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Possible Worlds and Other Stories
Corrupt angels. A sentient spaceship. Invaders from outer space. Dystopia. Friendship, greed, and death. The final judgement. A world made entirely of crabs.
“Delightful, ingenious, and marvellous.” — Adam Roberts
24 stories of philosophical exploration, from identity, corruption, personhood, and friendship, to duty, loyalty, the meaning of life and death … and guinea pigs.
“Rachel Handley is an author to watch”. — Gareth L. Powell
“Delightful, ingenious, and marvellous.” — Adam Roberts
24 stories of philosophical exploration, from identity, corruption, personhood, and friendship, to duty, loyalty, the meaning of life and death … and guinea pigs.
“Rachel Handley is an author to watch”. — Gareth L. Powell
98 pages, Paperback
First published December 21, 2022
1 person is currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Handley
2 books40 followersRachel Handley is an SFF author, poet, and academic based in Dublin, Ireland.
Their writing has been published by Poetry Ireland, The Liminal Review, Arlen House, 365 Tomorrows, Ellipsis Zine, The Madrigal Press, Dreich, Full House Literary, Bear Creek Gazette, Ink Drinkers Magazine, Tree And Stone Magazine, Medusa Tales Magazine, Sonder Literary Magazine, The Martian Magazine, among others.
Their story, The Man of The Sand, was nominated for The Pushcart prize in 2022.
Their short story, The Sound, was long-listed for the BSFA Best Short Fiction Award in 2023.
Both stories are included in their debut short story collection, Possible Worlds and Other Stories (2022, Ellipsis Imprints).
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 7, 2023
I changed my mind about reviewing each story, the whole book deserves to be done in one review.
Have you ever had favourite authors where you read or collect all of their books and are absorbed by the outpouring of their imagination, such as Asimov, Arthur C Clark, Greg Bear, Iain M Banks, Peter Hamilton, Brian Aldiss, Aldous Huxley and many more? I have and all the above are on my bookshelves. I have now added another name to the list - 'Rachel Handley'.
This book is a work of an imaginative genius and written in such an erudite way that I was gripped from the very start, in fact I read it twice in quick succession and enjoyed it even more on the second pass! The flow of the story and building of characters is as good as it gets, it made me want to read quicker than I am capable, hungry for every word. This book is delicious. Every Science Fiction fan should own it and read it over and over.
A great book worthy of more stars than 5
Have you ever had favourite authors where you read or collect all of their books and are absorbed by the outpouring of their imagination, such as Asimov, Arthur C Clark, Greg Bear, Iain M Banks, Peter Hamilton, Brian Aldiss, Aldous Huxley and many more? I have and all the above are on my bookshelves. I have now added another name to the list - 'Rachel Handley'.
This book is a work of an imaginative genius and written in such an erudite way that I was gripped from the very start, in fact I read it twice in quick succession and enjoyed it even more on the second pass! The flow of the story and building of characters is as good as it gets, it made me want to read quicker than I am capable, hungry for every word. This book is delicious. Every Science Fiction fan should own it and read it over and over.
A great book worthy of more stars than 5
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February 17, 2024POSSIBLE WORLDS AND OTHER STORIES is a collection that blends interesting and fun concepts through stories that are humorous, contemplative, and at moments, meta. Handley explores the multiverse and alternate realities, potential histories and dreamt futures, and offer unique takes on the afterlife, time and space, and the concept of memories.
What stands out to me most if the reflective way Handley explores how sometimes what we remember most isn't the good but the bad and traumatic, the ways our own memories might deceive us, how there are still those who do not acknowledge what they personally don't experience.
If we do not hear nature screaming, does it mean they're not in pain? If we do not hear humans crying, does that mean they do not need help?
A big thank you to the author for a copy of their collection!
What stands out to me most if the reflective way Handley explores how sometimes what we remember most isn't the good but the bad and traumatic, the ways our own memories might deceive us, how there are still those who do not acknowledge what they personally don't experience.
If we do not hear nature screaming, does it mean they're not in pain? If we do not hear humans crying, does that mean they do not need help?
A big thank you to the author for a copy of their collection!
February 5, 2023
This book grabbed hold of me from the start and refused to let go, and I inhaled the whole thing on a lovely Sunday morning.
This is a charming collection of tales about the possible (and hopefully improbable!), and an impressive debut from Rachel Handley. For fans of gentle sci-fi, it's a must-read. For everyone else, it's a must-read.
