Children of a Different Sky

by Alma Alexander

Genres: Anthologies

Synopsis

“St. Pete will say you can’t come in”

“They change their sky, not their soul, who rush across the sea.” – Horace

There are seven words that underlie the status of any refugee in the world. “There but for the grace of God…”

We can no longer hide from their misery. We see them in overcrowded boats on open seas, see them drowning as they claw to shore, see them crushed against barbed wire. They are hated, feared, unwanted. And those lost people, those dispossessed souls fleeing wars and other madness, could just as easily be ourselves someday.

This collection of short stories explores in fantasy the despair of losing children and parents, the bitter loss of homes and homelands. From worlds inhabited by witches and mermaids to nearly-real worlds barely dusted with magic, these stories hold a mirror up to one of the biggest tragedies of our era.

This is the gift that speculative fiction offers. Understanding pain and loss is much easier when seen through that thin silver tissue of lies that is fantasy. Shimmering behind the veil is the emotional truth, the human truth.

Authors like Jane Yolen, Seanan McGuire, Marie Brennan, Brenda Cooper, Pat McEwen, - as well as some writers whose very first published story appears here, make up this anthology.

“St. Pete will say/…/You’re laden with/The worst of sin/Your door was closed/You can’t come in”

These lines from a poem by Yolen, “Song for an Immigrant”, give the spirit of this remarkable collection.

The first story, by Aliette de Bodard, begins:

“In Vy’s world there is only the road.”

And includes this moving passage:

“…All they’ve left on the road’s side, the photographs and the jewels and the sandalwood box holding useless visitors cards from dead people -- and everything they bought hits her like a spike through the heart.”

These stories tell the sometimes bitter, sometimes transcendent truth. This is one of the most luminous collection of stories you will ever read. Some of them will stick with you forever.

Don’t miss out; buy your copy today.

All profits go to organizations helping refugees.

Read more

Release date: November 18, 2017

Publisher: Kos Books

Print pages: 190