Review of Mary E. Lowd, “Feral Unicorn,” Luna Station Quarterly 24 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Lowd’s story of mother-of-two Janie attempting to raise a feral unicorn was quirky and adorable. A friend of mine raises goats, and reading Lowd’s story I could just imagine what a little baby unicorn would be like — like a goat kid with double the mischief!
Review of Sarah Grey, “Southside Gods,” Flash Fiction Online 87 (2021): Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
These are the southside gods — gods of the slums, of the working class. This is Holloway, god of water, who fixes washing machines and “is every plumber in the directory”; but he doesn’t do air conditioners. He just might be able to recommend a colleague, though…
Fresh, humorous, and with just the right of pathos, this was a little gem of a story.
(First published in Intergalactic Medicine Show September 2013).
Review of Steve DuBois, “Warlord,” Flash Fiction Online 87 (2021): Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Cockroaches.
Ever since childhood, Kobi has been attended by a horde of bloodthirsty, talking cockroaches. Now, the presence of cockroaches isn’t generally something that will get me all het up for a story, but I’m not so creeped out by them as to stop reading. I read “Warlord” in a state of mixed horror and amusement — on the one hand, cockroaches, on the other hand, as far as Kobi’s concerned, they’re Cinderella’s mice. Which is hilarious. To sum it up: This story is quite the ride.
Review of Kyle Richardson, “Into the Lightning Suit,” Flash Fiction Online 87 (2021): Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Cora and Ben’s mother is dead, and the two siblings disagree about what to do next: Cora wants to let her mother rest in peace; she’s already said goodbye. Ben, on the other hand, wants to rebuild her.
What I liked: Crisp prose with good pacing.
What I disliked: The constant description of Ben and his activities as “mad” or “insane.”
Review of Riley Vainionpaa, “The Corn Grows Back Every Year,” Luna Station Quarterly 24 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was sci-fi with a good dollop of horror (content note: body horror/mutilation). At first neither Peggy nor Mellie understand what’s going on with Mellie’s body, or why she appears to have developed special powers. But then they agree to systematically experiment, driven by the need to know, to understand.
This was an odd little story!
Review of MK Sauer, “Retriever,” Luna Station Quarterly 24 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Cannibalism, mention of rape.
Borr is a Bio-Organic Retrieval Robot, part-flesh, part-metal, but wholly able to withstand the ravages of the Oxidation — well, at least better than humans can, by a long shot. She’s been sent out from base camp to retrieve any fuel, water, books, or survivors that she can find. But not all survivors want to be retrieved.
The most remarkable thing about this story was the slang that Sauer developed. It was familiar enough to be (mostly) intelligible, but foreign enough to feel realistically future. The use (or non use) of this slang give the characters each distinctive voices, and made this story something just a little out of the ordinary.
Review of Sandi Leibowitz, “On Aerdwen Green,” Luna Station Quarterly 24 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Great-King Donnil lost the Chalice of Plenty and now his great-grandson Great-King Bardo has commanded the Masters or Mistresses of every House to go on a quest to find it again. Most houses didn’t follow the command, but House Dilvan did, despite (or perhaps because…) its young Mistress Beldaria being only 16 years old. But Beldaria is not the focus of the story, rather, that’s Enzi, her maidservant.
Two things I really liked about this story: One was the sharp, deft way that Leibowitz depicted class distinctions, how one and the same quest could be experienced so differently by the gentry and by their servants. It’s easy to feel sympathy for Enzi and to disapprove of Beldaria and the other Masters and Mistresses. The other was what actually happened on Aerdwen Green, and the way in which the reader was held so long in ignorance of the significance of those events. It was magical.
Review of Rebecca Harrison, “The Five Snowflakes”, Luna Station Quarterly 24 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
What an excellent, novel fairy tale this was, told in beautiful and imaginative language.
Katla, the daughter of the Snow King and Snow Queen, grew up in a life of magic and luxury, learning the stories of her past and dreaming up stories of her future when she would inherit the Arctic kingdom.
Until her little brother is born and displaces her as heir, and she is married off to the ruler of a southern kingdom. When heartbroken she leaves her frozen realm, she brings with her five snowflakes. As you’d expect with a proper fairy tale, these snowflakes contain within them all the power necessary for Katla to bring about her happy ending.
Review of Sheryl Normandeau, “Cold Flame”, Luna Station Quarterly 24 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Cecelia works in the Arctic seed-bank vault, a quiet, easy job until the day that a seed is stolen from the vault. It’s no ordinary seed — it’s the vault’s most precious one — and it’s no ordinary thief either, on two counts: 1. both Cecelia and the thief have had bio-enhancements done; 2. he’s her ex-boyfriend.
This isn’t the sort of story that’ll necessarily thrill you or wow you or awe you, but it is good for a bit of light entertainment.
Review of Olga Kolesnikova, “The Silent Decades,” Luna Station Quarterly 47 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
One of my favorite genres of speculative fiction is what we might call speculative nonfiction, that is, a fictional nonfiction/research paper or book. Kolesnikova’s story is set around a century and a half in the future, and is series of tootnotes to a historical/analytical report of the “the silent decades” in the middle of the 21st century, complete with numerous references to secondary reading. It’s really hard to make up plausible non-fiction — especially when you need to make up the sources you’re citing! — and I thought Kolesnikova did a marvelous job.
SFF Reviews