Alec wakes to find a very odd intruder in his bedroom. It leaves the reader feeling breathless and trapped within its tight writing. Pete Aldin’s “D” is the perfect follow-up to “C”. “C” by Marge Simon is a short and vivid nightmare, as Robert dreams and dreams and dreams again–always of a beautiful woman asking him questions he can’t answer. What Jackson finds is related in a wonderful voice that is folksy and friendly and ultimately renders the end of the story even more chilling. Jackson, a police officer, is asked to investigate the disappearance of the town doctor–a man with unusual habits. “B” by KV Taylor is set in the United States of the 19th century. “A” plunges the reader into the anthology full speed ahead. The story is an eloquent descent into madness, and the world-building is subtle and deft. I don’t want to spoil you!Īlexandra Seidel’s gruesome “A” follows Etia and her twin sister, the narrator, into the world of alchemy and chimaerae. The title of each story is listed at the end of the story, rather than the beginning, so I’ll just be referring to each story by its assigned letter. And while this definitely has a different feel than her Magical Menagerie series, her skilled editorial touch is still obvious.įirst, I should explain that each of the alphabet anthologies has 26 stories, one for each letter of the alphabet. Releasing April 12, this book is a good showcase for Parrish’s literary curatorship. I’m a huge fan of Parrish’s anthologies, from Fae to Corvidae and its companion Scarecrow, so I jumped at a chance to review her latest. I was lucky enough to score an e-ARC of Rhonda Parrish’s latest alphabet anthology, C is for Chimera.

Chimera Effect by Milo James Fowler