This is an anthology of stories about parenting, in diverse and strange settings, by diverse authors, and with quite varied takes on the subject.
Brit E.B. Hvide gives us a story of mysterious visitors to a village who recruit children to leave their homes and families and go off on an adventure, from which they might or might not return. When this particular village receives its third mysterious visitor in a year, a visitor looking for that particular child of portent, one mother knows that this time he's going to take her son. And her son is really all she has left that matters to her. She decides this story of adventure will start a little differently.
Valerie Valdes tells us of the trials of a magician summoning a demon, and trying to get vital information out of him for a larger project. Unfortunately, she's doing this while her husband is away on his own work, and she's the only one available to supervise her rowdy toddler, who is not a fan of nap time.
From Mark Oshiro, we have an interesting take on a p lague and a zombie apocalypse story. From K.A. Doore, a story of a mother and her little girl finding a bug that might be alien, or might be a new form of Earth life, but either way, they need to learn to communicate with it.
Andrienne Maree Brown tells the story of a very human interracial marriage, and the arrival of aliens who have intervened quite dramatically, with the goal of giving us the help we need to heal. Heal from what? The very thing that causes the most disruption and conflict on Earth. Everyone is summoned to a location, different locations for some groups than others, to be given supplies and instructions on getting through this period when many of them will be separated from most of the people in their lives, and very few routine things are working at all. Miski and Fred, in particular, are greatly stressed by being separated, but have a lot to learn.
Jenny Martin gives us the story of a botanist on a generation ship, whose daughter and son-in-law are also on board, and do maintenances--when necessary, on the essential external equipment. It's a blow, when she learns they've been killed in an accident. It's much more complicated when she learns they've left behind a gestating embryo, and it's her decision, whether that embryo becomes her grandchild, is put up for adoption in a generation ship where she'll be easily adoptable, or is terminated.
There are fantasy stories, science fiction stories, and superhero stories that focus on parenthood, its challenges, and how the settings and backgrounds of the stories and characters affect those challenges, joys, and conflicts.
Overall, a really excellent anthology.
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