this is thought provoking, easy-reading, entertainment.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 Stars (rounded up)
I always struggle to rate short story collections. This book is a great example of why this is a problem. Michael Swanwick presents us a very creative, dark, diverse and multi-layered range of stories. It’s always tricky to craft entire worlds in so little words, but, for the most part, Swanwick does it brilliantly. Over the course of this book, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected and appreciated the mix of traditional sci-fi elements with speculative, experimental science fiction.
There were, however, some stories that I could not connect with and while they were interesting to read, and in some I was mildly surprised to see where it was going, they were nothing to write home about. I will, instead, focus on the ones that now join the ranks of some of my favourite short stories:
“The White Leopard” Ray is a retired military drone operator who rebuilds a drone from scratch and starts hunting with it. Dark, twisted, reminded me of Dark Mirror.
“The Warm Equations”. An anti-social pilot crashes his hopper in Mercury and has hours before eminent death. He thinks rescue is unlikely. This was such a powerful reminder of the importance of life and human connections.
“Requiem for a White Rabbit” A white rabbit robot in an amusement park achieves a higher level of intelligence and somehow turns into a very violent cinderella (Cindy) to escape into the wild. But it was never that simple and this short story left me starting into space after finishing it.
“Dreadnought” I thought long and hard if I liked this short story or not. I don’t think I can even summarise it now and I’m not ashamed to admit that I had to re-read it, because after finishing it the first time, I was not sure what I just read.
“Reservoir Ice” Time traveling is a thing, so why wouldn’t people go back in time to change the fact that time travel is a thing? Multiple people while we are at it, all with different purposes? This was such a great story and I was kind of sad that it was just a short story, it has potential for so much more!
“Artificial People” Love between a robot and the human scientist, while she ages and eventually goes where the robot can never follow. The idea in itself is almost cliché at this point, but it was brilliantly done here.
“Huginn and Munnin - and What Came After” A girl emerges in another world where things are reversed, including genre. This is one of those stories that I had no idea where it was going or if I even liked it until after thinking on it after finishing.
Overall, I think this is a must read for fans of speculative sci-fi. As always, there will be stories that are just ok, but the ones that speak to you will move you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to die ignorant so I’m gonna check out Sandwick’s other works.
Thank you so much to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I always struggle to rate short story collections. This book is a great example of why this is a problem. Michael Swanwick presents us a very creative, dark, diverse and multi-layered range of stories. It’s always tricky to craft entire worlds in so little words, but, for the most part, Swanwick does it brilliantly. Over the course of this book, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected and appreciated the mix of traditional sci-fi elements with speculative, experimental science fiction.
There were, however, some stories that I could not connect with and while they were interesting to read, and in some I was mildly surprised to see where it was going, they were nothing to write home about. I will, instead, focus on the ones that now join the ranks of some of my favourite short stories:
“The White Leopard” Ray is a retired military drone operator who rebuilds a drone from scratch and starts hunting with it. Dark, twisted, reminded me of Dark Mirror.
“The Warm Equations”. An anti-social pilot crashes his hopper in Mercury and has hours before eminent death. He thinks rescue is unlikely. This was such a powerful reminder of the importance of life and human connections.
“Requiem for a White Rabbit” A white rabbit robot in an amusement park achieves a higher level of intelligence and somehow turns into a very violent cinderella (Cindy) to escape into the wild. But it was never that simple and this short story left me starting into space after finishing it.
“Dreadnought” I thought long and hard if I liked this short story or not. I don’t think I can even summarise it now and I’m not ashamed to admit that I had to re-read it, because after finishing it the first time, I was not sure what I just read.
“Reservoir Ice” Time traveling is a thing, so why wouldn’t people go back in time to change the fact that time travel is a thing? Multiple people while we are at it, all with different purposes? This was such a great story and I was kind of sad that it was just a short story, it has potential for so much more!
“Artificial People” Love between a robot and the human scientist, while she ages and eventually goes where the robot can never follow. The idea in itself is almost cliché at this point, but it was brilliantly done here.
“Huginn and Munnin - and What Came After” A girl emerges in another world where things are reversed, including genre. This is one of those stories that I had no idea where it was going or if I even liked it until after thinking on it after finishing.
Overall, I think this is a must read for fans of speculative sci-fi. As always, there will be stories that are just ok, but the ones that speak to you will move you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to die ignorant so I’m gonna check out Sandwick’s other works.
