REVIEW: “Saturday Night Science” by Michael M. Jones

Review of Michael M. Jones, “Saturday Night Science”, Broadswords and Blasters 1 (2017): 37-52 — Purchase Here. Reviewed by Yana Shepard.

This one is humorous and easily my favorite so far. And sapphic relationships! I’m all about f/f relationships! I was so happy to read this.

The main character, Camille, shows some fire when needed and a huge nerd, showcased via locations in the story. There’s also disability rep. Camille has no feeling in her legs so must rely on a wheelchair to get around.

Daphne, the other character, gave me a Doctor Who vibe. I love Doctor Who. Love that show. So it was no surprise to me that I fell in love with Daphne just as much as I fell in love with Camille.

“Saturday Night Science” had so many nice surprises.

I recommend it to any who enjoy SF, multiverse shenanigans, humor, and happy endings.

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REVIEW: “Asylum of Cuckoos” by Lila Bowen

Review of Lila Bowen, “Asylum of Cuckoos”, Apex Magazine 104: Read Online. Reviewed by Joanna Z. Weston.

Ranger Rhett Walker stops in a small town with his posse, looking for a quick drink and a pause from their slow journey through the desert. When local law takes an interest in him, he assumes it’s because of his brown skin, or maybe because he’s brown and wearing a Ranger’s star. The truth turns out to be much stranger than he imagined, or than his companions will ever know.

This is a story about monsters, and only somewhat the kind you expect. Yes, some of the characters have, shall we say, special abilities that could get them branded as such by the more ordinary folks around them, but I’d say that this story is actually more concerned with their actions, rather than their abilities. It has a nice depth to it.

Rhett’s gender identity (he is a trans man) comes up a few times, due to the nature of the monster he encounters in that tiny town. As far as I can tell, as a cis-gendered woman, the subject seemed to be handled well – his complex feelings about his body are neither swept under the proverbial rug nor made the main focus, and the only person to imply that he isn’t a man is met with the disdain they deserve.

If you like stories about the wild west (particularly stories that don’t whitewash the region and era) or complex thoughts about morality then you’ll like “Asylum of Cuckoos.”

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REVIEW: “Cunning” by Laurel Lanthrop

Review of “Cunning”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #36 Early Autumn pp. 32-37. Purchase here. Review by Ben Serna-Grey.

This story is a fairy tale about a man who has lost his wife, and the witch he meets after saving her from drowning. The witch offers him a single wish and in his grief he wishes either for his wife to come back from the dead, or a woman who would be such a good wife to him that he would no longer remember his sorrow. Of course the witch offers to become his wife, beautifying herself with magic and going home with the man to meet his daughter and housekeeper, taking her place as the new woman of the house.

Like any fairy tale worth its salt, it has a moral or two to teach. Also like any fairy tale worth its salt, it isn’t dumbed down in order to be “kid-friendly.” “Cunning” keeps up the level of quality present throughout this entire magazine, though it was slightly harder for me to latch onto partly due to the dialogue in the story being peppered with thees and thous, seeming just a tad off. Don’t let that keep you from reading this story, though, because it’s great, and I’m very interested to see what other work Laurel comes out with.

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REVIEW: “Running Straight” by E. K. Wagner

Review of E. K. Wagner, “Running Straight”, Luna Station Quarterly 32 (2017): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This is a story of dreams, of strength, and of slavery, told in beautiful colors. The story draws you in and draws you along at each moment becoming more and more fraught. Brilliantly written, and a brilliant story. The ending that happens is the ending you want to happen, and yet it is still quite a kicker when it comes.

One thing I really enjoyed about the story is how little details can have such a big impact. Sometimes, all that is needed to set a story in a foreign and unfamiliar place is to change one simple thing that is familiar, one thing you would never expect to change. That one thing in this story is the length of the years. Some years are longer than others, some shorter, and because Cinti’s culture, like ours, revolves around the length of a year, this one small difference has a dramatic effect on how strange and foreign the story setting feels.

This one was a good one — best in the issue in my opinion.

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REVIEW: “Pension Plan” by Dusty Wallace

Review of Dusty Wallace, “Pension Plan”, Broadswords and Blasters 1 (2017): 30-36 — Purchase Here. Reviewed by Yana Shepard.

I liked the characters and their descriptions. They were fun for the short amount of time you got to spend with them. The story was a blast, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ending.

I will give a brief spoiler warning below.

If you don’t like the mention of genitalia and/or dismemberment of said genitalia, then this story is not for you. It’s only for the last few paragraphs but it’s there, nonetheless. I personally don’t mind such descriptions, but I know many people aren’t okay with it.

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REVIEW: Fall Flash Contest+Halloween

Review of H.L. Fullerton, “What You Ate Eats At You”, Syntax and Salt Fall Flash Contest, October 2017: Read Online. Reviewed by Tiffany Crystal

As much as I like Syntax and Salt, I’ve learned that I don’t like all of the work they feature. This one, in particular wasn’t to my taste. Maybe because I was expecting something more….Halloween-y? I guess? It was an entry for a Fall Flash Contest, so the mistake is all mine, but still. And it was fixated on food. I found myself skimming it, just to get through the story. I couldn’t get into it. At all. If there was a redeeming point to the story, it was that it ended.

Honestly, if this was the third place winner, I’m scared to think of what didn’t make it.

Review of Wendy Wimmer, “Feðgin”, Syntax and Salt Fall Flash Contest, October 2017: Read Online. Reviewed by Tiffany Crystal

This story confused me at first. The character’s father is a villain? There were explosions? Death ray, what? Then I got further into it, and…well, if you’re a Republican in the United States, you might want to skip this story completely. I’m not, so I enjoyed it immensely. I wasn’t quite filled with evil glee, but close.

