3.5 stars

Being newer to the sci-fi and fantasy world, I thought this would be a good way to get a taste of a variety of authors in one go. It also reminded me why I'm wary of short stories - they leave me wanting more!

Like any collection, some offerings were more appealing than others. Running the gamut from gimmicky (a story told only through motel reviews) to dark (a young girl disappears into another world where she's forced to sort human hands), I found the collection as a whole enjoyable. The strongest offerings for me were from Becky Chambers (The Tomb Ship) about a space traveler with a moral dilemma and The Cold Hill Side by Seanan McGuire about a disappearing island.

I found the cover of this book misleading as its visuals lean fantasy but this collection is much more the realm of speculative fiction. I only remember one or 2 stories that I would categorize as fantasy. Fine by me, but others may feel differently if they were looking for more fantasy.

This anthology is full of stories about, as you might expect, lost worlds and mythological kingdoms. I thought they might all be pretty Alice-esque with portals and whatnot, but I was impressed with how many different ways the authors were able to explore the theme. There's a lot of fantasy here, some sci-fi, and so much great writing.

Short story collections are my jam, but I'm used to anthologies containing stories that are a fairly even distribution from two to five stars, so I was <i>very</i> impressed with how top-heavy this was due to caliber of writing. I picked this up because I love Becky Chambers and Seanan McGuire and was delighted to discover a bunch of new authors.

<b>Five star stories:</b>
<i>The Long Light at Sea</I> by An Owomoyela
<i>The Cleft of Bones</I> by Kate Elliott
<i>The Voyage of Brenya</I> by Carrie Vaughn
<i>Down in the Dim Kingdoms</I> by Tobias S. Buckell
<i>On the Cold Hill Side</I> by Seanan McGuire
<i>The Tomb Ship</I> by Becky Chambers
<i>There, She Didn’t Need Air to Fill Her Lungs</I> by Cadwell Turnbull

<b>Almost but not quite five stars:</b>
<i>The Voyage of Brenya</I> by Carrie Vaughn
<i>Those Who Have Gone</I> by C. C. Finlay
<i>The Orpheus Gate</I> by Jonathan Maberry

<b>Four stars</b>
<i>Comfort Lodge, Enigma Valley</I> by Charles Yu
<i>An Account, by Dr. Inge Kuhn, of the Summer Expedition and Its Discoveries</I> by E. Lily Yu
<i>Out of the Dark</I> by James L. Cambia
<i>Endosymbiosis</I> by Darcie Little Badger
<i>The Return of Grace Malfrey</I> by Jeffery Ford

<b>Three stars</b>
<i>The Expedition Stops for the Evening at the Foot of the Mountain Pass</I> by Genevieve Valentine
<i>Hotel Motel Holiday Inn</I> by Dexter Palmer
<i>Pellargonia: A Letter to the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology</I> by Theodora Goss

In an age where there is little of the world that remains unexplored, is there still space for the "Here Be Dragons" type stories of Atlantis, El Dorado, Shangri-La, etc? This collection of short stories aims to answer that question and I think it does a pretty good job of it.

I was a little nervous as I didn't really jive with the first 2 or 3 stories, but ultimately there were far more hits than misses for me. I was surprised by the percentage of sci-fi leaning stories versus fantasy leaning ones. I was expecting more fantasy, but I would categorize most of the stories as sci-fi or sci-fantasy. That being said, I think it kind of fits because the two most unexplored places of our time are the ocean and space both of which, to me, feel more science fiction than typical fantasy.

I particularly loved:
• Comfort Lodge, Enigma Valley (Charles Yu) - a series of motel guest reviews get strange
• Down in the Dim Kingdoms (Tobias S. Buckell) - a take on civilization at the center of the Earth that gets dark
• Those Who Have Gone (C.C. Finlay) - not going to lie, this one got to me because I am terrified of the desert
• The Orpheus Gate (Jonathan Maberry) - ghosts, portals to second dimensions, physics, and real life scientists and historical figures make for a fascinating conversation
• On the Cold Hill Side (Seanan McGuire) - a disappearing and reappearing island off the coast of Maine and a protagonist who works for the US government to weaponize folklore
• Pellargonia: A Letter to the journal of Imaginary Anthropology (Theodora Goss) - the interruptions and footnotes got a little excessive for the length of the story in my opinion, but I still loved the premise of a group of high schoolers accidentally creating a new country and it getting out of control

Like most short stories, these left me wanting more! What happens next?? I’m so e cases wanting more was a good thing but for some of the stories, I felt the ending was just too abrupt. I don’t want to guess what happens to the characters. I was only familiar with a few of the authors so I’m not sure if some of these tie into larger stores but I guess I’ll have to find out.

LWaMK is a collection of speculative stories that center around the idea of lost places being found, or traveling to worlds that exist in some pocket of unreachable reality and so on. It’s a fun concept, that’s for sure.

Some of the stories lack a sense of setting because of the way they’re told (i.e. through customer reviews) though credit must be given to their different formats as it adds some variation to the book as a whole. I have a few (okay, maybe more than a few) favourites: Down in the Dim Kingdoms, Out of the Dark, Endosymbiosis, The Orpheus Gate, The Return of Grace Malfrey, The Tomb Ship and Pellargonia. These ones have drawn me in either because they make me more curious about the world the stories inhabit and/or the characters have made such distinct and interesting decisions that I want to know more about them.

