Desolation: 21 Tales for Tails

by Michael Cieslak (Editor), Tory Hoke, Sharon D. King

Robotic Animals
Televisions Which Reveal Alternate Universes
Inanimate Objects Brought to Life
People Struggling to Survive in Apocalyptic Wastelands
Sentient Cutlery
... and much, much more.

Desolation: 21 Tales for Tails is a collection of dark speculative fiction whose stories all focus on themes of loneliness, isolation, and abandonment. Enter into strange worlds envisioned by some of the most inventive authors writing today.

A portion of the proceeds of each sale of Desolation: 21 Tales for Tails benefits the Last Day Dog Rescue Organization.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Fantasy

222 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

Michael Cieslak is a lifetime reader and writer of horror, mystery, and speculative fiction. A native of Detroit, he lives with his wife and dog Tesla in a house that is covered in Halloween decorations in October and dragons the rest of the year. He is an officer in the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. His works have appeared in a number of collections including DOA: Extreme Horror, Dead Science, Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes, the GLAHW anthologies, and Alter Egos Vol 1. He is the Editor in Chief of Dragon's Roost Press, an independent publishing house dedicated to dark speculative fiction.

Reviews

[P.J. Blakey-Novis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fantastic short stories covering a range of themes. As with most anthologies, there were some stories that I preferred over others but the strength of writing was good. Recommended.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

All right, I'm just a little bit biased on this one, but I think this is an excellent collection of short fiction. The authors were given the challenge of writing a story which conveyed a feeling of isolation, loneliness, or abandonment. No two stories are the same, but they are all amazing.

The stories range from tales about robotic dogs to space exploration, inanimate objects coming to life to alternate universes viewed through an old television. This book has sentient cutlery, space exploration, serial killers, and the dreaded Sheepsquatch.

As if that wasn't enough, a portion of the proceeds benefit the Last Day Dog Rescue Organization, a group which rescues animals from high kill shelters or shelters which donate animals to for medical experimentation and fosters them until they can be adopted.

[Mark Catalfano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked "Alpha" by Tory Hoke and "To Rest" by Melissa Mead.