Parallels: Felix Was Here; An Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology

Parallel Earths are petri dishes for a variety of familiar plots in this unsurprising anthology of 10 stories chosen by a panel of editors, authors, and agents. Suburban conformity hides an ugly reality in “Felix Was Here” by L.G. Keltner; virtual reality provides new venues for teen rebellion in Tamara Narayan’s “Scrying the Plane.” Medical ethics are nonexistent for the victims of clinical trials in Hart Johnson’s “The Seventeen,” and killer viruses threaten humankind in Sandra Cox’s “Rainers” and Sylvia Ney’s “Win.” In Michael Abayomi’s “Ground Zero” and Yolanda Renée’s “Ever-Ton,” characters are desperate to escape their dying worlds. Cherie Reich mixes magical origami and political intrigue in “Folds in Life and Death.” Might-have-beens shape the lives of two women in Melanie Schulz’s “Haunted,” and extreme alter egos face off in Crystal Collier’s Twilight Zone–esque “The Mirror People.” Despite a theme that promises a diverse range of stories, nothing here is particularly original or memorable. This anthology is best suited to readers who are new to science fiction and may not be as familiar with the tropes these authors use. (May)