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The Constellation of Forgotten Things
Not yet published
Expected 15 Sep 26Hardcover
Expected publication September 15, 2026
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About the author
Tiffany Chu
9 books10 followersTiffany Chu is a Taiwanese American literary fantasy author of stories that aim to stab your heart out with a spoon. She has been called “the queen of angsty beauty,” and writes on evergreen themes of grief, belonging, and what it means to be human.
Her essays and short stories have been published by San Diego Writers, Inc., Chicago Story Press, and Renewal Missions.
She is obsessed with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and reads it religiously every year. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two surviving children.
Tiffany writes a weekly newsletter where she shares literary nonfiction and fiction. To read more of her writing, subscribe at https://tiffanychu.ghost.io/
Her essays and short stories have been published by San Diego Writers, Inc., Chicago Story Press, and Renewal Missions.
She is obsessed with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and reads it religiously every year. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two surviving children.
Tiffany writes a weekly newsletter where she shares literary nonfiction and fiction. To read more of her writing, subscribe at https://tiffanychu.ghost.io/
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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December 17, 2025A big thank you to the author for an ARC!!
THE CONSTELLATION OF FORGOTTEN THINGS is a tender collision of melancholy and hope, a heartache in words, filled with tales of forlorn travellers, wayfinding, and journeys unrealized. At its core, this anthology explores the true magic in the connections made between people, the way the stories we write hold shards of our souls laid bare so we may be seen, heard, felt, how stories may change when passed between the remembered and the rememberer, and how they are continued.
THE CONSTELLATION OF FORGOTTEN THINGS is a tender collision of melancholy and hope, a heartache in words, filled with tales of forlorn travellers, wayfinding, and journeys unrealized. At its core, this anthology explores the true magic in the connections made between people, the way the stories we write hold shards of our souls laid bare so we may be seen, heard, felt, how stories may change when passed between the remembered and the rememberer, and how they are continued.
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February 7, 2026I was provided an advance reader copy by the author. I read a lot of fantasy, but I’m usually drawn to the epic and the morally complex—stories where the world-building serves larger philosophical questions. That’s not what Tiffany Chu and Renley Nicolas Chu set out to create in The Constellation of Forgotten Things, and that’s fine. They built something different: a collection of emotionally rich, character-focused stories set in an original fantasy realm called Reveria. What impressed me most was the craftsmanship underlying the emotional beats. Each story stands alone, but they’re all connected by Reveria’s internal logic—its magic systems, its geography, its rules. That kind of consistency across a short story collection is harder than it looks, and the Chus pull it off without making the connective tissue feel forced. “A Tale of Two Brothers” particularly demonstrates this balance, delivering genuine emotional weight while staying true to the world they’ve built together. This is fantasy for readers who want to feel something—who prioritize relationships and emotional stakes over intricate plotting or moral ambiguity. If you’re drawn to stories about found family, sacrifice, and characters working through heartache in magical settings, you’ll find much to love here. The collaborative achievement deserves recognition on its own merits. Tiffany and Renley created an entire realm together, story by story, building something that belongs to both of them. That Renley passed away a few years ago makes this collection a testament to their shared imagination, but it’s the quality of that imagination—not the tragedy—that makes it worth reading. They built Reveria together, and it holds.
January 21, 2026
Ugh this was so good I loved the short stories by Ren and Tiffany they were so good and intriguing
Review of advance copy received from Author
A wonderful collection of short stories that kept my interest from beginning to end.
Grief is a funny thing, hard to describe the depth of which you feel it, even harder to capture in words that will evoke an emotional response within a reader, but the author manages to do both. I felt like I knew him even though we had never met.
Some pieces felt like personal diary entries that I stumbled upon without the writers' knowledge, and it seemed like I was looking into something that was not meant for my eyes. Everything was so heartfelt and an outpouring of sentiment.
Grief is a funny thing, hard to describe the depth of which you feel it, even harder to capture in words that will evoke an emotional response within a reader, but the author manages to do both. I felt like I knew him even though we had never met.
Some pieces felt like personal diary entries that I stumbled upon without the writers' knowledge, and it seemed like I was looking into something that was not meant for my eyes. Everything was so heartfelt and an outpouring of sentiment.
Review of advance copy received from Author
For me at least, this isn't the kind of collection you can just blast through in one sitting. I had to read through it a bit at a time, giving myself time to digest and feel. To be honest, this book isn’t my typical fare—but even without the action and adventure I usually go for, I still felt a deep appreciation for the facets of love that are showcased in these stories.
Something this book touches on a lot is the complexity of human emotion. Renley Chu takes on the challenge of putting that complexity into words, and the result is a series of stories that form a potent reminder of just how hard it is to understand ourselves, let alone others. These stories are a wonderful combination of artistically abstract and intimately specific, sketching characters in just enough detail that we can catch a glimpse of their lives and experiences. In some ways, I think the briefness of each story supports another theme of the collection itself—the way time moves forward without asking for anyone’s permission. I would’ve liked to hear more about some of these characters, but upon further thought it seems fitting that there wasn’t more said about them.
