Book Review: When We Come Back by D.H. Schleicher
Genre(s): Fiction / Short Stories
Book Synopsis:
WHEN WE COME BACK is the startling new collection where D. H. Schleicher explores both recent history and visions of the future through literary and speculative fiction. Some stories traverse how everyday people are impacted by events like the global pandemic, the Great Recession or the dot.com bubble. Other tales paint a dystopian world post climate catastrophe or a far-flung future where an evolution in AI produces surprising results. Across these stories, characters struggle to connect, find meaning, and move forward in the face of sometimes tragic and always shifting headwinds.
Review:
Based on the synopsis of this book, I was anticipating a bit more science fiction in the stories. The first half of the book focuses on stories predominantly from recent history (the year 2000 up to now). The last half delves into future possibilities, but there was only one story that really struck me as true science fiction (see more about that below.)
The stories featured an array of interesting characters, but weren’t related to one another. The collection follows a distinct theme (see synopsis), but otherwise, each can be read alone without relying on the others. Some left me thinking about events from the past, while others made me wonder what we’re in store for in the future.
Many of the future-based stories were dystopian in nature and painted a grim future for humanity. But the last one, “When the Door Opens,” was a story of hope. I loved the concept of that story (and it was also the only one I’d really classify as science fiction, as it dealt with sentient AI and space travel.)
When We Come Back is a quick read, and one that I believe would hold a broad appeal, as it’s fiction relevant to present times and the not-so-distant future.
Author website: TheSchleicherSpin.com
Amazon link: When We Come Back
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