REVIEW: “The Language Birds Speak” by Rebecca Campbell

Review of Rebecca Campbell, “The Language Birds Speak”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A hauntingly lovely novelette. We, readers and writers, love words. Words can do so much, but there is another layer of deeper feeling where words do not entirely suffice. This story beautifully explores that.

There’s also a nice slow build up of dread from almost the start, though we may not know what we’re dreading. But it escalates quite nicely to a satisfying conclusion. There’s also a lovely hopeful ending.

We can do a lot with words, but there’s so much more to emotion, feeling and desire than words can do justice to.

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REVIEW: “Shadows of the Hungry, the Broken, the Transformed” by Izzy Wasserstein

Review of Izzy Wasserstein, “Shadows of the Hungry, the Broken, the Transformed,” Cossmass Infinities 7 (2022): 16-32 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story is written with a real ring of authenticity and understanding of the experiences of graduate student life in neoliberal higher education. Which is quite amazing, since the setting is entirely fantastical, and the research Justine is doing is nothing like the research that goes on in ordinary, real-world universities. This juxtaposition of a beautifully built fantasy world and all the grimy truths of reality made this story a really engaging read. Highly recommend, especially for weavers.

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REVIEW: “The Last Wake” by Kathryn Keane

Review of Kathryn Keane, “The Last Wake,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Death of a parent.

Paul’s mother has died and he has returned to the house that now belongs to his sister Margaret, and every intimate scene that the reader sees is one filled with all the love and dysfunctionality of a small-town Irish family — right up until the point that Paul gets talking with a self-described “bit of a blow-in” and the bit of me that always reads stories waiting for the speculative twist perks up. And I was right: Bridie McCafferty is everything this story needs to turn it from mundane to fantastical. It was a slow, subtle twist, but fine and bittersweet and just a little bit happy.

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REVIEW: “External Processors” by Sherry Yuan

Review of Sherry Yuan, “External Processors,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I really enjoyed this particular take on the notion of the “extended mind” — the idea that we think with more than just our brain, but also with parts of our environment. Not many people in Nolan’s class are lucky enough to get an ExP — an external processor. After getting one for his 12th birthday, he’s the envy of all his classmates. But the other side of his good fortune is a much darker one. I’m not sure whether this story is SF or horror, but whatever the genre: It’s one of those stories that feels all too real, and hence was very good.

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REVIEW: “Misrule” by Fiona Moore

Review of Fiona Moore, “Misrule,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Misrule is a multifaceted entity in this story — both the time of year when the Lord of Misrule holds court, but also the court itself, and the chaos that results from it. When Mary faces Misrule, it’s in the form of the wanton destruction of her mother’s livelihood, and it’s an enemy that she cannot fight. For as the Vicar says, “There’s always Misrule. It’s a way of letting go of the pain of the other fifty weeks of the year.”

This was a timely and thought-provoking story. Reading it, I couldn’t help but think of the recent protests in the UK, arising out of the myriad crises facing the ordinary people. They’re protests now, but how many tomorrows will it be before they are riots? Before we have our own form of Misrule? Maybe the Vicar is right: set aside twelve days each year for destruction, and maybe we can survive the rest of the year. Or maybe Mary is right, and rather than trying to endure it we must undo the very foundations on which Misrule is built. I’m not sure I’m convinced Mary’s solution is one that can be applied more generally, but it was certainly interesting to read it play out.

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REVIEW: “City of Eternity” by Pan Haitian

Review of Pan Haitian, “City of Eternity”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Very beautiful prose. I always enjoy reading translated fiction; the word choices and the way the language flows is just different from stories written originally in English. It’s nice to see different style choices in fiction, especially in short fiction.

A lovely story about time and how we perceive it. Do wars mean anything when you’ve experienced endless time, or the rise and fall of civilization? Does love? When does enlightenment really occur?

These are the questions this story explores, and it is quite a lovely thing to see.

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REVIEW: “There is a Cottage by the Woods” by Rebecca Burton

Review of Rebecca Burton, “There is a Cottage by the Woods,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story started off with a long enough pre-amble in italics that I actually quit reading and scrolled down because I wondered if the formatting in the story had gone wrong and an <i> tag hadn’t gotten closed. But, nope: There’s just a really long info-dump pre-amble in italics at the very beginning.

What came after that info-dump was a lovely pleasant read, though; it makes me wish an editor had suggested just getting rid of it altogether and starting the story at the point where it really started.

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REVIEW: “This Stitch, This Time” by Anna Martino

Review of Anna Martino, “This Stitch, This Time”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Very imaginative concept. Just like the last story from this issue of Clarkesworld, I find it enjoyable when disparate passions are combined to make a beautiful tale. Space suit seamstress is a science fiction profession I have not encountered before, and I love it!

A quick read, yet suffused with a lot of emotion.

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REVIEW: “Dark Waters Still Flow” by Alice Towey

Review of Alice Towey, “Dark Waters Still Flow”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Such a good story! Soft yet logical, I enjoyed every sentence. I don’t mean to sound partial, but this is why I love women science fiction writers. There was such beauty in the descriptions, the poetry, the minute details – this is a story you want to take the time to absorb.

The level of detail in this story surprised me, and then I read that apart from writing, Towey works as a civil engineer specializing in water resources management. That explains why she had such knowledge of the subject at hand. I do love it when writers combine their two favored disciplines in this manner.

Very enjoyable story. Read slowly. Savor it.

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