Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

All Roads Shattered: A Collection of Dark Fiction Short Stories and Poems by Lisa Diaz Meyer is the third installment of the author's All Roads series, an anthology of work that includes The Outposts III, a continuation of Meyer's popular saga, The Outposts, from book one, All Roads Home, and book two, All Roads Destined. The anthology also offers a second saga, People of Gods, five additional independent short stories and a collection of twelve poems. The work is, in true Meyer fashion, ominous, morbid, and brilliantly fleshed out (especially in her short story The Preacher, where this becomes something of a double entendre).

I have personally become an instant fan of Lisa Diaz Meyer, hooked from the first paragraph of The Outposts III saga, which can be read on its own but became far more enjoyable after dipping back into the first two installments. The other short stories pack a huge punch for their size, not an easy feat when elements of world building are also required. Her poetry is equally intriguing. My favorite is The Collection with lines that dance in tune with devilish, lyrical depictions: "A small rib cage floats in a jar, half a skull, a demon's head, a portrait - of a killer, no less - reminds us to keep wary of who our neighbors really are." I highly recommend All Roads Shattered by Lisa Diaz Meyer to any reader who is looking to escape into stories and poetry that are a bit sinister, dished out in bite-sized pieces that still fill the darkest corners of the mind.