Edited by DW Brownlaw andP. C. Darkcliff

When I reached the end of Dragon Bone Soup, I realized I had just finished my favorite short story anthology I have ever read. As a writer of sci-fi short stories myself, I knew I was going to have to up my game to compete with all these folks.  Especially regarding preciseness and word economy. 

I also realized trying to point out the highlights of the sixteen diverse fantasy and light science fiction stories would result in a very long book review. After all, writers from three continents take readers to dystopian futures  populated by dragons, witches, spirits, elves, trolls, and magicians. But no matter how non-human these beings might seem, every story explores the humanity of even the most exotic of characters. This includes the first-person narrative, "I, Dragon" by David Bowmore.

 I would like to call special attention to the first two stories in the collection, "LA EMBRUJADX" by Carmen Baca  and "The Witch of Wickershaw" by Brandy Bonifas as they both hooked me into this collection straight-away. Other contributors include Steve Carr, P.C. Darkcliff, R.A. Goli, Shawn Klimek, Mark Kodama, Giuseppina Marino Leyland, Zhen Liu, Lynne Phillips, Sam M. Phillips, Daniel Craig Roche, Copper Rose, L.T. Waterson, and G. Allen Wilbanks. 

For readers who like to know about the authors they experience, the editors added a section of interviews at the end of the book with each of the writers describing their craft. Some might think of this section as padding as each story is indeed short, most around 3,000 words or so. (The editors provide a word count for each story in their introductory notes. ) Well, if you're not that interested in all the biographies and writing approaches of the creators,  or maybe only interested in a few of the contributors,  the interviews are not essential reading. I wager, however, that most fellow writers will appreciate the opportunity to read sixteen windows into the creative process. For non-writers, you could think of the interviews  as icing on the cake, if you can imagine icing on bone soup.

If you like sci-fi or fantasy, you won't want to pass up this collection.  Perhaps not every entree will be your cuppa tea, to mix metaphors again, but there will certainly be enough offerings you'll consider special treats.