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.

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REVIEW: “Belong to Me” by Rachel Harrison

Review of Rachel Harrison, “Belong to Me”, Syntax and Salt 4, 2017: Read Online. Reviewed by Tiffany Crystal

Well, gee, this one isn’t creepy as all get out or anything. It’s sunshine and lollipops, and okay, that’s enough sarcasm for now.

For something that starts out as a love story (kinda), the end is…huh. Rachel Harrison takes you through a tale that is, on the surface, anyway, similar to the premise of “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” If the best friend was a Martian, and the other woman was the main character’s other best friend.

Okay, so the comparison isn’t the best, but it’s better than using “Coneheads,” and the point remains. The story really shouldn’t be as creepy as it is, though to be fair, the creepy part is entirely conjecture. You aren’t given enough information to justify the chills that start creeping in, but you also aren’t given any reason to not get them.

Is the cousin telling the truth? Or was he lying? Where are all the Martian women? Who does Becky care about more? All it says is that she discovers who she loves more. The story leaves you with so many questions that demand answers, but in a way that you can’t really be mad at the author for.

And guys? It has aliens. Aliens. And UFO’s. Am I entirely too happy about that? Possibly. Go read it anyway. (Aliens!)

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REVIEW: “Watching You Without Me” by Todd Summar

Review of “Watching You Without Me”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #36 Early Autumn pp. 25-31. Purchase here. Review by Ben Serna-Grey.

“Watching You Without Me” is a story about death, time, and life. The main character is a woman who is recently deceased, and she finds time is not linear because she keeps jumping around in her own timeline. She relives difficult tumultuous times. Her husband growing distant, her child growing without her.

It’s not the usual shtick of watching yourself from the outside, A Christmas Carol style. Our main character is reliving these vignettes in the moment, remembering she is incorporeal at increasingly more distressing times: when she can’t hold her child up to keep him from drowning when he’s learning to swim, when her husband gets called out to the hospital after she is late coming home. She begins to be pulled further and further away from these moments by some sort of unseen force, and the scenes get more heartbreaking as she is now looking at what has happened to the people in her life now that she is gone.

It’s not all doom and gloom. There is some actual closure and acceptance at the end, but it also doesn’t soften any blows. Like the previous story, “Evidence of a Storm,” there is necessarily some darkness here, a bleak make, but the theme that pushes through most is acceptance. She did what she could while she could, but now that she’s gone it’s time to let things go. This is another recommended read.

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