Oftentimes apocalyptic media is shown to be grim and dark with little to no hope of a recovery for the characters in the setting. I'm very proud to be part of an anthology that seeks to buck that trend with stories that have more hope in them. Reclamation Project Year One is a shared setting that has humans and furries clashing over the remains of their shared planet. As is the case for settings like this, tensions between the two are high but the stories never lean into hopelessness. It's an anthology that has a lot of variety as well. The setting lets the authors play with some very interesting concepts and it works out well. "Insecurity" is set completely underwater and "The Flavors of Sunlight" deals with animals who have scientifically augmented themselves to be able to photosynthesize. And in general, I just plain enjoyed the stories in the anthology. They were exactly the kind of sci-fi mixed with furry that I was hoping to get. Some of my personal favorites include: "Piece of Mind", "Silence and Sword", "Sewer Tea", "Star of the Savannah", and "The Flavors of Sunlight". My own story, "The Underground Star" follows Eli the rabbit as he navigates his teen years in the Warrens trying to climb a mysterious underground metal tower to grab the shining prize at the top.
- Michael Miele