Okay, back on track: the story is very short and simple. There are some questions left unanswered, which, as I’ve stated before, I hate, but it doesn’t really detract from the story, so I can bear it. And I have learned a new word, so bonus! Maybe just for me, but eh. You can’t win them all.

This story was the second place winner in Syntax and Salt’s fall flash contest.

(FYI: “Feðgin” means “Father and Daughter” apparently. Yay for learning!)

Review of Jennifer R. Donohue, “Aground, Upon the Sand”, Syntax and Salt Fall Flash Contest, October 2017: Read Online. Reviewed by Tiffany Crystal

As soon as I saw the author’s name, I knew this was going to be good, and I was right. I’m not entirely sure it deserved first place in Syntax and Salt’s fall flash contest, but it was still a good read. Another short and simple work, this one is best enjoyed with some background knowledge of selkie mythology.

Review of Mariel Tishma, “Wax and Wane”, Syntax and Salt Halloween Special, October 2017: Read Online. Reviewed by Tiffany Crystal

Well. Huh. Um, not sure what to say. Mariel Tishma has a very interesting way with words, and I certainly wish her the best of luck convincing her editor that she’s not just a pile of squirrels, but I’m a little thrown by this piece.

The character is a witch or a sorcerer, it appears, and so is their love(?) interest. If I read/understood the story correctly, the main character is in a love/hate relationship with the other witch. Or maybe the love interest isn’t a witch at all, and is just portrayed as one because of the “spell” she cast on the character? It’s hard to tell, honestly, but it is a well wrote piece and worth a read.

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REVIEW: “The Executioner’s Daughter” by R.A. Goli

Review of R.A. Goli, “The Executioner’s Daughter”, Broadswords and Blasters 1 (2017): 20-29 — Purchase Here. Reviewed by Yana Shepard.

I liked The Executioner’s Daughter, but I’ll be honest, I felt my anxiety spike during a semi intense scene. I realize for other readers this probably wouldn’t be such a problem, maybe none at all, but for someone like me who struggles with crowds and extreme anxiety, this made me take a break for a few minutes. After that scene, I found I could read it without much trouble.

It wasn’t a bad story. I smiled in knowing what was coming next. If you read it you might think me macabre for that, but that’s okay by me. I tend to have an appreciation for darker things.

If you don’t mind a tad bit of gore, this might be for you.

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REVIEW: “Operators” by Joel Richards

Review of Joel Richards, “Operators”, Asimov’s Science Fiction November/December (2017): 150-159 — Purchase Here. Reviewed by Kiera Lesley.

I really love people thinking about technology disrupting different industries and what happens when people don’t think through the implementation ahead of time. Autonomous vehicles are a big deal contemporary speculative topic, but it’s mostly been focused on cars. Operators looks instead at trucks and logistics, a big deal economy and enterprise across the world and particularly in America where long-haul trucking of various goods is ingrained.

I loved how the protagonist had to balance competing interests in this – hired by the big trucking companies to spy on his fellows, but somehow trying not to be the bad guy either. The conflict wasn’t overwhelming, but it drove the character and story well. I found the tone really made this piece. It was down-to-earth and personable, which suited the setting and characters being portrayed. You don’t want fancy metaphors in a piece that deal with people down on their luck and out of work in the middle of nowhere. The ending was nifty and smart, staying true to the viewpoint character and managing to be a bit surprising as well.

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REVIEW: “Cemetery Man” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Review of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, “Cemetery Man”, Apex Magazine 103: Read Online. Reviewed by Joanna Z. Weston.

“Cemetery Man” is my favorite kind of story; it’s exciting and fun, but has ample depth in both the plot and the characters. The historical setting (Mexican Revolution, circa 1910, I think?) and presence of female fighters are icing on the cake.

Catalina lies bleeding on the battlefield. When she wakes up she is in the lair of the Cemetery Man, a known resurrectionist for the opposing side. She’s fought many of his creations, but for now, she figures she is just lucky to be alive. The story proceeds with brief, disjointed scenes – moments of lucidity and pain, each ending with morphine. As Catalina’s strength increases, so does the length and coherence of the scenes, and what flows from there is a nicely paced story, rich in both internal and external development.

“Cemetery Man” pairs genuine creepiness with serious questions. Are the resurrected really alive? Conscious? Human? Catalina never asks this question directly, but the narrative asks it obliquely through situation and action. There are no easy answers, yet I found the ending satisfying.

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REVIEW: “Piece by Piece” by Sean Woznicki

Review of Sean Woznicki, “Piece by Piece”, Syntax and Salt 4, 2017: Read Online. Reviewed by Tiffany Crystal

I’m not even sure what to say about this work. I’m the type that hates questions left unanswered, and this short story leaves way too many for my taste. There’s not even a suggestion of why the events in the story happen. Is it because of the woman? Is that why he loses nothing when he spends the night at his own home? If it’s the woman though, wouldn’t this be something she knew to look out for? Wouldn’t she be less horrified at finding his eyes?

I mean, in the beginning, she was entirely too blasé about the toe and the finger, and even the tongue, so I suspected it was entirely her fault, and that she knew about it. But her reaction to the eyes threw me. Perhaps her reaction is supposed to throw the audience, but it still doesn’t give you any answers.

Overall, for me, the story was frustrating because of the lack of answers, and hard to enjoy. It might’ve been different if we were at least given a reason to care about what was going on, but we aren’t even given that.

Oh well, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Hopefully others will enjoy it more than I did. At least it wasn’t badly written. It just wasn’t to my taste.

TiffanyCrystalLeave a comment