REVIEW: “A Real Snow Day” by M. Bernardo

Review of M. Bernardo, “A Real Snow Day”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2023): 94–97 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

In the middle of a snowstorm in 1948, Lyria and Kenton decide to spend all day inside, enjoying a the warmth and comfort of their living room. However, nothing is really as it seems in their household.

This story is all about the final reveal, which I must admit that I didn’t see coming. The brevity certainly helps, because the first half is not that interesting — and the author doesn’t do the greatest job at foreshadowing. But in the end, it is a worthy read.

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REVIEW: “Direct Message” by Tom Pike

Review of Tom Pike, “Direct Message”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2023): 88–93 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

An alien race starts a Twitter poll about which region of earth to vaporize with their heat ray. The protagonist must negotiate with the aliens to save his hometown.

An amusing and funny story, though the implausibility is at times hard to swallow. Despite the author admitting to the tongue-in-cheek nature of the story (breaking the 4th wall in a manner of speaking), it still leaves a bit to be desired. I’m not sure the author’s final message gets through.

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REVIEW: “Linden’s Legends” by ZQ Taylor

Review of ZQ Taylor, “Linden’s Legends,” Luna Station Quarterly 52 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a slow, meandering story, a series of excerpts told from the point of view of a linden tree. I think I would have liked it more if the narrator had felt more tree-like, more foreign, less just an ordinary character. But there were bits in it that I really loved, such as the love between the tree and two lovers who courted within its branches. It felt so very joyous and pure.

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REVIEW: “Break Fresh Ground” by Callie S. Blackstone

Review of Callie S. Blackstone, “Break Fresh Ground,” Luna Station Quarterly 52 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

The narrator’s grandmother has died, and bequeathed to her house, her two apple trees, and her store of herbs in the pantry. We the reader get to explore all three of these along with the narrator in this beautiful story of love and loss and memory, and the entwining of ancient Irish myth with modern Catholic ritual.

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REVIEW: “The Beginning” by Katrina Carruth

Review of Katrina Carruth, “The Beginning,” Luna Station Quarterly 52 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

There’s a nice mythological feel to this story, which is set “before the earth was your Earth and the heavens were your heavens,” and tells of a tree, born from a seed that fell from the stars and grew to be the mother of all life. It had the potential to be a neat story, but it was told in a rather heavy-handed and didactic way, which wasn’t entirely to my taste, and ended rather abruptly. It felt like a strong first draft, not quite honed to its best form.

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REVIEW: “The Trimming of the Branches” by Ali Miller

Review of Ali Miller, “The Trimming of the Branches,” Luna Station Quarterly 52 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story was deftly written in order to allow two readings, one where it’s a straight-up dryadic sort of fantasy, and the other (which is how I preferred to take it) as a metaphor of the love between men and women and the land, a love that crosses and shifts and mutates over generations. It was a really lovely read.

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REVIEW: “Just One Step and Then the Next” by E. N. Díaz

Review of E. N. Díaz, “Just One Step and Then the Next”, Clarkesworld Issue 183, December (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A story about quiet resilience. Sometimes you have no choice but to take those small steps of courage. Sometimes the fear is so much, that a little more unfairness can push you into fearlessness. That’s what happened to Doña Chuy.

Dictatorial setups never work long term – you simply can’t win people over with a militaristic approach. This story takes us to the heart of a regular person’s life. We get to see, up close, Doña Chuy’s strength, because what can you be in such situations if not strong?

What else do you possess? A thought-provoking story.

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REVIEW: “Other Stories” by Wang Yuan

Review of Wang Yuan, “Other Stories”, Clarkesworld Issue 183, December (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A fascinating novelette about fiction and time travel and how it comes together in lovely, strange ways. This is a story I read twice, simply because it had so much depth that I had to go back. After the first read, things are revealed, and I immediately started it again, knowing the plot and hence being able to connect the dots better, seeing phrases in a new light.

You can tell that this was quite intricately written, and it’s one of those stories you can keep revisiting. Highly recommend.

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REVIEW: “The Mother Tree” by Elana Gomel

Review of Elana Gomel, “The Mother Tree,” Luna Station Quarterly 52 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Non-consensual sex, non-consensual pregnancy.

This was definitely not the sort of story I was expecting, veering off from fantasy to flirt with horror — the horror of pregnancy as your child takes over your body and then your life; the horror of losing a mother; the horror of being trapped in one place, unable to speak, unable to escape.

I loved it.

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