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 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 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 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 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 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!
Review of Moira Richardson, “Heartwood,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 110-115 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There was something a little Pygmalion about this little story. It’s not quite a love story — more like an obsession story.
Review of Caitlin Devlin, “Milk,” Flash Fiction Online 153 (August 2026): 23-25 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was absolutely gruesome.
Review of R.S.A. Garcia, “This Is an Emergency Broadcast”, Clarkesworld Issue 238, July (2026): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
Oh my. What a story. This one will surely be collecting some nominations, I think!
I have been reading this very slowly amidst a busy few weeks, and it was so so worth it.
Even when I only got to read a few minutes at a time, it was immediately arresting. So many moments in this story that evoked many different kinds of reactions and feelings in me.
At the end of the story, when I tell you I got literal chills and scrolled all the way back up to check something again (you’ll know what I mean if you read the story).. this one was a pure pleasure to read.
Do yourself a favour and read it.
Review of Jonathan Huston, “The Alien You Love,” Flash Fiction Online 153 (August 2026): 18-21 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The beauty of this love story was almost enough to get me past my deep-seated dislike of the 2nd person POV.
SFF Reviews