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At the Edges
Thirteen short stories ranging from science fiction, thriller, and horror to help you explore the edges of human understanding.
A navy seal travels back in time to change the course of history. A group of college kids faces off against an otherworldly threat. A writer witnesses the paranormal during his annual retreat. A young woman introduces her very strange boyfriend to her unsuspecting parents. A cowgirl discovers all is not what it seems in a ghost town of the wild west.
At The Edges promises the soft embrace of terror that comes with the unknown, along with a few nervous chuckles. Give in to it but be prepared to look over your shoulder before going to sleep.
A navy seal travels back in time to change the course of history. A group of college kids faces off against an otherworldly threat. A writer witnesses the paranormal during his annual retreat. A young woman introduces her very strange boyfriend to her unsuspecting parents. A cowgirl discovers all is not what it seems in a ghost town of the wild west.
At The Edges promises the soft embrace of terror that comes with the unknown, along with a few nervous chuckles. Give in to it but be prepared to look over your shoulder before going to sleep.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 4, 2021
61 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
S.A. Asthana
10 books12 followersS.A. Asthana writes thrilling science fiction and horror tales that often involve robots, aliens, and ghouls. He has a background in technology and has traveled the world extensively. S.A. currently resides in Austin, Texas, with his wife and kids. When not writing, he can be found haunting local bookstores and libraries.
Email him at info@sawritessf.com if you have feedback, questions, or... just want to say hi :-) S.A. would love to hear from you.
You can also find him at:
Website: SAwritesSF.com
Twitter: @AsthanaAuthor
Email him at info@sawritessf.com if you have feedback, questions, or... just want to say hi :-) S.A. would love to hear from you.
You can also find him at:
Website: SAwritesSF.com
Twitter: @AsthanaAuthor
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 3, 2021
Thirteen short stories that range from funny to tragic to spooky and contain lots of aliens!
I enjoyed all the stories in this collection. I found some moving, others had a neat twist, and a couple made me laugh.
Saying that, as with all collections, there were some stories that appealed to me more than others.
My favorite story was Space Wars, not only because it links to the author’s superb Final Wars trilogy, but also because of the somewhat familiar people behind the titular space wars.
The Family Curse: A thoughtful and heart breaking tale of three generations in a family.
Little Green Men: A somewhat gruesome story with a hilarious twist.
That Night: An atmospheric thriller with a Rear Windowesque point of view.
Empty Places: A spooky ghost story.
Asthana shows great range with these tales. Despite ghosts and aliens appearing in most of the stories, there is no crossover in themes. Some of the stories are linked or reference people and places from another story, and I loved these shared universe Easter eggs. I also loved how the stories took place in different countries, different time periods and had lots of characters from different cultures.
At the Edges, with its variety of stories, is satisfying on many levels and I look forward to what the author produces next.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
I enjoyed all the stories in this collection. I found some moving, others had a neat twist, and a couple made me laugh.
Saying that, as with all collections, there were some stories that appealed to me more than others.
My favorite story was Space Wars, not only because it links to the author’s superb Final Wars trilogy, but also because of the somewhat familiar people behind the titular space wars.
The Family Curse: A thoughtful and heart breaking tale of three generations in a family.
Little Green Men: A somewhat gruesome story with a hilarious twist.
That Night: An atmospheric thriller with a Rear Windowesque point of view.
Empty Places: A spooky ghost story.
Asthana shows great range with these tales. Despite ghosts and aliens appearing in most of the stories, there is no crossover in themes. Some of the stories are linked or reference people and places from another story, and I loved these shared universe Easter eggs. I also loved how the stories took place in different countries, different time periods and had lots of characters from different cultures.
At the Edges, with its variety of stories, is satisfying on many levels and I look forward to what the author produces next.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
November 4, 2021
From AI boyfriends (seriously, how do I get one?), and urban legends, to a futuristic war between the armies of two titan billionaires (Tusk and Bekos? I see what you did there), Asthana’s stories make you laugh, pulls you to the edge of your seat and disturbs you long after the stories are read.
One short story, “There’s an App for That” is going to haunt me for a long while. It’s been a while since I enjoyed a good book of short stories, even longer when that book was horror and sci-fi based. Asthana has a talent of sucking the readers in and leaving them wanting more, not with cliffhangers or unanswered questions, but by giving them tapas. Tasty morsels of stories, designed to wet the pallet and delight the reading taste buds. With thirteen of these, it was the perfect meal.
The first story in the book, An Assassin in Time, is a brilliant and amazing appetizer to get you started on your journey. I couldn’t have enjoyed this book more. It was a deliciously creepy ending to the spooky season.
October 11, 2021
There's plenty of variety in this story collection, one of the marks of a pro storyteller. From a time travel assassin to a robot boyfriend to the ghost of grandfather abducted by aliens, Asthana shows great range in here. There's a classic Western in "The Visitor" with its main character that invites all of our biases from the genre before it reveals the betrayal that always comes on the frontier. I was surprised at the humanism around every story. Monsters and Little Green Men kept me guessing about how each story would unfold. Asthana's got a three-novel series up here (Final Wars) on Amazon. This collection shows he's got a rich set of more stories left to tell.
October 5, 2021
At The Edges by S.A. Asthana - This collection of short stories is phenomenal. Each story is unique, intelligent and very well written. The individual storylines are incredibly diverse, yet they all have a relatable thread that captures the reader and draws them into the story. Particularly impressive is the authors ability to adjust his writing style to include details and language of the various locations and diverse characters.
October 4, 2021
Easy to read short stories. Science fiction, fantasy, horror, and some comedy. Each story stood on its own making you think. Little Green Men—that one was scary & hilarious at the same time.
November 3, 2021
I enjoyed all of the stories in this book. One is memorable, and hilarious. A war on Mars. This book has a lot of good stories.
October 5, 2021
Fantastic collection! I loved these shorts, specifically Werewolf. Highly recommended!
December 14, 2021
A random kindle freebie find that turned out all right. A solid collection of short stories, most of them science fiction, but a few veer out to other speculative realms, mostly of horrific persuasion. The story titles never stick with me, so reviewing collections is usually a matter of stating the overall impression, which, in this case, was largely quite good.
There were a few (including the first one and a fecal-themed one) that were most amateurish than others, but there was enough in this slim volume to balance that out. Some interesting ideas, some original takes on old and tried ideas. Some fairly good writing, organic dialogue, etc. Even very noble attempts to do social commentary now and again. Very well edited too.
Overall, fun was had. A quick read too.
There were a few (including the first one and a fecal-themed one) that were most amateurish than others, but there was enough in this slim volume to balance that out. Some interesting ideas, some original takes on old and tried ideas. Some fairly good writing, organic dialogue, etc. Even very noble attempts to do social commentary now and again. Very well edited too.
Overall, fun was had. A quick read too.
February 23, 2024
Some of the stories are rather strange but they are good. A couple are even quite funny. Light easy quick reading
July 29, 2022
Nice collection
This is a nice collection of very short tales running the gamut from straight out horror to science fiction. There were a couple I felt were a little less less than gripping, but all in all, this is a pleasant way to spend a few hours.
This is a nice collection of very short tales running the gamut from straight out horror to science fiction. There were a couple I felt were a little less less than gripping, but all in all, this is a pleasant way to spend a few hours.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews