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The House of Illusionists: and Other Stories
A sea-witch calls to souls from the deep. In modern suburbia, a middle-aged woman fights to keep her daughter from the clutches of a Faerie Queen. . . and finds herself confronting her own past and deepest desires. Sinister clowns run a candy shop on an idyllic resort island. A pair of neuroscientists fall in love amidst their quest to map the human mind. A woman is haunted by a starving ghost, and professors of magic do their best to keep students safe during a time of terrible war. In her debut collection, Vanessa Fogg spins fantastical tales set in worlds both close and distant from our own, exploring relationships, love, passion, and connection across space and time.
311 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 3, 2025
5 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Vanessa Fogg
30 books59 followersVanessa Fogg dreams of dragons, selkies, and gritty cyberpunk futures from her home in western Michigan. She is a lapsed scientist and now works as a freelance medical writer. Her short stories have appeared in a number of science fiction and fantasy magazines, as well as in a few non-genre outlets. She is fueled by green tea.
For more, visit her official website www.vanessafogg.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
July 1, 2025
4 ⭐️
“𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬.𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.”
This book is basically a collection of 18 beautifully written short stories. I’d recommend this book to Teens especially Pre-teens , who want to dive into the fantasy or sci fi genre. These stories are sooo creative like the author must be a genius to come up with these ideas!
“𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑾𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆, 𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆.”
Here are the synopsis of some of my favourite stories !
⋆.˚✮𝑺𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕✮˚.⋆
A boy’s soul is trapped by people in creepy smiley masks. Now, he looks like a child and tricks other kids into coming to their candy stall. The sweet they give is so tasty, it makes kids forget everything—and then they disappear. Even their parents forget them.When the mask people leave, they put the boy in charge. But then he meets a strange girl… and that’s when things start to change.
⋆.˚✮𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒚✮˚.⋆:
This one is very emotional and written in second person POV. You’re a mother. You have a daughter you love deeply—but you never say it out loud. You never hug her, never show it on your face. Still, she waits for it. For a smile. For a soft word. For a sign that you care.
⋆.˚✮𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝑴𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 ✮˚.⋆
This one is THE BEST. In a quiet kingdom, a princess falls in love with a prince who holds a dangerous power—one strong enough to destroy the world if he ever loses control. He promises to care for her garden, a place full of life and love.But one day, he breaks that promise. The garden is ruined. All that’s left is memory.
⋆.˚✮ 𝑨𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 ✮˚.⋆
This is literally like SO CREATIVE ! You’ve been chosen to study at a school where forgotten words are taught—a place where language lives and breathes. There, you meet an old man who once sat where you sit now. He tells you his story. What he did after he left. What the words meant to him.And one thing stays with you:Words never leave. They always find their way back.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ 𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕀 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕀’𝕞 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕕𝕦𝕞𝕓 ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ Between Sea and shore and The house of illusionist.
I know there are people who will not like this book because it gives YA vibes and there’s no romance sub plot , but still it has really heartwarming stories ❤️I’d recommend it if you are looking for short lighthearted stories or keeping up with your book goals!
Thanks to Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the e - arc in exchange for an honest review!
“𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬.𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.”
This book is basically a collection of 18 beautifully written short stories. I’d recommend this book to Teens especially Pre-teens , who want to dive into the fantasy or sci fi genre. These stories are sooo creative like the author must be a genius to come up with these ideas!
“𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑾𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆, 𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆.”
Here are the synopsis of some of my favourite stories !
⋆.˚✮𝑺𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕✮˚.⋆
A boy’s soul is trapped by people in creepy smiley masks. Now, he looks like a child and tricks other kids into coming to their candy stall. The sweet they give is so tasty, it makes kids forget everything—and then they disappear. Even their parents forget them.When the mask people leave, they put the boy in charge. But then he meets a strange girl… and that’s when things start to change.
⋆.˚✮𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒆’𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒚✮˚.⋆:
This one is very emotional and written in second person POV. You’re a mother. You have a daughter you love deeply—but you never say it out loud. You never hug her, never show it on your face. Still, she waits for it. For a smile. For a soft word. For a sign that you care.
⋆.˚✮𝑶𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝑴𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 ✮˚.⋆
This one is THE BEST. In a quiet kingdom, a princess falls in love with a prince who holds a dangerous power—one strong enough to destroy the world if he ever loses control. He promises to care for her garden, a place full of life and love.But one day, he breaks that promise. The garden is ruined. All that’s left is memory.
⋆.˚✮ 𝑨𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 ✮˚.⋆
This is literally like SO CREATIVE ! You’ve been chosen to study at a school where forgotten words are taught—a place where language lives and breathes. There, you meet an old man who once sat where you sit now. He tells you his story. What he did after he left. What the words meant to him.And one thing stays with you:Words never leave. They always find their way back.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ 𝕊𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕀 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕀 𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕀’𝕞 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕕𝕦𝕞𝕓 ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ Between Sea and shore and The house of illusionist.
I know there are people who will not like this book because it gives YA vibes and there’s no romance sub plot , but still it has really heartwarming stories ❤️I’d recommend it if you are looking for short lighthearted stories or keeping up with your book goals!
Thanks to Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the e - arc in exchange for an honest review!
September 22, 2025
Stunning short fiction dancing around the borders between genres, vivid, moving, and beautiful.
October 21, 2025
I don’t usually gravitate toward short story collections, though I do enjoy mixing things up occasionally. This compilation, however, was truly exceptional.
Even a month after finishing it, several of the stories remain vividly in my mind—each one compelling and emotionally resonant in its own way. One story in particular moved me to tears right there in a nail salon, which says a lot about the author’s ability to evoke genuine feeling.
Highly recommended for anyone who appreciates beautifully written, emotionally powerful storytelling.
Even a month after finishing it, several of the stories remain vividly in my mind—each one compelling and emotionally resonant in its own way. One story in particular moved me to tears right there in a nail salon, which says a lot about the author’s ability to evoke genuine feeling.
Highly recommended for anyone who appreciates beautifully written, emotionally powerful storytelling.
January 4, 2026
Review of 'The house of Illusionists: and other stories' by Vanessa Fogg
4/5 ⛤⛤⛤⛤
This is a collection of short stories written by Vanessa Fogg with fantasy and sci-fi themes/genres. The first part of the book, 'Closer World', is set in worlds that are similar to ours, while the second part of the book, 'Farther Worlds', is set in more fantasy worlds. I personally preferred the second part of the book because I'm more into those kinds of worlds. Overall, Fogg did a great job of worldbuilding, especially since they are short stories. That was my main concern while going into this book, since it is fantasy/sci-fi based, which often requires extensive worldbuilding for the story to make sense or have an impact. Gladly, this was done well, so I could really get into the stories.
Now let's go into the stories themselves. I liked the variety of all the stories with very interesting concepts. They were all different enough to feel like they had their own little worlds. My favorite stories overall are: (I won't describe them because of possible spoilers + I also don't know how to hide parts of my review because I haven't written a lot of reviews on Goodreads yet ;) )
1) 'The Things That We Will Never Say' --> It's a short story that had the most impact on me by far. I loved the way it was written, with the headings being things she would want to say. fav quote: "I love you. We will never say these words aloud. But in every timeline I can see, we know it’s true."
2) 'Wings': This one is my overall favorite!!! I always love the theme of magic and fairytale-like stories, so this fit right into my alley. It's a very sweet story and a very sweet ending.--> fav quote: "There is a language deeper than words. A language of silence, touch, and simple presence."
3) 'Fanfiction for Grimdark Universe': very interesting concept, I've never read anything like it. I also liked the explanations of the different ones and how they would wish it were their lives. My fav quote --> "These are the fics where the bad things never happened. Where the story still takes place in our universe, but the universe took a different turn."
4) 'Once Upon a Midsummer's Night': This is a story that I could read an entire book of. I love the POV of this story and the way it was told, changing between the past and present. My fav quotes --> "We remember. We are made of almost nothing but memories." and "We are the Garden, and each life here has left us an echo of its soul. We know them in full. We carry them all: the memories, the soul imprints, of all our children."
5) 'Traces of Us': I was a bit confused at the beginning when the storylines switched between the ships and the scientists, but it became clear when reading it further, and it felt very sweet then. I also loved the scientific themes of neurology and the brain itself. My fav quote --> "The only real immortality is in the memories we leave behind for our loved ones."
Overall, some stories were a bit difficult to understand/get into at the beginning, but almost all make sense at the end. I think the meaning of certain stories will hit even more when rereading the stories, so I probably will be doing that in the future :). I WOULD recommend this book to others who might want to get into the fantasy/sci-fi genre because it allows you to read different kinds of stories so you can find out what you like best.
Thank you Netgalley for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review! <3 #TheHouseofIllusionists #NetGalley
ps) a part of the story 'the breaking' reminds me a lot of the movie 'Contact' (1997): the part of the message from the starts. I recently watched the movie, hence the reminder hihi --> quote: "A star whose light (if we could see it) would take 289 years to reach us. Something near that star, my mother explained, had sent all of Earth a Message."
4/5 ⛤⛤⛤⛤
This is a collection of short stories written by Vanessa Fogg with fantasy and sci-fi themes/genres. The first part of the book, 'Closer World', is set in worlds that are similar to ours, while the second part of the book, 'Farther Worlds', is set in more fantasy worlds. I personally preferred the second part of the book because I'm more into those kinds of worlds. Overall, Fogg did a great job of worldbuilding, especially since they are short stories. That was my main concern while going into this book, since it is fantasy/sci-fi based, which often requires extensive worldbuilding for the story to make sense or have an impact. Gladly, this was done well, so I could really get into the stories.
Now let's go into the stories themselves. I liked the variety of all the stories with very interesting concepts. They were all different enough to feel like they had their own little worlds. My favorite stories overall are: (I won't describe them because of possible spoilers + I also don't know how to hide parts of my review because I haven't written a lot of reviews on Goodreads yet ;) )
1) 'The Things That We Will Never Say' --> It's a short story that had the most impact on me by far. I loved the way it was written, with the headings being things she would want to say. fav quote: "I love you. We will never say these words aloud. But in every timeline I can see, we know it’s true."
2) 'Wings': This one is my overall favorite!!! I always love the theme of magic and fairytale-like stories, so this fit right into my alley. It's a very sweet story and a very sweet ending.--> fav quote: "There is a language deeper than words. A language of silence, touch, and simple presence."
3) 'Fanfiction for Grimdark Universe': very interesting concept, I've never read anything like it. I also liked the explanations of the different ones and how they would wish it were their lives. My fav quote --> "These are the fics where the bad things never happened. Where the story still takes place in our universe, but the universe took a different turn."
