Just in – a great review from Wicked Faerie’s Tales & Reviews: – here’s what they said about my story, “Through the Veil” and the Anthology overall:
The final story, and my absolute favorite of the anthology is Through The Veil by J. Scott Coatsworth. The story is set in a dystopian version of the contemporary world that humans have destroyed through their ignorance. There are those that live on the outskirts and those that live in the inner city where life goes on almost as it did pre-Tsunami times. Colton lives day to day trying to survive the best way he can on what little there is left. Colton is a pre-trans man living in the female body he was born in, making him feel even more fractured then the world around him. Part of his existence is earning enough to visit The Pharmacist to obtain T for injections to help his body change.
On his last visit to her she gives him more T, but also hands him a sword and sends him on a mission to be at Alcatraz. Little does he know how much this is going to change his life. I was hooked on this story within the first paragraph and by the end of the story was wanting a full version so I could get more details and more Colton and Tris. This story didn’t read like a short it had full world building, the typical info-dump you get in the best kind of sci-fi books, and strong main and secondary characters. This story melded all the elements you like in sci-fi books – the tech, the adversity to overcome- with the story-telling elements, and monsters in plain sight that you get in the best urban fantasy books. In other words a really good, solid read.
This entire anthology was one good, solid read from start to finish. There was nothing lacking in any of the stories, other than of course being too short. I’m a character driven reader for the most part having grown up on science fiction and fantasy. I expect specific elements, and depth and growth to my characters based on those types of books. This anthology met all of those expectations and surpassed them even. You definitely don’t want to pass up this anthology because it’s well worth the read!