Obsolescence: A Dark Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Anthology

by Alan Lastufka, Kristina Horner, Kealan Patrick Burke

OBSOLESCENCE is a collection of short stories about horrifying or fantastical interactions with technology.

All leaps in technology are scary. Mysterious. Misunderstood. Until they slowly creep into our daily lives and become impossible to get rid of. Like an evolving parasite.

The broken cell phone that can only text with your dead husband. The backyard tire swing that becomes a portal to another world. The Radio Shack Walkie-Talkies that pick up an alien GPS…

In OBSOLESCENCE, technology gets repurposed, subverted, and redefined.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Anthologies, Dystopia, Fiction

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2023

About the author

ALAN LASTUFKA writes horror, supernatural, and magical realism stories. His short fiction has been praised by Writer’s Digest. The screenplay adaptation of his story, “The Fort,” was an Official Selection at numerous film festivals.

Alan is the co-founder of DFTBA Records with Hank and John Green.

When he's not writing, Alan is one-half of the rock band The Caulden Road with bandmate Christian Caldeira, and enjoys walking through Oregon's beautiful woods with his partner, Kristen.

Reviews

[Casey Masterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a paperback copy as a contributor gift from the Kickstarter.

I was rejected from this anthology (my story is actually on Shortwave's website.) When you read the things you weren't accepted to, there is often an unconscious tendency to go, "Well, THIS story wasn't that great, so I SHOULD have been in there" before swallowing it down and accepting reality. I never go into one of these expecting to do that, but it happens.

With all this in mind, there is absolutely no story that I felt was lackluster in any way. Alan and Kristina curated such an amazing anthology with the best voices in horror. Each and every one of these stories was effective, powerful, and terrifying in their own right. I am truly honored to have backed such a momentous project, and even more happy to have delved into the dark recesses of the minds that conjured its makeup.

I continue to be in awe of all that you do, and all that you both have accomplished, Alan and Kristina. Bra-fucking-vo.

[Stay Fetters · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The mother in the manual. Just look at her. Just look. Her half-closed eyes. Her smile. A lactating Mona Lisa.

Black Mirror meets your worst nightmare!

Technology has always freaked me out. As time goes on and technology advances even more on a daily basis, it makes my mind start to drift into the darker side of life. There are some things that we shouldn't have messed with and this is one of those things that we should have stayed far away from.

Like any other volume that contains short stories, some were good and others were underwhelming. Some stories made me want to unplug everything that was inside my house. They just really made me uncomfortable and I loved that. Clay Chapman's story will forever haunt me. Ugh! I'm shuddering just thinking about it.

Obsolescence was an okay compilation of short stories. I love reading things like this because now I have new authors to obsess over.

[Maisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of really fun tech-based horror stories by authors I already loved as well as some new ones I'm excited to read more from. Notanle favorite stories were:
The Harbinger by Katie Young - because I'm trash for mixed media and found footage horror
Planned Obsolescence by Nicole Dieker - because Linguistics is my hyperfixation and we love a good fourth-wall-break
Secretshit.txt by David Niall Wilson - because it reminds me of an adult version of the kind of scary stories I was obsessed with as a kid

[David Swisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better anthologies I've read in a bit. Technology based dark fiction stories from some of the best hauthors in the business today. A whole lot of stand outs but to narrow it down the absolute best for me were secretshit.txt by David Niall Wilson, Hush, Little Sister by Lyndsey Croal, and The App by Kealan Patrick Burke

Definitely a stand out anthology I'll keep on my shelf to re-read many times

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good anthology, and this was that and then some. Black mirror vibes, which is right up my alley. All-around excellent storytelling here. It also introduced me to some authors I have not read yet, and I will be reading more from them in the future.

[Summer Yasoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I backed this on kickstarter and I am SO glad I did. Loved nearly every story (2 or 3 were underwhelming but still enjoyable), reminiscent of Black Mirror and Love, Death + Robots.

