There isn't a bad story in the whole book.

"Dark Fiction" doesn't mean "supernatural" necessarily, but there are plenty of stories with magic and a few eldritch beings. "Dark" also means the darkness that can pool naturally in the hearts of regular human being who are pushed to the edge, who have nearly everything taken from them, beaten out of them, stolen from them, overwritten by enforced dogma. It can also mean the darkness that comes when those same people reject what little remains of who they once were and embraces the colonizer, trying to escape into the world of their oppressors.

The stories are about things taken, things lost and broken, and things treasured. They are about the stories we share across generations and the power inherent in remembering them. They are about how, sometimes, that still isn't enough and the world closes in and takes even that. They are about mistakes and decisions made in the heat of the moment.

There is abuse, neglect, alcoholism, mental illness, and hatred, but also hope that survives even death, power, connection, and love.

While not the official theme of the anthology, every story seemed to say that we cannot run from our past forever. They say that tradition is valuable and that our ancestors and our elders are the reason we are who we are. They say that these facts are worthy of respect, even in a world that devalues and degrades them in the rush to be "modern". The old world hasn't been fully tamed and, where our roads end, it show more waits, biding its time to reclaim its rightful place.

They say, "do not forget who you are." show less