With advancing science able to extend and improve the lives of humans through artificial means, the distinction of what is "natural" arises within Arwen Elys Dayton's Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful. 

Starting more in a contemporary setting with innovative methods of saving a boy's life by using his dying sister's organs to a more far-reaching future where people are separated by type to preserve a purity of genetic material for those who wish to continually modify themselves, this collection of six stories demonstrates the changes people are willing to make and accept to their bodies. Exploring what constitutes being human, this anthology of loosely related tales offers a glimpse into what could be while cautioning against abusing the possibilities presented by developing technologies. 

Provoking deeper thought about what should be done instead of simply what could be done, this collection of stories offers a haunting caution for how humanity is both recognizable and could become horribly unrecognizable as technology advances. With a brief look into each of the six epochs presented, the seemingly exponential progression of technology and the ability to incorporate it into the human body consumes a larger portion of the narrative, relegating the human aspects to the sideline as more of an afterthought, which demonstrates the priorities of those within the stories. While a general sense of setting is established across the six tales that are connected by the presence of a single character threaded, majorly or minorly, throughout the narratives, the latter stories in the anthology are weaker in establishing details of the setting, background for terminology, and rules governing the world, adding an element of disjointedness to the collective. 

Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

A sci fi anthology where each subsequent story carries us further in time offering a ‘Black Mirror’ style warning about the abuse of scientific advancement as society strives forward in the quest to achieve perfection.

“Stronger, Faster and More Beautiful” begins simply enough with a new treatment used to heal a dying boy and from there we move forward and watch how this new science goes from being a helping hand to cosmetic madness as the years pass with all the stories connected through a single, controversial Reverend who even gets his own feature story.

The format of this story is interesting because even though we are given snapshots of the world it is enough to track the progression of the science side as well as society’s attitude towards it all giving us everything from fear to uncontrollable vanity and the consequences of such desires. There’s also a bit of real world connection to it in terms of the governments attempts to control its citizens bodies but I’m not sure if that was intentional or just something you can pick up given the recent and increasing fight for personal autonomy.

I did however feel like there needed to be a bit more exposition in the later sections when things were less grounded in reality as the modifications of what it means to be human took over completely because there are a few slang terms and other governmental type organizations thrown in there that I think we’re just supposed to know but it got a little muddled making those some of my least favorite stories.

This is an interesting read for anyone who is a fan of the sci genre who wants to see something that takes science and lets it loose until it catches up with the world as it collapses into madness.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**

I tried to rad this book before it came out but got about halfway through and was honestly very bored. This book was just not for me.

This was so interesting and honestly completely terrifying! i have to say I love what the author did with this story and I know I won't ever forget it.

Dayton does a great job interweaving each part of this book. They were all very different but they had a connecting thread which was Tad. I will say his part was the most terrifying of them all. The first story gave me the creeps when the guy kept talking to his sister, but man Tad's story was just so crazy and something that I can see someone doing when they are at the end of their rope.

I think the 4 stories in the beginning were my favorite though. They each held something sinister and I liked that feel. The last 2 stories were more future sci fi dystopian and I thought they lacked a bit. I understand why the author chose to go this route I mean she had to show what modification would eventually do to humanity, but I got lost a bit when she was describing this new world. They were very short parts so I know she couldn't go into to much detail, but I liked the creepy crazy chapters more.

All in all I think this was pretty fantastic. I liked how Dayton kept the drama at a minimum with each part but kept enough to keep her readers engaged while showing the real villain of the story. This was so much fun and I am looking forward to more from Dayton!