4) 'Once Upon a Midsummer's Night': This is a story that I could read an entire book of. I love the POV of this story and the way it was told, changing between the past and present. My fav quotes --> "We remember. We are made of almost nothing but memories." and "We are the Garden, and each life here has left us an echo of its soul. We know them in full. We carry them all: the memories, the soul imprints, of all our children."
5) 'Traces of Us': I was a bit confused at the beginning when the storylines switched between the ships and the scientists, but it became clear when reading it further, and it felt very sweet then. I also loved the scientific themes of neurology and the brain itself. My fav quote --> "The only real immortality is in the memories we leave behind for our loved ones."
Overall, some stories were a bit difficult to understand/get into at the beginning, but almost all make sense at the end. I think the meaning of certain stories will hit even more when rereading the stories, so I probably will be doing that in the future :). I WOULD recommend this book to others who might want to get into the fantasy/sci-fi genre because it allows you to read different kinds of stories so you can find out what you like best.
Thank you Netgalley for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review! <3 #TheHouseofIllusionists #NetGalley
ps) a part of the story 'the breaking' reminds me a lot of the movie 'Contact' (1997): the part of the message from the starts. I recently watched the movie, hence the reminder hihi --> quote: "A star whose light (if we could see it) would take 289 years to reach us. Something near that star, my mother explained, had sent all of Earth a Message."
September 3, 2025
This collection was so good that I doled out the last few stories to myself slowly, just one a day, so it wouldn't end too soon.
I met Vanessa Fogg in college but we lost touch until I moved back to the Midwest, near her current hometown. Until we reconnected, I didn't even know she was a writer. I've devoured her work in The Best Science Fiction of the Year, Volume 4; The Future Fire; Lightspeed; and Uncharted. I loved Lilies of the Dawn. When she mentioned a forthcoming book on social media, I was thrilled to be able to read an ARC through NetGalley.
Her stories conjure so many different worlds and people - gods, ghosts, angels, vampires, sickly sweet evil clowns, mothers, daughters, lovers, shapeshifters, magicians - and they all manage to slip inside of you, to make you hold your breath as you wonder what will come next. She writes relationships between characters and circumstances that feel genuine enough to break your heart or lift your spirit. Isn't that what we all want from what we read?
My personal favorites (though it was hard to choose!) include Traces of Us, The Things That We Will Never Say, The Breaking, Of Milk and Blood, Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe, and the eponymous The House of Illusionists. That final story is beautiful and relevant to our time, in a way that both gave me hope and brought me to tears.
If you love science fiction and fantasy, you need, no, you DESERVE to read this collection.
I met Vanessa Fogg in college but we lost touch until I moved back to the Midwest, near her current hometown. Until we reconnected, I didn't even know she was a writer. I've devoured her work in The Best Science Fiction of the Year, Volume 4; The Future Fire; Lightspeed; and Uncharted. I loved Lilies of the Dawn. When she mentioned a forthcoming book on social media, I was thrilled to be able to read an ARC through NetGalley.
Her stories conjure so many different worlds and people - gods, ghosts, angels, vampires, sickly sweet evil clowns, mothers, daughters, lovers, shapeshifters, magicians - and they all manage to slip inside of you, to make you hold your breath as you wonder what will come next. She writes relationships between characters and circumstances that feel genuine enough to break your heart or lift your spirit. Isn't that what we all want from what we read?
My personal favorites (though it was hard to choose!) include Traces of Us, The Things That We Will Never Say, The Breaking, Of Milk and Blood, Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe, and the eponymous The House of Illusionists. That final story is beautiful and relevant to our time, in a way that both gave me hope and brought me to tears.
If you love science fiction and fantasy, you need, no, you DESERVE to read this collection.
Read
September 17, 2025House of Illusionists by Vanessa Fogg is a collection of 17 short stories which could all be described as speculative.
Ever since Aeschylus and the invention of tragic theater in ancient Athens, one of the marks of great literature, according to Aristotle, Tolstoy, and others, is to create an emotional response in the audience. To put this point another way, lately I have been watching the television show The Pitt about people who work in an emergency room in a Pittsburgh hospital. I enjoy the show because the people who made the show make me feel like I am experiencing the joys and struggles of real people with serious medical issues.
The story that most made me feel like I was emotionally invested in the characters was “The Wave”. This story is about Shannon, a woman who is a professional surfer who livestreams her extreme events to people in far flung places using some sort of technology called a live mind-cast. Unlike those following the mind-cast, Shannon says
“But we want to feel it when we surf. Not use neural programs to turn ourselves into perfect, contest-winning, record-breaking machines. I’ve experienced the mind-feeds of those neural app users; I know the difference” (location 1373).
Shannon also worries about the dangers of oversharing her surfing experiences”
”There are moments that you don’t want your loved ones to share. Time that you hope they’re not logged in, feeling what you feel” (location 1409).
Toward the end of the story, Shannon reflects on how her experience on the ocean waves is different than those experiencing her feed.
”This is the dirty secret of a mind-cast: you’re not really experiencing what the mind-caster felt.
Even if it’s a raw mind-feed with no filters or safeguards at all — it’s not the same. It’s not real.
Because some small part of you knows that you’re not really there; you know that you’re actually in your bedroom or lying back on your living room couch, the mind-receiver set shading your eyes” (location 1469).
At least for me, “The Wave” was the best story in the collection. However, I did not find the other stories nearly as emotionally engaging as this story. If you have an interest in speculative fiction or science fiction, then I think you might like Fogg’s story collection. Overall, I felt like this is a good, but not excellent collection of stories.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book; all opinions are my own.
Scheduled for publication 3 November 2025.
epub. 311 pgs. 16 September 2025
Ever since Aeschylus and the invention of tragic theater in ancient Athens, one of the marks of great literature, according to Aristotle, Tolstoy, and others, is to create an emotional response in the audience. To put this point another way, lately I have been watching the television show The Pitt about people who work in an emergency room in a Pittsburgh hospital. I enjoy the show because the people who made the show make me feel like I am experiencing the joys and struggles of real people with serious medical issues.
The story that most made me feel like I was emotionally invested in the characters was “The Wave”. This story is about Shannon, a woman who is a professional surfer who livestreams her extreme events to people in far flung places using some sort of technology called a live mind-cast. Unlike those following the mind-cast, Shannon says
“But we want to feel it when we surf. Not use neural programs to turn ourselves into perfect, contest-winning, record-breaking machines. I’ve experienced the mind-feeds of those neural app users; I know the difference” (location 1373).
Shannon also worries about the dangers of oversharing her surfing experiences”
”There are moments that you don’t want your loved ones to share. Time that you hope they’re not logged in, feeling what you feel” (location 1409).
Toward the end of the story, Shannon reflects on how her experience on the ocean waves is different than those experiencing her feed.
”This is the dirty secret of a mind-cast: you’re not really experiencing what the mind-caster felt.
Even if it’s a raw mind-feed with no filters or safeguards at all — it’s not the same. It’s not real.
Because some small part of you knows that you’re not really there; you know that you’re actually in your bedroom or lying back on your living room couch, the mind-receiver set shading your eyes” (location 1469).
At least for me, “The Wave” was the best story in the collection. However, I did not find the other stories nearly as emotionally engaging as this story. If you have an interest in speculative fiction or science fiction, then I think you might like Fogg’s story collection. Overall, I felt like this is a good, but not excellent collection of stories.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book; all opinions are my own.
Scheduled for publication 3 November 2025.
epub. 311 pgs. 16 September 2025
August 5, 2025
What I'd consider to be the best short story collection I've read in a while, "The House of Illusionists" is a lovely compilation of 17 stories that span a multitude of genres—from speculative fiction to sci fi to fantasy.
The collection is split up into two different sections, the first section being "Closer Worlds" which features stories that are set in worlds very similar to our own. But in these cases, the worlds are altered from our reality by means of extreme technological advances or mythical elements that have either suddenly appeared or have secretly always been lurking in the shadows. Meanwhile the second section, "Farther Worlds", contains stories set in worlds that are not quite as close to ours—these worlds are ones where magic and mythical elements have always been their reality.
I found the writing itself to be very fluid and oftentimes fantastical. There was also a mix of different formats and tenses that helped keep things interesting. All of the plots as well are distinctly unique which was very refreshing for me as a reader. That said, as with all collections there were some stories I really enjoyed, as well as some that didn't really get my attention as much. But even with those stories I wasn't as invested in, I did still think they all had interesting concepts—my biggest complaint with them would just be that they were too short for my tastes.
Overall, after totaling up my ratings for each individual story, I ended up with an average of 4 stars! And because I don't really want to spoil any of the stories by giving details, I'll just leave this off with saying that my personal favorites (and ratings) from the collection are: "Traces of Us" (5), "Sweetest" (4.5), "The Wave" (4), "Between Sea and Shore" (4), and "An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words" (4).
Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The collection is split up into two different sections, the first section being "Closer Worlds" which features stories that are set in worlds very similar to our own. But in these cases, the worlds are altered from our reality by means of extreme technological advances or mythical elements that have either suddenly appeared or have secretly always been lurking in the shadows. Meanwhile the second section, "Farther Worlds", contains stories set in worlds that are not quite as close to ours—these worlds are ones where magic and mythical elements have always been their reality.
I found the writing itself to be very fluid and oftentimes fantastical. There was also a mix of different formats and tenses that helped keep things interesting. All of the plots as well are distinctly unique which was very refreshing for me as a reader. That said, as with all collections there were some stories I really enjoyed, as well as some that didn't really get my attention as much. But even with those stories I wasn't as invested in, I did still think they all had interesting concepts—my biggest complaint with them would just be that they were too short for my tastes.
Overall, after totaling up my ratings for each individual story, I ended up with an average of 4 stars! And because I don't really want to spoil any of the stories by giving details, I'll just leave this off with saying that my personal favorites (and ratings) from the collection are: "Traces of Us" (5), "Sweetest" (4.5), "The Wave" (4), "Between Sea and Shore" (4), and "An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words" (4).
Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
August 14, 2025
This was absolutely incredible. I am quite hard to please when it comes to short stories. I often feel authors are unable to wrap them up satisfactorily, while still having a strong storyline. But this author absolutely excels at this. The writing was incredibly strong, I can honestly say that all of the stories included are incredibly unique and well thought out. Seeing as this collection is fantasy, the author often has to set up a world, characters and a magic system within 10-20 pages, and she nails it every time. I am deeply impressed by this collection and will definitely read more by her.
