Review of Mac Bowers, “Brave Stupid Creatures,” Luna Station Quarterly 58 (2024): 97-104 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Animal killing.
I enjoyed the thread of queer discovery and joy that wound through this story, even if the rest of it wasn’t exactly my thing.
Review of Thomas Ha, “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video”, Clarkesworld Issue 212, May (2024): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
Set in a not too distant dystopian future, this story follows an unnamed protagonist who finds a dead book. A real one, with no pixelated layer on the pages, no swiping to increase the brightness. Just paper.
That’s rare in this world, and the book itself is so different from the kinds of books generally available. Present day books have their endings sanitized, plot lines changed, and audience acceptance maximized by following tropes and guidelines. That’s why this one stands out, attracts attention.
I always love to see stories of people finding their inner strength and purpose. Plus, the character arc and world building in this story is a treat. Definitely recommend.
Review of Eliza Sullivan, “Everything Is Idaho,” Luna Station Quarterly 58 (2024): 213-234 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
It’s an apocalyptic story, but one that feels very “samey”. We don’t know any details about the apocalypse, such as what caused it; we just know the aftermath, and it feels as if it could be any apocalypse. Maybe this makes the story universal, allowing the reader to fill in the gaps and adapt it how they wish; or maybe it just makes it underdeveloped and vaguely defined.
So if this is a vague and ill-defined post-apocalyptic story, why read this one, as opposed to any other one? I’d say, read it for the brothers’ relationship that is central to the story — that part was good. And also unbearably sad.
Review of Carolyn Zhao, “In Which Caruth is Correct”, Clarkesworld Issue 212, May (2024): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
This story brings us to a world where time loops exist, taking you back to moments of singularity. These moments are often moments of regret, the regret of making the wrong choices. Many step in and don’t return, with the strength of belief that maybe a different decision would make life better.
Our protagonist has many of these time loops show up, and works through it with the help of meds and tempo-therapy. The vivid descriptions just add to the joy of this story, which is already an enjoyable experience because of its concept and world building.
Review of Ana Wesley, “Who We Are,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 70-100 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a beautifully rich story (almost novelette/novella length, though I’m not sure of exact wordcount) — full of intriguing characters set against a well-constructed backdrop, the sort of story that feels like the prelude to a full-blown trilogy. And honestly, if Wesley is planning one, I’d read it.
Review of Kurt Pankau, “A Pin Drops,” Flash Fiction Online 129 (June 2024): 24-27 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Pankau nails the set-up of this story: An opening paragraph that has an easy, obvious interpretation, followed quickly on by a statement that makes you go “wait, WHAT?” and reread the first paragraph again in a totally new light. From then, I was hooked. The premise is one that superficially seems amusing, but in truth wrung a good deal of sympathy and emotional connection from me.
Review of Yelena Crane, “A Face Full of Nations,” Flash Fiction Online 129 (June 2024): 20-23 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
For such a strange premise — the new fashion fad is to sculpt a nationscape upon your face — this story felt like a weird mix of things I’d already read, sort of a cross between Horton Hears a Who and another story I recently reviewed here, Holly Schofield’s “What You Sow”. This one, though, is much more dark and tragic than the other two, no happy ending here.
Review of Lindz McLeod, “The Brides, The Hunted,” Flash Fiction Online 129 (June 2024): 16-18 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Domestic violence.
This story involved a flipped gender dynamic, which was interesting because of how weird it felt. Stories like this are good, because they remind us how unnatural and weird our current social structures are, no matter how used to them we may be.
Review of Justine Gardner, “Are They Cake?,” Flash Fiction Online 129 (June 2024): 12-15 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Nothing like the combination of “cake” in the title and “horror” as the genre to get you into a state of “I have no idea what this story is going to be about”. The opening paragraph thrusts you straight into a dystopian version of the Great British Bake-Off, and you know nothing is going to go well — whether “they” are cake or not.
It’s hilarious — the sort of story that keeps you laughing just so that you don’t have to acknowledge the horror beneath it all.
Review of Caroline Hung, “War Makes Flowers,” Flash Fiction Online 129 (June 2024): 8-10 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: body horror, gore, war.
Normally I’m happy to classify “horror” under the broad speculative fiction umbrella; but this story’s horror draws very much upon the horror of real life — what is most horrible about the story is how real it is. So while I think it’s effective horror, I think it’s also a rare example of a story that’s horror but not speculative.
SFF Reviews