Review of Sara Omer, “Burn, Balefire Heart,” Luna Station Quarterly 59 (2024): 35-53 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Dragons, slaves, enemies, a plot, freedom, and — eventually — love. This story had it all! I loved the depth of it, though at times I felt like I didn’t quite have all the back-story. I think this could have made a really excellent novella, and hope that Omer tries her hand at something longer form in the future.
Review of Phoebe Eliza Billups, “A Field Guide to the UFOs of the Keweenaw Peninsula,” Luna Station Quarterly 59 (2024): 15-32 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Often when I read a slow, protracted story, I put a lot of stake on the ending making itself worth the wait. Billups’s story left a different impression on me: I enjoyed the journey enough that I didn’t need to reach the destination, and the fact that when I did, I didn’t know where I was didn’t take away from my enjoyment.
Review of Angela Caravan, “Rainfall,” Luna Station Quarterly 59 (2024): 99-116 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a shy sweet story of first love, one that seamsters and seamstresses will enjoy because of all the stitching and smocking in it.
Review of Y. M. Resnik, “Sparking Joy,” Luna Station Quarterly 59 (2024): 89-96 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
After the death of her husband, Sharon is required to downsize the mass of her apartment in order to ensure that valuable resources are recycled and put back into national service — and she’s been sent an AI to help her deal with the process. It’s a solid premise for a story, but what I loved was that I had a good guess as to how it would unfold, and my guess was totally wrong. I loved the twist, resulting in a story that made me smile and also made me shiver.
Review of L. L. Madrid, “The Ruby Level,” Flash Fiction Online 132 (September 2024): 25-28 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Five short snippets comprise this story, all slightly disjointed from each other and yet still managing to depict a dark and rather horrific narrative. Deliciously unsettling.
Review of Carlie St. George, “The Weight of Your Own Ashes”, Clarkesworld Issue 212, May (2024): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
A deeply layered story of identity, and what a sense of self could mean. The protagonist is multi-bodied, with a single soul. What this effectively means in terms of perception, acceptance, and gender identity to themselves, and to other single-bodied organisms, like humans, is the journey of this story.
There are also moments of beauty, like a passage about symphonies, that also show how all those experiences shape Yonder, the protagonist. A great story with many lovely elements.
Review of Rich Larson, “To Harvest a Cloud,” Flash Fiction Online 132 (September 2024): 21-24 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Tso arrived in town on the driest day of a very dry year, bringing his own cloud in tow. On one reading, this starts off as a gentle story of how he brought his cloud to those who needed it within the town, in exchange for the town’s welcome and hospitality; but while I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite song lyrics (Genesis, “Mad Man Moon”): “Within the valley of shadowless death, they pray for thunderclouds and rain. But to the multitude who live in the rain, heaven is where the sun shines.” What must it like to be Tso, to always live in the shade, to never rejoice in the warm embrace of the sun? That felt rather sad to me. And then the entire story turned much darker, and the lyrics became even more apt.
Review of Marilyn Hope, “Nosebleed Weather,” Flash Fiction Online 132 (September 2024): 17-19 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a horror story but with a very weird bent. If you’re in it for the wild and unusual, this will be a story you’ll enjoy. Death, murder, poison, botany, this story’s got it all.
(First published in X-R-A-Y October 2021.)
Review of H. A. Eugene, “The Hanging of Billy Crabtree,” Flash Fiction Online 132 (September 2024): 13-16 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The story starts off with an execution and immediately turns surreal. I love it when I read a story and think, “I could never have thought of that,” and that’s definitely the case for this story. So weird.
Review of Stefan Alcalá Slater, “Tornado Breakers Don’t Cry,” Flash Fiction Online 132 (September 2024): 8-11 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
On the one hand, this is a story about a tornado breaker whose role is to protect her town from the dangerous twisters. On the other hand, it’s equally a story about how we fail our parents, and how our parents fail us. The metaphor rests upon the story overtly but lightly, never bogging the story down but instead helping it to shine.
SFF Reviews