I felt a bit burned out on anthologies and collections for a while, but I’ve enjoyed so many of the ones I’ve reviewed that I figured requesting another one wouldn’t be a bad choice. Winter in the City revolves around a simple concept that is relatively specific by anthology standards—stories of dark speculative fiction that take place in urban settings. This aspect gives the reader a better idea of what to expect than an anthology where the only common denominator betweeen the stories is, say, “vampires” or “fantasy romance,” and also gives the book a sense of cohesion not commonly seen in multi-author anthologies. It feels as if all of the stories in this book could be taking place in the same shared universe. The authors who contributed to this project, however, also manage to make each story feel unique and display their own personal writing styles in their work. All of the stories in the book are simply named after the city in which they take place, which underlines the role of setting as character in the anthology. Each story is rooted in the general spirit and vibe of the city in which it takes place, which plays a big part in tieing everything together.

The book is also, to my knowledge, the first book ever published by Ruadan Press, which is coming out with more promising books over the course of the next year. You can check out their full catalog here: Ruadán Books - Home - Ruadán Books

Now to the stories:

“Where You Are Is Who You Are” by Mercedes M. Yardley—This is the introduction rather than a full story, but Yardley introduces the book in an elegant, poetic way that gets the reader into the mood and atmosphere of the book right away.

“Dhaka” by Anjum Noor Choudhury—The first story in the book takes place in Bangladesh, a country that is greatly underrepresented in SF. Choudhury mixes traditional folklore with modern political issues in order to craft a tale of one man’s attempt to achieve his political goals with the help supernatural creatures. A strong start to the anthology by a promising, relatively-new voice in fantasy fiction. Choudhury doesn’t have a Fantastic Fiction page yet, but you can find out more about her and her work at https://anjumchoudhury.com/.

“Paris” by Sarah Read—This story, about a young man who steals a set of pencils with evil powers, was very well-written. It wasn’t as powerful as the first one, and kind of bored me, but I think that is just because I have read stories like this before and am a bit tired of the trope unless an author does something really out-of-the-box with it. Sarah Read has received one Bram Stoker Award and two other nominations, so I am curious about her other work, because I do like her style. More information about Read and her books can be found here: Author Sarah Read

“London” by Lily Childs—This story confused me a bit and wasn’t really to my taste. It follows the adventures of a woman while jumping around a lot in time and space and the reader doesn’t really know what is going on. I get that this was a deliberate creative choice and part of the story’s appeal, but I wasn’t invested enough in the characters to really get into it. Childs’ website is age-restricted and requires a Google account to access via Blogspot, so I am not posting it here, particularly as this is Quora and I’m not sure how the site would react to me posting a link to an age-restricted site.

“Salt Lake City” by Brian Evenson—This wasn’t the strongest story in the book, but it captured my interest. It follows a man returning home to Salt Lake City after leaving Mormonism, which of course provides an interesting premise, and then gets weirder and weirder. Evenson has received one World Fantasy Award, one Shirley Jackson Award, and numerous other nominations. More information about Evenson and his work can be found here: Brian Evenson

“Amsterdam” by Tim Lees—I liked this one a lot; it was a standout for me not only because of the intriguing story about a man trying to find his lost girlfriend but because the general conceit behind the story is so original. I don’t want to spoil anything but there is a strong fantasy element here pulled off in an interesting way. Lees has been nominated for a British Fantasy Award in the past, and information about his most current projects can be found at: Tim Lees

“Jerusalem” by Jonathan Papernick—Another standout story incorporating folklore into a story that seems to have some dystopian or at least political components as well. Three kids try to bring their deceased parents back to life, and of course nothing goes as planned. Papernick has written several other novels, stories, and collections that I am now also interested in. He, too, has a website: Jonathan Papernick

“Athens” by Nick Mamatas—This story was confusing, similar to “London,” but Mamatas’ portrayal of his characters and their conflicts pulled me much deeper into the story. There are some political and historical elements here alongside the fantasy, and, similar to “Dhaka,” I felt the author was really trying to say something here. Mamatas is a frequent Stoker and Locus nominee and I believe he might have been at WorldCon this year, though I unfortunately didn’t get to see any of his panels. Here’s his website: Nick-Mamatas.com

“Prague” by Katherine Traylor—Another story I didn’t like as much. There’s a coven of witches, some random woman wants to join them because she feels “special,” so on and so forth. Like “Paris,” I didn’t think the writing itself was bad; I just felt like I’d seen this before and it didn’t particularly interest me or do anything noteworthy with the concept. Traylor can be found online at https://katherinetraylor.com/.

