What do you think?
Rate this book
Market of Loss: A Collection
There are many things for sale at the market of loss.
Your mother's heart.
A smile that makes you ache.
A chance to feel alive for the first time, or the last.
But remember, before you buy, everything at the market is really only one thing—a mirror.
Matt Tighe's Market of Loss: A Collection ranges from the red plains of Mars to the darkest night of a pledged soldier, showing us that connection is universal because we all know what it means to lose.
“This collection is a trap. Tighe has characters you get right inside and ideas that refuse to be put down with the book. They linger in your head and in your heart.” – Samantha Murray, multi-award winning author.
“Why would you write this sort of stuff?” – A supposed friend of the author (but not Samantha).
Your mother's heart.
A smile that makes you ache.
A chance to feel alive for the first time, or the last.
But remember, before you buy, everything at the market is really only one thing—a mirror.
Matt Tighe's Market of Loss: A Collection ranges from the red plains of Mars to the darkest night of a pledged soldier, showing us that connection is universal because we all know what it means to lose.
“This collection is a trap. Tighe has characters you get right inside and ideas that refuse to be put down with the book. They linger in your head and in your heart.” – Samantha Murray, multi-award winning author.
“Why would you write this sort of stuff?” – A supposed friend of the author (but not Samantha).
- GenresShort StoriesFantasy
248 pages, ebook
Published June 1, 2026
About the author
Matt Tighe
8 books9 followersMatt Tighe is a speculative fiction writer of horror, sci-fi and fantasy, probably in that order. He is an Australian Shadows and Aurealis Award winner, the recipient of the New England Writer's Centre Varuna Fellowship, and a multi-award nominated writer. He lives on a small farm in New South Wales with his amazing children, his patient spouse, and too many animals. He is also a professor of environmental science who works on pollution and environmental conservation.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 14, 2026
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
First off, the intro. It hit home. And I want Matt Tighe to know I saw myself, and I appreciate him for sharing his personal thoughts and feelings in his intro, his sweet dedication, and throughout this book which houses an overarching theme that I believe will be able to find a home and nestle into any reader’s heart.
On my own personal note, the themes of parental loss and unselfish dedication and sacrifice—even after death, stirred deep emotion in me. And even though, as a writer myself, I know that crafting compelling stories takes skill and time, the stories felt as if they were merely plucked from Tighe’s soul and dripped onto the pages for readers to consume and contemplate long after they finish reading. Much like the first collection of work I read by Tighe (Drowning in the Dark), this book hit me hard, and I’m not ashamed to say I had to grab a tissue a few times as I read it. Twice I was moved to put down the book to text my husband and kids.
Tighe’s stories are both clever and heartbreaking at the same time. He joked about his ability to write poetry in his intro, but I’m not sure if he realizes how much his stories are woven with a poetic bent that grabs your heart and won’t let go. Not only that, but all the while he dazzles you with bits of magic, space adventures, and a keen sense of the frailty of the natural world. You’ll learn in the About the Author section that Tighe is an environmental scientist and a professor, so he’s knowledgeable as well as skillful at weaving facts into his work to strengthen it and create stories that feel real.
Despite my gushing about the gut punches I so love, there are also stories that will make you smile and even chuckle a bit. Even though the darker stories are the ones that always seem to stick with me the most, I thoroughly enjoyed the more whimsical sci-fi stories in this collection, too. As a speculative fiction author and publisher, Market of Loss checked off a lot of enjoyment boxes for me.
I also wanted to mention, I was at a book-signing event over the weekend with some fellow authors selling our own books, and I got on the subject of loving Australian authors’ works and found myself gushing about Market of Loss. That’s the sign of a good read!
The last time I read a Tighe collection, I mentioned notes about each story. With the size of this collection, I will focus on my Top 10 Stories and share some thoughts I had during and immediately after reading them. They are in order of appearance in the book.
“The Market of Loss” - I’m 3% into the book and this story is going to break me. OMG I’m trying not to cry in public reading this story. The intro got me, and now this. Matt has a way of absolutely exposing my heart and bringing out feelings and relatability! As a mother and as a daughter, I get this on so many levels. Poetic, slightly bizarre, and absolutely brilliant. My heart. I texted my daughter.
