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Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds
For fans of George Saunders and Haruki Murakami, Christian Moody delivers his debut speculative short story collection, Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds––tales of the strange beauty and shadowy fears that lurk beneath the surface of our everyday lives.
Best friends George and Elly start a hide-and-go-seek club inspired by their love of the game, which goes too far when Elly stays hidden for years. An orphan discovers that the trees on the outskirts of town have eyes that watch and record the town’s inhabitants, threatening to expose their most vulnerable secrets. In a world with hardly any birds left, a struggling family lives alone in the woods, where the father begins to create mechanical birds which threaten the only life left. And a man working at a futuristic egg factory spots an anomaly in one of the eggs, which, along with the fact that his wife and daughter spontaneously get pregnant at the same time, sparks his journey to uncover the company’s secrets.
Winner of the 2023 Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize, Moody’s collection delights in the absurd and dystopian, weaving in themes of climate change, surveillance, privacy, and technology that coalesce into a profound statement about the mysteries of the human experience.
Best friends George and Elly start a hide-and-go-seek club inspired by their love of the game, which goes too far when Elly stays hidden for years. An orphan discovers that the trees on the outskirts of town have eyes that watch and record the town’s inhabitants, threatening to expose their most vulnerable secrets. In a world with hardly any birds left, a struggling family lives alone in the woods, where the father begins to create mechanical birds which threaten the only life left. And a man working at a futuristic egg factory spots an anomaly in one of the eggs, which, along with the fact that his wife and daughter spontaneously get pregnant at the same time, sparks his journey to uncover the company’s secrets.
Winner of the 2023 Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize, Moody’s collection delights in the absurd and dystopian, weaving in themes of climate change, surveillance, privacy, and technology that coalesce into a profound statement about the mysteries of the human experience.
177 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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November 7, 2025no rating. The first story was really really good, the 2nd and 3rd were ok, but didn't give me the incentive to read the last two. Maybe someone can still convince me...
September 15, 2025
Thank you Dzanc for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for a review.
Christian Moody's collection of stories is frustrating because I'm filled with envy. I wish I'd written these. The opening story, which entwines coming-of-age with hide-and-seek is the kind of brilliance you hope to find in a work of literary fiction.
I will likely revisit a few of these again and again, but more importantly, I can't wait for what Moody writes next.
Christian Moody's collection of stories is frustrating because I'm filled with envy. I wish I'd written these. The opening story, which entwines coming-of-age with hide-and-seek is the kind of brilliance you hope to find in a work of literary fiction.
I will likely revisit a few of these again and again, but more importantly, I can't wait for what Moody writes next.
August 21, 2025
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Dzanc Books!
Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds by Christian Moody is a collection of five stories that blend themes of existentialism with current social issues, including AI, destruction of the natural world, and the interconnectedness of our physical and digital lives. As a whole, the collection is a unique read that is highly relevant to the current times. Moody’s writing style is lyrical and descriptive. However, the imagery is my favorite part of this book. If for no other reason (and I would recommend reading it for any of the above mentioned themes), read it for the gorgeous descriptions of characters and fantastical worlds.
Here are my thoughts on the stories:
Horusville
Trees with eyes. How interesting! I love the surrealist imagery of the forest where much of the story takes place. The trees witness everything the townspeople do, both good and horrifying. I felt as if I was stepping into a fantastical world that was also a powerful call back to the presence of social media and the surveillance of the digital world.
Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds
This story is my favorite in the collection. It is equally tragic and lyrical, heartbreaking and beautiful. I won’t spoil it. Just read it.
The Go Seekers
This one just wasn’t for me. I did enjoy the absurdity of the club, as well as the idea of a person choosing to hide for years.
The Babycatcher
The Babycatcher is more plot-focused than the previous three stories. A couple want a child so badly that they hire the Babycatcher and give up everything they own. The Babycatcher character reminded me of Rumpelstiltskin, although rather than taking the baby, he takes everything else they have. The idea of wild babies that have certain characteristics is creepy in the best way. It edges on familiar while remaining a bit absurd.
Ray of Golden Yolk
"Ray of Golden Yolk" is the longest story in the collection. It balances worldbuilding, character, and plot quite well. The narrator, Ray, works on a chicken egg inspection line. He notices anomalies in the eggs and suspects that the company is connected to the pregnancies of his wife and daughter. Corporations have all the power in Ray’s world. AI is ingrained into technology and taken as fact. These aspects of the world are familiar, and I enjoyed that connection to our world. However, the growth of unidentified species and new worlds fits just a little outside of reality, creating a unique blend of what we know and what we fear. The pacing in the middle of the story did drag at times, which was really the only aspect I did not enjoy.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this collection of short stories. I would recommend this book to fans of literary and speculative fiction. It is unique, unexpected, and relevant to the current social and technological issues that we face in our world.
Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds by Christian Moody is a collection of five stories that blend themes of existentialism with current social issues, including AI, destruction of the natural world, and the interconnectedness of our physical and digital lives. As a whole, the collection is a unique read that is highly relevant to the current times. Moody’s writing style is lyrical and descriptive. However, the imagery is my favorite part of this book. If for no other reason (and I would recommend reading it for any of the above mentioned themes), read it for the gorgeous descriptions of characters and fantastical worlds.
Here are my thoughts on the stories:
Horusville
Trees with eyes. How interesting! I love the surrealist imagery of the forest where much of the story takes place. The trees witness everything the townspeople do, both good and horrifying. I felt as if I was stepping into a fantastical world that was also a powerful call back to the presence of social media and the surveillance of the digital world.
Lost in the Forest of Mechanical Birds
This story is my favorite in the collection. It is equally tragic and lyrical, heartbreaking and beautiful. I won’t spoil it. Just read it.
The Go Seekers
This one just wasn’t for me. I did enjoy the absurdity of the club, as well as the idea of a person choosing to hide for years.
The Babycatcher
The Babycatcher is more plot-focused than the previous three stories. A couple want a child so badly that they hire the Babycatcher and give up everything they own. The Babycatcher character reminded me of Rumpelstiltskin, although rather than taking the baby, he takes everything else they have. The idea of wild babies that have certain characteristics is creepy in the best way. It edges on familiar while remaining a bit absurd.
Ray of Golden Yolk
"Ray of Golden Yolk" is the longest story in the collection. It balances worldbuilding, character, and plot quite well. The narrator, Ray, works on a chicken egg inspection line. He notices anomalies in the eggs and suspects that the company is connected to the pregnancies of his wife and daughter. Corporations have all the power in Ray’s world. AI is ingrained into technology and taken as fact. These aspects of the world are familiar, and I enjoyed that connection to our world. However, the growth of unidentified species and new worlds fits just a little outside of reality, creating a unique blend of what we know and what we fear. The pacing in the middle of the story did drag at times, which was really the only aspect I did not enjoy.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this collection of short stories. I would recommend this book to fans of literary and speculative fiction. It is unique, unexpected, and relevant to the current social and technological issues that we face in our world.
August 13, 2025
Thank you Dzanc books for sending me a finished copy of this book to review!
This was a strange little collection of stories. We get a lifelong obsession between friends who play hide and seek, a teenager obsessed with his brother’s fiancé and a forest of eyes with trees, and a strange man who catches babies for parents who can’t have any. These stories were weird and fun and I enjoyed reading. There was always something uncanny just lying in the background.
This was a strange little collection of stories. We get a lifelong obsession between friends who play hide and seek, a teenager obsessed with his brother’s fiancé and a forest of eyes with trees, and a strange man who catches babies for parents who can’t have any. These stories were weird and fun and I enjoyed reading. There was always something uncanny just lying in the background.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews