Sometimes short story collections are a mixed bag, and _Speculative Journeys_ is one of those. Radford's writings include an assortment of different styles and sub-genres within science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction. I applaud that; but in the end, some of these clicked for me while others didn't. I can't fault the writing itself, but the overall feel of the narrative or message sometimes felt a bit off. ( )

I rather enjoyed this walk through the different styles and themes of Irene Bradford's short fiction. A few were a bit racy for me. A few made me laugh outloud. Others gave me a satisfied feeling when I finished them. (Like when you've had a really good piece of cake after a good meal). ( )

Having never read a Science Fiction/ Fantasy book before (as an adult), I found this book "Speculative Journeys to be very interesting.
Of the 14 short stories there were several that I enjoyed reading as I felt their story-line flowed smoothly and I was able to visualize the characters, the dialogue and the scenery as if I were there. Three of these stories were "Welcome to the Crystal Arches; Price of Command and Litany of Hope".
As for the story "Alien Voices" I found it to be Entertaining and Enjoyable apart from two things: Firstly: there was a constant mention of "Nanobots" but as far as i could ascertain there was no explanation of what these Nanobots were. I read and re-read the first few pages but could not ascertain what they were. Secondly: I felt the ending came about too suddenly leaving me up in the air. Did the Nanobots have a sudden reversal of thought and if so why so? I did not like the ending.
Of the fourteen short stories there were also several that I did not particularly enjoy. There was "Divi" which as the first story in the book had me scratching my head wondering what it was all about and back tracking to find out what the abbreviations stood for.
Similarly with "It's a Con World After All". Then the final one page story in the book "Absolutely" seemed to me to have no substance. I think it was an attempt at humour but did nothing for me.
Overall I think the ideas were generally good but as a first-time science fiction/fantasy reader it was not to my taste. ( )

This collection of short stories by Irene Radford is different than previous collections by this author that I have read. It doesn't include stories from any of her fantasy worlds that I am familiar with. There are science fiction stories, including a couple from her "Stargods" universe. There are urban fantasy stories. A couple of these are by her "co-author" P.R. Frost, a pseudonym of Radford's under which she writes the Tess Noncroire series. I especially enjoyed "Litany of Hope" an ecological moral tale which was written in response to the Gulf Oil Spill. I also enjoyed "Mirror, Mirror in My Soul" in which a modern witch struggles to follow the witches' rede "an it harm none". Many of the stories are humourous, although some are a bit lightweight for my taste. Altogether, an enjoyable collection showing a different side to a well-known fantasy author. ( )

This book of short stories ended up being quite satisfying. There were several in the beginning that seemed just a little too long to me (the Captain Kate set comes to mind), and that fact, coupled with the holidays and reduced reading time, made it slow going at the start. However, the stories picked up steam, and some of my favorites came in the middle and end, so I am so glad I kept reading! I especially liked Super Squirrel to the Rescue and Mirror Mirror in My Soul. Litany of Hope was very creative in the turn it took, and my absolute favorite was Alien Voices. ( )