Shifting Shadows

Shifting Shadows is Patricia Briggs's 2014 collection of short fiction set in the Mercy Thompson universe, the urban fantasy world that she has been building across multiple novels and series for nearly two decades. The collection brings together previously published short stories along with new original material, giving longtime Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega readers access to corners of the wider world that the main novels did not have room to fully develop.

The collection includes Silver, an Alpha and Omega story that gives readers an early look at the relationship between Bran Cornick and his eventual mate Leah. Fairy Gifts, set in the Mercy universe and exploring some of the fae characters who recur across the novels. Gray, a Mercy Thompson story set before the events of Moon Called. The Star of David, a Christmas story featuring David Christiansen. In Red, With Pearls, a Warren story exploring one of the more beloved supporting characters in the Mercy universe. Seeing Eye, a Mercy story originally published in another anthology. Alpha and Omega, the novella that launched the Alpha and Omega series before the first full novel. And several other short pieces that fill in various corners of the wider mythology.

Patricia Briggs writes urban fantasy with the kind of careful world building and character work that has made her one of the most respected names in the genre. The Mercy Thompson universe and the parallel Alpha and Omega series share a common world but each focuses on its own central character. The short fiction collected in Shifting Shadows gives Briggs room to explore characters who do not have their own novels or to deepen aspects of the universe that the longer books could only gesture at.

What makes this kind of collection particularly valuable for longtime fans is the cumulative effect of the various short pieces. Mercy and Adam from the main Mercy novels make appearances. Charles and Anna from Alpha and Omega get supporting time. The wider supporting cast across both series shows up in various contexts. And the new original material at the end of the collection includes some of the more interesting reveals that Briggs had been holding for the right format.

For longtime Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega readers, Shifting Shadows is essential. The collection is a kind of reward for the patient cumulative reading that the wider series demands. For new readers, this is not the place to start. Begin with Moon Called for the Mercy series or Cry Wolf for Alpha and Omega and read the main novels in order before returning to the short fiction.