My personal favorite from this collection was ‘Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe’. That story was so unique, and I cared so much for these characters that I was only with for 11 pages. I would read an entire book about most of these stories, but this one most of all. I am just so impressed by this collection and I’m so happy I read this on a whim, I know that I will be thinking about some of these stories for a long time.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for providing me with an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating is the average rating of all of the stories included
My personal favorite from this collection was ‘Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe’. That story was so unique, and I cared so much for these characters that I was only with for 11 pages. I would read an entire book about most of these stories, but this one most of all. I am just so impressed by this collection and I’m so happy I read this on a whim, I know that I will be thinking about some of these stories for a long time.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for providing me with an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating is the average rating of all of the stories included
August 1, 2025
≡;- ꒰ 4 stars ꒱
・❥・"there is a language deeper than words. a language of silence, touch, and simple presence."
⭑.ᐟ thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the arc of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!
the house of illusionists : and other stories features seventeen short stories, all of which are fantasy or sci-fi. throughout each short story the themes are love, relationships, human connection, which exist in all times and all worlds.
୨ৎ i'm not usually one to be very interested in collections of short stories, but the description of this book had me very interested. and as soon as i started reading, i was HOOKED.
vanessa fogg created these incredible universes in these stories, and i was and still am in awe and wonder of her creativity. the worlds and tales she spun are stunning and i felt like i was falling through a tunnel into each new world. but the lessons of love, the unwavering connection between humans that she interwove, stole my heart. at the end of each short story, i had to take a few minutes of silence just staring at the wall, because i was so touched.
i have nothing but praise for this book — it truly is a wonderful collection of various and diverse stories with their own twist and hint of how important connection, empathy and love is at the end of the day.
i had tears in my eyes more often than i'd like to admit.
usually, at the end of my reviews, i like to include my favorite lines from books. yet, this book had so many memorable and heartwarming quotes that i do not want to spoil them.
instead, i'd like to mention my top five of the short stories which i will be thinking about for a long time to come.
this is truly a must-read. memorable, beautiful, innovative, and touching.
⤷ all the souls like candle flames
⤷ between sea and shore
⤷ wings
⤷ once on a midsummer's night
⤷ an address to the newest disciple of the lost worlds
・❥・"if you lose your words, you will find them again. i promise"
・❥・"there is a language deeper than words. a language of silence, touch, and simple presence."
⭑.ᐟ thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the arc of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!
the house of illusionists : and other stories features seventeen short stories, all of which are fantasy or sci-fi. throughout each short story the themes are love, relationships, human connection, which exist in all times and all worlds.
୨ৎ i'm not usually one to be very interested in collections of short stories, but the description of this book had me very interested. and as soon as i started reading, i was HOOKED.
vanessa fogg created these incredible universes in these stories, and i was and still am in awe and wonder of her creativity. the worlds and tales she spun are stunning and i felt like i was falling through a tunnel into each new world. but the lessons of love, the unwavering connection between humans that she interwove, stole my heart. at the end of each short story, i had to take a few minutes of silence just staring at the wall, because i was so touched.
i have nothing but praise for this book — it truly is a wonderful collection of various and diverse stories with their own twist and hint of how important connection, empathy and love is at the end of the day.
i had tears in my eyes more often than i'd like to admit.
usually, at the end of my reviews, i like to include my favorite lines from books. yet, this book had so many memorable and heartwarming quotes that i do not want to spoil them.
instead, i'd like to mention my top five of the short stories which i will be thinking about for a long time to come.
this is truly a must-read. memorable, beautiful, innovative, and touching.
⤷ all the souls like candle flames
⤷ between sea and shore
⤷ wings
⤷ once on a midsummer's night
⤷ an address to the newest disciple of the lost worlds
・❥・"if you lose your words, you will find them again. i promise"
November 2, 2025
‘The House of Illusionists’ is a short story collection compromised of sci-fi and fantasy tales. The first part, Closer Worlds, is set largely in a near future Earth that we can easily imagine becoming our actual future whereas the stories in the second part, Farther Worlds, are all more fantastical, set in worlds where magic is real.
The mix of sci-fi and fantasy stories does make for an interesting read but the sci-fi stories are the real gems in this collection. ‘Traces of Us’ was beautiful and compelling and filled with so much longing, and ‘The Breaking’ was a brilliant closing story for part one of the collection- the world felt completely fleshed out despite being a short story. ‘The Wave’ was also another highlight for me, telling of a grim future where humans experience most of their highs through neuromods- something that doesn’t seem too far off actually happening.
The second part of the collection was a little weaker for me- I generally prefer sci-fi to fantasy anyway but a lot of the stories in the second half didn’t feel quite as well written. The majority of the fantasy stories either felt a bit too formulaic and like things I’d already read or a bit too out there with not enough given to us to fully understand the world. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy some of the stories, the opening story ‘All the Souls Like Candle Flames’ was definitely the strongest in the second half and did have enough world building to make the story feel believable despite it being fantasy, the same being true for ‘Between Sea and Shore’.
Overall, ‘The House of Illusionists’ is a good short story collection and I highly recommend the first half of the collection for sci-fi lovers. Fogg clearly has a talent for writing short stories, I just wish all of the fantasy stories had been as strong as the sci-fi ones.
Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the chance to read this ARC.
The mix of sci-fi and fantasy stories does make for an interesting read but the sci-fi stories are the real gems in this collection. ‘Traces of Us’ was beautiful and compelling and filled with so much longing, and ‘The Breaking’ was a brilliant closing story for part one of the collection- the world felt completely fleshed out despite being a short story. ‘The Wave’ was also another highlight for me, telling of a grim future where humans experience most of their highs through neuromods- something that doesn’t seem too far off actually happening.
The second part of the collection was a little weaker for me- I generally prefer sci-fi to fantasy anyway but a lot of the stories in the second half didn’t feel quite as well written. The majority of the fantasy stories either felt a bit too formulaic and like things I’d already read or a bit too out there with not enough given to us to fully understand the world. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy some of the stories, the opening story ‘All the Souls Like Candle Flames’ was definitely the strongest in the second half and did have enough world building to make the story feel believable despite it being fantasy, the same being true for ‘Between Sea and Shore’.
Overall, ‘The House of Illusionists’ is a good short story collection and I highly recommend the first half of the collection for sci-fi lovers. Fogg clearly has a talent for writing short stories, I just wish all of the fantasy stories had been as strong as the sci-fi ones.
Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the chance to read this ARC.
November 27, 2025
This was a very good collection to read in bursts as I found the writing style to be a little stiff but the content itself really interesting and unique.
The collection is separated into two parts: Closer Worlds & Farther Worlds. I can't put my finger on the distinction as all stories are fantastical and one story in the Closer Worlds section is set in space(?); but at the same time the distinction makes sense?
Standout stories from Closer Worlds:
Sweetest
Taiya
Standout stories from Farther Worlds:
All the Souls like Candle Flame
Between Sea and Shore
Once on a Midsummer's Night
The average story length was half an hour so it's perfect if you don't have a lot of time but want to get some reading in.
Thank you to NetGalley & Interstellar Flight Press for an eARC of The House of Illusionists.
The collection is separated into two parts: Closer Worlds & Farther Worlds. I can't put my finger on the distinction as all stories are fantastical and one story in the Closer Worlds section is set in space(?); but at the same time the distinction makes sense?
Standout stories from Closer Worlds:
Sweetest
Taiya
Standout stories from Farther Worlds:
All the Souls like Candle Flame
Between Sea and Shore
Once on a Midsummer's Night
The average story length was half an hour so it's perfect if you don't have a lot of time but want to get some reading in.
Thank you to NetGalley & Interstellar Flight Press for an eARC of The House of Illusionists.
December 7, 2025
This was a stunning compilation of short stories. I often have a hard time getting into anthologies and collections, specially when they’re completely disconnected from each other, but in The House of Illusionists the stories seem to come from a very specific place, which I’ll ramble into later, and most importantly they all have a similar atmosphere, a seemingly singular pool of folklore or history or longing they draw they origins from. I was enthralled from the start.
The stories in this collection range from Black Mirror episodes when they’re good, which are the words I have to explain that they were mostly in the sci-fi side of speculative fiction, to others more on the fantastical, at times historical-ish side. By that I mean, of course, if you’re into either fantasy or sci-fi or both: dig into this immediately.
But if you’ll allow my rambling, mostly what I got from this is that I finally understood something that happened to me when I was a kid. At some point in what I think might’ve been middle school, we had this creative writing assignment to make something up based on a very simple prompt: a mother and her child are playing together in a room. From what I remember, every other kid in my class focused on the playing, on what stories they were making up, on the toys themselves, on the story inside the story.
I wrote about this mother playing pretend with her child, entertaining her, distracting her from the fact that the room they were in was the only room left standing of their house, that they were alone in a desolate war zone, that there was a man on a hill nearby pointing a gun at them. I still to this day have no idea what led me to writing that, but I remember frantically trying to get the words out as they came to me, and I remember being absolutely mortified as our teacher picked up a few of us to read our work out loud in front of everyone else, and seeing that they had all written these sweet, heartwarming stories, and I had the saddest, most horrific story in the world. I finished reading, I looked up to the confused, mostly bored, faces of my peers, and then, nervously, to the side I saw that our teacher had been silently crying the whole time. I later found out that she had gone on to read that story in every other classroom she had, because a bunch of kids I didn’t really know came up to me during recess to tell me she sobbed every single time.
I’m not saying all of this to brag. I think I was eleven at the time, and I didn’t get it then. But I got it now, reading this collection of stories — specially the final, titular one.
What my teacher saw then in my ingenuity, and what I saw now in the genius of this collection, was the very simple, very human need to hold on to hope. To stretch ourselves across worlds, galaxies, time itself, to reach out across the stars and hope that someone will reach back and hold our hand. That someone out there is listening, that they’ll understand, that they also know love, that they have also been looking for it.
To hope, to the possibility that love can be enough. I hope that it is.
Thank you to Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for this arc, and thank you to Vanessa Fogg for making me cry into my pillow yesterday, and helping to re signify a memory that kept me awake on countless nights.
The stories in this collection range from Black Mirror episodes when they’re good, which are the words I have to explain that they were mostly in the sci-fi side of speculative fiction, to others more on the fantastical, at times historical-ish side. By that I mean, of course, if you’re into either fantasy or sci-fi or both: dig into this immediately.
But if you’ll allow my rambling, mostly what I got from this is that I finally understood something that happened to me when I was a kid. At some point in what I think might’ve been middle school, we had this creative writing assignment to make something up based on a very simple prompt: a mother and her child are playing together in a room. From what I remember, every other kid in my class focused on the playing, on what stories they were making up, on the toys themselves, on the story inside the story.
