Space Ships & Other Trips is the second book of author Raven Oak’s short story collection.  This collection doesn’t have a strong theme tying the stories together and the stories range from science fiction to dystopia to psychological horror.  Like all short story collections, there are stories that I liked better than others and stories that I wish could have been full books.  Some of my favorite stories include:
 
Loss of Luna: A lyrical story of Earth’s love for the moon.  This story was sweet, timeless and explores loneliness and proximity.
 
Hunger: Explores our love and willingness to do anything for our pets as well as how technology can aid us in understanding them.  A sweet and realistic tale for any cat owner.
 
Q-Be: A technological thriller that dives into our dependence on our phones.  This story had characters that I could easily connect with and I would love to see this expanded into a longer book.
 
Ol’ St. Nick: An interesting take on Christmas traditions complete with space mobsters.  I really enjoyed this spaceship mystery.
 
Scout’s Honor: A story set in a future world where cities have taken to the sky from the Last Cities of Earth Universe. I was quickly connected to the rag-tag group of characters, especially Scout. 
 
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 
 

​A shadow creature has invaded the Colony, killing off their livestock and then some of their Colonists.  The Colonists soon learn that light dissuades the creature, but their efforts only work for so long.  Something like this has not been seen in all of the generations of the Colony.  When a young Colonist, Arlan, tracks the shadow creature up the forbidden mountain, he  learns the secrets of the Colony's origins and finds startling new technology that changes his views of the Colony's cooperative way of life.  

The Name of the Shadow is a unique fantasy that examines the development of community, fear, power and authority.  From the beginning, I was intrigued not only by the shadow creature, but by the Colony itself and their way of life.  The Colony seemed to be set in the past, technology wise, but functioned cooperatively with a very liberal set of rules and no notion of certain concepts.  It was intriguing to see Arlan's evolution as Arlan tracks the creature back to an abandoned structure, everything changes for him.  The forbidden knowledge, purposefully hidden from the Colonists, permanently shifts Arlan's way of thinking.  He begins to believe himself as a leader and finds reasons to use lethal violence, something the Colony has never dealt with before. As Arlan grows, there are large jumps through time, which were slightly off putting when I was reading.   I personally felt a lot of sympathy for the shadow creature and would have loved to learn more about it, or possibly have had a point of view from the creature.  While there are some hints of the creature's origins, there is not a full story.  I would have also loved to know a little more about the First Generation of Colonists and their vision.  Overall, a fast-paced, thoughtful science fiction/ fantasy with a strong mystery and plenty of twists. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.