"The Slantwise Histories" by Alix E. Harrow

There was nothing new in this anthology of Alix E. Harrow’s short fiction, as far as I can tell, but a lot of it was new to me and all of it was delightful. Not to get click-baity, but I would certainly call this a must-read for fans of Harrow (which everyone should be. It’s an objective fact.)

The themes are exactly what I would have expected from Harrow. Feminism. Rural poverty, especially of the Appalachian coal country kind. The power of stories. Witches causing problems.

There were two stories that I want to highlight as favorites.

“The Six Deaths of the Saint” was published in 2022, and was later expanded into The Everlasting (one of the best fantasy books in recent years, and which won Alix her second Hugo). “Expanded” isn’t the right word - “developed” maybe? It’s a similar premise. It felt like an early draft of the ideas, and I ate it up.

"A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” was published in 2018, and won Alix the first of her two Hugo awards. It’s about a witch librarian (all the good librarians are witches) guiding a struggling young man to the books that might best help him (which does not include anything from the self-help section). I can see why this won a Hugo; not only is it an excellent story, but it’s also one that ticks a lot of boxes for the reading-lovers that make up the WorldCon crowd.