Thank you so much to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 3, 2026
“It is that region midway between essence and appearance that I try to write about.”
“Once a story is written, it belongs as much to the reader as it does to the writer.”
-Michael Swanwick
“It had an accidental reset earlier today…when I saw what my life was like, decided to escape the park”, so claimed Whitey, the White Rabbit. Cinderella was game…She had a metal frame and a vague human shape. Short Stuff was a janitorial bot. The trio abandoned the park without official sanction. Why not pick up a human hitchhiker as well? Let the fun begin! (Requiem For a White Rabbit)
Raphael became aware when his brain started sparking. This was his first moment of consciousness. Subroutes booted up his vocal cords and musician abilities…then Blackness. Next time he was aware, “My protocols had been extensively reworked. When I wasn’t here, I wasn’t anywhere. I was property, part of the artificial neuronics industry.” “Always…there was a new startup version of artificial person.” Suddenly Raphael was turned off ahead of schedule. “What’s so special about existence that I should continue to live it?” (Artificial People)
An imaginary vulture sat on each of Alice’s shoulders. Huginn and Muninn flew her directly to a fireplace where she passed through a black mirror...a portal to an oppositional world. The side effect of passing through-people got younger and younger until they dwindled away. With luck, a few had puzzled out how to cross between realms balancing their time on each side of the glass… immortalized. They would never die or be unborn. When Mistral, Alice’s guide, brings her to Mueller’s Truck Stop she asks her waitress why she works there. “Gotta earn a living…I was a truck driver on the other side”. Was Mistral a devil in disguise? (Huginn and Muninn-And What Came After)
“The thief had just pulled off the biggest heist in the history of existence…Tucked under one arm was a box containing everything that anybody could possibly desire…he had one tactical advantage…no laws had any hold over him, not even physical ones…opponents would not dare to follow him…” He wrecked havoc upon the life of predictable ho-hum Howard who was readying his proposal to Mimi, the love of his life. How would he know that adventure starved Mimi would be prepared to break up with him that very night? Howard Pendleton- a Nobody in Particular. (Universe Box)
Universe Box is a collection of nineteen short stories and one novella. The excellent writing is versatile and inventive. Swanwick’s creative bent cannot be denied since he is the recipient of numerous Hugo Awards. “We are, all of us, involuntary passengers on fragile ships, visible from the shore for the briefest of moments and then forever gone…Perhaps we were never here in the first place.”
Thank you Tachyon Publishers and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“Once a story is written, it belongs as much to the reader as it does to the writer.”
-Michael Swanwick
“It had an accidental reset earlier today…when I saw what my life was like, decided to escape the park”, so claimed Whitey, the White Rabbit. Cinderella was game…She had a metal frame and a vague human shape. Short Stuff was a janitorial bot. The trio abandoned the park without official sanction. Why not pick up a human hitchhiker as well? Let the fun begin! (Requiem For a White Rabbit)
Raphael became aware when his brain started sparking. This was his first moment of consciousness. Subroutes booted up his vocal cords and musician abilities…then Blackness. Next time he was aware, “My protocols had been extensively reworked. When I wasn’t here, I wasn’t anywhere. I was property, part of the artificial neuronics industry.” “Always…there was a new startup version of artificial person.” Suddenly Raphael was turned off ahead of schedule. “What’s so special about existence that I should continue to live it?” (Artificial People)
An imaginary vulture sat on each of Alice’s shoulders. Huginn and Muninn flew her directly to a fireplace where she passed through a black mirror...a portal to an oppositional world. The side effect of passing through-people got younger and younger until they dwindled away. With luck, a few had puzzled out how to cross between realms balancing their time on each side of the glass… immortalized. They would never die or be unborn. When Mistral, Alice’s guide, brings her to Mueller’s Truck Stop she asks her waitress why she works there. “Gotta earn a living…I was a truck driver on the other side”. Was Mistral a devil in disguise? (Huginn and Muninn-And What Came After)
“The thief had just pulled off the biggest heist in the history of existence…Tucked under one arm was a box containing everything that anybody could possibly desire…he had one tactical advantage…no laws had any hold over him, not even physical ones…opponents would not dare to follow him…” He wrecked havoc upon the life of predictable ho-hum Howard who was readying his proposal to Mimi, the love of his life. How would he know that adventure starved Mimi would be prepared to break up with him that very night? Howard Pendleton- a Nobody in Particular. (Universe Box)
Universe Box is a collection of nineteen short stories and one novella. The excellent writing is versatile and inventive. Swanwick’s creative bent cannot be denied since he is the recipient of numerous Hugo Awards. “We are, all of us, involuntary passengers on fragile ships, visible from the shore for the briefest of moments and then forever gone…Perhaps we were never here in the first place.”