Caution: may contain crabs.
This is a charming collection of tales about the possible (and hopefully improbable!), and an impressive debut from Rachel Handley. For fans of gentle sci-fi, it's a must-read. For everyone else, it's a must-read.
Caution: may contain crabs.
May 25, 2023
This was a very enjoyable collection of 24 fairly short stories (some less than a page). 6 have appeared earlier in magazines. Most are not connected, though I was pleasantly surprised at the first one that was.
Of the stories, "Please Select Your Thoughts", "Flashback" and "The Kings" were my favorites. "The Spaceship of Theseus" wasn't, though I get the idea it is part of a larger theme - it was mentioned elsewhere.
I follow the author on Mastodon and ended up ordering the book at my friendly local bookstore, happily picking it up on local bookstore day. It has accompanied me from Seattle to Japan to Finland, and will return home with me tomorrow, where it will probably be loaned to friends. Looking forward to a novel from this author in the future.
Of the stories, "Please Select Your Thoughts", "Flashback" and "The Kings" were my favorites. "The Spaceship of Theseus" wasn't, though I get the idea it is part of a larger theme - it was mentioned elsewhere.
I follow the author on Mastodon and ended up ordering the book at my friendly local bookstore, happily picking it up on local bookstore day. It has accompanied me from Seattle to Japan to Finland, and will return home with me tomorrow, where it will probably be loaned to friends. Looking forward to a novel from this author in the future.
January 19, 2023
Brilliant collection of thought-provoking sci-fi tales!
February 10, 2023
A delightfully fun and thoughtful collection of philosophical short stories.
April 3, 2023
Loved these stories. Imagining life and death in various ways, from now to the distant future. Especially the one about cats, and the one about the voices of plants given a news report of such a thing only the other day.
March 16, 2023
Tasty speculative chunks!
This is a stunning collection of interweaving, thematic short stories even greater than the sum of its wonderful parts. Handley perfected the offbeat multiverse adventure before it was cool and here we have all the modal magic concentrated into one slim tome, including some tales that were new to me. Laugh out loud dialogue, poignant character moments, genuine philosophical insights: what more could you want? The high concentration of strange settings, weird concepts and twisty plotlines meant I found the book best digested in the small chunks provided, but there’s no need to rush this unique experience.
This is a stunning collection of interweaving, thematic short stories even greater than the sum of its wonderful parts. Handley perfected the offbeat multiverse adventure before it was cool and here we have all the modal magic concentrated into one slim tome, including some tales that were new to me. Laugh out loud dialogue, poignant character moments, genuine philosophical insights: what more could you want? The high concentration of strange settings, weird concepts and twisty plotlines meant I found the book best digested in the small chunks provided, but there’s no need to rush this unique experience.
April 7, 2023
A fascinating and irreverent collection of stories. I liked the thread of the World-Doors that ran through a lot of the stories. Also, Crab World!
March 7, 2025
Even though I write short stories myself, I am not a huge fan of short story collections. I like to have something meatier to carry me away. Possible Worlds and Other Stories is a collection of 24 tales, some of which are related to each other, albeit thinly by continuing a theme.
It felt to me as though some of the stories were just the starts of stories, In which the author had a good idea and splurged down the first 500 words or so, and then stopped, leaving the thing hanging. That’s not to say that very short, short stories are not good. Hunt and The Kings were humorous and enjoyable. Roof had the same ridiculous humour but it didn’t quite work. The Creature and The Spaceship of Theseus are good examples of where these embryonic ideas that weren’t properly developed. Both had a rich premise that could have been developed into something more substantial, but were just thrown away. Simulacrum is another example of a story with a good set up, which just suddenly ended as it got interesting. This was frustrating as a reader.
It is very apparent that the author has a fantastic imagination and can couple this with a sense of humour that I enjoyed. Perhaps there were more misses than hits here though, but that’s just my bias at work. Call me traditional I suppose- still wedded in an old-fashioned manner to the idea that a story has a beginning, middle and end.
It felt to me as though some of the stories were just the starts of stories, In which the author had a good idea and splurged down the first 500 words or so, and then stopped, leaving the thing hanging. That’s not to say that very short, short stories are not good. Hunt and The Kings were humorous and enjoyable. Roof had the same ridiculous humour but it didn’t quite work. The Creature and The Spaceship of Theseus are good examples of where these embryonic ideas that weren’t properly developed. Both had a rich premise that could have been developed into something more substantial, but were just thrown away. Simulacrum is another example of a story with a good set up, which just suddenly ended as it got interesting. This was frustrating as a reader.