“You Don’t Get to Choose Entanglement” - OMG these stories!!! My heart again!!! I need to text my husband immediately! Wow. Matt knows how to dig his fingers into your chest and extract your heart. I texted my husband and kids after reading.
“Ben Builds Boats” - Another emotion-fest! Nostalgia! An absolutely beautiful and touching story about life and what makes us us. Personal reflection and understanding.
“As Brittle as Granite” - Vulnerability. What a deep and meaningful story hidden in such a clever piece. Tighe does such an amazing job entertaining with his prose and subtly giving you a hidden, deep meaning at the same time. This is a touching story that will resonate with readers. Beautiful.
“Maintenance” - Made me cry! These stories will rip out your emotions in the best way!!!
“The Complete and Utter Drag of Becoming the Self-Taught Ghost Poet of Mars” - Melancholy humor. This was so much fun to read, and I love the title!
“Prometheus, Burning” - Fascinating story! Sacrifice.
“Love and Thorns” - Beautifully written braided story about a father and a son. Full circle. Emotional.
“Better World” - Another great sci-fi story!
“The Downloaded Detective and the Swollen Technician” - Another fun title! This one made my science-loving, biology-background heart happy! Action, excitement, and left me thinking about the implications.
If it isn’t obvious, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of Market of Loss as well as checking out Tighe’s other works.
For full review: https://robinknabel.squarespace.com/r...
First off, the intro. It hit home. And I want Matt Tighe to know I saw myself, and I appreciate him for sharing his personal thoughts and feelings in his intro, his sweet dedication, and throughout this book which houses an overarching theme that I believe will be able to find a home and nestle into any reader’s heart.
On my own personal note, the themes of parental loss and unselfish dedication and sacrifice—even after death, stirred deep emotion in me. And even though, as a writer myself, I know that crafting compelling stories takes skill and time, the stories felt as if they were merely plucked from Tighe’s soul and dripped onto the pages for readers to consume and contemplate long after they finish reading. Much like the first collection of work I read by Tighe (Drowning in the Dark), this book hit me hard, and I’m not ashamed to say I had to grab a tissue a few times as I read it. Twice I was moved to put down the book to text my husband and kids.
Tighe’s stories are both clever and heartbreaking at the same time. He joked about his ability to write poetry in his intro, but I’m not sure if he realizes how much his stories are woven with a poetic bent that grabs your heart and won’t let go. Not only that, but all the while he dazzles you with bits of magic, space adventures, and a keen sense of the frailty of the natural world. You’ll learn in the About the Author section that Tighe is an environmental scientist and a professor, so he’s knowledgeable as well as skillful at weaving facts into his work to strengthen it and create stories that feel real.
Despite my gushing about the gut punches I so love, there are also stories that will make you smile and even chuckle a bit. Even though the darker stories are the ones that always seem to stick with me the most, I thoroughly enjoyed the more whimsical sci-fi stories in this collection, too. As a speculative fiction author and publisher, Market of Loss checked off a lot of enjoyment boxes for me.
I also wanted to mention, I was at a book-signing event over the weekend with some fellow authors selling our own books, and I got on the subject of loving Australian authors’ works and found myself gushing about Market of Loss. That’s the sign of a good read!
The last time I read a Tighe collection, I mentioned notes about each story. With the size of this collection, I will focus on my Top 10 Stories and share some thoughts I had during and immediately after reading them. They are in order of appearance in the book.
“The Market of Loss” - I’m 3% into the book and this story is going to break me. OMG I’m trying not to cry in public reading this story. The intro got me, and now this. Matt has a way of absolutely exposing my heart and bringing out feelings and relatability! As a mother and as a daughter, I get this on so many levels. Poetic, slightly bizarre, and absolutely brilliant. My heart. I texted my daughter.
