Those Fantastic Lives Reviewed at Strange Horizons

I’m excited to share this review of my debut collection up at Strange Horizons. These words from Ai Jiang are incredibly gracious, and I appreciate the close reading of my stories. I’m honored, really. Reviews like this one are what make me want to keep going.

Some of my favorite quotes from the review are below, but please check out the full review at the link above:

“Those Fantastic Lives by Bradley Sides is a wonderfully curated collection that hones in on the concept of family as each story expands and converses with its neighbouring tales. Through tones that seem folkloric, Sides tells stories of grief and loss, the whirlwind nature of families, and of being an individual as a part of one, through a contemporary voice. Each story draws a connection in theme to others within this collection, but each presents these familiar themes and ideas through the lives of fantastic people and beings. […]

In this collection, Bradley Sides explores the ever-changing nature of the human mind, the way it switches on and off, and makes decisions based on emotionality rather than logic—or a careful balance of the two. In his stories of grief, loss, identity, and family, I am sure all readers can find themselves—and perhaps also their families—in the bits and pieces of each character and story.” -Ai Jiang, Strange Horizons