Anomaly’s Reviews > Conservation of Shadows > Status Update

It really does feel like settling into a nice pair of comfortable pajamas and laying across a cozy bed when I return to this book. I think there's only one story left, now, and I both want to dive into it and want to save it forever so the book doesn't end.

I hate stopping in the middle of a story, but I just caught myself reading the same sentence over and over because I'm too tired to focus. 😔 Someone needs to invent a way to replace sleep with reading and still get the required rest. 🤭

I am convinced there isn't a single 'bad' story in this book. With only two to go, it's looking like that won't change.

I like Jedao and if I'm not mistaken I'm pretty sure I saw his name pop up in something adjacent to Ninefox Gambit. Kind of hope so, because I want to see more of him~ I'm fairly convinced this story was set in the same universe, given the whole mystical calendar system and all that which I think I read about in a review once...?

So far, there hasn't been a single story I dislike in this collection. Some I enjoy more than others, but none I don't like.

That one was closer to a novella, but I adored it.

That one needed maybe twice the pages to really grow its legs and realize its true potential. I see what the intention was, I think, and I loved the concept but the execution left me severely underwhelmed.

Oh, wow, that was horrific in the best ways. A little on the horror side, a lot on the creative lore side. And yet another where I absolutely did not see the ending coming at all.

Also, I'm noticing that while I normally can't stand repetitive dialogue tags (lots of 'said') it mostly seems to work with the flow of this author's writing. I notice it, but don't cringe in annoyance the way I normally would.

I didn't think I was connecting with this one, and then it hit me straight in the emotions. Another short story that's going to keep me thinking about it for a while.

Hmm. I thought I know where that one was going, but I was only partially right... and partially very deeply wrong. The ending felt too rushed, like perhaps it had been written with a word count limit and the author got a bit too into the lead-up. Wish it had been a bit longer, to offer a more satisfying end, but I was deeply engrossed in the rest of it.