Review of Hannya Kay, “All Aboard,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 214-220 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There was something wildly, surprisingly creepy about this story.
REVIEW: “HELLO” by Jeanna Cammarano
Review of Jeanna Cammarano, “Hello,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 205-213 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
It’s hard to know what to make of a story like this, whether I should take it as it seems to be, or to read it as a metaphor for some contemporary events. Either way, it’s not a very happy story.
REVIEW: “Life Imitates” by Rio Lombana and Kaitlin Schmidt
Review of Rio Lombana and Kaitlin Schmidt, “Life Imitates,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 82-104 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an exceptionally creepy piece. The horror in this story is that even when Mari does everything right, it still isn’t enough to save Karley.
REVIEW: “Mother’s Mother’s Daughter” by Audrey Zhou
Review of Audrey Zhou, “Mother’s Mother’s Daughter,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 62-80 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Body harm, death of a parent.
Weird and a little bit creepy, and sad and fierce, but ultimately hopeful: This was a roller coaster of a witchy story!
(First appeared in Silk and Sinew 2025).
REVIEW: “The Spacefarer’s Guide to Connecting With Your Daughter’s Descendants” by Stewart C. Baker
Review of Stewart C. Baker, “The Spacefarer’s Guide to Connecting With Your Daughter’s Descendants,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 168-177 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Oh, this was a glorious story — full of love over generations and forgiveness and parenting mistakes and recoveries. I nearly cried while reading it, and was so delighted by the ending.
REVIEW: “A Hole in My Heart the Shape of the Multiverse” by Ruth Joffre
Review of Ruth Joffre, “A Hole in My Heart the Shape of the Multiverse,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 147-166 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The looping back and forth through time and space and character in this story is effortless in a way that can only have taken Joffre considerable effort and attention and care. I loved this story in the way that I loved Natasha Pulley’s The Kingdoms (which I utterly adored).
REVIEW: “The Grammar of Jespersen-b” by Holly Schofield
Review of Holly Schofield, “The Grammar of Jespersen-b,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 136-145 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story reminds us that just because a planet may not have any humanoid or humanlike lifeforms on it, it doesn’t mean we weren’t colonizing it just the same when we land on it and force it to conform to our own needs. I particularly enjoyed the way that Schofield uses linguistic metaphors in her depiction of unsettlement, longing, and disorientation.
(First published in On Spec 33, no. 4, 2023)
REVIEW: “How to Lose to Death” by Priya Sridhar
Review of Priya Sridhar, “How to Lose to Death,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 106-109 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There was such a lot of complexity twisted into such a short story. I found this both ephemeral and satisfying!
REVIEW: “No Iron Can Resist” by Aimee Ogden
Review of Aimee Ogden, “The Fruit is Very Acceptable Here,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 56-61 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was thick with theology, but still managed to be not particularly religious. It’s not so much a story as a monologue; I think I would have liked it a bit more with a bit more story to it, but it was still an intriguing read. (And as an erstwhile American expat in the Netherlands, I loved all the Dutch references.)
REVIEW: “The Fruit is Very Acceptable Here” by Kari Maaren
Review of Kari Maaren, “The Fruit is Very Acceptable Here,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 45-55 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
On the one hand, this is a story about social norms. On the other hand, it’s a story of possession. Put both hands together, and I really enjoyed this!
SFF Reviews 