Quanta Obscura: Speculative Short Stories - Paperback

by Susanna Skarland (Editor), 2026 Quanta Obscura Author Group (Author)

AUTHORS: CECILIA ARAGON, BRONTE BETTENCOURT, R.L. CASTLE, JILLIAN A. FOX, JILL KIMBALL, BOBBIE PEYTON, KAY REYES, and SUSANNA SKARLAND.

Within the pages of Quanta Obscura you will find a pinhole view to many worlds. Speculative short stories that slide sideways into peculiar reflections of our past, present, and future, illuminating their dangers and dark designs. Devious algorithms... gloom-laden Ponzi schemes... post-war horror... distorted societies... malevolent monsters... and more. Threats to life and liberty, heart and soul. This collection of short stories coalesces around themes of deceit and manipulation, awareness and struggle, projecting a brazen light onto the shadowed surfaces of virtue and character.

Quanta Obscura assembles a thought-provoking collection of speculative fiction that blends science, fantasy, horror, humor, alternate histories, and possible futures. Created by new and award-winning authors, this anthology brings fresh voices that shout out from the penumbra of our time.

Editor Susanna Skarland has gathered writers dedicated to honing their craft, writers who carry a burning passion to tell creative stories that give the reader something to linger on. She embraced a diverse spectrum of stories, keeping to an essential premise: write with societal relevance and use speculative fiction to tell it on a slant. Her guiding principle was to retain the author's individual voice throughout the editing process.

Quanta Obscura is for readers who enjoy anthologies that go broad yet still focus a fine point into the zeitgeist.