Skin Thief is that rare anthology that, despite the natural result of liking some stories more than others, is so strong in theme and tone that it earns a full five stars.

What Suzan Palumbo has done here is just wonderful. Each story is a speculative feast, various ideas toying with themes of love, bodily autonomy, connection, familial relationships, and much more. The strongest theme that I enjoyed was the theme of bodily autonomy, or our connections to our bodies as we are either stuck in place or go through great change.

Every story feels incredibly well crafted, doing exactly what Palumbo intends to show in exactly the right amount of page space needed. No story felt too short or too long. The lows in my reading of this entire collection only meant I liked a story instead of all out loving it, or being very moved by it.

Palumbo's author's note is also incredibly enlightening; I'd only just barely noticed the thematic movement on a superficial level, but didn't really think about it until I saw that it was intentional. Love it.

Skin Thief is a fantastic collection, and if you enjoy speculative short stories at all, then give it a try.

Many, many thanks to Neon Hemlock Press for giving the opportunity to read this. Skin Thief is now available on their website.