Review of S. I. Fapohunda, “Fire and Brimstone,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 162-178 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is a nightmare of a story, where human frailties are far more evil than any witchcraft or sorcery.
REVIEW: “Of Sight, Of Mind, Of Heart” by Samantha Murray
Review of Samantha Murray, “Of Sight, Of Mind, Of Heart,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 88-100 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I knew before I started reading that this was going to be a gut-wrenching story — because in flipping ahead to confirm the page number of the last page, I read the final line. Oof. It was enough of a sucker punch for me to tamp down my usual antipathy to second-person POV stories.
And I was right. What can I say about this story? Only what every parents knows: We love our children fiercely knowing that one day we’ll have to say good-bye, never knowing whether that day will come sooner or later. And also that maybe this was not the story to read the day I waved my own kid off at the airport not to see her again for three weeks!
(First published in Clarkesworld no. 122, 2016)
REVIEW: “Biter” by Michelle Knudsen
Review of Michelle Knudsen, “Biter,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 179-186 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a sweet little story of family angst and trauma wrapped up in the form of an animal that can only be described as, well, a biter.
REVIEW: “Spirit Alembic Keeper” by Emma Burnett
Review of Emma Burnett, “Spirit Alembic Keeper,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 137-144 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: military conscription
Before the conscripts go off to war, first they go to August — leaving their souls behind, to be preserved untainted, until their bodies are done battling. But of course, bodies don’t go to war to come back. August’s profession is both vitally important and endlessly futile. There’s a feeling of inevitability about this story: You don’t know quite how it’s going to end, but that it will end in the only way it possibly could. When that ending comes, it is very satisfying.
(First published in Uncharted, year unknown)
REVIEW: “Penance” by Jennifer Hudak
Review of Jennifer Hudak, “Penance,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 101-108 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I love a genre-bending story like this: It has all the trappings of a moderately generic SF setting, but the story itself is a story of gods and mortals and the one being who hears the voice of their god when they should not. I’m a sucker for this kind of story, so I enjoyed “Penance” very much — especially it’s absolute killer ending.
REVIEW: “Passing Through” by Laurie Doyle
Review of Laurie Doyle, “Passing Through,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 45-49 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Sometimes a good story is one that can hint at a much broader world behind the brief snippet the story lets you see. Sometimes, a good story is one that gives no context, no background, no explanations, nothing to help you understand what is going on. Doyle’s story is one of the latter, and I loved it precisely for that reason.
(First published in Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast 2024.)
REVIEW: “Fernie” by Angela Liu
Review of Angela Liu, “Fernie,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 32-43 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
With time travel, dinosaurs, and sentient plants, this fun little story didn’t bother taking itself too seriously.
REVIEW: “Madam Strzyga’s Pagan Pest Control” by Katharine Tyndall
Review of Katharine Tyndall, “Madam Strzyga’s Pagan Pest Control,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 27-31 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
“Catholic solutions won’t work for pagan problems,” Madam Strzyga tells an anxious client (p. 29), in this funny little story that’s almost noteworthy for how mundane it is considering how fantastical it is. Pests are pests, whether they are natural or supernatural, I guess!
REVIEW: “The Place of Oblation” by Deborah L. Davitt
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: “Raze My Brain, Open My Eyes” by Faith Allington
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.
SFF Reviews 