Thank you Tachyon Publishers and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 7, 2026
The Universe Box is a lively collection of stories that roam freely across genres and moods, shifting from speculative science fiction to folkloric fantasy to pieces that sit somewhere in the uncanny borderlands between them. This book feels like an open invitation to follow the author wherever his imagination wanders.
Because the stories vary so widely in tone and style, assessing the collection as a single entity is almost impossible. That’s the inherent challenge of reviewing short fiction: no matter how skilled the writer, each reader will gravitate toward different pieces. Some stories here strike immediately with their emotional clarity or conceptual sharpness; others charm through their oddness or quiet humour; a few didn't align with my tastes, and I am sure this will be the same for others. The book feels less like a unified statement and more like a treasure box of curiosities, each item waiting for the right reader to pick it up and feel the spark.
What does hold the collection together is Swanwick’s command of craft. His prose is crisp and confident, and he has a gift for opening lines that drop you straight into a world with almost no friction. Even the lighter stories carry a sense of intention, and the darker ones often reveal a sly wink beneath the surface. There’s a playfulness running through the whole book, a sense that Swanwick delights in the act of storytelling itself, and that delight becomes part of the reading experience.
Taken as a whole, The Universe Box succeeds not because every story will resonate equally, but because it showcases the breadth of what short fiction can achieve. It’s a collection best approached with curiosity rather than expectation, ready to encounter the strange, the moving, the mischievous, and the unexpected. For readers who enjoy variety and the thrill of not knowing what the next page will bring, Swanwick’s latest offering is a rewarding journey.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Because the stories vary so widely in tone and style, assessing the collection as a single entity is almost impossible. That’s the inherent challenge of reviewing short fiction: no matter how skilled the writer, each reader will gravitate toward different pieces. Some stories here strike immediately with their emotional clarity or conceptual sharpness; others charm through their oddness or quiet humour; a few didn't align with my tastes, and I am sure this will be the same for others. The book feels less like a unified statement and more like a treasure box of curiosities, each item waiting for the right reader to pick it up and feel the spark.
What does hold the collection together is Swanwick’s command of craft. His prose is crisp and confident, and he has a gift for opening lines that drop you straight into a world with almost no friction. Even the lighter stories carry a sense of intention, and the darker ones often reveal a sly wink beneath the surface. There’s a playfulness running through the whole book, a sense that Swanwick delights in the act of storytelling itself, and that delight becomes part of the reading experience.
Taken as a whole, The Universe Box succeeds not because every story will resonate equally, but because it showcases the breadth of what short fiction can achieve. It’s a collection best approached with curiosity rather than expectation, ready to encounter the strange, the moving, the mischievous, and the unexpected. For readers who enjoy variety and the thrill of not knowing what the next page will bring, Swanwick’s latest offering is a rewarding journey.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was a delightful story collection. Like any collection of works from a single author, there are going to be some unifying themes (particularly a collection like this, which is a snapshot of the last decade or so) as the author reacts to the world around them. Here we get a lot of stories about the intersection of 'artificial intelligence' and humanity. There's a nice mix of both science fiction and fantasy here (I actually really really really enjoyed some of the fantasy stories, which was a shock to me). There's also a lot of the author playing with time (and time travel) - one of my favorite stories, "Reservoir Ice" really turned time travel in science fiction on its head with repercussions I'd never really considered. Not every story worked for me, but that's often what I find in a collection.
What you really and truly see is Swanwick working with the implications of intelligence that is created. And robots. And love. It shouldn't be a surprise that he's had his work done in "Love, Death and Robots" on Netflix - this is right up his alley. And there is definitely an exploration of death, which is only natural in a storyteller advancing in age.
There's a line in "Ghost Ships," which is a story that is unlike any of the others in the collection in that it isn't really fiction. Towards the end, the author says:
"We are, all of us, involuntary passengers on fragile ships, visible from the shore for the briefest of moments and then forever gone. No one can say why. Perhaps we were sent here as punishment. Perhaps we were never here in the first place. Soon enough, there will be no witnesses to prove otherwise."
