Review of Kemi Ashing-Gawa and Tali Arima, “Jovis,” Luna Station Quarterly 55 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
It always makes me happy to read a co-authored story, especially when the end result has such a clear and singular voice, as this one does. Despite the eclectic mix of ancient ruins, fantastical creatures, and space shuttles — a combination that could very easily have felt fragmented — all the pieces came together in a way that felt coherent, chilling and eerie.
Review of L. S. Johnson, “In the Field,” Luna Station Quarterly 55 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Tam and Davey are soldiers, fresh from recent victory and ready to believe that this will be the final push. But this is not a happy story, it is an incredibly grim one, pervaded with the futility of war.
Review of Samantha Carr, “Technical Magic,” Luna Station Quarterly 55 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Cheyanne’s mother is ill, and her sister Tricia wants to put her into a care home; after all, the two sisters have been caring for her for five years, and there’s a limit to how long Cheyanne can be expected to put her life on hold.
But Cheyanne doesn’t want her mother in a home, and is willing to go to extreme measures to prevent this. Unfortunately, technical magic only works when you follow all the details and instructions properly. This not particularly happy story had a not particularly happy ending, but there was never any reason to think it would.
Review of Cynthia Gómez, “Lips Like Sugar,” Luna Station Quarterly 55 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Oblique references to sexual harassment and assault.
If you’re looking for an amusing and slightly raunchy bisexual vampire urban fantasy, this is a story for you.
Review of Libby Feltis, “Fittonia,” Luna Station Quarterly 55 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There were so many little bits and pieces in this story that are things I love — an emphasis on the importance of names, throwbacks to classic literature, sass, innuendo, writers writing stories as a means of currency, and happy endings. It was such a fun read. It was always an extremely realistic and believable account of the life of a highly sensitive and empathetic person.
Review of Victory Witherkeigh, “Hedwig Eva,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 43-47 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a particularly odd time travel story — I’m not entirely sure what the motivation was for this specific combination of fictional character and
historical person, or what I was supposed to get from it. It was, nevertheless, compellingly told with beautiful details.
Review of Rebecca Birch, “Ophelia’s Song,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 37-42 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Death.
Kathleen has buried seven of her crewmates and now there’s no one left to bury her when she dies. The colonisation of this new planet is a failure. You’d think, from this, that this is a sad story — and while it definitely tugs at your heartstrings, there is just a little bit of hope at the end.
Review of Carol Scheina, “Things You Carry in the Underworld,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 33-36 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Dead children.
This was an absolutely heart-breaking and gorgeous story.
Review of Marisca Pichette, “Before We Dance,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 29-31 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The story begins with lichen and ends with bones, and in between it’s all music. There’s very little in terms of character or narrative, but plenty of gorgeous language.
Review of Lucy Zhang, “Afterlife,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 25-28 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
One of my favorite parts of reading SFF and speculative fiction is when in the middle of something entirely fictive I get something that is so entirely real. In Zhang’s story, that comes via this killer line: “Anger and self-perceived injustices are a product of overstimulation.” And that’s just one excellent portion of this rich story full of a deeply different imagined world. High quality stuff!
SFF Reviews