The Stars Will Fall is a collection of speculative fiction short stories by Brian Reindel. One eye-catching element of this book is the number of stories included, a whopping thirty-four. Not only do you have the staples of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, you also have sub-genres of fable, apocalyptic, cosmic horror, and others all contained in one book. For a speculative reader, you’d be hard-pressed to find a story that doesn’t cover your favorite genre.
Most of the stories are short, not quite flash fiction, but close. A variety of tones and themes are explored. In general, the tale’s tone matches the genre, so the fable is written in a matter-of-fact style. The author claims in the introduction there’s no hidden agenda, but clearly his aim is to entertain.
Each reviewer is biased, and I’m no different. In general, I preferred the science fiction entries. “The Backrooms,” “A Rocket Ride to Nowhere,” and “It’s Better Left Unsaid” all deserve mention. My favorite two were “One Billion Years in a Day” and “The Greatest Unknown.” The first is hard science-fiction that might very well happen one day. “The Greatest Unknown” is a wistful, excellent character study about our planet.
A few horror stories also topped my favorites list. In “Fair Weather Friend,” the plot and voice come together like elephant ears and carnival music to present one the scariest entries in the book. And “The Inheritance” is a study in how patterns repeat from generation to generation.
Both swords and sorcery and modern fantasy are represented. I prefer urban fantasy, which led me to rate “Address Unknown” as my favorite offering in the book. Solid endings are hard to write. The story pays off its clever idea in all the best ways possible. I’ll not forget this one for a while.
From sinking islands to people trying to avoid an alien incursion in northern Michigan to a place where overdue library books are a crime, The Stars Will Fall covers it all.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stars-Will-Fall-Collection-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B0BSCNJXHV