Relationships and dreams remain achingly familiar, even in the wildest futures, in the stories collected in Even Greater Mistakes by Charlie Jane Anders (Never Say You Can't Survive).
In "The Time Travel Club," a group that meets to share fictional stories of their time travel adventures is presented with a working time machine but stymied by trigonometry when it comes to using it. A young couple turns to suspended animation to help them balance their relationship with launching their careers in "The Power Couple." The 19 stories in this collection demonstrate Anders's mastery of many genres and tones, including comic space opera, queer body horror and a few set in the present or very near future with only minor speculative elements. Although all of the stories have been published previously, some have been expanded or substantially reworked. Some are intended as epilogues to Anders's novels but are self-contained enough that they can still be appreciated by readers who come to these first, as long as they don't mind spoilers.
Frequently tackling issues around mental health, gender, political turmoil and climate change, Anders toys with expectations and alternately delivers laughter and chills. "Ghost Champagne," in which a woman is haunted by her own future ghost, is a particular standout for the combination of its sharp wit and intense handling of depression. This collection will be appreciated not only by Anders's existing fans but also by readers of Ursula Le Guin and other sociological science fiction. --Kristen Allen-Vogel, information services librarian at Dayton Metro Library