I wrote about this mother playing pretend with her child, entertaining her, distracting her from the fact that the room they were in was the only room left standing of their house, that they were alone in a desolate war zone, that there was a man on a hill nearby pointing a gun at them. I still to this day have no idea what led me to writing that, but I remember frantically trying to get the words out as they came to me, and I remember being absolutely mortified as our teacher picked up a few of us to read our work out loud in front of everyone else, and seeing that they had all written these sweet, heartwarming stories, and I had the saddest, most horrific story in the world. I finished reading, I looked up to the confused, mostly bored, faces of my peers, and then, nervously, to the side I saw that our teacher had been silently crying the whole time. I later found out that she had gone on to read that story in every other classroom she had, because a bunch of kids I didn’t really know came up to me during recess to tell me she sobbed every single time.
I’m not saying all of this to brag. I think I was eleven at the time, and I didn’t get it then. But I got it now, reading this collection of stories — specially the final, titular one.
What my teacher saw then in my ingenuity, and what I saw now in the genius of this collection, was the very simple, very human need to hold on to hope. To stretch ourselves across worlds, galaxies, time itself, to reach out across the stars and hope that someone will reach back and hold our hand. That someone out there is listening, that they’ll understand, that they also know love, that they have also been looking for it.
To hope, to the possibility that love can be enough. I hope that it is.
Thank you to Netgalley and Interstellar Flight Press for this arc, and thank you to Vanessa Fogg for making me cry into my pillow yesterday, and helping to re signify a memory that kept me awake on countless nights.
June 16, 2025
The House of Illusionists is an anthology of short stories. There are stories that highlight more the science fiction aspect and others that are more fantasy and paranormal. As a lover of both genres, the stories appealed to me.
The book is divided into two parts (Closer Words and Farther Words). A lot of stories speculate on how science might develop in the future and I liked the focus of neuroscience, which I also really like. The stories like "Traces of us" and "Wave" were among my favorites.
I really liked the style of the author. It was evocative and delicate. And I enjoyed that the stories were told in different POVs. I believe that anyone who enjoys sci-fi fantasy will appreciate this collection.
Thanks to Interstellar Flight Press for the ARC copy.
The book is divided into two parts (Closer Words and Farther Words). A lot of stories speculate on how science might develop in the future and I liked the focus of neuroscience, which I also really like. The stories like "Traces of us" and "Wave" were among my favorites.
I really liked the style of the author. It was evocative and delicate. And I enjoyed that the stories were told in different POVs. I believe that anyone who enjoys sci-fi fantasy will appreciate this collection.
Thanks to Interstellar Flight Press for the ARC copy.
July 29, 2025
The House of Illusionists by Vanessa Fogg is a science fiction / fantasy short story collection and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Split into two parts, the first tells stories of worlds much like our own but with futuristic or dystopian elements, and the second explores more fantastical worlds and peoples. I found the first half was stronger in regards to Fogg's storytelling, pace and structure, but I do appreciate the range of narratives Fogg has weaved across the collection as a whole. I also enjoyed the representation of Asian characters as well as indigenous peoples and their traditions. Definitely a collection I think many would enjoy, there is a story or two for everyone for sure.
August 16, 2025
These stories all had that “it” factor that I search for. Vanessa Fogg has a real talent for creating unique sci fi / fantasy worlds and delivering on the interesting premise each time. I laughed and I cried to these stories. A huge thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for providing an arc for review. I would highly recommend this collection!!
October 30, 2025
overall, i absolutely loved this short story collection. memorable, dreamy, beautifully written and a joy to get through ♡ my ratings and thoughts for each short story:
4/5 ☆ wild ones
(maybe 3.5 ☆)
a mother's love and a daughter's [perceived] rebellion. what makes a house a home, and when do we let our children fly? the concept of craving warmth, home, and family, but also grappling with internalized regret over not flying away was touching and relatable.
5/5 ☆ traces of us
couldn't stop crying for the majority of this. contemporary love story + black mirror + sci. fi. i absolutely adored that. beautiful, heartbreaking, thought provoking. what do we truly know about the human brain? what is immortality? what would you do to find the love of your life in every life?
5/5 ☆ sweetness
🤡. literally. if i think too hard about what i think this short story is about i get sick to my stomach. (hint: “release the files"). i also feel it could’ve been about drug addiction, age regression, child trafficking, purgatory ~or it really could’ve just been a fucked up clown story. regardless, i originally rated this a 3, but 2 days later (and upon completing the short story collection) i can’t stop thinking about this one so five stars, baby!
3.5/5 ☆ taiya
really unique exploration into depression and the isolation it creates internally. systems, schedules, community, perfection ✨ mean nothing.
(mean nothing if you're not treating the root issue. also, fuck gaslighters)
4.5/5 ☆ the wave
living vicariously through people on social media 😡 bad 😡 is not unique social commentary. it's something we're waking up to now more than ever. celeb culture is dying and influencers are becoming more insufferable to the general public. that doesn't mean this short story wasn't incredibly unsettling, powerful and worrisome. this was so black mirror, but specifically in the way that i can see this happening in the near future. i could see the early stages of technology like this being created now.
social media is just one big performance, but nobody want to stop performing.
or whatever.
wish there wasn't so much surfing jargon, but easy enough for me (a non-surfer, never surfed a day in her life) to understand. i think the use of waves as a metaphor was actually super clever.
?/5 ☆ young god
even Gods hate the world we live in. valid.
2/5 ☆ the message
i feel like there was something to this story that was supposed to deeply move me, but my brain is too smooth to get it. science v government? cultural phenomenons hindering the forward movement of scientific studies? climate change and the cost of ignorance? all i know is, yes, soulmates are real.
5/5 ☆ the things that we will never say
both of my parents spoil me. love me. obsess over me. i'm the child of immigrants and my beautiful, gorgeous parents know what it feels like to have parents who [culturally] don't believe in being emotionally open with their children. i finished this incredibly short story feeling grateful that i say i love you so comfortably, so easily to my parents and sad my parents can't do the same with their own. my dad has told me about the things he wishes his mom would say to him. this story was achingly beautiful.
4/5 ☆ the breaking
i'm just taking this story at face value. eerie, unsettling, melancholic.
2/5 all the souls like candle flames
i honestly just found this quite boring. beautifully written. but boring.
4/5 ☆ of milk and blood
"the devil is merely a fallen angel" vibes ??? idk. loved this.
3.5/5 ☆ between sea and shore
i loved the folklore feel of this. it felt like i was listening to this around a campfire. not every short story has to have nuance and inner meaning (i tell myself to cope). sometimes it's nice to just read a story and enjoy it for what it is.
4/5 ☆ wings
pretty. dreamy. short & sweet.
5/5 ☆ fanfiction for a grimdark universe
omg this was so fun. i loved everything about this. i'm something of a fanfic connoisseur myself and this was perfect. so meta. completely obsessed with this. probably will end up being the most memorable of all the short stories in this collection. 6/5 honestly.
4.5/5 ☆ once on a midsummers night
absolutely adored the prose. pretty, lyrical and immersive. the story was engaging and i was actually disappointed when it ended. i think this is the longest of all the short stories and it felt the most earned in length. out of all the stories so far this is the one that i'd love fogg to expand upon and make an entire world out of.
?/5 ☆ an address to the newest disciples of the lost word
while beautiful and vivid i found this story incredibly dull somehow. maybe not dull, but lacked the charm from the other stories. however, i absolutely love the concept of tenderly speaking on how important language is.
2.5/5 ☆ the house of illusionist
unfortunately, this story kept getting away from me. i'd get a grasp and then it would slip away quite quickly. rinse and repeat for the entirety of the reading experience. the moments i did understand i quite enjoyed. a sad and devastating situation that had as dreamy and kind an ending as possible (which i appreciated).
cw/tw: death, grief, terminal illness, abuse, death of a parent/family members, war (there prob are more content/trigger warnings, but unfortunately i can’t rmbr any more)
☆ thank you interstellar flight press & netgalley for my gifted advanced book copy. all my reviews are my own opinion.
4/5 ☆ wild ones
(maybe 3.5 ☆)
a mother's love and a daughter's [perceived] rebellion. what makes a house a home, and when do we let our children fly? the concept of craving warmth, home, and family, but also grappling with internalized regret over not flying away was touching and relatable.
5/5 ☆ traces of us
couldn't stop crying for the majority of this. contemporary love story + black mirror + sci. fi. i absolutely adored that. beautiful, heartbreaking, thought provoking. what do we truly know about the human brain? what is immortality? what would you do to find the love of your life in every life?
5/5 ☆ sweetness
🤡. literally. if i think too hard about what i think this short story is about i get sick to my stomach. (hint: “release the files"). i also feel it could’ve been about drug addiction, age regression, child trafficking, purgatory ~or it really could’ve just been a fucked up clown story. regardless, i originally rated this a 3, but 2 days later (and upon completing the short story collection) i can’t stop thinking about this one so five stars, baby!
3.5/5 ☆ taiya
really unique exploration into depression and the isolation it creates internally. systems, schedules, community, perfection ✨ mean nothing.
(mean nothing if you're not treating the root issue. also, fuck gaslighters)
4.5/5 ☆ the wave
living vicariously through people on social media 😡 bad 😡 is not unique social commentary. it's something we're waking up to now more than ever. celeb culture is dying and influencers are becoming more insufferable to the general public. that doesn't mean this short story wasn't incredibly unsettling, powerful and worrisome. this was so black mirror, but specifically in the way that i can see this happening in the near future. i could see the early stages of technology like this being created now.
social media is just one big performance, but nobody want to stop performing.
or whatever.
wish there wasn't so much surfing jargon, but easy enough for me (a non-surfer, never surfed a day in her life) to understand. i think the use of waves as a metaphor was actually super clever.
?/5 ☆ young god
even Gods hate the world we live in. valid.
2/5 ☆ the message
i feel like there was something to this story that was supposed to deeply move me, but my brain is too smooth to get it. science v government? cultural phenomenons hindering the forward movement of scientific studies? climate change and the cost of ignorance? all i know is, yes, soulmates are real.
5/5 ☆ the things that we will never say
both of my parents spoil me. love me. obsess over me. i'm the child of immigrants and my beautiful, gorgeous parents know what it feels like to have parents who [culturally] don't believe in being emotionally open with their children. i finished this incredibly short story feeling grateful that i say i love you so comfortably, so easily to my parents and sad my parents can't do the same with their own. my dad has told me about the things he wishes his mom would say to him. this story was achingly beautiful.