It hit me. Hard. This is an author nearing the end. And approaching it the only way he can - with his words.
4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for a chance to read an advance review copy. All opinions are my own and were not compensated. "The Universe Box" is out on February 3rd and you can preorder it now!
What you really and truly see is Swanwick working with the implications of intelligence that is created. And robots. And love. It shouldn't be a surprise that he's had his work done in "Love, Death and Robots" on Netflix - this is right up his alley. And there is definitely an exploration of death, which is only natural in a storyteller advancing in age.
There's a line in "Ghost Ships," which is a story that is unlike any of the others in the collection in that it isn't really fiction. Towards the end, the author says:
"We are, all of us, involuntary passengers on fragile ships, visible from the shore for the briefest of moments and then forever gone. No one can say why. Perhaps we were sent here as punishment. Perhaps we were never here in the first place. Soon enough, there will be no witnesses to prove otherwise."
It hit me. Hard. This is an author nearing the end. And approaching it the only way he can - with his words.
4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for a chance to read an advance review copy. All opinions are my own and were not compensated. "The Universe Box" is out on February 3rd and you can preorder it now!
November 2, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for the digital ARC for review.
This is one of my favorite short story collections I have ever read. These short stories, while diverse and unique, all feel as though they are strange fables that exist within a universe that isn’t quite like ours. You can tell by his writing that Swanwick is one heck of a storyteller. These stories bring on emotions so quickly and strongly that I could not stop turning the pages looking for the next emotional high. Each story also has its own place in time that I find very enthralling. Swanwick has a unique and special mind in which he uses to come up with unimaginable futures and pasts. The way that he uses time passing as a horror is fascinating. Time cannot be trifled with, leave it alone and let things be as they may, or don’t…either way an interesting story lies ahead.
These stories are whimsical, foreboding, time breaking and so much more. Swanwick uses gender, time, technology, human existence and mind-breaking ideas to create unfathomable stories that can break reality.
My favorite stories in no particular order:
The Last Days of Old Night
Dragon Slayer
Requiem for a White Rabbit
Reservoir Ice
Artificial People
Huginn and Muninn – and What Came After (wtf honestly)
This had everything I was looking for in a short story collection. Please give it a read if you enjoy fantastical and interesting literature. I will end my review with a quote that really resonates with me:
“It came to me that everything was provisional. Or perhaps the better word was temporary. All the heroic actions of the past are destined to be unmade, the small memories carefully preserved must inevitably come to be forgotten, and everything we are and do and care about will in time be undone.”
This is one of my favorite short story collections I have ever read. These short stories, while diverse and unique, all feel as though they are strange fables that exist within a universe that isn’t quite like ours. You can tell by his writing that Swanwick is one heck of a storyteller. These stories bring on emotions so quickly and strongly that I could not stop turning the pages looking for the next emotional high. Each story also has its own place in time that I find very enthralling. Swanwick has a unique and special mind in which he uses to come up with unimaginable futures and pasts. The way that he uses time passing as a horror is fascinating. Time cannot be trifled with, leave it alone and let things be as they may, or don’t…either way an interesting story lies ahead.
These stories are whimsical, foreboding, time breaking and so much more. Swanwick uses gender, time, technology, human existence and mind-breaking ideas to create unfathomable stories that can break reality.
My favorite stories in no particular order:
The Last Days of Old Night
Dragon Slayer
Requiem for a White Rabbit
Reservoir Ice
Artificial People
Huginn and Muninn – and What Came After (wtf honestly)
This had everything I was looking for in a short story collection. Please give it a read if you enjoy fantastical and interesting literature. I will end my review with a quote that really resonates with me:
“It came to me that everything was provisional. Or perhaps the better word was temporary. All the heroic actions of the past are destined to be unmade, the small memories carefully preserved must inevitably come to be forgotten, and everything we are and do and care about will in time be undone.”
February 9, 2026
The anthology of Michael Swanwick short stories “The Universe Box” is probably the most familiar collection of stories that I have ever read that was written by an author that I didn’t instantly recognize. That’s on me, but fortunately, there was no way I could ignore this book once I realized it was published by the renowned Tachyon Publications and written by an author described as a “Five-time Hugo winner”. Though, I am still somewhat stunned that there was a five-time Hugo winner who was not already on my radar. In addition to science fiction, Swanwick also writes excellent fantasy, speculative fiction, and crossover stories based in mythology.