Now, a tangent: I think the cover is doing the book a disservice. A majority of the stories could (primarily) be categorized as sci-fi, a few as fantasy and even fewer in that supernatural realm. Even though the cover is a good concept and follows the direction of uncovering lost land, it reads "fantasy" to me and as such made me expect more fantasy stories. We should not judge books by their covers but damnit do I think they affect our expectations of the book. While I wish there’s a different cover that reflects the broad speculative scope of the book, I understand that the main intention of a business is to make money, and for publishers, fantasy is easier to market/sell than sci-fi, hence this cover.

Thanks to Netgalley and Grim Oak Press for providing me with the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Lost Worlds & Mythological Kingdoms" is a fine collection of stories written by an even finer selection of authors. To be fair, each story was firmly in my comfort zone in terms of writing styles, content, and characters, so they all had an advantage! I only wish the words "Volume 1" was tagged onto the title - I'd love to throw myself into another volume.

My thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

At the outset, this seemed like an ideal book for me to pick up, a collection of short fiction around the concept of lost worlds, but unfortunately it just didn't really live up to my expectations.

There are some very good authors here, some of whose other work I've enjoyed very much, but nothing here really grabbed me. Likewise, at times, the collection didn't seem to know what it wanted to do and there was no feeling of theme all the way through. There were a number of stories which were more SF than fantasy (the Becky Chambers story, one of the better ones in my view, was decidedly far more this) and that didn't quite seem to fit with the supposed premise. I was more than a little disappointed, to be honest.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

John Joseph Adam’s is a leading SF editor and anthologist and he has assembled a stellar group of authors for this lost worlds anthology. I found many of the stories excellent but judged the overall effort somewhat uneven. Some stories were slight, albeit entertaining, like “Comfort Lodge Enigma Valley”, a series of quirky hotel reviews which offer no explanation or conclusion but do intrigue and entertain. I found a good chunk of the book less entertaining, with many of the stories grim and devoid of hope; I want at least some new worlds to provide wonder and positivity. I also found several of the stories to finish before a big reveal a big reveal, to end rather than conclude. The anthology concluded, however, on a strong note, with welcome stories by Becky Chambers, Theodora Goss, and Cadwell Turnbull, which all worked well for me.

"From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea to Journey to the Center of the Earth, from the fabled island of Avalon to the lost oasis of Zerzura, from The Land That Time Forgot to the golden city of El Dorado, storytellers have long imagined what exists beyond the edges of the map.

The need to seek and discover the unknown is embedded in who we are, no matter the culture or era. To celebrate this sense of wonder, award-winning editor John Joseph Adams has gathered together some of the best Science Fiction and Fantasy writers working today, collecting adventure and mystery in this spectacular anthology. With original contributions from Kate Elliott, Tobias S. Buckell, Dexter Palmer, E. Lily Yu, Jonathan Maberry, and a dozen more, there are short stories sure to enthrall every reader.

Explore the rich tradition begun centuries ago with this all-new compilation full of imagination and delights. What lies beyond the edge of the unknown? Only you, brave reader, can find out.

Featuring new tales by today's masters of Science Fiction and Fantasy:

Tobias S. Buckell
James L. Cambias
Becky Chambers
Kate Elliott
C.C. Finlay
Jeffrey Ford
Theodora Goss
Darcie Little Badger
Jonathan Maberry
Seanan McGuire
An Owomoyela
Dexter Palmer
Cadwell Turnbull
Genevieve Valentine
Carrie Vaughn
Charles Yu
E. Lily Yu"

I really can't pick an author whose story I am most excited for. Just look at the roster!

Arc Copy...It is a good, decent anthology of various different genres across the Sci-fi and Fantasy spectrum. In-addition with the common-tying theme of venturing into an unknown and often weird "other world", which I enjoyed.

A very interesting read that took the reader through all of the classic fantasy lands. If you're a fan of fantasy or imaginary lands, and want to revisit some of your favorites, I would definitely recommend checking out this book!

Note: Thank you to Netgalley & publishers for allowing me access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was excited to read this anthology, as I have read a lot of anthologies over the years (especially in college) and enjoyed many. However, although these stories are well-written, they are lackluster and borderline boring. This opinion might be my personal taste, which is why I am giving it three stars (I didn’t love it, but you might). I will say, my favorite of the stories is The Orpheus Gate by Jonathan Maberry.

A series of stories exploring those worlds found beyond the edges of the map. Some of my favourite stories were:

The Voyage of Brenya by Carrie Vaughn. A story about Brenya, a young girl from a Norse like island that is being plagued by raiders. She sets out across the sea to the West to confront her Gods and ask them for help.

Comfort Lodge, Enigma Valley by Charles Yu. Series of motel guest book entries documenting their time in the Comfort Lodge, which isn't exactly the most comforting motel out there. In fact it might have a gateway to another dimension, with people going missing and then reappearing at random intervals. Just don't blame the staff ok? It's not their fault.

The Orpheus Gate by Jonathan Maberry. Do you believe in faeries? Ghosts? Could these mythical beings, these geniuses of our world, actually be from other dimensions, slipping through into ours? This combined history with portals and physics and really pushed all my buttons. It reads almost like a Blake Crouch thriller with added Conan Doyle.

On the Cold Hill Side by Seanan McGuire. A mysterious island suddenly reappears off the coast of Maine, surrounded in folklore and stories. It's an island that seems to disappear and reappear throughout history, and the inhabitants are a strange bunch frozen in time.

Overall I thought the anthology was well put together, which an interesting collection of stories that covered the varied topic of world's. As with every anthology, there's going to stories I prefer over others but on the whole I think this would appeal to any fantasy fan.