“You Don’t Get to Choose Entanglement” - OMG these stories!!! My heart again!!! I need to text my husband immediately! Wow. Matt knows how to dig his fingers into your chest and extract your heart. I texted my husband and kids after reading.
“Ben Builds Boats” - Another emotion-fest! Nostalgia! An absolutely beautiful and touching story about life and what makes us us. Personal reflection and understanding.
“As Brittle as Granite” - Vulnerability. What a deep and meaningful story hidden in such a clever piece. Tighe does such an amazing job entertaining with his prose and subtly giving you a hidden, deep meaning at the same time. This is a touching story that will resonate with readers. Beautiful.
“Maintenance” - Made me cry! These stories will rip out your emotions in the best way!!!
“The Complete and Utter Drag of Becoming the Self-Taught Ghost Poet of Mars” - Melancholy humor. This was so much fun to read, and I love the title!
“Prometheus, Burning” - Fascinating story! Sacrifice.
“Love and Thorns” - Beautifully written braided story about a father and a son. Full circle. Emotional.
“Better World” - Another great sci-fi story!
“The Downloaded Detective and the Swollen Technician” - Another fun title! This one made my science-loving, biology-background heart happy! Action, excitement, and left me thinking about the implications.
If it isn’t obvious, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of Market of Loss as well as checking out Tighe’s other works.
For full review: https://robinknabel.squarespace.com/r...
Review of advance copy received from Author
“You have legs. Now I have legs. You have a body. This house is my body. What do you think of my new deck? Do you like it?”
—“Heart of the Gestalt” by Matt Tighe in MARKET OF LOSS
Last year I read and loved Matt Tighe’s horror short fiction collection DROWNING IN THE DARK AND OTHER STORIES, so was thrilled to get my mitts on an e-ARC of Tighe’s new fantasy and sci-fi short fiction collection MARKET OF LOSS. Running through all these varied, striking, fantastical stories is a thread of sometimes-human connection and complex familial love. Particular favourites included “As Brittle as Granite,” in which a family will literally crumble from expressing emotion, in contrast to their limestone neighbours—and “Samantha's Encounter with the Giant Hare in the Valley of Unbreakable Vows, and What Came of It,” which deftly interweaves fantasy with the everyday life of a contemporary office worker, including the unforgettably-described Giant Hare (this uncanny creature now lives in my brain somewhere alongside the Deer God from Princess Mononoke.)
*re MARKET OF LOSS, I received a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Re DROWNING IN THE DARK, disclaimer: I was a judge for the Australian Shadows Awards and the Aurealis Awards last year. This review is my personal opinion and does not reflect the opinion of any judging panel, coordinators, or the AHWA or the Aurealis Awards.
—“Heart of the Gestalt” by Matt Tighe in MARKET OF LOSS
Last year I read and loved Matt Tighe’s horror short fiction collection DROWNING IN THE DARK AND OTHER STORIES, so was thrilled to get my mitts on an e-ARC of Tighe’s new fantasy and sci-fi short fiction collection MARKET OF LOSS. Running through all these varied, striking, fantastical stories is a thread of sometimes-human connection and complex familial love. Particular favourites included “As Brittle as Granite,” in which a family will literally crumble from expressing emotion, in contrast to their limestone neighbours—and “Samantha's Encounter with the Giant Hare in the Valley of Unbreakable Vows, and What Came of It,” which deftly interweaves fantasy with the everyday life of a contemporary office worker, including the unforgettably-described Giant Hare (this uncanny creature now lives in my brain somewhere alongside the Deer God from Princess Mononoke.)
*re MARKET OF LOSS, I received a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Re DROWNING IN THE DARK, disclaimer: I was a judge for the Australian Shadows Awards and the Aurealis Awards last year. This review is my personal opinion and does not reflect the opinion of any judging panel, coordinators, or the AHWA or the Aurealis Awards.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I received an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Advance copy or not, I would have bought the book anyway. Absolutely loved it. Even though I'm a dedicated horror reader when it comes to fiction, I enjoyed the variety this collection offered. There were the signature Tighe stories deep with meaning and raw emotion that make you cry (well me anyway), plus a variety of others that make you laugh as well. My favourites are the title story, Market of Loss, Better World, Skins and The Skin Trader. Oh, and I adore Brittle as Granite. I enjoyed the collection as a whole; it was light, dark and all the shades in between, showing how versatile a writer Tighe really is.