Among the 19 stories within, I instantly recognized and enjoyed rereading several. I am certain that I have read about half of the remaining stories one time or another, and the rest of the stories felt comfortably familiar. A couple of my favorites include:
- “The Warm Equations” - Survival in space against all odds, a brilliant but antisocial scientist, and a realistic heartwarming and perfect ending.
- “Grandmother Dimetrodon” Ranks right up there with Ray Bradbury’s classic “Sound of Thunder” butterfly crushing time travel safari tale.
- “Nirvana Or Bust” - Starts out kind of cute, but in fairly few pages, turns out to be a very hard core SF tale that speculates on what humanity may turn into.
- “Reservoir Ice” - Excellently fresh time travel with enough creative turns to make it stand out in a crowded field.
I whole heartedly recommend this to fans of fantasy, speculative fiction, and science fiction.
I thank the author and publisher for kindly sharing an electronic advanced review copy of this excellent work with me. I look forward to reading much more by Michael Swanwick.
Among the 19 stories within, I instantly recognized and enjoyed rereading several. I am certain that I have read about half of the remaining stories one time or another, and the rest of the stories felt comfortably familiar. A couple of my favorites include:
- “The Warm Equations” - Survival in space against all odds, a brilliant but antisocial scientist, and a realistic heartwarming and perfect ending.
- “Grandmother Dimetrodon” Ranks right up there with Ray Bradbury’s classic “Sound of Thunder” butterfly crushing time travel safari tale.
- “Nirvana Or Bust” - Starts out kind of cute, but in fairly few pages, turns out to be a very hard core SF tale that speculates on what humanity may turn into.
- “Reservoir Ice” - Excellently fresh time travel with enough creative turns to make it stand out in a crowded field.
I whole heartedly recommend this to fans of fantasy, speculative fiction, and science fiction.
I thank the author and publisher for kindly sharing an electronic advanced review copy of this excellent work with me. I look forward to reading much more by Michael Swanwick.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Rating 3.5
I am not usually a short-story collection reader. Mostly because I usually get invested in the stories and become disappointed that they end so quickly but lately I have gotten into 90’s fantasy and Michael Swanwick name popped up so I decided to dive in. This collection blends sci-fi, fantasy, and humor and explores technology or humanities relationship with it.
Some of my favorites in this collection are:
Dragon Slayer- Instead of rising toward a victorious showdown, the story drifts toward a disturbing truth: the dragon slayer is not vanquishing evil, but helping to erase it from existence.
Requiem for a White Rabbit- Set in an amusement park where animatronic figures develop an awareness. Playful at first glance, ruthless at the core. I really think this one would be an amazing novel.
Dreadnaught- An alcoholic homeless guy, a reverend, a demon named Cthulhu and insect like warriors sent to destroy the world. What more needs to be said.
Nirvana Or Bust- A woman on the run wearing a sentient exoskeleton she calls Nirvana or Bust being hunted by the government. This story explores artificial intelligence and its potential hazards. Surreal, Introspective Sci-Fi.
Overall, These tales are funny, eerie, and unexpectedly tender, haunted by the awareness that consciousness itself can be a burden and that the universe remains vast, beautiful, and indifferent. Of course some are stronger and will resinate better than others but that will vary for each reader. In my opinion worth the read.
I am not usually a short-story collection reader. Mostly because I usually get invested in the stories and become disappointed that they end so quickly but lately I have gotten into 90’s fantasy and Michael Swanwick name popped up so I decided to dive in. This collection blends sci-fi, fantasy, and humor and explores technology or humanities relationship with it.
Some of my favorites in this collection are:
Dragon Slayer- Instead of rising toward a victorious showdown, the story drifts toward a disturbing truth: the dragon slayer is not vanquishing evil, but helping to erase it from existence.
Requiem for a White Rabbit- Set in an amusement park where animatronic figures develop an awareness. Playful at first glance, ruthless at the core. I really think this one would be an amazing novel.
Dreadnaught- An alcoholic homeless guy, a reverend, a demon named Cthulhu and insect like warriors sent to destroy the world. What more needs to be said.
Nirvana Or Bust- A woman on the run wearing a sentient exoskeleton she calls Nirvana or Bust being hunted by the government. This story explores artificial intelligence and its potential hazards. Surreal, Introspective Sci-Fi.
