Multiverses: An Anthology of Alternate Realities

This short-fiction and poetry anthology centers on the concept of the multiverse, from parallel universes to alternate histories to fractured realities, in a celebration of the science-fiction genre’s myriad possibilities. Highlights include Chana Porter’s “Cracks,” which uses alternate selves to explore FOMO and identity. Ken Liu’s “A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel” invents a fascinating alternate continuity for the 20th century that can’t escape familiar atrocities. Alix E. Harrow’s Hugo-winning “A Witch’s Guide to Escape” realizes the power of fiction as a way to transcend personal troubles. Additional tales are equally expansive. Surgeons take remote work to a new level operating on a patient from a parallel universe. A minor player in history meets a professor who uses the deaths of famous figures to jump through time. A skin-care boutique employee looks for alternatives after a curse targets her workplace. The strength of the stories varies, but they are all creative exercises in “what if” that embrace the possibilities of the multiverse.