Review of Strange Locations
The Strange Locations anthology, edited by Marissa Van Uden (Apex Book Company, 2024), is a limited release collection of dark speculative travel guides told in microfiction format. Tiny and beautifully crafted, each of these thirty brief tales hints at a larger story of an unusual place.
There were a few pieces that really stood out for me. I enjoyed “The Theatre Meridian” by Nicholas Jay, which describes a piece of art that leads to a particularly creepy theater. Jonathan Wood’s piece, “Summer’s Crimson Shadow,” effectively uses 13 tourism poster headlines to tell the bulk of the story, with only a few framing elements to flesh out the headlines. A few stories used the conceit of being part of a website or message system to fit into a small word count. Sam W. Pisciotta’s “The Urban Explorer: Site 1337,” featuring a building with more floors than the elevator might suggest, is loaded with evocative description. Sarena Ulibarri’s “Wiki.StrangePlaces/TheLeaningSlabGallery” made perfect use of footnotes and double meanings. And “Ghost Tours of Eaden Marsh” by Marie Croke used tour descriptions to reveal the oddities of the location in question.
Several other stories used a review format to comment on odd and creepy places, often managing to be slightly humorous while also dark. This and other inventive formats helped create an impact far greater than the story length might suggest. The microfiction nature of this anthology makes it a very quick read, with the best stories sticking with you after you finish reading!
Unfortunately, Strange Locations is not available for purchase at present, but keep your eyes open for Apex Magazine Kickstarters in the future, which offer limited release anthologies as add-ons!
Like my book reviews? Subscribe to my monthly newsletter to get a recap of what I’ve read and reviewed each month!
Comments