Overall, These tales are funny, eerie, and unexpectedly tender, haunted by the awareness that consciousness itself can be a burden and that the universe remains vast, beautiful, and indifferent. Of course some are stronger and will resinate better than others but that will vary for each reader. In my opinion worth the read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
It was the cover that caught my eye, followed by the title. It’s a cover worthy of recognition, I feel.
Fortunately what’s inside is worthy of the cover. Michael Swanwick is a master of the imagination, but he can also transform some pretty bizarre worlds into well-crafted images in your own mind. And as for circumstances and plot twists, well, his imagination has no bounds.
My taste leans towards his fantasy rather than his more sci-fi orientated work, although the ones involving time travel (in both genres) are superb. There is a tendency towards more horrific events, but nothing unduly gratuitous. The robot rabbit escaping from the theme park is particularly brilliant, from execution to denouement.
I was slightly put off at the start, having seen the contents list and started on what appeared to be a piece of witchy domesticity, only to discover it was a forward outlining the stories! I hate that, since I may remember early ones to the extent it spoils them. For one story, he repeated its origin at the end, which was a waste, since it was only a couple of stories in, and I’d remembered the legend already. So skip that introduction, and read it afterwards if you want to know where the inspiration comes from.
All in all an excellent collection, with plenty of food for thought, and hopefully not enough for nightmares.
Fortunately what’s inside is worthy of the cover. Michael Swanwick is a master of the imagination, but he can also transform some pretty bizarre worlds into well-crafted images in your own mind. And as for circumstances and plot twists, well, his imagination has no bounds.
My taste leans towards his fantasy rather than his more sci-fi orientated work, although the ones involving time travel (in both genres) are superb. There is a tendency towards more horrific events, but nothing unduly gratuitous. The robot rabbit escaping from the theme park is particularly brilliant, from execution to denouement.
I was slightly put off at the start, having seen the contents list and started on what appeared to be a piece of witchy domesticity, only to discover it was a forward outlining the stories! I hate that, since I may remember early ones to the extent it spoils them. For one story, he repeated its origin at the end, which was a waste, since it was only a couple of stories in, and I’d remembered the legend already. So skip that introduction, and read it afterwards if you want to know where the inspiration comes from.
All in all an excellent collection, with plenty of food for thought, and hopefully not enough for nightmares.
February 6, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley, Tachyon Publications and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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The Universe Box is a wonderfully eclectic introduction to Michael Swanwick’s work, especially for a first‑time reader like me. There truly is something for everyone in this collection. It opens with a sci‑fi tale of a star traveler who slips through millennia to a distant Roma due to a machine glitch, and later whisks readers back to the Permian period for a bit of dinosaur wrangling. There’s also a vivid retelling of an Icelandic folktale about the three trolls who turned to stone near Reynisfjara. But perhaps my favorite entry is “The Dragon Slayer,” a story full of clever twists and playful paradoxes.
Fans of Isaac Asimov’s classic sci‑fi collections or the genre‑bending feel of "Black Mirror" will appreciate the range here. There are stories that span fantasy, folklore, time travel, magical realism, and even touches of Aesopian fable, many featuring empowered female characters.
Each piece is a small, imaginative bite, perfect for late‑night reading and the strange dreams that may follow.
--------------------------------------------
The Universe Box is a wonderfully eclectic introduction to Michael Swanwick’s work, especially for a first‑time reader like me. There truly is something for everyone in this collection. It opens with a sci‑fi tale of a star traveler who slips through millennia to a distant Roma due to a machine glitch, and later whisks readers back to the Permian period for a bit of dinosaur wrangling. There’s also a vivid retelling of an Icelandic folktale about the three trolls who turned to stone near Reynisfjara. But perhaps my favorite entry is “The Dragon Slayer,” a story full of clever twists and playful paradoxes.
Fans of Isaac Asimov’s classic sci‑fi collections or the genre‑bending feel of "Black Mirror" will appreciate the range here. There are stories that span fantasy, folklore, time travel, magical realism, and even touches of Aesopian fable, many featuring empowered female characters.
Each piece is a small, imaginative bite, perfect for late‑night reading and the strange dreams that may follow.
August 25, 2025
I don't care for fantasy and I'm highly selective about sci-fi, but this collection featuring stories of both those genres turned out to be a real winner.
