A review by stayshomeandreads
Portalmania: Stories by Debbie Urbanski

challenging emotional mysterious reflective

4.0

Debbie Urbanski is a singular voice in speculative fiction. Portalmania is her newest short story collection, and it has some stories that affected me more deeply than I thought possible for an SFF story collection like this. In particular, LK-32-C was one of the most moving portrayals of neurodivergence and parenting that I've ever read and How to Kiss a Hojacki was horrifying and so real. I thought that the theme of portal fantasy would get old quickly, but every single story in here was so fresh. A few worked significantly better than others, but overall each story was a fascinating read. I love Urbanski's direct, almost Vonnegut-like tone as she describes fantastical elements. On a personal note, I also love that so many of her stories take place in Western NY! I am very excited to see what this author comes up with next because there is truly no one else like her. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC! 
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