Erin Underwood

The most compelling thing about this anthology of works is the intended audience: young adults. Let's face it, YA lit. is in. It is honest, fun, intriguing and often well written, but it's mostly gone unexplored in the sci-fi field. With the popularity of novels like Hunger Games this void cannot last for long. The stories and poems found in Futuredaze will win the hearts of the most avid sci-fi readers of all ages, and, more importantly, has something for every reader,whether they are sci-fi, steampunk, or fantasy fans or not. That is because the stories in this book are not just a good "out of this world" read. They are about coming of age, childhood, love, romance, dystopian futures, loss, death, mourning, revenge, family and so much more. It is hard to portray all the reasons you should buy, consume, sleep with under your pillow and share this book, but here are a few:
"Not With You But With You"-dystopian, raw, appealing, and eerie
"Powerless" -a full story about faithful, seemingly unattainable love, disabilities, creative and unique, but compelling and timeless, a must read
"The End of Callie V"-fantastically written, surprising ending, unique twists and strong voice, about the faithful and unswerving love of parents and daughter
"The Cleansing"-touching, thought provoking, dystopian gold
"Over it"- powerful main character, great subject matter, gives hope to those who have suffered mental or physical sexual abuse, wonderful message of the value of living in the beautiful moments of life
"Driven Out" -creepy, old world meets new world feel, very memorable
"Your Own Way Back"- truly touching, well developed, a full, bursting mini-story about coming of age and dying, MUST read
"Larvae"-interesting journal-style writing, surprising climax and solution, keeps you reading
"Another Prison"-memorable main character, unique plot, dystopian feel, talented author voice
"Clockwork Airlock"-great ending, lets reader imagine multiple possibilities for the story's outcome
"Spirk Station"-both funny, witty and upsetting all at once, very youthful
"The Fall of Stile City"-very quirky, fast paced and intriguing, original voice and cliff-hanger ending

These are just a few of the short stories found in the artfully compiled collection. It was a great "read at night before bed" book, that gave me creepy, fantastical, thrilling and interesting dreams. The authors in this book will be making waves in publishing soon, and I can't wait to get my hands on their work. If you want to read something that your friends haven't got to yet, if you want to wrap your mind around real, honest issues, if you want the out of this world experience of sci-fi but want to really relate to a main character, you have to read Futruredaze. Thank you, Erin Underwood and Hannah Strom-Martin for giving the YA masses what we need: a series of talented YA authors who yearn to get sci-fi, steampunk, dystopian fantasy out there in a new, refreshing way.… (mer)