I picked up this book because I've been meaning to check out Swanwick's writing and found the title and cover difficult to resist. Besides, I've always believed that a talented author can make any genre (within reason) appealing. And right I am, because Swanwick's natural storytelling ability and wonderful imagination made these tales of strange and fantastic sing, irrespective of their genre.
Even high fantasy works here.
Every story was engaging and interesting. Tale after tale delighted and entertained. What a terrific introduction to the author.
I enjoyed this collection immensely and would recommend it to all fans of speculative fiction.
Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
I picked up this book because I've been meaning to check out Swanwick's writing and found the title and cover difficult to resist. Besides, I've always believed that a talented author can make any genre (within reason) appealing. And right I am, because Swanwick's natural storytelling ability and wonderful imagination made these tales of strange and fantastic sing, irrespective of their genre.
Even high fantasy works here.
Every story was engaging and interesting. Tale after tale delighted and entertained. What a terrific introduction to the author.
I enjoyed this collection immensely and would recommend it to all fans of speculative fiction.
Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
October 26, 2025
Although these were short stories, I found myself intrigued as to what the future holds for the characters in each story. The writing drew me into each story and Swanwick created such unique and immersive worlds for each tale.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I feel like these are stories you can always come back to and find something new within them. I would recommend this to readers who love adventures and thought-provoking science fiction.
If you want to take a break from your 400 page fantasy and delve into stories with the same wonder and world building, this one is for you.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley/Tachyon Publications in exchange for a review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I feel like these are stories you can always come back to and find something new within them. I would recommend this to readers who love adventures and thought-provoking science fiction.
If you want to take a break from your 400 page fantasy and delve into stories with the same wonder and world building, this one is for you.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley/Tachyon Publications in exchange for a review.
December 22, 2025
This was such a surprise read! I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but I felt like I fell into new episodes of 'Black Mirror' at times which was extremely intriguing. I don't know if i've ever read short stories told in this way, a mix of sci-fi and fantasy but in short little anecdotes. It was really fun to finish a story in less than 30 minutes and move onto something new the next day. There was a lot of mystery and certainly some cliff hangers. Some stories were for me and others I could have missed. Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2.75/5
I was quite disappointed with this.
The writing was just so weird and stunted. I don't like when writing doesn't flow, when sentences feel like full stops (yes, I know that they are, but there's an art to it).
I wanted some fun little sci-fi stories, but these were just flat and shallow for my taste. I need to accept that I am not a short story girlie. As much as I may want to be.
I really could've get behind any of these characters.
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I was quite disappointed with this.
The writing was just so weird and stunted. I don't like when writing doesn't flow, when sentences feel like full stops (yes, I know that they are, but there's an art to it).
I wanted some fun little sci-fi stories, but these were just flat and shallow for my taste. I need to accept that I am not a short story girlie. As much as I may want to be.
I really could've get behind any of these characters.
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!
November 7, 2025
Thank you Tachyon Publications, Michael Swanwick and Edelweiss for this free ARC in Exchange for a review.
I didn't find any of the characters of these short stories to be compelling. None of the lead characters had the morals to be seen as heroes.
This anthology is a good one for those who like ambiguous or dark morality.
I didn't find any of the characters of these short stories to be compelling. None of the lead characters had the morals to be seen as heroes.
This anthology is a good one for those who like ambiguous or dark morality.
November 16, 2025
I think I got a little smarter after reading this book. It is so well written and at a higher standard from what I normally read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this weird, amazing collection of stories. Completely unique premises in all of them. I am definitely going to read more by Michael Swanwick. An absolute five-star book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this weird, amazing collection of stories. Completely unique premises in all of them. I am definitely going to read more by Michael Swanwick. An absolute five-star book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
received as a NetGalley arc in exchange for an honest review
3.5 stars rounded to 4
The Universe Box is an eclectic collection that spans many subgenres of science fiction. It's a great introduction to Swanwick and, of course, will please existing fans. I struggled with the pacing of a couple of the stories but was drawn into each.
3.5 stars rounded to 4
The Universe Box is an eclectic collection that spans many subgenres of science fiction. It's a great introduction to Swanwick and, of course, will please existing fans. I struggled with the pacing of a couple of the stories but was drawn into each.
December 9, 2025
fun and absolutely wild set of stories that are fantastical and dreamlike and set in wildly different worlds, some super high-tech and futuristic (like the exoskeleton one), some magical, and some just wildly odd (like Grandmother Dimetrodon). 5 stars. tysm for the arc.
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