Crossing Limbo: Deep Moments, Shallow Lives by Shane Joseph
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This collection of compelling short stories matches its title... shallow lives met with deep moments.

I mostly read SF/F but I've taken a liking to Shane Joseph's writing. The characters in this collection all share a number of unsavory features, sometimes just flat with no expectations for their future, and sometimes they're a tight mixture of baddies with tiny redeeming virtues. I like them all for what they are. I'm not supposed to LIKE them, but that's not the point.

We as readers are meant to draw our own judgments, our own ideas about what to take from the stories. I don't mind that at all. It just means a bit of extra work and a bit of extra involvement and investment, but who wants it utterly easy all the time?

I will say one thing about "Shock and Awe". I loved this story the best. It's not every day you get a dog as the main character and this one felt cool all around, from an indictment of humanity and a murder mystery, too. :)

The rest of the stories are all just flawed people encountering twists both big and small.

I can't say that I got all that much actual edification out of them and it was sometimes hard to truly identify, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed the collection as a whole. The writing is compelling.

Thanks to the author for an ARC of this collection!

View all my reviews