Review of Davida Kilgore, “My Dear, My Love,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 10-20 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is a frank, intimate story of queer Black love. The fantastical element is simultaneous slight and integral.
REVIEW: “Essay: More Than a Journey” by A. T. Greenblatt
Review of A. T. Greenblatt, “Essay: More Than a Journey,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 40-41 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Greenblatt’s fascinating and reflective essay focuses on the question of “Who does this story belong to?” It’s a question she was posed early in her writing career, and on the one hand, it makes sense as a question to ask a budding writer, because if we do not know whose story we are telling, how can we know what story it is that we are telling? But what Greenblatt highlights, from a more experienced perspective, is that stories do not belong to individuals, but to groups. For Greenblatt, the mismatch between the drive to hang a story on an individual and the fact that we all collectively participate in the stories around us results in a particular hunger, “for a type of story I don’t see very often in SFF” (p. 40) — stories that are about collectives, about groups, not about individuals.
Thought short, I found the essay compelling, found myself nodding along at almost every point. One thing I often wonder, reviewing stories for this blog, is “why this story?”, i.e., how did the author decide that this was the story to tell, rather than that. And I think some of my own concerns reflected in this question are the same concerns that Greenblatt has: Who gets to tell a story, and why, and how do we, as authors, make these decisions.
I love read about other author’s crafts and practices, it’s one of the most valuable things I find for my own writing practices. This was an extremely stimulating and useful essay, full of through-provoking points that I hope will help me out of the slough of despond when I’ve got a story that needs to be told, but I’m just not yet sure why or whose.
REVIEW: “Bari and the Resurrection Flower” by Hana Lee
Review of Hana Lee, “Bari and the Resurrection Flower,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 25-33 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is exactly the sort of story I want to read — steeped in a culture and mythos that I am not so familiar with (Korean) combined with overt and explicit nonbinary characters. I’d love to see this turned into a movie, or a TV series.
REVIEW: “The Runners” by B. Pladek
Review of B. Pladek, “The Runners,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 21-24 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Childlessness not by choice.
This is the sort of story I would probably have opted not to read, if it had the sort of content note that I’m providing here: It’s a story about a couple, who start off neither of them sure they want children, but then grow into a couple where one does and the other doesn’t. But having read it, I can say that the way in which it navigates this tough and sometimes treacherous situation is good, it’s a good story…it’s just one that I find hard to read.
REVIEW: “Damnatio Memoriae: A History of the Past That Used to Be” by Marie Brennan
Review of Marie Brennan, “Damnatio Memoriae: A History of the Past That Used to Be,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 37 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The power of this beautiful, depressing poem lies in the way in which it purports to be a fantasy, and yet reading it, we all know what it is describing is reality.
REVIEW: “Such Is My Idea Of Happiness” by David Goodman
Review of David Goodman, “Such Is My Idea Of Happiness”, Clarkesworld Issue 205, October (2023): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
A very timely story about wealth and power concentrated in the hands of a few. Actually, there are very few instances where such a story would not be timely!
When you’re too tired, you have no energy to think. Without original thought, you cannot uplift yourself.
This is true for oppressed and exploited people across the globe, across time. This particular story is set in a future London, with the city and the world being so different from what it is today, and heartbreakingly similar in a few terrible ways.
Stepping out of your comfort zone may bring you peace and contentment, but it’s so hard to step out. Even if your current situation is not ideal, it’s still better than an unknown future, right? There is fear and the people with power exploit that fear. It’s an age old game, and the powerful players keep winning.
But sometimes, there’s a revolution. And sometimes, the good guys might just win.
REVIEW: “The Blaumilch” by Lavie Tidhar
Review of Lavie Tidhar, “The Blaumilch”, Clarkesworld Issue 205, October (2023): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
A lovely story of self discovery and finding joy. Or is it a science fiction story about future generations living on Mars, and how humans adjusted to life there? Or maybe it’s about how things change so much, but still remain the same in so many ways?
This story is about all those things. It is also about a canal and a man who digs it. Whatever perspective you choose to read this story from, it’s going to be enjoyable.
If you let it just unfold in all it’s glory, you’re in for a treat. Such depth and heart in this one.
REVIEW: “Kumbaya” by Ubong Johnson
Review of Ubong Johnson, “Kumbaya,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 35 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Fantasy poetry is a tricky genre, in part because even ordinary poetry is itself often fantastical in nature. I felt that this poem could be read in two ways, one, merely as using metaphorical language to express grief and loss, the other in a more fantasy light; how I read it was definitely influenced by the nature of the venue it was published in. Without that, I’m not sure I’d call it “fantasy,” but I would still call it beautiful.
REVIEW: “Voices of Kings” by Joshua Lim
Review of Joshua Lim, “Voices of Kings,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 8 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a lovely little story circling around the question “Who gets to be king?” Is it the person that someone else has appointed as king? Is it the person everyone agrees is their king? Is it — the relevant question for this story — the one who can sing the most beautiful? In posing and answering these questions, Lim strikes the perfect note of mythology, bringing Malaysian folktales to a wider audience.
REVIEW: “To Persist, However Changed” by Aimee Ogden
Review of Aimee Ogden, “To Persist, However Changed,” Small Wonders no. 3 (September 2023): 27-28 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a very sciencey science fiction, full of botanical terms. It’s tricky to take plants and make them into sympathetic characters, and I struggled a bit with getting past the jargon. But maybe someone more familiar with the vocabulary would enjoy the story more!
SFF Reviews 