[David Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I have a story in this collection. I won't be reviewing my story, but I have read the book in its entirety and it requires comments. First, the presentation is the most elegant I've ever seen on a trade edition. The book came in a special box that matched the cover art, with bookmarks and swag. There were multiple versions of the cover art... spectacular and well above the norm in quality.

I really enjoyed the foreword by Naomi Grossman, who I loved in American Horror Story. Unlike so many other forewords, she spoke directly to the reader about horror, and stories, and didn't make it sound like a book report with comments on every story.

My general grading scale for an anthology is pretty simple. If there are three or more stories in a book that I remember and felt were superior, that's a good book. Obsolescence goes well beyond this. I felt as if there wsa a strong theme through most of the stories, also a difficult thing to pull of with a variety of literary voices.

Theere were five stories that stood out for me in particular, Hailey Piper's "Why a Bicycle is Built for One," "The Best Buggy Whip Ever," by David Lee Zweifler, "Sleep Study," by Tanya Pell, "555 Raleigh Avenue," by Nick Kowalski, "Everywherever" by Johny Compton, and my absolute favorite, "Premium Platinum Plan," by Ai Jiang. That story gives me strong Philip K. Dick vibes and I could very easily see it developed into a Bladerunner like movie, or a streaming series. It also has the same feel as Ai's novella I AM AI, also from Shortwave Publishing.

This book needs to be read, and the book (and several stories) need to be on reading lists and award ballots in the coming year. Do not sleep on this collection. Kudos to Alan andf the entire crew at Shortwave Publishing.

Highly Recommended.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleased to have been a Kickstarter supporter for this collection!

A good selection of tech-related short stories. I expected more horror than sci-fi, but I'm still happy! There were quite a few that made me think about all the possibilities with technology, and I appreciated none of them was just a broad "technology bad lol".

My favorites were: "The Invisible Cure" by Gemma Church, "Hush, Little Sister" by Lyndsey Croal, and "Partingwords.exe" by Caitlin Marceau. Other really good ones: "The Harbringer" by Katie Young, "The App" by Kealan Patrick Burke, and "All Our Fertile Bones" by Teagan Olivia Sturmer.

[B P · Rating 3 out of 5]

An anthology with variety, if this is your first time looking at horror from a technological aspect, there will be something to enjoy and hopefully branch off from. However, if you're a little obsessed with horror/sci-fi like myself and many others, you'll be able to see the conflicts and resolutions coming from a mile away, with the tropes having been done better in other written stories and/or media. Would definitely recommend to anyone dipping their toes into the genre, for enthusiasts I would look elsewhere. My favorites of the collection are Mother of Machines by Emma E. Murray and The Song Of Stridulation by Sarah Tantlinger.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm usually underwhelmed by anthologies but I keep trying them. This was one of the best I've read. Maybe because technology horror truly freaks me out, but I enjoyed most of these stories.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. One of the best anthologies I've ever read. While there were a few stories that didn't resonate with me, I have a list of stories that I will never stop thinking about.
They are as follows (in the order they appear):
Why a Bicycle is Built for One - Hailey Piper
The Invisible Cure - Gemma Church
Premium Platinum Plan - Ai Jiang (the reason I bought this anthology)
PARTINGWORDS.EXE - Cailtin Marceau
The Living Ghost - Laurel Hightower
We Become Godlike Each Time We Bleed - Eric LaRocca

Chilling dystopia, mindbending sci-fi, a scatter of fantasy...all of it so well done. I will be rereading some of these stories in the future.

[Amanda Esthelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

The range in these stories was pretty great, it was a really good mix of sci fi and fantasy all laced with a sense of horror underneath.

I thought there were a lot of gems in this collection, there were some that I absolutely adored and got me thinking. I didn’t like all of the pieces in this, and I think the distribution of stories made the middle portion a bit of a chore to get through.

