Short Reviews of Short SFF
Review of Deborah L. Davitt, “The Place of Oblation,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 146-150 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is a lovely little story, recommended for anyone who likes stories about aliens or stories about archaeology, or, even better, stories about both.
Review of Faith Allington, “Raze My Brain, Open My Eyes,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 135-136 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
If this story hadn’t been so short, it could perhaps have been more than simply a “bad-break-up-story,” but as an example of this genre, it at least involves someone choosing to turn their wallowing pain into a positive outcome.
Review of Nick Ekkizogloy, “End of the World,” Flash Fiction Online 152 (July 2026): 29-31 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story was this close to being a horror story, and yet somehow just fell short. Instead, it was merely a bad-break-up story, and not one that made me lean particularly sympathetically to the MC.
Review of Anna Clark, “Seastrand Beyond,” Flash Fiction Online 152 (July 2026): 24-27 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Parental death.
This was an absolutely beautiful story of grief and loss and the memory of abiding love.
Review of E. M. Linden, “Fragments Recovered From the Wreck of the Seaglass,” Flash Fiction Online 152 (July 2026): 17-23 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Speculative historical botany! Who wouldn’t love a story about speculative historical botany — I definitely did. And this story nailed the ending: the final sentence was an absolute chiller.
Review of Laura Duerr, “A Perfect Light,” Flash Fiction Online 152 (July 2026): 12-15 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
It’s amazing how claustrophobic the deep sea can seem — which is why it makes such a great setting for insidious, unsettling horror. I found that part of this story perfectly tuned, just right to send a shiver down my spine. The ending, I found, didn’t quite match up to the rest of the story, taking this from potentially excellent to merely “a good read”.
Review of Nick Badot, “Kingdom of Steve,” Flash Fiction Online 152 (July 2026): 8-11 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Awww, this story was really sweet. At the started I wasn’t sure where/how it would go, or if I would like where/how it did, but I found the ending really heartwarming.
Review of Sarah Gane Burton, “For the Birds,” Flash Fiction Online 151 (June 2026): 26-28 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
What an odd little story. I honestly have no idea what I was supposed to take away from it.
Review of River S, “Sad Mecha Girls,” Flash Fiction Online 151 (June 2026): 22-25 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Drug use, military conscription.
This is definitely a “what it says on the tin” story — the title tells you pretty much all you need to know. Sad mecha girls aren’t the sort of thing I’d seek out myself to read about, but if you want a dose of depressed fatalism, you could do worse than give this story a go.
Review of Aimee Ogden, “What Any Dead Thing Wants,” Adventitious no. 1 (Feb/Mar 2026): 72-109 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was exceptionally long, meaning I kept putting it off whenever I’d sit down to read and review a story because I didn’t have the time.
I finally did today, and the story completely repaid what I spent on it. At the end, I find it hard to know what to say about it, other than echo Hob when he says that “he would have known what to do, if there were obvious bad guys” (p. 103). It’s a story where there’s no good moves, even when there are moves that are right, and it ends up being really, really sad.
(First published on psychopomp.com, 2024)
SFF Reviews