4/5 ☆ the breaking
i'm just taking this story at face value. eerie, unsettling, melancholic.
2/5 all the souls like candle flames
i honestly just found this quite boring. beautifully written. but boring.
4/5 ☆ of milk and blood
"the devil is merely a fallen angel" vibes ??? idk. loved this.
3.5/5 ☆ between sea and shore
i loved the folklore feel of this. it felt like i was listening to this around a campfire. not every short story has to have nuance and inner meaning (i tell myself to cope). sometimes it's nice to just read a story and enjoy it for what it is.
4/5 ☆ wings
pretty. dreamy. short & sweet.
5/5 ☆ fanfiction for a grimdark universe
omg this was so fun. i loved everything about this. i'm something of a fanfic connoisseur myself and this was perfect. so meta. completely obsessed with this. probably will end up being the most memorable of all the short stories in this collection. 6/5 honestly.
4.5/5 ☆ once on a midsummers night
absolutely adored the prose. pretty, lyrical and immersive. the story was engaging and i was actually disappointed when it ended. i think this is the longest of all the short stories and it felt the most earned in length. out of all the stories so far this is the one that i'd love fogg to expand upon and make an entire world out of.
?/5 ☆ an address to the newest disciples of the lost word
while beautiful and vivid i found this story incredibly dull somehow. maybe not dull, but lacked the charm from the other stories. however, i absolutely love the concept of tenderly speaking on how important language is.
2.5/5 ☆ the house of illusionist
unfortunately, this story kept getting away from me. i'd get a grasp and then it would slip away quite quickly. rinse and repeat for the entirety of the reading experience. the moments i did understand i quite enjoyed. a sad and devastating situation that had as dreamy and kind an ending as possible (which i appreciated).
cw/tw: death, grief, terminal illness, abuse, death of a parent/family members, war (there prob are more content/trigger warnings, but unfortunately i can’t rmbr any more)
☆ thank you interstellar flight press & netgalley for my gifted advanced book copy. all my reviews are my own opinion.
August 3, 2025
This is hands-down my favorite collection this year so far and a masterclass in everything a short story can be. I felt excited reading it in the same way I felt excited when I first discovered Gu Shi, Kelly Link, Ken Liu, or Ted Chiang. There’s that type of philosophical weight, sure plotting, otherworldly strangeness, and deep attentiveness to the personal and the small that marks the best examples of their work. And it is one of those collections whose questions haunt you and whose scenes and characters choke in your throat long after you finish reading. A collection that feels warm and human, while it’s also filled with strange light.
These qualities run through every page of Fogg’s science fiction, mythopoeic, and weird-horror stories—stories that insist on the necessity of change and the ache of what must be left if we are to push forward and the ways in which humans (and those that were once human) love, hunger for, and remember each other.
The Wild Hunt’s call in “Wild Ones” remakes folklore into a breathless, suspenseful narrative about a parent’s terror of losing their children, an adult’s fear of losing their wild youth, and our hominid hierarchical need to be chosen.
In “Traces of Us,” mind-uploading and cosmic ship sentience are an allegory for grief, mortality, and, despite both, a belief as well in love and the soul, as digital remnants of two lovers hold onto one another despite time and space. This heart-punch of a story unravels with deep-felt humanity and dives brilliantly into some of the oldest debates about consciousness and memory.
As for “Sweetest,” it delivers a wonderfully fresh depth-psychology fusion of circus horror and child predators, all suspect candy, terrible clinical clowns, and shadow-children bitterly seeking love.
The title story devastates in a different way: classes of illusionists seek respite in their tulpic simulacra of ancient mythic cycles while the country they thought they knew is wracked by war, violence, and gun fire. In it, you feel the tenderness of students and teachers for one another amidst terror, the despair and hope of artists during times of crisis and trauma, and are treated to an inspired exploration of the meaning of narrative and art, the hazy dividing line between imagination and reality, and how our creations might literally save us (shh…that’s one of the universe’s deep secrets).
Then there’s “Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe," which takes this meta-textual theme into the world of fan fiction and alternate universes where the characters’ love, secrets, and possibilities bleed through across time and space and splash across the pages of comic books and "shipfic," while a doomed love story unfolds amidst surreal apocalypse populated by ghost wolves and traitor princes; and as two companion soldiers face their own deaths, they confess what should have long ago.
And this is just a fraction of the generous number of stories Fogg has gifted us with, each a new fresh shock. If there’s a core to this book, it’s this: the best examples of the fantastic are simulation tech for traveling to alternative realities and our most innermost longings and they are speculative while nevertheless being grounded in the personal—in cancer, in a kiss, in our heartbreaks, our family arguments, in war trauma, and our fears of what our countries and homes are turning into.
Fogg writes like someone who’s been to the other side and brought back secrets. She proves herself an illusionist of the first order, the kind that does real magic while pretending to just do tricks, that not just opens doors between worlds but that shows us why we ache for those other worlds in the first place. This is one of those books that make you want to both be a better writer and a better human and gives you hope, making you smile even as it makes you cry.
These qualities run through every page of Fogg’s science fiction, mythopoeic, and weird-horror stories—stories that insist on the necessity of change and the ache of what must be left if we are to push forward and the ways in which humans (and those that were once human) love, hunger for, and remember each other.
The Wild Hunt’s call in “Wild Ones” remakes folklore into a breathless, suspenseful narrative about a parent’s terror of losing their children, an adult’s fear of losing their wild youth, and our hominid hierarchical need to be chosen.
In “Traces of Us,” mind-uploading and cosmic ship sentience are an allegory for grief, mortality, and, despite both, a belief as well in love and the soul, as digital remnants of two lovers hold onto one another despite time and space. This heart-punch of a story unravels with deep-felt humanity and dives brilliantly into some of the oldest debates about consciousness and memory.
As for “Sweetest,” it delivers a wonderfully fresh depth-psychology fusion of circus horror and child predators, all suspect candy, terrible clinical clowns, and shadow-children bitterly seeking love.
The title story devastates in a different way: classes of illusionists seek respite in their tulpic simulacra of ancient mythic cycles while the country they thought they knew is wracked by war, violence, and gun fire. In it, you feel the tenderness of students and teachers for one another amidst terror, the despair and hope of artists during times of crisis and trauma, and are treated to an inspired exploration of the meaning of narrative and art, the hazy dividing line between imagination and reality, and how our creations might literally save us (shh…that’s one of the universe’s deep secrets).
Then there’s “Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe," which takes this meta-textual theme into the world of fan fiction and alternate universes where the characters’ love, secrets, and possibilities bleed through across time and space and splash across the pages of comic books and "shipfic," while a doomed love story unfolds amidst surreal apocalypse populated by ghost wolves and traitor princes; and as two companion soldiers face their own deaths, they confess what should have long ago.
And this is just a fraction of the generous number of stories Fogg has gifted us with, each a new fresh shock. If there’s a core to this book, it’s this: the best examples of the fantastic are simulation tech for traveling to alternative realities and our most innermost longings and they are speculative while nevertheless being grounded in the personal—in cancer, in a kiss, in our heartbreaks, our family arguments, in war trauma, and our fears of what our countries and homes are turning into.
Fogg writes like someone who’s been to the other side and brought back secrets. She proves herself an illusionist of the first order, the kind that does real magic while pretending to just do tricks, that not just opens doors between worlds but that shows us why we ache for those other worlds in the first place. This is one of those books that make you want to both be a better writer and a better human and gives you hope, making you smile even as it makes you cry.
November 26, 2025
3.5 rounded down. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an early review copy of this book.
Short story collections can be so difficult for me to rate as each piece deserves its own full analysis and review, which an overall review or rating can never quite capture. As is typical for me with such collections, some stories were absolute standouts that I really enjoyed, and others simply fell flat for me personally. I think this author is incredibly creative and does a great job to create intrigue in her worlds, characters with dimension, and gives themes or ideas for the reader to ponder upon. However, I did often get the feeling that the themes or greater meanings of the story that the author wanted to get across were laid out a bit too obviously and repetitively for my personal taste; I could sense a theme building and relishing in finding the clues in not just what the characters said but what they didn't say or do and feeling the satisfaction of putting all of these ideas together to understand the story. And then the author would cut in with the theme right there in plain language, often multiple times, and it started to feel like I as a reader was not trusted to be able to decipher a meaning from the story on my own.
I will say, this only made it feel even more gratifying when I would come across a story where the author let go of these reigns and let the reader explore and interpret the story on their own, such as "The Breaking" (4/5 stars) which was the final (and my favorite) story from the Closer Worlds half of the collection. It was rife with themes of family, resilience, love and loss, and pondering on the inevitability of eventual destruction, but left things just ambiguous enough that each reader will be able to pull out on their own what is most poignant to them in the story. The Wave (4/5 stars) was another favorite of mine from the Closer Worlds half; the intensity of the action scenes had me on edge and the change of sentence structure in these was a beautiful piece of writing to capture this feeling. Yet again, the "purpose" of the story felt very heavy handed, which I think can start to come across as almost preachy, and it did pull me out of the reading experience a few times.
Another trend I noticed throughout this collection was the use of 2nd-person POV, sometimes working beautifully, and others falling flat for me. This is probably a personal thing, but I don't enjoy when in second person the narrator is responding to imagined dialogue that isn't on the page, such as in the story All the Souls like Candle Flames (3.75/5 stars) or Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe (1.5/5 stars). Rather than it feeling like the narrator is talking to me, it feels like either a crazy person talking to themselves or like there is a piece of the storyline entirely missing. I recognize for some readers this may feel immersive, but it just took me out of the story each time. However, in some stories the second person narrative was such a perfect choice, including one of my favorites in the entire collection called Wings (4.5/5 stars). A lovely fairytale-esque love story, the perspective choice made the narrative feel more delicate and intimate, while still giving the feeling of it being a traditional, oral folktale. Second-person POV can have a powerful impact on the story, I just feel like it should be reserved for these instances where it will have maximum impact without disrupting the flow of the story.
Overall though, these critiques here are minor issues, as overall I did enjoy a lot of this collection! I always like to give the caveat that short story collections are best read at a slow pace, picking one story up at a time rather than reading through them back-to-back which can make some of these tendencies stand out even more simply due to proximity of experience. In order to review the book, I did read through multiple stories at a time, which I am certain has colored some of my experience and these critiques I've expressed might not be as impactful to those who digest this collection at a slower pace.
