New Year, New You: A Speculative Anthology of Reinvention

What makes a bunch of short stories gathered together a collection? It could be the works of the same author, or it could be some sort of theme that means they are all derived from the same place. A collection's origins can significantly impact the type of stories you are about to read. Is it an established author, or a series of new writers? Has it been published through one of the big publishing houses, or an independent press? All these elements can lead to a collection of hard science fiction titles that play with the genre like New Year New You edited by Chris Campbell.

New Year has its origins in a different place than many short story collections. Campbell may be an established author and editor, but the job here was not to curate stories from across the globe, but to work with the alumni of the 2023 Viable Paradise, a writing retreat. This book was also initially funded through a Kickstarter campaign, meaning it was the audience and not a publishing house or editor that decided it should come into existence. What does this all mean? It means you get an eclectic collection of short fiction that hits many assorted styles of genre but is not afraid to go down the hard science fiction route. 

The theme of New Year, New You is a nebulous one and from what I can tell, a brief that several of the authors chose to ignore. Stories could be literally set around the New Year but could also be about creating a new you. I like a short story collection that dictates a Dogme 95 set of rules on its contributors, as these restrictions often force someone into a creative space, they may have not imagined had they been given free range. Some of the better stories within these pages hit the brief. 

The Ravishing Moon Princess by Charlotte Ahlin takes the idea of creating a new you to the science fiction extremes in a decade spanning tale about an artist's desire to remain relevant, willing to change anything about themselves. It does not take many pages to realise that this is no simple anthology of tales, but complex and experimental that fans of short fiction in fanzines will love. Moon is no ordinary take on a new you and All the Time in the World and None at All by Allison Potter is no ordinary New Year. Instead, it is a time tripping tale of a time traveler and the therapist they see every New Year’s Eve. It is just that whilst the therapist is living in linear time, the time traveler is not. 

There are other stories that do not hit the New Year or the New You in a way I understand, but these are other stories that are just good. A Thousand Gomorrahs by Daryl Gregory is a twist on a kaiju story told from the last coffee shop in town. Ugly by Julie Danvers a new take on Cinderella from the perspective of one of the ugly sisters told in parallel and as a sequel. Redo by Brigitte Winter is a tale of toxic masculinity that could only have been told through genre fiction. No Moon and Flat Calm by Elizabeth Bear is a wonderful science fiction tale about health and safety officials in space. 

All the stories in New Year are different from one another, many will challenge you. Some in an exciting way, others in your attempts to try and work out what is going on. I would say that it is a mixed bag in the best of ways. The quality is high throughout, but the stories are so disparate that not all will talk to every reader. I like the freedom of ideas in the book, it has used its origins in Kickstarter well to buck convention. I would say that the book is hard science fiction and would appeal most to a reader who likes to challenge their mind and imagination with innovative ideas hitting them every few pages.