I believe the stories on their own as a whole would make this a four star read but the distribution really brought it down

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories I loved the most:
Premium Platinum plan - Ai Jiang /Linghun/
All Our Fertile Bones - Teagan Olivia Sturmer
Why a Bicycle is Built for One - Hailey Piper / Queen of Teeth/
We Become Godlike Each Time We Bleed - Eric LaRocca / Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke/
Pump and dump – Clay McLeod Chapman / Ghost Eaters/
The Harbringer - Katie Young
The App - Kealan Patrick Burke /Sour Candy/

3.5 stars, but you can't really rate a short story collection

[Chuck Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great anthology! This collections fires on all cylinders and includes some really great work covering a wide array of topics, themes, and ideas. Highly encourage you to check this collection out if you’re into the darker side of things.

[William Picard · Rating 4 out of 5]

My name is in the book in the special thanks section so, you should read it! But honestly, if you like sci-fi/horror short stories that’s the book for you!!

[Sam Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE HORROR ANTHOLOGIES, AND I AM LIVING FOR OBSOLESCENCE.

First, I am so thankful to Shortwave Publishing and editors Alan Lastufka and Kristina Horner for sending me a gorgeous finished copy of this gem that has made all my spooky nightmares come true. Obsolescence is out now, and I highly recommend you grab your copy today.

Some of my favorite authors contributed spooky pieces to this collection, including Gabino Iglesias, Clay Macleod Chapman, Johnny Compton, Eric LaRocca, Hailey Piper, and Al Jiang!

There's paranormal horror, mutilated bodies, brutal viruses, and many other instances of found footage and jump scares.

[Tanya Pell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclosure: I have a story in this anthology called "Sleep Study".

First, let us address the obvious fact that this book is stunning. The original font, the gorgeous cover art, and the incredibly creepy cover under the dust jacket. Glorious.

Some absolutely bonkers and terrifying stories in this anthology from both familiar names and new authors. Some will have you eyeing your phone with even more suspicion and others will have you seriously rethinking some of your standard devices.

A few of my personal favorites include "The Best Buggy Whip You Ever Saw" by David Lee Zweifler, "The Invisible Cure" by Gemma Church, and "Premium Platinum Plan" by Ai Jiang.

[J.L. DuRona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great anthology! The best stories had a real Twilight Zone vibe. Some of the them felt like they ended either too abruptly or that the writer didn't quite know how to stick the landing, but overall it's an excellent collection!

[Luke Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun collection! If you like smart or chilling sci-fi stories this is a good fit for you. I certainly enjoyed it. Rather than give an overall picture of the anthology as a whole I decided to say a little something about each story.

My favorite stories:
Why a Bike is Made for One, Sleep Study, The Invisible Cure, Premium Platinum Plan, The Harbinger, and Secretshit.txt.

WHY A BIKE IS MADE FOR ONE
Hailey Piper

Boy, was this one outstanding. Haunting, horrible, short and sweet. A very clever satirization of the technological maxim to “save time” and get there faster. Get where? Ride a bike. Take it slow. Lest we become a mindless mass of movement. 5/5

Moral of the story: take the stairs. Smell the flowers.

THE BEST BUGGY WHIP YOU EVER SAW
David Lee Zweifler

Robot bad.

Moral of the story: robot bad. 4/5

HARVEST
Christi Nogle

This one didn’t connect with me. I couldn’t find the story and the halting uneven tone made me feel like the story was flipping through different television channels. 2/5

Moral of the story: don’t watch TV? I don’t know. I don’t get it.

THE INVISIBLE CURE
Gemma Church

Man. This is what I love about sci-fi adjacent horror. The fear isn’t being killed or eaten by some monster but something less discernible or much worse: losing your soul, losing yourself.
5/5

Moral of the story: Take a mental health day.

JUSTis
Rob Hart

This one’s for the anarcho-capitalists. 4/5

Moral of the story: Pay your taxes.

SLEEP STUDY
Tanya Pell

Spooky. Definitely the scariest so far. Pell can somehow write jump scares. Good clean fun.

Moral of the story: Don’t go into STEM.

