Fiction. Escaping government-sanctioned flooding, obsessing over camera-equipped drones, violently mourning a lost brother, discovering a new passion in fencing, watching a wildfire consume a whole town: the stories in LANDS AND FORESTS survey the emotional landscapes of women and men whose lives, though rooted deeply in the land and their small communities, are still rocked by great cultural change. These are raw, honest character studies reminiscent of the work of Alexander MacLeod and Lisa Moore, but with a style and energy all their own. Full of quiet tension and a cast of fully-realized characters that feel like they could step off the page, Andrew Forbes's LANDS AND FORESTS shows us what the short story was made to do: delight us, surprise us, and prompt us to more fully recognize ourselves.--Johanna Skibsrud Warning: There are floods and fires in here. And life and death struggles. And long journeys. And near misses. The weather, like love, is always uncertain. But there is no need to fear. Andrew Forbes will get us through. He knows the way. These stories are elemental, wise, and beautiful.--Alexander MacLeod In this superbly stark, brooding collection, disillusioned men and women struggle along, the potential for grandeur in their futures long since faded. And yet there is still awe amid their resignation--for the beauty in the world, and sometimes for each other. With LANDS AND FORESTS, Andrew Forbes digs beneath stunning, wild landscapes to find all of the unhappiness buried there, unearthing life's cruel disappointments and splaying them out on the dirt one by one. These are bleak, sharp, ruthless stories, and I loved them.--Jessica Westhead This is a breath taking collection--in that it is literally hard to breathe while you read these stories, such is their power, insight, and ability to expertly mine the secret vein of sorrow that runs below every ordinary, extraordinary life. Forbes' stories manage to be gritty and elegant at the same time, rendered with Munro-esque mastery and restraint.--Grace O'Connell