Dark Magic: Witches, Hackers, & Robots

by Emma Nelson (Editor), Hannah Smith (Editor), Kayla Bashe

Magic is described as science we do not understand and illusions as tricks of controlling audience perspective. Black hat or white hat, good or evil, witches, hackers, and robots work types of magic a little beyond our day-to-day comprehension. And what is more exciting than the inexplicable? DARK MAGIC is all around us. Join us for a thrilling ride.

Genres: Science Fiction

293 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2016

Reviews

[John Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all I would like to thank Goodreads and Emma Nelson and Hannah Smith for the opportunity to read and review their book. As with all anthologies it is a bit harder to do a review on the book as a whole. I have come up with a system which I think is fair and I rate each story. I will say as an overall anthology I rather enjoyed this book and most of the stories contained there in.
That's said Here is how I rated the stories:
Cleaning House 5 stars Great Way to start the book!!
White Stones of Bosherton 5 stars Lovecraftesque.... really liked it!
Annabelle's Apartment 4 stars
Therapy 4 stars
The Boo Hag 5 stars Loved it!!
Saint Katja of the Bloody Hand 5 stars Brilliant!
Heartless 5 stars excellent ending... it made the story
Stages of Grief 4 stars Very enjoyable, but too predictable cost it a star
#Red Video 3 stars good, but not up to the other stories to that point
Feed Back Loop 5 stars Excellent!
The Room that Wouldn't Go 4 stars All I could think of was Harry Potter... but I love Harry Potter
Mexico City 4 star very interesting, but I just seemed detached cost it a star
Customer Service 2 star space filler story... best thing.. it was very short
Gregory's Tree 5 star Loved it!! keep rethinking this one!
The Qubit Jesters 3 stars ???? just kind of odd
The Wasteland 4 stars I really enjoyed it, but was just hoping for a bit more cost it a star
Callia 5 stars Great Story!! could reread this one several more times
The Fascinator 4 stars Very good!
Those Robot Eyes 4 stars Very good!!
The Pencil Trick 5 stars Loved it!! Wanted the story to continue!
Forget Me Not 4 stars Very good
Behold Her 4 stars Ending made the story
Beating Seventeen 4 stars Very good
Iron Mist 5 stars Excellent!!
Salem 5 stars!! great choice to end!!

All in all the book came out to 4.3 stars!! A well done anthology with solid stories!!

[C.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just in time for Halloween, this start-up publishing company has released their first of many books. A collaboration of both new and veteran authors create the perfect spooky collection of short stories to add to your shelf.

This anthology was my first dip into science fiction since reading The Lunar Chronicles, albeit a very different kind than Marissa Meyer’s world. I have to say though, while you probably won’t find me surfing Amazon specifically in the science-fiction section any time soon, this book has opened me up even further to the genre and is definitely something I would return to for a second and third read.

Pros
Something for Everyone: The joy of this anthology is that every single author has a unique flavor to contribute, and the finished result is a satisfying array of tales that will appeal to fantasy and magic lovers like me and all the way up to the pure science fiction nuts. No matter what kind of reader you are, Dark Magic has a twisted tale guaranteed to get you in the Halloween spirit.

World-Building: Though all of the pieces in the book have to do with some spin on the iconic characters and universes of--you guessed it-- witches, hackers, or robots, I never felt like I was reading the same story twice. Each author put their own unique stamp on the classics, revamping them in new and interesting ways that made me wonder why I didn't gravitate toward this genre more often... link: Read More

[Darby Karchut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooh, I really enjoyed dipping into all these stories. Goosebumps galore!

[C Dove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every short story will hold you to finish. Each is different and although several are along tried and true themes all are slightly unique and thoroughly engrossing

[Thomas Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good collection. I wasn't sure what to expect, but Colleen Quinn's creepy and pitch-perfect opening story won me over straight away.