Advance copy or not, I would have bought the book anyway. Absolutely loved it. Even though I'm a dedicated horror reader when it comes to fiction, I enjoyed the variety this collection offered. There were the signature Tighe stories deep with meaning and raw emotion that make you cry (well me anyway), plus a variety of others that make you laugh as well. My favourites are the title story, Market of Loss, Better World, Skins and The Skin Trader. Oh, and I adore Brittle as Granite. I enjoyed the collection as a whole; it was light, dark and all the shades in between, showing how versatile a writer Tighe really is.
June 2, 2026
Tighe’s work never, ever disappoints. Poetic, thoughtful and deeply insightful. The stories within this collection are bittersweet and beautiful, and also both fun and engaging. I mean, who doesn’t love a ghost poet on an alien planet, or a giant, weird-looking hare? So many great stories with ‘Ben Builds Boats’ as my favourite. This is by far one of the best collections I’ve read this year. Highly recommended!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Whenever you read a Matt Tighe story, you know you’re in for something special. He has this unique ability to create thought-provoking stories that can reshape how you see yourself and the world. Featuring original and previously published short stories and poems, this collection showcases some of his best work. Highly recommended reading.
June 8, 2026
** I received an ARC for an honest review **
Summary
I was fortunate enough to receive an eARC of the new speculative fiction collection Market of Loss by Australian author Matt Tighe.
Review
Matt Tighe is perhaps better known for his fine touch to the horror genre and crafting short stories full of emotion. Market of Loss is a bit of a different approach for Tighe in this speculative fiction collection.
The stories bear Tighe’s usual handiwork and are both revealing of the characters but also the author and the reader. There is real magic in these tales that range from horror, sci-fi, weird fiction, dark fantasy and even into poetry. This breadth of skill isn’t lost on the reader. Each story is carefully crafted and beautifully executed and aimed to be bittersweet as much as poignant and detailed. These tales are often used like a tool to pull the reader closer, empathise with common emotions and pull those finely tuned strings to make us laugh, cry, feel remore and regret, love and respect, tenderness and aching loss. In this collection, Tighe really shows the strength of his literary skill.
Some of my favourite works included:
A Market of Loss
Ben Builds a Boat
Skins
As Brittle as Granite
Prometheus, Burning
The Person You See
Conclusion
This is a stunning speculative fiction collection that is perfect for fans of Tighe and for new readers seeking honest, heart-wrenching and beautiful stories and poems that resonate with the reader. Highly recommended!
** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **
Summary
I was fortunate enough to receive an eARC of the new speculative fiction collection Market of Loss by Australian author Matt Tighe.
Review
Matt Tighe is perhaps better known for his fine touch to the horror genre and crafting short stories full of emotion. Market of Loss is a bit of a different approach for Tighe in this speculative fiction collection.
The stories bear Tighe’s usual handiwork and are both revealing of the characters but also the author and the reader. There is real magic in these tales that range from horror, sci-fi, weird fiction, dark fantasy and even into poetry. This breadth of skill isn’t lost on the reader. Each story is carefully crafted and beautifully executed and aimed to be bittersweet as much as poignant and detailed. These tales are often used like a tool to pull the reader closer, empathise with common emotions and pull those finely tuned strings to make us laugh, cry, feel remore and regret, love and respect, tenderness and aching loss. In this collection, Tighe really shows the strength of his literary skill.
Some of my favourite works included:
A Market of Loss
Ben Builds a Boat
Skins
As Brittle as Granite
Prometheus, Burning
The Person You See
Conclusion
This is a stunning speculative fiction collection that is perfect for fans of Tighe and for new readers seeking honest, heart-wrenching and beautiful stories and poems that resonate with the reader. Highly recommended!
** This is my personal opinion and does not reflect any judging decisions **
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews