"Echoes and Embers" is a fun collection of speculative-fiction stories that touch on various themes and dabble in various sub-genres. Many of the tales were previously available in other publications but a few are new to this anthology. There are sprinklings of military sci-fi, cosmic horror, fantasy, and even a bit of cyberpunk, just to name a few, with different twists on recurring concepts that help to keep things fresh and reasonably unpredictable.

I definitely enjoyed some of the offerings more than others but I found them all to be at least interesting, entertaining, or thought-provoking, or some combination of the three.

If you're familiar with Iniguez's excellent speculative-poetry collection "Mexicans on the Moon," you'll likely have a good idea of what to expect from "Echoes and Embers" in terms of social commentary and subject-matter. These stories often have a distinct focus on Latinx perspectives, histories, and cultural elements, which isn't at all surprising given the author's heritage, but all of that could certainly be considered a noteworthy "feature" of the read for those particularly keen to experience such things. Personally, I'm a big fan of those inclusions, and the deft techniques the author consistently employed to present them in ways that always felt natural and unforced to me.

Despite its many positive attributes, I will say that this collection didn't quite wow me on the whole in the way I'd hoped it might but I still found it to be a very satisfying and worthwhile read, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any lover of speculative fiction, or fans of Iniguez's other works.