I also wanted to highlight some of my favorite stories from the collection I haven't already mentioned: The Things that We Will Never Say (4/5 stars); Between Sea and Shore (4/5 stars); Once on a Midsummer's Night (4/5 stars); The House of Illusionists (4.5/5 stars). The Farther Worlds half of the collection were overall much stronger for me, and I think the author shines when they lean into folklore and fairytale styles! I think this collection would be great to recommend to someone who is wanting to explore the speculative fiction realm without taking on a large epic that can often be intimidating or daunting with all of the world building, or for current spec-fic enjoyers who want something they can enjoy at a slower pace in small bits!
Short story collections can be so difficult for me to rate as each piece deserves its own full analysis and review, which an overall review or rating can never quite capture. As is typical for me with such collections, some stories were absolute standouts that I really enjoyed, and others simply fell flat for me personally. I think this author is incredibly creative and does a great job to create intrigue in her worlds, characters with dimension, and gives themes or ideas for the reader to ponder upon. However, I did often get the feeling that the themes or greater meanings of the story that the author wanted to get across were laid out a bit too obviously and repetitively for my personal taste; I could sense a theme building and relishing in finding the clues in not just what the characters said but what they didn't say or do and feeling the satisfaction of putting all of these ideas together to understand the story. And then the author would cut in with the theme right there in plain language, often multiple times, and it started to feel like I as a reader was not trusted to be able to decipher a meaning from the story on my own.
I will say, this only made it feel even more gratifying when I would come across a story where the author let go of these reigns and let the reader explore and interpret the story on their own, such as "The Breaking" (4/5 stars) which was the final (and my favorite) story from the Closer Worlds half of the collection. It was rife with themes of family, resilience, love and loss, and pondering on the inevitability of eventual destruction, but left things just ambiguous enough that each reader will be able to pull out on their own what is most poignant to them in the story. The Wave (4/5 stars) was another favorite of mine from the Closer Worlds half; the intensity of the action scenes had me on edge and the change of sentence structure in these was a beautiful piece of writing to capture this feeling. Yet again, the "purpose" of the story felt very heavy handed, which I think can start to come across as almost preachy, and it did pull me out of the reading experience a few times.
Another trend I noticed throughout this collection was the use of 2nd-person POV, sometimes working beautifully, and others falling flat for me. This is probably a personal thing, but I don't enjoy when in second person the narrator is responding to imagined dialogue that isn't on the page, such as in the story All the Souls like Candle Flames (3.75/5 stars) or Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe (1.5/5 stars). Rather than it feeling like the narrator is talking to me, it feels like either a crazy person talking to themselves or like there is a piece of the storyline entirely missing. I recognize for some readers this may feel immersive, but it just took me out of the story each time. However, in some stories the second person narrative was such a perfect choice, including one of my favorites in the entire collection called Wings (4.5/5 stars). A lovely fairytale-esque love story, the perspective choice made the narrative feel more delicate and intimate, while still giving the feeling of it being a traditional, oral folktale. Second-person POV can have a powerful impact on the story, I just feel like it should be reserved for these instances where it will have maximum impact without disrupting the flow of the story.
Overall though, these critiques here are minor issues, as overall I did enjoy a lot of this collection! I always like to give the caveat that short story collections are best read at a slow pace, picking one story up at a time rather than reading through them back-to-back which can make some of these tendencies stand out even more simply due to proximity of experience. In order to review the book, I did read through multiple stories at a time, which I am certain has colored some of my experience and these critiques I've expressed might not be as impactful to those who digest this collection at a slower pace.
I also wanted to highlight some of my favorite stories from the collection I haven't already mentioned: The Things that We Will Never Say (4/5 stars); Between Sea and Shore (4/5 stars); Once on a Midsummer's Night (4/5 stars); The House of Illusionists (4.5/5 stars). The Farther Worlds half of the collection were overall much stronger for me, and I think the author shines when they lean into folklore and fairytale styles! I think this collection would be great to recommend to someone who is wanting to explore the speculative fiction realm without taking on a large epic that can often be intimidating or daunting with all of the world building, or for current spec-fic enjoyers who want something they can enjoy at a slower pace in small bits!
December 17, 2025
After spending quite a while trying to decide where to start with this one, I'm going to try to split this review up two ways, based on the style and the content.
Stylistically, I find the prose in this collection absolutely decadent. Vanessa Fogg is unbearably talented; her sentences are tight and often spare, but with every single verb and adjective seemingly chosen to be as incisive and exquisite as possible. Her stories full of fragmented sentences that help to buoy along a sense of otherworldliness in both the Closer and Farther sections of the collection. I also often felt that her choice of language was tailored closely to the setting of each story, so that at no point was there a sense of disconnect between the world and the words being used to describe it.
Content-wise, I fear that I'm obsessed with every single story! Some of them were funny, some of them were tender, some of them were frightening ("Traces of Us" made me cry on the airplane; "Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe" made me laugh out loud; "Sweetest" genuinely scared the crap out of me). And yet I think that at the core, all of them were bound together by this common thread of humanity.
The first half of the book, Closer Worlds, is dedicated mostly to stories that feel very firmly tethered to the world that we currently occupy. There are references to familiar places and people that give the stories a strong sense of being located somewhere in our timeline, not too far from us either in the future or the past. Even in the stories that don't name the setting (e.g. "Taiya"), the choice of words and the actions of the characters suggest something familiar even in its strangeness.
In contrast, the latter half of the book, Farther Worlds, is full of stories set in places totally outside the Earth we know, in fantastical worlds with demon kings and dolphin spirits and students of illusion. The language with which these stories are written make them feel rich with otherness, both in the descriptions of the magics and spirits and in the landscapes where the stories are taking place.
But whether or not the story is taking place in a distant world or a nearby one, the one thing that ties all of the stories together is this poignant exploration of the core desire to connect with each other and to find beauty even among the struggle and the suffering. I think at the end of the day if I were going to try to describe what this collection is about, that's what I would say. Each of the stories was a beautiful read on its own, but told together they really drive the message home.
If you, like me, are not usually a reader of short story collections, but you like speculative fiction and have an appreciation for well-crafted and beautifully-written prose, I would definitely recommend you give this collection a shot.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to read!
Stylistically, I find the prose in this collection absolutely decadent. Vanessa Fogg is unbearably talented; her sentences are tight and often spare, but with every single verb and adjective seemingly chosen to be as incisive and exquisite as possible. Her stories full of fragmented sentences that help to buoy along a sense of otherworldliness in both the Closer and Farther sections of the collection. I also often felt that her choice of language was tailored closely to the setting of each story, so that at no point was there a sense of disconnect between the world and the words being used to describe it.
Content-wise, I fear that I'm obsessed with every single story! Some of them were funny, some of them were tender, some of them were frightening ("Traces of Us" made me cry on the airplane; "Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe" made me laugh out loud; "Sweetest" genuinely scared the crap out of me). And yet I think that at the core, all of them were bound together by this common thread of humanity.
The first half of the book, Closer Worlds, is dedicated mostly to stories that feel very firmly tethered to the world that we currently occupy. There are references to familiar places and people that give the stories a strong sense of being located somewhere in our timeline, not too far from us either in the future or the past. Even in the stories that don't name the setting (e.g. "Taiya"), the choice of words and the actions of the characters suggest something familiar even in its strangeness.
In contrast, the latter half of the book, Farther Worlds, is full of stories set in places totally outside the Earth we know, in fantastical worlds with demon kings and dolphin spirits and students of illusion. The language with which these stories are written make them feel rich with otherness, both in the descriptions of the magics and spirits and in the landscapes where the stories are taking place.
But whether or not the story is taking place in a distant world or a nearby one, the one thing that ties all of the stories together is this poignant exploration of the core desire to connect with each other and to find beauty even among the struggle and the suffering. I think at the end of the day if I were going to try to describe what this collection is about, that's what I would say. Each of the stories was a beautiful read on its own, but told together they really drive the message home.
If you, like me, are not usually a reader of short story collections, but you like speculative fiction and have an appreciation for well-crafted and beautifully-written prose, I would definitely recommend you give this collection a shot.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to read!
November 4, 2025
This collection brings together many of Vanessa Fogg’s wonderful stories, along with one new-to-the-collection story. They’re a rich and varied array, with flavors as complex and lingering as anything you ever tasted in a goblin market. Here are a few of my favorites:
“Wild Ones,” the first story in the collection, captures perfectly an intense longing for the chill autumnal abandon of the faery hunt. “How,” the narrator asks, “do we lose the language of the wind?” The protagonist of this story is the mother of teenagers—I loved that she was the focus.
Speaking of losing language, there’s “An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words,” which explores scholarship, devotion, performance … and the melancholy of imperfect communication. Being a disciple is a journey, and the story captures that:
“The Wave” swept me up and pulled me out: it’s a story of futuristic surfing mindcasts that permit remote participants to vicariously experience a professional surfer’s encounter with massive waves in a climate-changed future. Reading the story is like experiencing the mindcast—truly amazing.
Then there’s “Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe,” a funny and sweet story about fanfiction fixing characters’ dark realities. This one was an instant hit when it first appeared in Translunar Travelers Lounge in 2021, and it’s just as fun now.
I’ll also always have a fond place in my heart for “Between Sea and Shore,” one of the first stories by Vanessa Fogg that I ever read, a story that takes you to another land, not a faux medieval one, but an Oceania-reminiscent one, so completely realized that you can see, smell, and taste everything. You believe the stories the aunties tell … you hold your breath as you read on to see how the story ends.
That’s a mere handful, but all the stories have something unique and special to recommend them, including the very scary and dark story “Sweetest,” which is new to the collection. Go forth and find your favorites! You’ll be keeping an eye out for new Vanessa Fogg short stories forevermore.
“Wild Ones,” the first story in the collection, captures perfectly an intense longing for the chill autumnal abandon of the faery hunt. “How,” the narrator asks, “do we lose the language of the wind?” The protagonist of this story is the mother of teenagers—I loved that she was the focus.
Speaking of losing language, there’s “An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words,” which explores scholarship, devotion, performance … and the melancholy of imperfect communication. Being a disciple is a journey, and the story captures that:
I saw a master of Lost Words performing at the night market of my old hometown, and it was a door swinging wide all at once for me. She spoke the word that we refer to as “Wind” in our standard shorthand. But she herself was the “Door.”
“The Wave” swept me up and pulled me out: it’s a story of futuristic surfing mindcasts that permit remote participants to vicariously experience a professional surfer’s encounter with massive waves in a climate-changed future. Reading the story is like experiencing the mindcast—truly amazing.
