I never know how much to say about short stories in reviews. They’re short, so the reviews should be short, too, right? If that’s a thing at all, I’m not sure this one bears that out! I’ve read some of Rebecca’s work before—You can read my reviews of Dust & Lightning and A Touch of Death here—and I’ve got plenty more of her books still to read. The Knight Saves the Dragon is a bit different...

After having utterly devoured Dr Crunden’s SFINCS semi-finalist novella, Dust & Lightning, I knew I had to read more of her work. The Outlands Pentalogy is, as the name suggests, a completed series of five novels set in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian future. Normally, my sci-fi tastes lean more heavily towards the kind set in and around space, like the aforementioned novella, so I’m not remarkably well-read when it comes to post-apocalyptic or dystopian stories—Neuromancer excepted.

Dust & Lightning is a futuristic standalone science fiction novella from Rebecca Crunden that also kind of blurs lines with the superhero genre, and it’s honestly a heck of a lot of fun and vibes. If you’re an indie writer and not already following Rebecca on the myriad socials, then you absolutely should.