5/5

IRINA’S CHOICE
Ute Orgassa

Kudos because I couldn’t write in a second language. It’s fitting because this reads exactly like a German folk tale where we are warned not to ask questions about mystical loom-work.

Moral of the story: don’t go randomly homicidal on your magic German girlfriend

2/5

PREMIUM PLATINUM PLAN
Ai Jiang

Jiang cleverly gets us to think about what our convenience really costs us. What part of ourselves are we giving up? What part of our life? What part of our dreams? 4/5

Moral of the story: cancel your Amazon account

THE HARBINGER
Katie Young

This is exactly the kind of show I would love. I appreciated getting a behind the scenes look of a Lore/myth-busters TV show just without the curse of a mysterious cryptid. 5/5

Moral of the story: always CC production staff.

HOMEGROWN
Alex Woodroe

Ew.

Moral of the story: eat your veggies.

3/5

THE APP
Kealan Patrick Burke

This gave me a new phobia.
3/5

Moral of the story: learn to live with your fears.

ALL OUR FERTILE BONES
Teagan Olivia Sturmer

Loved the setting. I didn’t get the connection however, there are real ways that technology punished and rewards others at the cost of some. The cost of the plow didn’t make any sense to me. For all the hunter-gatherer apologists, they could have certainly had a time to shine.

Moral of the story: start a garden.

3/5

HUSH LITTLE SISTER
Lyndsey Croal

Similar energy to another story just with a little bit more of an optimistic outlook. An interesting exploration of loss and family, just seems like trodden ground. It just takes a lot of convincing for me to go for sentient and conscious machines that are persons.

Moral of the story: don’t forget to charge your sister before you go out.

3/5

THE BIRDS SANG IN BOTH WORLD
Simon Kewin

It’s an interesting setting. It just feels like this is a familiar story by now. I don’t like to be told what is happening, I’d prefer to see it myself. My major quibble is that ultimately truth is more beautiful than fiction after all.

Moral of the story: Take the red pill.

2/5

DISC ROT
Adam Cesare

Cesare must have read “The App.”

Moral of the story: Clean your room.

4/5

SECRETSHIT.TXT
David Niall Wilson

Directed by Steven Spielberg starring Corey Feldman. This was just good clean fun!
4/5

Moral of the story: Infowars was right all along

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE
Nicole Dieker

Your tongue isn’t comfortable in your mouth. You can see your nose. It’s just that the whole time. That’s not even what obsolescence means. It might just be me but this style doesn’t do it for me.

0/5

ONE THING AT A TIME
Gabino Iglesias

Unfortunately this seemed to me to kind of tread the same territory as sleep study just in a less gripping way. The two stories seemed too similar to put together in an anthology and it seemed that Sleep Study executed on the concept much more effectively.

2/5

Moral of the story: donate to your local goodwill

MOTHER OF MACHINES
Emma E. Murray

I love a good story where as the last sentence tumbles through my consciousness the only thing I can conjure up is a “what the hell?” It’s a meaningful question to ask what is our relationship to machines? I should hope it is a little less My Strange Addiction. Weird and wonderful.
4/5

Moral of the story: check your daughter’s journal for provocative drawings of heavy machinery

PUMP AND DUMP
Clay McLeod Chapman

The eternal mystery of why men have nipples is solved at long last and the answer is eldritch Gatorade. Clay sure can write. 4/5

Moral of the story: leave the mothering to the mothers

FACT CHECK
Louis Evans

The line “it made cupcakes taste like vegan cupcakes” may be the best metaphor I’ve ever read. This just happens to be at the intersection for several geek fixations for me. An interesting exploration of a democratized and relativized world of journalism. Spoiler: it sucks.

4/5

Moral of the story: delete your Reddit account

THE SONG OF STRIDULATION
Sara Tantlinger

Bugs. Why did it have to be bugs? What do you mean the big megacorporation was the bad guy the whole time?

Moral of the story: only get organic and locally sourced organ transplants.

2/5

PARTINGWORDS.EXE
Caitlin Marceau

Nice.