Then there’s “Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe,” a funny and sweet story about fanfiction fixing characters’ dark realities. This one was an instant hit when it first appeared in Translunar Travelers Lounge in 2021, and it’s just as fun now.
I’ll also always have a fond place in my heart for “Between Sea and Shore,” one of the first stories by Vanessa Fogg that I ever read, a story that takes you to another land, not a faux medieval one, but an Oceania-reminiscent one, so completely realized that you can see, smell, and taste everything. You believe the stories the aunties tell … you hold your breath as you read on to see how the story ends.
That’s a mere handful, but all the stories have something unique and special to recommend them, including the very scary and dark story “Sweetest,” which is new to the collection. Go forth and find your favorites! You’ll be keeping an eye out for new Vanessa Fogg short stories forevermore.
June 18, 2025
The Run-Down: The House of Illusionists by Vanessa Fogg contains fantasy and science fiction stories filled with evocative imagery that explore the allure of the mystical unknown.
Review:
In The House of Illusionists by Vanessa Fogg, characters stand at the boundaries between their known world and other realms. Some of these worlds within worlds are predatory forces that prey upon the weak and vulnerable, sow chaos and grief. Others promise the possibility of relief from the sorrow and frustrations the characters experience in their everyday lives. Many realms represent a mixture of escape and danger—or which exact a bittersweet price for entry—that the characters must contend with as they stand on the precipice of transformation.
Vanessa Fogg’s elegant, evocative prose infuses her stories with delectable imagery. She understands how to quickly immerse a reader in a world and provide an emotionally effective story within the span of a handful of pages; her stories have purpose and emotional weight. Some of them, such as “The Things We Will Never Say,” require only a few pages to deliver a gut punch of emotion. Others, like “The House of Illusionists,” take more time to develop the setting and themes.
The idea that there is more to the world than what we know can be a wonderful and terrible thing, and Fogg uses the mystery and allure of the unknown to touch upon a wide range of human experience. Some of the stories touch upon anxieties of climate change and political uncertainty; others are more intimate in their portrayals of relationships and grief. A few of the stories feel a bit redundant in their beats and themes, but the collection is overall freshly imagined and expertly crafted. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction.
Review:
In The House of Illusionists by Vanessa Fogg, characters stand at the boundaries between their known world and other realms. Some of these worlds within worlds are predatory forces that prey upon the weak and vulnerable, sow chaos and grief. Others promise the possibility of relief from the sorrow and frustrations the characters experience in their everyday lives. Many realms represent a mixture of escape and danger—or which exact a bittersweet price for entry—that the characters must contend with as they stand on the precipice of transformation.
Vanessa Fogg’s elegant, evocative prose infuses her stories with delectable imagery. She understands how to quickly immerse a reader in a world and provide an emotionally effective story within the span of a handful of pages; her stories have purpose and emotional weight. Some of them, such as “The Things We Will Never Say,” require only a few pages to deliver a gut punch of emotion. Others, like “The House of Illusionists,” take more time to develop the setting and themes.
The idea that there is more to the world than what we know can be a wonderful and terrible thing, and Fogg uses the mystery and allure of the unknown to touch upon a wide range of human experience. Some of the stories touch upon anxieties of climate change and political uncertainty; others are more intimate in their portrayals of relationships and grief. A few of the stories feel a bit redundant in their beats and themes, but the collection is overall freshly imagined and expertly crafted. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys speculative fiction.
August 1, 2025
Two things kept striking me while reading this book: Fogg's ability to navigate through different sub-genres and themes, and her mastery of images and their description.
In fact, while all in the genre of fantasy and sci-fiction (with a splash of light horror thanks to the clowns' story), these novellas range from more Western-based mythology to folklore from all around the world and again to stories set in space. Also, they are set in times reminescent of the Middle Ages as well as in a far future. Thanks to these changes in lore, time, and space, Fogg leads us through stories of love, pain, family, struggles and hope, and she does so in a gripping and moving way.
Regarding her style, I truly enjoyed both her use of language and how she builds her novellas. With a beginning that always feels like thin fog slowly lifting, she gently draws you into the story, in the middle of which pain, grief, and other difficult emotions stir, only to lead to an hopeful, and almost always open, ending. Each journey has a similar structure, but the protagonists are all distinct and unique, and so are their voices: Fogg shows great control of a nice range of narrators and an ability to quickly change her style according to the characters and the plot's needs.
Last but not least, Fogg doesn't just describe the setting and the emotions of her stories and characters, she skilfully uses language to paint a scene, a movement, a feeling, so that you can't but see and feel them, because it seems like you are in that story.
I'm grateful to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for letting me to read the arc of this book, and I'll definitely read more by Vanessa Fogg - and obviously recommend this book!
In fact, while all in the genre of fantasy and sci-fiction (with a splash of light horror thanks to the clowns' story), these novellas range from more Western-based mythology to folklore from all around the world and again to stories set in space. Also, they are set in times reminescent of the Middle Ages as well as in a far future. Thanks to these changes in lore, time, and space, Fogg leads us through stories of love, pain, family, struggles and hope, and she does so in a gripping and moving way.
Regarding her style, I truly enjoyed both her use of language and how she builds her novellas. With a beginning that always feels like thin fog slowly lifting, she gently draws you into the story, in the middle of which pain, grief, and other difficult emotions stir, only to lead to an hopeful, and almost always open, ending. Each journey has a similar structure, but the protagonists are all distinct and unique, and so are their voices: Fogg shows great control of a nice range of narrators and an ability to quickly change her style according to the characters and the plot's needs.
Last but not least, Fogg doesn't just describe the setting and the emotions of her stories and characters, she skilfully uses language to paint a scene, a movement, a feeling, so that you can't but see and feel them, because it seems like you are in that story.
I'm grateful to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for letting me to read the arc of this book, and I'll definitely read more by Vanessa Fogg - and obviously recommend this book!
September 23, 2025
I almost don't even know how to write this review without sounding like I've lost my ever loving mind. These stories hit so deep and so hard. There is not a single story in this collection that felt like filler or was unimportant. I've never read such a strong collection of stories. It's sci-fi, it's speculative fiction, it's fantasy but mostly it's just so human. The stories are full of fear, joy, longing, identity, hope, pain, and love, so, so much love. I sobbed over minds uploaded into a computer, a mother's fear and desires, a young God's sadness, and a boy's remembering. I felt so strongly for so many of the characters. I didn't want the stories to end. But when they did, they felt complete. How can I feel so satisfied with the story while simultaneously wanting to read a 500-page book about it? The writing was truly lovely and enchating at every turn. Fogg has a way of blending the language and strengths of science with the imaginative vastness of fantasy in a way that speaks on such a deep level of human experiences. If you like witches, sea spirits, space travel, uploaded consciousness, murderous beings, shapeshifting, fanfiction, curses... or literally anything. You will love at least one of these tales, and you will likely deeply enjoy all of them. This will absolutely be my go-to book that I gift to friends for the foreseeable future. And an instant recommendation for anyone who enjoys fantasy/sci-fi. Thank you to Vanessa Fogg and Interstellar Flight Press for the eARC of The House of Illusionists and Other Stories via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
November 5, 2025
𖤐🐦⬛🩸𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜🩸🐦⬛𖤐
The House of Illusionists and Other Stories by Vanessa Fogg is a charming collection of speculative stories about love, connection, family, life, death, and more, with lyrical languages and ranging from fantasy to horror to magical realism to sci-fi to a beautiful folkloric tale within a tale.
I really enjoyed reading through this collection, and I can see dipping back in to reread some of them.
My favorite stories were those closest to fairy/folktales and horror, such as the opening tale “Wild Ones”, whose world sees teen children run with the Queen of the Hunt each summer, some of which never return home.
Two of the stories which involved shapeshifting were bittersweet, as a girl must transform in order to protect her loved ones and others against a Sea Witch in “All the Souls Like Candle Flames” and a woman also transforms in order to be with her true love in “Wings”.
And the titular tale, the final story in the book, “The House of Illusionists” in which a group of young students of illusions and their masters are sheltering in their academy as war rages nearby. They are concerned about relatable things: their safety, food costs, flaring tempers, and - perhaps most relatable of all for me as an American right now - “the Emperor’s latest mad proclamation.” The masters and students alike are cautioned that illusions are not real and cannot become real, but as their situation becomes more desperate, they start to realize that perhaps they can create the world of safety and love that they want.
Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for sharing this review copy for my honest opinions.
The House of Illusionists and Other Stories by Vanessa Fogg is a charming collection of speculative stories about love, connection, family, life, death, and more, with lyrical languages and ranging from fantasy to horror to magical realism to sci-fi to a beautiful folkloric tale within a tale.
I really enjoyed reading through this collection, and I can see dipping back in to reread some of them.
My favorite stories were those closest to fairy/folktales and horror, such as the opening tale “Wild Ones”, whose world sees teen children run with the Queen of the Hunt each summer, some of which never return home.
Two of the stories which involved shapeshifting were bittersweet, as a girl must transform in order to protect her loved ones and others against a Sea Witch in “All the Souls Like Candle Flames” and a woman also transforms in order to be with her true love in “Wings”.
And the titular tale, the final story in the book, “The House of Illusionists” in which a group of young students of illusions and their masters are sheltering in their academy as war rages nearby. They are concerned about relatable things: their safety, food costs, flaring tempers, and - perhaps most relatable of all for me as an American right now - “the Emperor’s latest mad proclamation.” The masters and students alike are cautioned that illusions are not real and cannot become real, but as their situation becomes more desperate, they start to realize that perhaps they can create the world of safety and love that they want.
Thank you to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for sharing this review copy for my honest opinions.
August 23, 2025
Thank you to Interstellar Flight Press over on NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and review this book. This was an impressive collection of short stories with a wide variety of stories that would cater to many different types of readers. Each of these short stories were beautifully written and transported me to vastly different worlds, and best of all each of them were a handful of pages long so it was like entering numerous pocket dimensions from chapter to chapter.
This book has incredible potential and I can even see it being adapted for a short series on television some day, however the entire book felt more like a manuscript of ideas or a journal with rough drafts instead of a fleshed out product. Perhaps it could be because the individuals stories are so brief that I am not experiencing the deep grip a more fleshed out story could offer me, but for what it was it was a very interesting and unique read.
What I did love about this book were the continuing themes of love and connection that were interwoven into most of the tales, and the prose was breathtaking in most of the short stories. One of my favorite quotes from this book was "There is a language deeper than words. A language of silence, touch, and simple presence."
