Review Wilted Pages: An Anthology of Dark Academia

Years after learning about the genre of dark academia and backing this anthology on kickstarter, the time has arrived to read this book. For my particular tastes the stories were a bit uneven. I loved some of them and others I hated. Also, compared to what I thought the definitely of Dark Academia was, this seemed to simply be an anthology of horror stories that took place in and around schools. Still, there are some gems here and I recommend giving it a read. Reviews of individual stories follow:

Ijo De Ken Sos Tu? (Jennifer Fliss): There were a few points where the narrative made understanding what was going on a slight bit challenging, especially combined with the fact that there were clearly supernatural things going on. However, I thought the nature of the twists was pretty creative.

The Girls of St. X (Simo Srinivas): I somewhat understood the ending, but not fully. This short story was on of the ones I’m not as fond of - where they withhold just a little too much; the rules of the magic/haunting/etc are just a little too unclear. Combined with jumping around a little too much with the timeline, it was just not for me.

Humanities 215 (Jo Kaplan): Although I predicted the twist pretty early on, it was still very well written. It also reads so prescient in 2026 even though it takes place in 2021.

Hugging the Buddha’s Feet (Amber Chen): I did not think an anthology of Dark Academia would take me to Confucian China and the imperial exams, but it makes perfect sense upon reading. The ending had a great twist and was not quite what I expected from that story.

In Vast and Fecund Reaches We Will Meet Again (Cyrus Amelia Fisher): This is a story that probably merits more than one read. The world is different enough that I spent the first half of the story confused about what was going on. The ending was a nice, horrific conclusion that made sense once the story was understood.

Applicatio (John Langan): Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, I loved the atmospherics and the world-building.

Higher Powers (Steve Rasnic Tem): As the story unfolded, I found myself feeling worse and worse for the protagonist. The obsession and desperation come together for a wild twist and crazy ending.

Twisted Tongues (Michael A. Reed): I always love a story that takes advantage of its medium to tell a story that can only be told in that manner in that medium. A key plot point in this short story is that the protagonist has dyslexia. This ends up being represented in the text via homophones and textual representations of spelling that would be hard or clumsy in a movie or audio drama. In addition to enjoying the technique employed by Reed, I also enjoyed the story and its plot twists. I was constantly trying to predict the ending and I was surprised with the choice the author made.

The Allard Residency (Brian Evanson): This is one of those stories that proves that knowing the ending and having spoilers are not the same thing. Near the beginning of the story you know how it will end, but the whole story is figuring out how things got there. This is horror and it is also a metaphor for relationships and it is all done quite well.

The Library Virus (Hussani Abdulrahim): The story had an interesting setup, but the ending was very abrupt and I wasn’t a fan.

The Occupation of the Migratory Library of Oanno (RB Lemberg): It’s wild reading this in 2026. Then again, I think many of the ideas expressed here are semi-universal to a lesser or greater degree at any given time. Overall the story was a good read. The nature of the magic was a bit ill-defined, so I was slightly unsure of exactly what was going on at the end. But I think that might have been the authorial intent.

Tiny Hearts in the Dark (Gabino Iglesias): This one definitely had me guessing as to when the twist would happen and what it would be. I thought it worked perfectly and could easily be included in a horror anthology.

Parasito (Ana Hurtado): This is probably my third favorite story in this collection. It develops slowly for a short story, but this allows the characters and the relationships to deepen. When the climax hits, it hits so much harder because of that slowness.

The Davinci Chip (Suzan Palumbo): A tale of love and betrayal. There are many opportunities for plot twists and I was surprised at the one the author chose.

An Inordinate Amount of Interest (Ayida Shonibar): The story told within is something increasingly familiar to many, many Americans. While things are suitably terrible in accordance with this anthology, I was very pleased to read the ending.

Preservation of an Intact Specimen (Premee Mohamed): As with the previous story, this one is all too familiar in the real world. The protagonist’s solution is certainly a creative one.

Those Shining Things Are Out of Reach (Octavia Cade): This is one of the happier stories, in a macabre sort of way. The first half had me wondering where it was going, but by the end I was grinning.

Her Finished Wings (Marisca Pichette): This was a very fun story. It progressed slowly at first and it wasn’t obvious what would happen. Even after the initial reveal, it wasn’t until the climax that it started to become obvious to me what that ending would be. Then it was merely time for the protagonist to realize it, too.

Those Who Teach Pay Knowledge Forward (RJ Joseph): This one was the hardest for me to guess at the plot twist until just before it was revealed. Overall it was an enjoyable short story. I wonder if the framework of the story is based on old african american folklore or a complete fabrication of the author’s.

• Dark-Academia