A review by kurezan
Obsolescence: A Dark Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Anthology by Alan Lastufka, Kristina Horner

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 As its subtitle suggests, this short story anthology blends genres, but is primarily in the realms of Science-Fiction/Horror. Almost all its stories had to do with technology in some way or another, whether it be magical looms, enchanting industrial equipment, holographic family members, AI personalities, or the creeping horror of what one might be willing to sell of themselves for the sake of convenience. Comparisons to Dark Mirror seem apt. I detected the possible influence of many other media within the collection, too, including sci-fi staples like The Matrix, The Terminator, 12 Monkeys, and horror classics like Nightmare on Elm Street, Videodrome, The Ring, They Live and newer influences like Upgrade and Titane. Though the DNA of these other works seemed evident to me in these other stories, the authors of the collection took the concepts in different, interesting directions, and I found myself unable to stop reading, excited to devour the next story in the collection in hopes of finding another gem. 

The fun thing about short story anthologies is that if a writing style or concept does not jive with you, you can look forward to reading another that might. My rating for this collection is reflective of my varying levels of enjoyment of the stories within the work. There were some which I really did not enjoy, others which I thought were ill-fitting for the collection, and some I was ambivalent about. That being said, the majority of the collection’s stories I thought were either A) Interesting sci-fi stories or B) Sufficiently scary horror stories with a sci-fi twist. The interesting and enjoyable from this collection far outweighed the negative for me and I think that this would be the case for most prospective readers as well. Some stories that I did not like as much I saw other reviewers list as their favorites. Some of the ones that were my favorites did not make the top list of others. I think there is something for everyone here. As a result of the positives far outweighing the negatives, I would recommend this collection to anyone interested in sci-fi/horror. It introduced me to a lot of promising authors that I will definitely be reading more of. 

Sidenote: Isn't that cover super eye-catching? As soon as I saw it, I thought, wow, I've gotta see what this is about.

Below I have singled out five of my favorite stories of the bunch. (Some spoilers below): 


PREMIUM PLATINUM PLAN by Ai Jiang. One of the heavy hitters of the collection. Horror was oddly gripping and the subject matter was disturbing. Capitalism and convenience pushing us to literally remove parts of ourselves. Our lives and futures being given away for momentary pleasures. Great horror.  As someone who lives in a place with poor shipping times, the temptation of this concept is an interesting thought experiment. 

Sleep Study by Tanya Pell. A nice horror involving several subjects I find interesting. Sleep, dreams, supernatural beings, scientific analysis of supernatural things. Reminded me of Nightmare on Elm Street sometimes, with a unique take. What if your sleep paralysis demons were real?  

 DISC ROT by Adam Cesare. An interesting, oddly nostalgic story about a guy who picks up some flea market DVDs covered in mysterious not-dust. Nice body horror descriptions. Was fun to read the main characters descent. I enjoyed his quirkiness quite a bit. 

THE HARBINGER by Katie Young. A neat found-footage type horror presented through transcripts and emails of a supernatural television show. Enjoyable horror, I just wish it went a bit further. Because of my own found footage biases, it had the potential to have been my favorite of the collection. Reminded me of movies Ghost Watch and Ringu/The Ring.  

555 Raleigh Avenue by Nick Kolakowski. A sci-fi/horror story involving the messiness of time travel and a doomed future. Reminded me of Terminator/12 Monkeys/Dark. I liked the mood and writing in this one quite a bit. Nailed the tone and did some cool things with its concept of internet rumors, creepypasta, time travel, and the horror of everything involved.