Although this book was not exactly my cup of tea, I was thoroughly impressed by it. Vanessa Fogg used the emotions of her characters and her skillful words to paint scenes full of depth and emotion that sometimes felt vivid enough to touch and I think many people would find this anthology delightful and inspirational.
This book has incredible potential and I can even see it being adapted for a short series on television some day, however the entire book felt more like a manuscript of ideas or a journal with rough drafts instead of a fleshed out product. Perhaps it could be because the individuals stories are so brief that I am not experiencing the deep grip a more fleshed out story could offer me, but for what it was it was a very interesting and unique read.
What I did love about this book were the continuing themes of love and connection that were interwoven into most of the tales, and the prose was breathtaking in most of the short stories. One of my favorite quotes from this book was "There is a language deeper than words. A language of silence, touch, and simple presence."
Although this book was not exactly my cup of tea, I was thoroughly impressed by it. Vanessa Fogg used the emotions of her characters and her skillful words to paint scenes full of depth and emotion that sometimes felt vivid enough to touch and I think many people would find this anthology delightful and inspirational.
July 11, 2025
Such an interesting collection of short stories! Magical realism and scifi, little flashes of extraordinary lives. After reading this book, the stories still stay in my mind, filling me with many emotions and thoughts.
The book is divided to Closer and Farther Worlds. There are 17 stories about thrilling, haunting and touching situations. Scary and sad, passionate and serene, the reader gets in the mood of wave rider eye-screening the surfing in the top of breaking wave, two girls combined by fanfiction reaching to each others in the opposite sides of the globe, an yearning mother worried for her child following a wild call on the sky, and many others. Don´t sing alone near the sea, or dolphin spirits may take you. And is it possible to find your love again apart of time and space?
"Wild ones" was haunting and passionate, "Traces of us" heartbreaking and still lovely. "Sweetest" made me shiver with it´s creepyness. "Between sea and shore" was captivating and fairytale-like. One of my favourites was "Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe", which was told by the point of view of persons people were writing stories about.
Vanessa Fogg writes beautifully, creates odd and eerie worlds, which combine science and fantasy in enchanting way. Most of the short stories are about yearn and wishing to get something lost back again. Can the illusions become real?
Thank you for the gifted eARC, NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press!
The book is divided to Closer and Farther Worlds. There are 17 stories about thrilling, haunting and touching situations. Scary and sad, passionate and serene, the reader gets in the mood of wave rider eye-screening the surfing in the top of breaking wave, two girls combined by fanfiction reaching to each others in the opposite sides of the globe, an yearning mother worried for her child following a wild call on the sky, and many others. Don´t sing alone near the sea, or dolphin spirits may take you. And is it possible to find your love again apart of time and space?
"Wild ones" was haunting and passionate, "Traces of us" heartbreaking and still lovely. "Sweetest" made me shiver with it´s creepyness. "Between sea and shore" was captivating and fairytale-like. One of my favourites was "Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe", which was told by the point of view of persons people were writing stories about.
Vanessa Fogg writes beautifully, creates odd and eerie worlds, which combine science and fantasy in enchanting way. Most of the short stories are about yearn and wishing to get something lost back again. Can the illusions become real?
Thank you for the gifted eARC, NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press!
November 2, 2025
3.75 rounded up
Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to NetGalley, Interstellar Flight Press, and Vanessa Fogg for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As is the case with many short story collections, there were some that I felt very invested in, and others that I wish had drawn me in more. I think another part of this was that, as this book is set in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, I often felt like the stories had more to give, and were very abruptly cut short. However, there were a few stand-outs that I highly enjoyed.
Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe was humorous, yet incredibly sweet. Of Milk and Blood gripped me from the first sentence, although I would love to see this as a longer, more explored story one day. And All the Souls Like Candle Flames was a lovely story about loss, family, and hope.
I will also say that, as I wanted to get my review out on time, I read this collection like a normal book, as in, reading large sections at a time. However, I am aware that I would have probably enjoyed it more if I had read one short story per day, and if I do a reread of this collection, I'll certainly split the stories up and really spend my time with each one.
The writing style is carefully crafted, and there are themes of family, love and friendship that are present throughout the whole collection. Overall, if you enjoy an anthology of short stories, especially those in the sci-fi genre, then this book is a definite for you.
Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to NetGalley, Interstellar Flight Press, and Vanessa Fogg for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As is the case with many short story collections, there were some that I felt very invested in, and others that I wish had drawn me in more. I think another part of this was that, as this book is set in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, I often felt like the stories had more to give, and were very abruptly cut short. However, there were a few stand-outs that I highly enjoyed.
Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe was humorous, yet incredibly sweet. Of Milk and Blood gripped me from the first sentence, although I would love to see this as a longer, more explored story one day. And All the Souls Like Candle Flames was a lovely story about loss, family, and hope.
I will also say that, as I wanted to get my review out on time, I read this collection like a normal book, as in, reading large sections at a time. However, I am aware that I would have probably enjoyed it more if I had read one short story per day, and if I do a reread of this collection, I'll certainly split the stories up and really spend my time with each one.
The writing style is carefully crafted, and there are themes of family, love and friendship that are present throughout the whole collection. Overall, if you enjoy an anthology of short stories, especially those in the sci-fi genre, then this book is a definite for you.
August 3, 2025
The House of Illusionists: and Other Stories feels like taking a stunning tour across different fantasy and far future worlds. You’ll go on autumn hunts, visit strange holiday islands, surf on impossible waves, travel across a fanfiction multiverse, and apprentice as an illusionist in a warring city. Some will be romantic, others scary and thrilling, but you’ll always feel for the characters like they were people you really knew. Vanessa Fogg really knows how to write an immersive story. You’ll be thinking about some of these worlds for a long time afterwards.
Some of my favorites were:
1) “Sweetest” plays with dread and nostalgia on a strange vacation island where tourists enjoy everything from perfect beach days to impossibly delicious sweets, but there's something very very underneath it all. This one was SO scary, yet I couldn’t stop reading.
2) “Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe” is a brilliantly original sci-fi take on the multiverses/fandoms of fanfiction.
3) “Once On a Midsummer’s Night” is a gorgeously written epic romance told through the memories of a sentient eternal garden
4) The title story “The House of Illusionists” made me cry, but in that wonderful joyful way.
There's a great mix of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi, which keeps things fresh. I read a lot of speculative short fiction, and this is one of my new favorite collections.
Some of my favorites were:
1) “Sweetest” plays with dread and nostalgia on a strange vacation island where tourists enjoy everything from perfect beach days to impossibly delicious sweets, but there's something very very underneath it all. This one was SO scary, yet I couldn’t stop reading.
2) “Fanfiction for a Grimdark Universe” is a brilliantly original sci-fi take on the multiverses/fandoms of fanfiction.
3) “Once On a Midsummer’s Night” is a gorgeously written epic romance told through the memories of a sentient eternal garden
4) The title story “The House of Illusionists” made me cry, but in that wonderful joyful way.
There's a great mix of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi, which keeps things fresh. I read a lot of speculative short fiction, and this is one of my new favorite collections.
July 4, 2025
This is a good but very bittersweet collection of stories. I’m giving it 3.5 stars rounded up because it was well done but also felt draining and incomplete.
The stories rely very heavily on generational and cultural trauma and miscommunication to convey all the things people don’t say to one another and the ways it impacts children further down the line. There are Lots of stories about the way that the tales we tell instill in us fear and prejudice but also hope and compassion and while each entry in the book is incredibly vivid and well-written… it feels as if they all end right at the very moment of potential conflict resolution. I would assume it’s a narrative choice, to leave the future incomplete and hopefully better, but after a time, it began to weigh on me as a reader. I found myself getting more bummed out the further I read because it felt like we kept getting these intimate glimpses into inter-personal, cultural and situational conflicts but the hope was tenuous and fleeting.
I’ve read the book at a time of increasing unrest in the US so maybe I’m just not in the right headspace for it, but I will definitely not be re-reading in the near future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ms Fogg for the chance to read early in exchange for honest review!
The stories rely very heavily on generational and cultural trauma and miscommunication to convey all the things people don’t say to one another and the ways it impacts children further down the line. There are Lots of stories about the way that the tales we tell instill in us fear and prejudice but also hope and compassion and while each entry in the book is incredibly vivid and well-written… it feels as if they all end right at the very moment of potential conflict resolution. I would assume it’s a narrative choice, to leave the future incomplete and hopefully better, but after a time, it began to weigh on me as a reader. I found myself getting more bummed out the further I read because it felt like we kept getting these intimate glimpses into inter-personal, cultural and situational conflicts but the hope was tenuous and fleeting.
I’ve read the book at a time of increasing unrest in the US so maybe I’m just not in the right headspace for it, but I will definitely not be re-reading in the near future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ms Fogg for the chance to read early in exchange for honest review!
October 15, 2025
The House of Illusionists is a collection of short stories that explore fantasy, sci-fi, and magical realism. Each story is only a few pages long, and they take you to very different places.
I don’t usually go for short stories. I prefer longer books where I can really get into the characters and setting. But I picked this up because I wanted something different, and I’m glad I gave it a try. I’m still not sure short stories are for me, but this was a nice change.
I was a bit unsure about how the worldbuilding would work in such short pieces, especially with fantasy and sci-fi. But Vanessa Fogg did a good job. The stories felt complete and easy to follow, even though they were short.
Some of the stories felt more like ideas than finished pieces, and I sometimes wanted more depth. Still, I could see this working well as a short TV series, with each story as its own episode.
Some stories took a bit of time to get into, but most made sense by the end. I think they’d hit harder on a second read, and I might go back to a few.
Overall, this was a quiet and thoughtful collection. It’s not fast-paced, but it has a lot of feeling. If you like stories that mix everyday life with something a bit magical or strange, this might be for you.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this!
I don’t usually go for short stories. I prefer longer books where I can really get into the characters and setting. But I picked this up because I wanted something different, and I’m glad I gave it a try. I’m still not sure short stories are for me, but this was a nice change.
I was a bit unsure about how the worldbuilding would work in such short pieces, especially with fantasy and sci-fi. But Vanessa Fogg did a good job. The stories felt complete and easy to follow, even though they were short.
Some of the stories felt more like ideas than finished pieces, and I sometimes wanted more depth. Still, I could see this working well as a short TV series, with each story as its own episode.
Some stories took a bit of time to get into, but most made sense by the end. I think they’d hit harder on a second read, and I might go back to a few.
Overall, this was a quiet and thoughtful collection. It’s not fast-paced, but it has a lot of feeling. If you like stories that mix everyday life with something a bit magical or strange, this might be for you.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this!
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