Here’s one of my favorite quotes, which I think really illustrates the beautiful prose of this book:
“One day,” he said, “this grief will pass for us both. You will walk beneath the light of the dawn, bringing light wherever you set your feet, even as I set forth my efforts to undo the good. One day we will not weep at the coming of the night. And we will lift our gaze to the distant hills where we whispered of a love we dared not reach for. And the world will shift as we know it will, until the seas have carved away the shores, and the land is no longer the one we once knew.”
Something this book touches on a lot is the complexity of human emotion. Renley Chu takes on the challenge of putting that complexity into words, and the result is a series of stories that form a potent reminder of just how hard it is to understand ourselves, let alone others. These stories are a wonderful combination of artistically abstract and intimately specific, sketching characters in just enough detail that we can catch a glimpse of their lives and experiences. In some ways, I think the briefness of each story supports another theme of the collection itself—the way time moves forward without asking for anyone’s permission. I would’ve liked to hear more about some of these characters, but upon further thought it seems fitting that there wasn’t more said about them.
Here’s one of my favorite quotes, which I think really illustrates the beautiful prose of this book:
“One day,” he said, “this grief will pass for us both. You will walk beneath the light of the dawn, bringing light wherever you set your feet, even as I set forth my efforts to undo the good. One day we will not weep at the coming of the night. And we will lift our gaze to the distant hills where we whispered of a love we dared not reach for. And the world will shift as we know it will, until the seas have carved away the shores, and the land is no longer the one we once knew.”
Review of advance copy
This collaborative collection of short stories by Renley and Tiffany is just pure art. The book grips you from the very beginning. It's amazing how both writers are able to weave together stories that touch your heart and your soul, stories that can be just a few sentences and others that are pages long. Each short story lingers in your memory as you read each character facing their sorrows, regrets, and questions. After reading these stories that grapple with human relationships and are, at many times heartbreaking, perhaps the saying of it's better to have loved and lost than nothing having loved at all holds true.
It took me a while to read through this book, only because each story evoked various emotions and I had to take breaks. It is poignant, riveting, and provocative. You will be challenged to think deeply about love and loss, of triumphs and heartbreaks. You won't regret picking this book up to read.
It took me a while to read through this book, only because each story evoked various emotions and I had to take breaks. It is poignant, riveting, and provocative. You will be challenged to think deeply about love and loss, of triumphs and heartbreaks. You won't regret picking this book up to read.
Review of advance copy received from Author
4.5 ⭐️ — thank you so much to the author for this arc !!!!
this anthology of short stories is written by tiffany and her son ren, who passed away a few years ago. I am so glad she found the strength to share these stories with us because ren's beautiful writing deserves to be shared and loved ! this book is full of grief and sorrow but also hope and it makes you think about what is really important to you. every story has an author note where tiffany gives some more information about how the story came to be, whether she or ren wrote it. they both have such wonderful writing styles.
I have to admit that even before I got to the actual stories, while reading the prefaces etc. I was already tearing up on the bus. forever grateful to have been able to read ren's words.
this anthology of short stories is written by tiffany and her son ren, who passed away a few years ago. I am so glad she found the strength to share these stories with us because ren's beautiful writing deserves to be shared and loved ! this book is full of grief and sorrow but also hope and it makes you think about what is really important to you. every story has an author note where tiffany gives some more information about how the story came to be, whether she or ren wrote it. they both have such wonderful writing styles.
I have to admit that even before I got to the actual stories, while reading the prefaces etc. I was already tearing up on the bus. forever grateful to have been able to read ren's words.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Grief is love preserving. It is unfinished love that pierces through our soul during the endless night. This unique collection of heartfelt stories is an emotional read. It is deeply moving and life-affirming when you realize the inevitable heartbreaking ending. "Science may provide the most useful way to organize empirical, reproducible data, but its power to do so is predicated on its inability to grasp the most central aspects of human life: hope, fear, love, hate, beauty, envy, honor, weakness, striving, suffering, virtue." These words are the profound reflection of the shared experiences and the bonding between the authors and it is overwhelmingly touching, inspiring, and powerful.
Review of advance copy received from Author
A beautiful collection of interconnected stories that are enchanting and ethereal. Tiffany and Renley weave a tapestry that traces the nature of memory, loss, eternity, and friendships. Each story is tight little tale that pulls you in, and ask you to consider what it is to love, to remember, and to forget. I especially loved Trails of Broken Dreams, A Whisper in the Ear of the Eternal, and Memory and Shadow.
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February 14, 2026This is an intimate book of stories by Tiffany and her son, Ren. She does a wonderful job setting up the book by allowing us into her life and relationship before diving into the short stories. Each story takes you to new places I couldn’t have imagined. The imagery is beautiful as you work your way through these tender stories.
Review of advance copy received from Author
“Brimming with heart, wonder, and a gentle pulse, The Constellation of Forgotten Things is filled with tales of magic, love, and longing. A profound collection that is sure to touch the soul.”
–Pedro Iniguez, Bram Stoker Award winner, and author of Echoes and Embers: Speculative Stories
–Pedro Iniguez, Bram Stoker Award winner, and author of Echoes and Embers: Speculative Stories
Review of advance copy received from Author
These beautifully woven tales speak of longing, heartache, love and hope. Every story evokes powerful emotions. For anyone who has ever lost a loved one, this book is a poignant reminder of the joy that comes from bonding with another person and the light that remains in the memory of that soul. I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews