This is a decent collection of short stories by lesser-known writers. I was unfamiliar with most of the voices contained in this best-of and was positively surprised by some of them. Unfortunately, the majority of them were unable to entice me enough to keep reading more of Metaphorosis Magazine.

A very finely put together and eclectic collection of SFF short fiction all centered around magical themes. My favorites in this collection are "The Stranding" by Maud Woolf and "Souls Like Sea Glass" by Josie Smith. Something I really appreciate is the "a question for the author" section after the author bio at the end of each story; it's nice to get a bit of insight into the author's mind in a whimsical way like that. Everything about this book is magical. I hadn't heard of Metaphorosis Magazine prior to reading this, but now I want to read more from them!

It is such a sweet collection of short stories! Honestly, I knew none of the authors who contributed to this, but some of them seem quite worth exploring more in-depth.

I will not be going over each story, but I will say that the work done by Metaphorosis Magazine deserves a high-praise from every fantasy and/or sci-fi reader out there. Not only do they open doors to new writers with great potential, but these annual compilations of fiction allow a survey of the shifting ways and writing techniques.