I'd purchased this book a while ago, but hadn't taken the time to read the stories it contains. Finally taking a close look at the Mage 20 core book had me take a look at Everything Mage in general, and Truth Beyond Paradox in particular. First off, I think all short stories contained in this book are great, and are all well worth reading.
This book's contents are the following:
Introduction by Satyros Brucato
We Are the Shadows Cast by the Memory of Giants by Seanan McGuire
A Secret Palace by J. F. High
Well Played by Emily Jones
Bound in Blue by S. J. Tucker & Ryan James Loyd
Famished Road by Balogun Ojetade
Life by Antonios Rave-N Galatis
Nothing Important Happened Today by Scott Havens
Wildfire Sky by Kris Millering
The Girl Who Remembered Tomorrow by Bill Bridges
Dabda by Travis Legge
Sympathetic Magick by Stephen Michael DiPesa
The Process by Shawn Connolly
The Theogeneis Gimmick by Luna Lindsey
Toxic by Tina Shelton
The Long Game by R. S. Udell
Gray Rising by Janine A. Southard
A Firm Place to Stand by Sandra Damiana Buskirk
In no particular order, I loved "The Girl Who Remembered Tomorrow," by Bill Bridges, which is a nice shout out to some of his previous work on the Sons of Ether tradition book, published 20+ years ago. "We Are the Shadows Cast by the Memory of Giants" provides a really nice view of what it can be to follow the Order of Hermes as new member. Dabda is a great story about loss and the possible choices (and consequences!) that ensue for a mage. A Firm Place to Stand gives insight into some Technocratic groups, and how they strive to help humanity; how they themselves are evolving to better serve it. The Process is one of the stories that is the most explicit about the source material (Order of Hermes, Technocracy, etc.), but also provides a very interesting story about the main character and his relationship with the City, its spirit, and the people that inhabit it. The other stories are also great. Some, I'll need to re-read, because while I know I liked them, I also know I don't know how to feel after reading them (which, in my book, is a Good Thing).
To repeat what I said at the beginning: if you're a Mage: the Ascension fan, I think this book is really good. If you know nothing about M:tAs, it's OK. The stories are all really well written, and most are written in a way that it does not matter whether you know the universe or not. Even when some specific names are dropped, it does not hamper reading at all (I think). This book is worth reading, and I'll probably use some themes in the stories in my own chronicles (aspects of characters, or some of the more abstract descriptions, etc.).
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