REVIEW: “In the Orchard, Where Robots Grow” by Erin K. Wagner

Review of Erin K. Wagner, “In the Orchard, Where Robots Grow,” Luna Station Quarterly 62 (June 2025): 53-69 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Death of a parent.

It’s hard to call a post-apocalyptic SF story “cozy,” but as I read this story and reached for the right words, that’s the one I kept ending up with. It’s not “cozy” in the sense of happy and comforting but in the sense of small-scale, intimate, personal, much more about the breakdown of familial relationships than the breakdown of the robot in the orchard.

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REVIEW: “Yes, No, Goodbye” by LeeAnn Perry

Review of LeeAnn Perry, “Yes, No, Goodbye,” Flash Fiction Online 140 (May 2025): 26-28 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Suicidal ideation.

I’m never quite sure what to make of stories like this. It’s a ghost story, well-crafted and constructed, put together in a way that leads to a simple resolution and leaves few questions unanswered. But along the way it concentrates on the sad and the sordid and the unhappy, and whenever I read a story like this, I always wonder — what does the author expect me to get out of a story like this? I think sometimes I wish for a little more escapism from my reading than gritty realism stories like this provide.

(First published in The Dawn Review August 2023.)

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REVIEW: “To Be a Woman is To Be Without a Name” by Chidera Solomon Anikpe

Review of Chidera Solomon Anikpe, “To Be a Woman is To Be Without a Name,” Flash Fiction Online 140 (May 2025): 19-22 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

When FFO serves up one of its rare non-speculative stories, I’m never quite sure what to say. I include the stories on this blog because our commitment to reviewing all stories in a given issue or anthology trumps our focus on speculative fiction; but I sort of feel like I’m not sure what I’m supposed to get out of a non-spec fic short story, so I don’t know how to read it properly.

What I can say is that this somewhat-autobiographical-feeling story has a stark, strong conclusion.

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REVIEW: “Through These Moments, Darkly” by Samantha Murray

Review of Samantha Murray, “Through These Moments, Darkly”, Clarkesworld Issue 223, April (2025): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Reading this story on a cold spring day hits different. The “you” point of view for narration was a choice, and I’m happy to say it made sense for the story. Lovely words throughout – the prose was just as awesome as the plot. An evocative piece of writing.

This story is a hopeful delight.

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REVIEW: “galactic oracle eulogy” by Samir Sirk Morató

Review of Samir Sirk Morató, “galactic oracle eulogy,” Flash Fiction Online 137 (February 2025): 9-12 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

The setting and characters in this story are so unusual and distinctive that I spent quite a bit of my time trying to figure out just who and what everything is. I like the way that so much is left ambiguous (is it fungus? parasites? metaphor? weird aliens? bio-ship or metal-ship? macroscopic or microscopic?), so that I have no confidence at all that my interpretation is accurate, but every confidence that my interpretation is just as valid a way of reading it as anyone else’s.

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REVIEW: “Conflict Resolution” by Holly Schofield

Review of Holly Schofield, “Conflict Resolution,” Flash Fiction Online 137 (February 2025): 23-26 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story marches back in time from a drowning.

The way it starts is so sudden, so unmotivated, and so unpleasant that it put me off, erecting quite a barrier that would have to be mounted before I could enjoy the rest of the story. I figured I was willing to give the length of a flash fic story for it to convince me that I should revise my opinion of the opening events, but only that.

In the end, I think I’m ambivalent about this story. The resolution wasn’t too predictable for it to resolve my conflicted stance as a reader.

(First published in Nature:Futures October 2022).

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REVIEW: “Those Uncaring Waves” by Yukimi Ogawa

Review of Yukimi Ogawa, “Those Uncaring Waves”, Clarkesworld Issue 222, March (2025): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A hauntingly beautiful novella. So well written, richly layered, and very detailed. This was an absolute treat to read.

A story with an intricately created world usually has that as the highlight of the story. Here, it was the background for another beautiful story. I cannot overstate how lovely this story is – the plot, the emotion, the scale, the world building, the structure – everything so so good.

This novella is a must-read. I can’t even try to put it in a genre or explain “key points”. Read for yourself and see; thank me later!

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