“Brooklyn” by Richard Kadrey—Almost in the same vein as “Paris,” but sufficiently creepy enough that I enjoyed Kadrey’s take on the idea of a writer or artist getting pulled into some evil supernatural path. I have been interested in Kadrey’s work for a while and definitely plan to read some more of his stuff, especially his Sandman Slim series that I’ve heard good things about. Like many of the other authors in this list, he has been nominated for several different SF awards. More information about Kadrey and his work can be found here: Richard Kadrey

“Montreal/Tiohtia:ke” by Rich Larson—Not quite as good as “Brooklyn,” but another good creepy story involving bones and people doing evil things. Larson has also been nominated for a few awards, though I’m pretty sure the main reason I’ve heard of him is that he has published a lot of short stories through Tor.com. His main online presence seems to be his Tumblr: Rich Larson

“Dublin” by Christian Fiachra Stevens—This one was another that didn’t really capture my attention that much—evil building monsters, demonic things trapping and eating people, stuff I’m not particularly drawn to—but again, the writing was good. Stevens unfortunately has no online presence I can find, though he seems to have published stuff in a few other publications if you are willing to go down that rabbit hole.

“Lewisburg” by Mike Allen—Not my favorite, but still a strong addition to the anthology. The story revolves around a man who is well-known on social media for documenting his urban exploration adventures, who attempts to fight a ghost that is following him around.

I don’t remember the order of the rest of these; I somehow forgot to write them down, and there was not a table of contents that I recall seeing.

From what I can figure out from the website: there were 18 stories in total, so 6 more that I don’t fully recall the order of, though I was able to piece together who wrote what from authors’ websites and scraps of memory.

“Cleveland” by Gwendolyn Kiste—This one was pretty short, it’s about a woman who feels she is being spoken to by the voice of the city, which I thought fit the anthology’s theme nicely.

“Helsinki” by Xan van Rooyten—Supernatural ghost horror based on something to do with Finnish folklore. I think a lot of it went over my head since I’m not terribly familiar with Finland or Finnish culture.

“Manila” by Mars Abian—This was another folklore-based story, this time involving Filipino folklore, involving mythical beings with a lot of power. Again, I don’t know much about the folklore so some things surely went over my head, but I thought the conflicts between the characters, who fight each other using magical abilities, created a lot of intriguing tension and suspense.

“Zagreb” by Matt Hollingsworth—Finally, a speculative story about Croatia, a country we don’t see much of in fiction even though it’s part of Europe, which is the Centre of Most Western Fantasy Writing. This story had more of a science-fiction edge with the idea of, what if people were charged money to sleep? Depressing tale, but well-done and I honestly wouldn’t put anything past capitalism at this point.

“Queens” by Sam Rebelein—A dark story where a person goes to a party and proceeds to venture into an increasingly nightmarish, dreamlike world where nothing makes sense anymore. I liked this one a lot, since it almost had a bit of a “Twin Peaks” feel to it.

“Cambridge” by Bracken MacLeod—This one was another depressing one, well-written though. An artist discovers that the faces he carves in the snow predict people’s deaths, and of course he gets blamed for their murders. Not a situation anybody would want to be in. Not a massive standout, but I thought it was good.

Overall, I enjoyed this anthology; even the stories that didn’t particularly capture my interest were good and I am looking forward to reading the publisher’s sequel anthology, Spring in the City, and plan to check out some of the contributing authors’ other works.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher with providing me with an ARC.

This was a decent read with good atmosphere. I didn't connect with the stories or characters like I wanted to. Normally I love that anthologies give me a bunch of authors to check out more of there work. I do still recommend this collection, but I just couldn't delve into the stories like I wanted to.

Winter in the City is a compelling anthology that explores the intersection of urban life and the supernatural during the coldest season. Each of the 18 stories offers a unique glimpse into how winter's chill can unveil hidden truths and otherworldly encounters.

Highlights:

🌍 Global Perspectives: Stories set in diverse cities provide a rich tapestry of experiences.

🧊 Chilling Atmosphere: The winter setting adds a layer of isolation and introspection.

🧙 Speculative Elements: Blends folklore, fantasy, and horror seamlessly.

Conclusion:

An excellent collection for readers seeking thought-provoking and eerie tales that capture the essence of winter's mystery.

This collection surprised me in the best way. I picked it up expecting a few chilly city tales, but some of these stories stayed with me — like that kind of winter cold you can’t quite shake. There’s a nice mix of grit, heart, and eerie moments, and I loved how each tale captured a different side of what winter can feel like. It’s moody, reflective, sometimes a bit weird (in a good way). Perfect for reading with a cup of something hot and a blanket.

Thank you the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to red this.

I DNF-ed this, because I found it difficult to jump from short story to short story, having to learn new character names and figure out what is going on in the story. The stories I read were good, I just think I’m not the “short story type”. The style does not suit me.

What a delightful take on the season. This very atmospheric title brought the best of so many authors to the forefront. My reading list just doubled. It was poignant and spooky and the perfect curl-up-and-read title.

I had high hopes for this book when I read the description and it did not disappoint! Winter in the City is a collection of chilling tales about winter in several different stories. Each story is haunting and unique in its own way and I loved the characters in each story. They were so compelling in their own way and really make you feel as if you are in the city itself. I enjoyed how the authors told their stories and am looking forward to read more by them!

Winter in the City was such a good book. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.