Reading this new volume from Bloomsbury is to experience the breadth of classical reception in the contemporary world. Hints and allusions to Greek and Roman antiquity abound in texts as diverse as Hayao Miyazaki's animated Studio Ghibli classic Spirited Away and Games Workshop's table top strategy game Warhammer 40K. This volume takes an expansive approach to appreciating and analysing different styles and modes of reception. This means that the reader gains an appreciation for the range of methodological approaches possible in reception studies, depending on both the text under consideration and the nature of its engagement with the classical past.

Bloomsbury's stated mission in its Studies in Classical Reception series is to "explore the appropriation, reconceptualization and recontextualization of various aspects of the Graeco-Roman world and its culture, looking at the impact of the ancient world on modernity." This is an exciting addition to the series given the scope of classical allusion embedded in the literary genres of science fiction and fantasy. This, combined with mainstream awareness of classics through its reception in graphic novels, films, and a resurgence of table-table gaming over the last decade, makes this volume a great reflection on the complexities of reception in speculative texts.