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On the Martian Way by Harry Gore Bishop. I was surprised to discover afterward that this was first published in 1907, before the Titanic. I would have guessed that it took some inspiration from that event. Overall it is an average story, with some interesting insight into what we would now say is a pretty archaic view on how "shipping" routes between colonies on different planets might look.

Rats in the Belfry by John York Cabot. An eccentric man builds a bizarre mansion and then discovers a portal. This is perhaps a simple precursor to other similar works that have since presented much more expansive ideas based on this concept. Still, this brief story was worth the small investment.

Moxon's Master by Ambrose Bierce. This starts out with "do you really believe that a machine thinks?" No doubt this was a wild statement in the late 1800s, but with AI prevalent everywhere today, it hardly raises an eyebrow. However, this was an interesting relic of a bygone era, complete with outdated perceptions of technology. And the ending, well, still very much relevant in our world today.

I Hate Dragons. This one screams of established/popular authors being able to publish quite literally anything. The postscript does explain that Sanderson basically wrote this as an exercise and people loved it. Would it ever have seen the light of day had it been written by an unknown author? I suspect not. It was moderately entertaining and took only ten minutes to read though.

A Visit to the Moon by George Griffith. I cannot say that this was a particularly good story, but it was an interesting read due to its age. This was written in 1900, the same time as H.G. Wells' serialized novel on the same topic. Some of the details seem quite ridiculous today, but it is fascinating to see how some authors envisioned such a trip the better part of a century prior to when it occurred in reality.

Who would have thought that in 2075, your average 20yo would have a stamp collection and drink mint juleps?

The Darwinian Schooner by W.L. Alden. An interesting idea of a story about a schooner found at sea, but ultimately I felt that it never went anywhere very satisfying. There was potential for a deeper story. Modern authors likely would have taken this concept much further.

Brain Dump. The type of story I would expect from classic science fiction authors like Asimov than from Sanderson. I love classic science fiction, so that is not a negative, it just subverted my expectations. This was enjoyable for its approach, simplicity, and the ensuing debate that it potentially precipitates.

Snapshot. I have only read a handful of Sanderson's fantasy books, so it is quite interesting to read some science fiction. This story gave me vibes of a neo-noir detective story, but with a heavy sci-fi spin. There are some clever ideas here, which reminded me of concepts from several movies that I like, yet the story is still original enough that I did not find it at all predictable.

The Artist of the Beautiful by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I have not read Hawthorne since The Scarlet Letter in high school. This story had promise at the beginning, but ultimately did not go in the direction that I thought it might. However, that is probably not unusual for speculative fiction from so long ago. It was also overly wordy and meandering in a few places, but likely just the style of the author/times.

Polaris of the Snows by Charles B. Stilson. I was not familiar with the author prior to reading this story. It is a fun, pulpy adventure story that takes place in the Arctic - perhaps somewhat of a polar Tarzan. This was nothing special, just a fun read.

The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells. This one is about a door to some sort of alternate reality where life is simple and peaceful. It definitely seems to be a metaphor for different paths in life and making decisions.

Under the Knife by H.G. Wells. A story about a man undergoing an operation, yet is able to perceive what is happening on both a small scale and large scale via an outer body experience. Interesting for a story written in the 19th century. No doubt it was terrifying going into an operation back then, with a very high mortality rate, especially for anything major.

One Time Around? by John Helfers. A pretty basic and uninspired time machine/time travel story.

Three Power Play by Wes Nicholson. This is an alternate history simulation story that basically says, how would history play out differently had Japan attacked southeast Asia instead of Pearl Harbor during World War II. I am skeptical as to the way that the author envisioned this playing out, but it was an interesting story, especially for anyone knowledgeable on that period in history.

Yeshua's Choice by Nancy Virginia Varian. This is an alternate history of sorts about Jesus Christ, had things gone differently for him. Somewhat interesting for that reason, but overall rather underwhelming in my opinion.

Try and Try Again by Pierce Askegren. Somewhat of a sub-par time travel story where different people travel to the same time/place and nothing really happens? I probably missed something important.

Voluntary Committal. This is by far the longest story in the collection, and one of my favorites. It is a story about a teen boy and his autistic younger brother, who has a unique and somewhat mystical hobby. This one also captures a lot of the style and substance that I think would feel very familiar to a Stephen King reader.

My Father's Mask. Maybe the most difficult story to decipher in this collection. It is somewhat of a family story with some bizarre and off-putting content, and it will have you questioning what is actually real. Who is really wearing the masks and why?

Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead. This is a fun story about working as zombie extras filming a George Romero movie. At its heart though, it is a relationship story with a heavy does of comedy. I like that it adds some levity to this collection.

The Widow's Breakfast. Another story that is not exactly horror, but it does evoke an atmosphere of gloominess, and I liked it quite a bit. This is a depression era story about people severely down on their luck and just doing their best to get by during hard times.

Dead-Wood. I am not sure that this even qualifies as a story, many poems are longer than this. Just a very brief folk tale about some phantom trees. I guess it was okay?

Last Breath. A brief story about a curator who is a bit off and collects some odd items for his museum.

The Cape. I suppose that you could call this a supernatural story about a guy who does not seem to be going much of anywhere in life. It is not horror, but dark from a psychological perspective. Apparently this also inspired a series of graphic novels.

In the Rundown. Interesting story. It has somewhat of a true crime aesthetic to it. I was at first a little bit unsatisfied with the ending, but it is one of those where the ending is intentionally left open, leaving the reader to ponder on the possibilities for how it will play out and who will be believed.

The Black Phone. Here it is, the story that was made into a film and expanded the popularity of this collection. A good kidnapping story with a slight supernatural twist. The story is solid, but the movie really expanded upon the source material, while managing to stay within its framework, and also made it darker and creepier. Quite interesting to read Hill's original vision for this story.

Better Than Home. A father-son relationship story, which feels a bit out of place in this collection. Not bad, but also nothing special. It does contain a good dose of baseball (Tiger Stadium was especially nostalgic for me), and there is a somewhat subtle reference to George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, which I had just watched quite recently.

Abraham's Boys. This is a fun and darkly atmospheric story that takes place in times past. I am keeping it very vague because there is a certain joy in discovery while reading it.

You Will Hear the Locust Sing. This is clearly Hill's take on Kafka's The Metamorphosis. This story though, is definitely grosser and becomes very dark. I cannot say that I liked where the author went with this or what the narrative seems to say about certain topics.