Summer of Sci-Fi and Fantasy: Volume One

 Summer of Sci-Fi and Fantasy: Volume One, Dustin Bilyk (ed.), Authors Hand Publishing Company, 2022

This is a group of mostly new fantasy and science fiction stories.

There is a story about a murderous creature attacking a space station. There is a dystopian tale about people having happiness sucked out of them, like they were having all of their blood sucked out of them. Sometimes, a person can be hooked up permanently.

A Las Vegas casino dealer is hooked on a drug called Sueno-Z. There is a nightly "human sacrifice" into a volcano that is part of the Las Vegas Strip. It is all about strange dreams broadcast to millions of people while they are asleep. In another story, an evil necromancer has been brought back to life using unearthly methods. A first contact story revolves around two spaceships orbiting around the same planet, intentionally firing at each other. It is kind of like medieval jousting. Then, they can get together and talk about mining and trade agreements. 

The last story in the book takes place several hundred years from now, after mankind has started to spread throughout the galaxy. An asteroid destroyed most, if not all, life on Earth three centuries previously. For the past fifty years, a lone monk has taken care of a small religious shrine on the Moon. Each day, he dutifully cleans off the moondust, for any pilgrims who might wish to worship there; there are no visitors. One day, the monk receives a message from Headquarters. Abandon the shrine, and come home. What does he do?

Individually, these stories are excellent. There is a good variety of fantasy and science fiction included here. Put together, this collection is very much worth reading.