It is very apparent that the author has a fantastic imagination and can couple this with a sense of humour that I enjoyed. Perhaps there were more misses than hits here though, but that’s just my bias at work. Call me traditional I suppose- still wedded in an old-fashioned manner to the idea that a story has a beginning, middle and end.
April 13, 2023
I've just finished visiting Rachel Handley's Possible Worlds, and I loved it (although I probably wouldn't want to go there on holiday!). The title story kicks off the book and sets the tone. It is a universe packed full of imagination, humour and great characters. This possible world is revisited in some of the subsequent stories, and I never tired of returning. There is a nice mixture of longer stories and really short ones, and the book has clearly been arranged carefully. Rachel Handley has joined my "favourite authors" list, and I can't wait to read more from her.
April 3, 2023
I finished this in one sitting which is always a great sign. My only complaint is that I wish there were more stories!
If I can read 24 stories and want more than I feel very confident in recommending this to fans of short fiction anywhere.
If I can read 24 stories and want more than I feel very confident in recommending this to fans of short fiction anywhere.
April 4, 2023
Like others I was going to review each story.
But this is not your usual collection of short stories that you can zip through ....of that more later :)
So far a definite recommend from me.
(I will add to this review when I finish)
If you like your SFF to be inventive and a little out of the mainstream give it a whirl.
There are common threads running through some of the short stories which became even more apparent on my second read.
'Greater than the sum of it's parts' applies ....
Looking forward to more from this author (I now see my Cat in a new light).
But this is not your usual collection of short stories that you can zip through ....of that more later :)
So far a definite recommend from me.
(I will add to this review when I finish)
If you like your SFF to be inventive and a little out of the mainstream give it a whirl.
There are common threads running through some of the short stories which became even more apparent on my second read.
'Greater than the sum of it's parts' applies ....
Looking forward to more from this author (I now see my Cat in a new light).
April 28, 2023
Fun very short tales but would like to see stories and their ideas being allowed to breathe
February 20, 2023
A delightful if somewhat uneven collection of science fiction stories. Several of these are interconnected and tell a more involved story about possible worlds. All demonstrate a wonderfully quirky and original sensibility. Some of the interstitial stories are a bit silly and I found the snark in the primary story cycle to be distracting rather than clever. But overall I thought this a very fine beginning for a first time author. I don't usually comment within the review on the ratings I give books but I do want to make clear that I think this a very fine book by an up-and-coming author. I look forward to a time when I read her four- and five-star novels, which it seems to me is a fairly inevitable outcome if she continues on this trajectory. That this collection is not yet up to that standard should be seen as encouragement rather than otherwise. Well done!
March 1, 2024
4.5 stars rounded up ✨
I’m going to be totally honest, I am not a huge fan of sci-fi and only bought this book to support the author however!!!! it was such a fun read and I loved it so much. I even got my annotating sticker tabs out, which says SO MUCH REALLY.
the overlap with ‘Possible World #728’ and ‘Possible World #12’ was hilarious and perfect in every way. I have never seen this done before where the author writes themselves into the story.
my favourites were; ‘The Creature’, ‘The Kings’ and ‘The Mission’ and obviously ‘Roof’ - an invasion of guinea pigs is THE dream.
I’m going to be totally honest, I am not a huge fan of sci-fi and only bought this book to support the author however!!!! it was such a fun read and I loved it so much. I even got my annotating sticker tabs out, which says SO MUCH REALLY.
the overlap with ‘Possible World #728’ and ‘Possible World #12’ was hilarious and perfect in every way. I have never seen this done before where the author writes themselves into the story.
my favourites were; ‘The Creature’, ‘The Kings’ and ‘The Mission’ and obviously ‘Roof’ - an invasion of guinea pigs is THE dream.
July 18, 2025
Absolutely loved this short story collection. Each story is a unique little sci-fi capsule of feelings and emotions and I'm here for it. A very lovely debut and I can't wait to read more from this author!
April 4, 2023
Amazing book compiled of many short stories. The author is so imaginative and I couldn't put it down! Highly recommend.
November 18, 2024
Fresh, original SF short stories!
July 27, 2025
Very fun read!!! I don't read much sci-fi, but I really loved this collection. Cool worldbuilding, fun connections to make between individual stories. It feels a little unpolished, but still solid. I would absolutely read another work by Handley!!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews