Several talented narrators deliver 20 of the year’s best speculative short stories, selected and introduced by guest editor Veronica Roth, and compiled from prominent short science fiction and fantasy publications. Each narrator is chosen based on the character they portray, with some stories featuring more than one voice. This collection explores powerful imagined realities, some with magic and dragons, some with artificial intelligence and quantum physics, leaving listeners repeatedly wondering what a character must sacrifice to make it. Each story was published in 2020, and most focus on what Roth describes as “a profound and inescapable grief.” Listeners looking for both familiar and new narrators will not be disappointed by this collection. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

"With these phenomenal selections, Roth nimbly demonstrates the genre’s continued potential for rich ideas." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) —