Review of James Redfern, “confessional,” Radon Journal 3 (January 2023): 57 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I was going to scroll back up through the issue to find a story to review today, but then I glanced at the first stanza of this poem, and it sucked me in and I’d read the entire thing before I realised it. It’s both hilarious, and hilariously on-point commentary on labor in the era of capitalism.
Review of Thomas Mixon, “The Problem Is,” Radon Journal 3 (January 2023): 55 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem nicely encapsulates the existential angst that comes from living in a digital world where everyone is reachable all the time and no one is ever in sync with anyone else, and offers a plea to return to simpler times. On the one hand, I’m sympathetic; on the other hand, I think we’re better off going forward, rather than retrograde.
Review of Avra Margariti, “Eight Dwarfs on Planet X,” Radon Journal 3 (January 2023): 52-53 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I’m never quite sure if I like SF poetry, but if all SF poetry were like this poem by Margariti, then I definitely would. It struck the perfect balance of poetry and story, and was very definitely SF without needing to rely on spaceships or stars. The fact that it’s a retelling of a classic fairy tale is just an added bonus.
Review of Vera Brook, “If You Love Him, Hide the Grave,” Radon Journal 3 (January 2023): 1-4 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story has all the parts of a a classic SF story — consciousnesses uploaded to harddrives, prosthetic replacements of limbs and organs, military motivations lurking in the background — and combines them in a way that asks interesting questions. Short, but satisfying.
Review of Premee Mohamed, “Worldbuilding with Legs: Incorporating Insects into Your Stories,” Fantasy Magazine 72 (October 2021): 31-32 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an excellent little how-to guide: Practical, straightforward, and readable even if you aren’t a huge fan of our six-legged companions.
Review of Pamela Rentz, “Obstruction,” Fantasy Magazine 72 (October 2021): 18-26 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an #ownvoices story of a woman of the Karuk tribe and the impact of colonisation on her people, their land, and their religion. The thread of fantasy running through it was slim and fine and almost forgettable, and it did not end as I thought it would.
Review of Stewart C. Baker, “Halsing for the Anchylose,” Fantasy Magazine 72 (October 2021): 29 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem managed to tell a complex story in a compact fashion. Reading it, I felt that it hinted at so much more than it was able to say, and I wondered if the title held clues to what the “more” was. Unfortunately, no dictionary shed any light on either term, so I remain intrigued, but baffled.
Review of Jennifer Crow, “Twilight Mind,” Fantasy Magazine 72 (October 2021): 28 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This quiet, reflective poem conjured up some lovely images.
Review of Gwynne Garfinkle, “Emily and the What-If Imp,” Fantasy Magazine 72 (October 2021): 16-17 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I think lots of people, especially people who take solace in reading and writing speculative fiction, have What-If imps of their own, hanging around and making unwarranted trouble, or if not a What-If imp, one of its cousins. But I think there is some solace in reading this story, whatever kind of imp you’ve got.
Review of Zebib K. A., “Heirlooms,” Fantasy Magazine 72 (October 2021): 11-15 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The narrator and her roommate have recently moved to a new apartment, in a historically Black neighborhood that is succumbing to gentrification. Other people in the building have said they don’t feel safe in the neighborhood, though we the readers are not told why. Why desperately creepy beings start tapping on the narrator’s window in the middle of the night, we begin to get a sense of why — but is she the only one that sees them?
I certainly didn’t expect a horror story when I started this, but that’s definitely what I got!
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