Defy the Dark:
12 Fantasy Stories of Resilience
edited by M.D. Presley
DETAILS: Publisher: Terrible Ten Publication Date: November 19, 2026 Format: eARC Length: 351 pages Read Date: October 22-28, 2026
What’s Defy the Dark About?
These are, as the subtitle says, twelve fantasy short stories featuring resilience in some form.
The authors are a real Murderers’ Row of (Indie) Fantasy authors:
| T L Greylock | Sarah Lin |
| Tao Wong | K.S. Villoso |
| M. D. Presley | Virginia McClain |
| David Estes | John Bierce |
| Intisar Khanani | Zamil Akhtar |
| J. Zachary Pike | M. L. Wang |
Some of these are Urban Fantasy, some are more traditional Fantasy, some are things you’re going to have to experience to classify yourself. The tones and voices are varied, too. A couple are tied into a series—a couple should be (if you ask me, anyway).
Basically, this is a great sampler plate of Indie Fantasy.
The Book’s Theme
A good anthology has some sort of common thread—it may be as simple as a genre, or it can be as specific as a band’s discography (I’ve yet to read one of those, but I assume some of them are good). Obviously, the big theme in this book is resilience. Persistence. Or, as the book’s description says, “But wherever you are, in hard times it’s just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and reaching out to those walking beside you.”
This is one of those traits that you’d like to say is inherent in humanity—sadly, it’s not. We know this because when we see it, it’s celebrated (sometimes pitied a bit, if it seems somewhat Sisyphean).
Sometimes the resilience, the persistence, is obvious; sometimes you have to think about it—but when you see it, you’ll admire it. This collection is honest about resilience—it’s not a guarantee of success or happiness. Sometimes it’s just about survival. Or carrying on because there’s no option. But wherever you see it here, you’ll tip your cap to it.
So, what did I think about Defy the Dark?
Like any collection, not every story is going to be a winner for every reader (I’m pretty sure I say this for every anthology). This is not different in that regard. However, even the stories in this that didn’t click with me (which will remain unnamed) were really well done.
Just about every story had a line or two—when you deal with a topic like this, I think it opens the door for insightful lines.
A few highlights for me: Presley’s story “Hell Below Me Stars Above” ties into his latest Inner Circle novel, and gives some much appreciated backstory to a couple of characters—so of course that’ll be a winner for me. Tao Wong’s “The Uplifting Heavens” didn’t go anything like I expected, and I really didn’t want it to end. My notes on “For an Acre of Peace” by Intisar Khanani simply read “Fantastic. No notes.” I thought “Against the Grain” was particularly brilliant—and then I saw that J. Zachary Pike wrote it, and it almost diminished my appreciation, because of course Pike is going to write something like that. Virginia McClain’s “Hostile Takeover” is the dragon in contemporary US story that we needed.
Okay, I’m about to talk about every story, and I don’t want to do it (if only because it’ll make me say “eh, whatever” to a couple, and I don’t want to shrug at any of these).
You’re going to want to get this. You’re going to add a few of these authors to a “track down more things by” list, and almost all of the rest are going to leave you feeling satisfied, entertained, and possibly haunted.
83% of this book is dynamite, the rest is good enough to make it worth your while (your math will vary, and what makes your list will, too). In my book, that’s a winner. Go get it ordered now, so you can start reading it next week.
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from the editor—my thanks to him for this. This post contains my honest opinion about a book I chose to read.
