RIVER OF BONES

Roanhorse’s short story collection spans her impressive career.

A disillusioned and depressed young man summons a group of cowboy vampires who want him to join their immortal band (“The Boys From Blood River”). In a world with power imbalances not unlike our own, a young human who was raised by an imperialist alien race reckons with his place in the universe (“Falling Bodies”). A queer Black woman’s quest for vengeance leads her to otherworldly horrors in 1880s New Mexico (“Wherein Abigail Fields Recalls Her First Death and, Subsequently, Her Best Life”). A young newlywed reveling in her newly monied lifestyle has to defend herself when her mother-in-law learns the truth about her past (“White Hills”). For fans of Roanhorse’s Sixth World series, a novella featuring Kai and Maggie rounds out the second half of the collection (“River of Bones”). Many of the stories, like “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™,” about a man working as a cliched shaman character for a near-future company that creates the virtual reality “Experiences” of the title, are profound existential horror. Sometimes Roanhorse uses tools from fantasy, sometimes science fiction, and sometimes she gives stark reality only a gentle artistic nudge. As she writes in the introduction, these stories are “the culmination of the first eight years of [her] writing career,” and they demonstrate how clever her work has always been. One of the sharpest writers publishing today, she plays with readers’ expectations but is always one step ahead, pivoting before you can guess what she’ll do next. This collection is best read with plenty of time to sit and reflect after finishing each piece.

A must-read for longtime fans and new readers alike.