I really enjoyed this collection. I like how it was made up on several short stories but each one super unique and different - all sci fi based but each one brought something different to the table. The first story and the last story especially stood out to me. The first one explored dying, grief, and life after death in such a creative, sci-fi way that it actually made me tear up. It captures the feeling of grief so well. The last story reminded me of something similar to a Black Mirror episode which I liked a lot. Highly recommend!

Such fun stories. All with sci-fi plots and all with great quality. I enjoyed the first story the most but I was actually surprised that I didn't dislike any of the others. A great collection and very nice work from Mr Edwards.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC. All my opinions are my own.

The Soul Box is a punchy little sci-fi collection that plays with grief, time, tech, and the human tendency to push boundaries just a bit too far.

Rated 3.5 really.

First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Troubador for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

An intriguing debut anthology for a young writer who can only grow from here. These stories speculate on the future of technology, VR and AI while eliciting a reflection on grief, time, and the meaningfulness of our existence, though with an undercurrent of humour and levity.
In the titular story, a young girl reconnects with her dead father thanks to a device that can capture a soul...but there's a twist (that I saw coming), or better, a few (the rest of which I didn't). I wish that Edwards had chosen an older protagonist - a teen - for believability reasons, and I wasn't a fan of her sounding much older than she was, but I found The Soul Box to be a clever take on grief and legacy.
The Assassination of Valentin De Renard is more rooted in history than science, which is the main reason why I didn't particularly care for it, but as a reflection on historical biases (with a final twist), it works.
Both Ennui and The Future Problem put our relationship with time front and center, if in different ways, and to me, they're the stronger, most hard-hitting stories of the bunch. Would you want to speed up the boring parts of your life? Would you like to get advice from your future self to avoid problems and inconveniences? And what would that mean for your life? Timey-wimey paradoxes are fun, but if they double as a reflection on the meaning of existence, they're even better...
On a superficial level, One More Week is the most humorous story in the collection, but don't be fooled - there's a lot of substance under the romp facade. A company man is offered the virtual vacation of a lifetime, and will go to any lengths to have it extending far and beyond the allotted time. Part utopia, part dystopia, 100% cautionary tale, with an antihero you can't help but identify with.
Since I very much enjoyed the last three stories and had some issues with the first two, I'm keeping my rating a bit over the middle, but of course mileage may vary, and at least one thing is sure: if you're interested in sci-fi with a philosophical side, you'll find a lot to like in here.