Fragmentations

by Isabella Falconeri

"Fragmentations" is a haunting mosaic of visceral tales that bend the familiar into the uncanny. Across these dark vignettes, humanity's earliest stirrings collide with primal magic, intimate betrayals harden into blood-soaked revenge, and the battlefield gives way to a surreal purgatory where survival is as much a matter of cunning as courage. Each fragment stands alone yet resonates with the others, forging a hidden pattern beneath the surface.
Isabella Falconeri's prose is both razor-sharp and elegiac, weaving elemental imagery with taut suspense. Perfect for fans of dystopian dread, twisted fairytale alchemy, and dark speculative shorts, "Fragmentations" shatters expectations, and dares you to piece your own truths back together.


“A captivating collection that delves into the dark and sinister side of the human psyche... engrossing and thought-provoking.” —Doreen Chombu, Readers’ Favorite

124 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 23, 2025

Reviews

[Vela]

This almost felt like it should have been (and in some parts was) poetry. The "short stories" just fell a little flat and some were sort of confusing. I think a few of the stories could be developed a little more and could end up being really neat.

[Diya Sarkar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dafuq did I just read

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think his was for me. I probably would have DNF if it wasn’t only 120ish pages. It felt unfinished and I couldn’t follow like any of these short stories. I was left confused after each one.

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[jodeereads7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like I read a book of ideas by the author. Most of the stories felt like a beginning of a story but never met it's end. But I must say I enjoyed most of them. It was a not so light, light read as some had heavier topics but definitely enjoyable.

[Carolyn Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a really fun collection of disturbing, haunting, and dark tales. Not every single story was a hit, but the ones that were packed a powerful punch.
The writing style was very unique and created an ominous atmosphere that almost connected all the stories, despite them not being necessarily related.
Would recommend, it's a quick read and worth the effort!

[FaithfulReviewer (Jacqueline) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Talon & Quill, the author and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review

Hmmm, I had high hopes for this book after reading the blurb -

"a haunting mosaic of visceral tales that bend the familiar into the uncanny" featuring "dark vignettes" with "blood-soaked revenge"

Sounds fascinating doesn't it? Unfortunately this did not live up to expectations at all. None of the short stories in this volume held my attention in the slightest. As a consequence I won't be seeking out the rest of Isabella Falconeri's work. Plain and simple, I just didn't 'get' any of these stories. I just ended up thinking - What did I just read? The only reason I didn't DNF this book is that it was only 178 pages long.

#isabellafalconeri #NetGalley

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea what I just read.

[Leslie Lucille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The idea of glimpses into snippets of time was so interesting to me. But, in the end I was left wanting something more. I absolutely enjoyed some stories more than others. But, respectfully, a lot of them felt like they were trying too hard to be poetic, when it didn't feel totally necessary to be. But, definitely an interesting concept that I would love to read more of.

Thank you so much, Netgalley, for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

2.5/5⭐️

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poetic gut-punch of a novel. Fragmentations peels back the layers of grief, identity, and survival in prose that’s both brutal and beautiful. It reminded me of the emotional precision of Hanya Yanagihara, but set against a decaying world that feels disturbingly close to our own. I was haunted by the characters long after finishing — especially the quiet moments between them, the tenderness buried in ruin. It’s not just a post-apocalyptic story — it’s a psychological excavation. If you’re looking for speculative fiction with literary weight and emotional resonance, this one’s unforgettable.

[The Noire Anthology · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fragmentations is a dark, interconnected collection of short fiction that moves across speculative, psychological, and surreal modes to examine people at the moment when their sense of reality starts to break. The pieces span settings and voices, from survivors speaking to unseen gods to soldiers suspended between life and death, and from domestic betrayals to liminal landscapes. Each story stands alone but also feels like part of a larger pattern in which the familiar world tilts slightly off axis, exposing the forces that shape human fear, desire, and resilience.​

Reading it, I was struck by how tightly controlled the tone is. Falconeri writes in a way that feels atmospheric without being vague, using concrete images to anchor very strange experiences. The collection’s title is more than a metaphor. Memory, identity, and even the body feel fragmented in these stories, and the book takes seriously the idea that something new can emerge from those fractures, not always in a hopeful way but often in a compelling one. Thematically, Fragmentations sits at the intersection of horror and literary fiction. It is interested in the sinister side of the human psyche, but also in existential questions about meaning, suffering, and what remains when old certainties collapse.

[The Grim Reader UK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never anything quite like this curious collection of.. well, fragments. The title accurately describes this collection of dark fiction - very short pieces that hint at larger things to come. Ultimately I found this a frustrating read. For some stories, I was never quite] sure what was happening - and then it was over. It was like a fever dream. These stories felt like scraps: first drafts, or pieces that didn't go anywhere in particular. I couldn't shake the constant feeling that these had great potential for development and elongation. I'd have liked to stay in some of these worlds for longer to see if I liked them; as it happens, these fragments only offer the briefest of peaks.

Few of these fragments provided closure or developed a story sufficiently enough for me to invest in it. Having said that, there's clearly evidence of good ideas and excellent writing here and I'll be paying attention to whatever Falconeri publishes next.

[Renae Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unsure what to expect from this book. I enjoy anthologies and short stories with a horror or eerie tone. I frequently find myself drawn in. The first story in this book piqued my interest, the second kept me there, and the third persuaded me to keep reading. Most of the stories piqued my interest; some made me gasp, others made me think, and a few made me simply smile. It's a light read. It doesn't take long to get through the stories, and I am confident that fans of eerie and unsettling tales will enjoy this. I would definitely read another work by this author.

[Rafaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could work, but it didn't. The ideas are good, and the concept of really short stories is nice, but it wasn't well executed. It looks like the stories were written for social media and not for a book, with the really short sentences and even shorter paragraphs. The stories were good, but the written was not, at all. Needs some more work.

[Dan Mckeithan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting collection of tales that feel more like starts of stories than the actual stories. It kept my attention for the 120 pages, but I felt it was almost more poetic in nature instead of short stories.

[Daisy McVicar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of gripping short stories (like only a few pages each) told through fragmented text. Some flow a bit like poems but their topic is not poetic. They are horror full with impactful words, though some fell short and got a bit too confusing with the lack of solid prose.

[David Runkee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly wish there had been fewer stories and that the ones that remained had been fleshed out a little more. A few of the stories grabbed my attention and just at it starts to develop into something I want to keep reading, it is over. Overall frustrating.

[Ashleigh Pressy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't know how to rate this to be honest. some stories stuck with me some I forgot as I moved on to the next story. I just feel I need a finished story but I'm positive that the right reader for this book of short stories is out there.

[Munch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wildly wonderful collection of moments, thoughts, stories. I only was left wanting more. Unfortunately, sometimes, with more confusion than understanding. But this was only a very few times. Overall, this collection was great in creating questions, new aspects of thought, and curiosity. It's worth the read! I do feel that many of these shorts could have been much longer and possibly even turned into novellas.