Moral of the story: Move on. Quickly.

3/5

THE LIVING GHOST
Laurel Hightower

This reminds me of a story called the Ziggurat by Gene Wolfe. It has the sense of conspiracy and perhaps the faint suggestion losing your mind. You aren’t sure which way is up and it really taps in to the new fears and sleep-deprived psyche of the new parent experience. It is slightly undercut but some skilled dialogue but overall a great story that stayed with me.
4/5

Moral of the story: establish firm boundaries with your in-laws.

WE BECOME GODLIKE EACH TIME WE BLEED
Eric LaRocca

Why children should be begotten and not made. Children are not objects for the good of their parents. This is exactly the cyberpunk body horror I was hoping for. There’s a lot of relevance to the current moment.

Moral of the story: only get a surgery if it’s medically necessary.

3/5

555 RALEIGH AVENUE
Nick Kolakowski

This reminded me of a story that would have been written by a classic SF writer in the 60s where it was obvious he thought there was going to be nuclear war. Interesting questions abound in this grim but humorous entry.

Moral of the story: Get help. You have so much to live for.

4/5

EVERYWHEREVER
Johnny Compton

Not bad, I just don’t care for extended navelgazing.

Moral of the story: drive sober or get pulled over

2/5

[S.E. Martens · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories in this collection are short, quick reads that meld sci-fi and horror. Most were pretty solid, some didn't work for me - that's always the dice you roll with a multi-author collection, though.

My favorites were:

Sleep Study by Tanya Pell - a very creepy horror story set at a sleep clinic. This was an effective horror tale and I wanted more!

The Harbinger by Katie Young - a paranormal investigation show uncovers a spooky clip that's a little too real.

Hush, Little Sister by Lyndsey Croal - what if you could keep your deceased loved ones around as holographic ghosts? An interesting idea. Very sad.

partingwords.exe by Caitlin Marceau - what happens when you allow an AI access to all of your departed loved one's online profiles and applications, and then allow it control over your futuristic smart home system? Maybe nothing good. This was sort of the opposite of Hush, Little Sister but I quite enjoyed both of them.

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technology’s role as a double-edged sword is an often-explored theme in horror. Many writers have examined what happens when tech overwhelms humanity. In the anthology Obsolescence, editors Alan Lastufka and Kristina Horner bring a variety of terrifically frightening stories that explore the role of tech in the world and the myriad ways the theme can be interpreted.

You can read Zachary Rosenberg's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Aaron Esthelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book if it was paced better it would have been a 4 star read. There is a lot of fantastic stories in this one but the great ones are at the end. The good ones were in the beginning. The downright terrible ones were in the middle. I recommend that if you plan on reading this read the first paragraph or two of the story and if it doesn't connect skip to the next one. There is some gold in here, I just wish it was spaced out a bit more so that it wasent mostly on the backend making the middle a slog

[John Keegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really interesting collection of techno-horror stories that could easily be the basis of some solid Black Mirror episodes. My favorite story is about a sleep study that goes very, very wrong. But there are plenty of gems in this collection worth reading. Highly recommended!

[Mila Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a good read if you have patience. The storyline had its moments, but it took a while to get to the point. Some chapters were really engaging, while others dragged on unnecessarily. The characters were interesting, but not enough to make it a page-turner. It’s a mixed bag.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Especially love the dark sci-fi aspects of the short stories. Reminds me of the Electric Dreams mini series based on the works of Philip K Dick. Definitely some 5 star stories here that gave me chills.

[val | starrynight.reads ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know what? While it took me forever to read all of these stories, I really liked them. They are strong, and creepy and dystopian. Such a great concept for an anthology.

[Erin Crane]

I felt very meh about the stories, so I decided not to continue.

[Mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Song of Stridulation ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Partingwords.exe⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Living Ghost ⭐️⭐️⭐️
We Become Godlike Each Time We Bleed⭐️⭐️⭐️ (eughhhh)
555 Raleigh Avenue⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Everywherever⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️