Review of Lisa Farrell, “Crowd Demons,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Take a photographer hired to photograph a rich man’s soiree, a bunch of photos that don’t turn out exactly how she expected, and a newspaper article a few days later and what do you get? A supernatural ghost mystery that feels like it could’ve been straight out of an episode of the X Files (and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible.)
Review of Claire McAneny, “Reaping Rewards,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Domestic abuse.
If only getting a problematic man out of your life was as easy as going to the local fortune teller…
Review of Amelia Brunskill, “The Hunter’s Child,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a weird, almost grotesque, little fairy tale. It has all the characteristic roles — the Queen, the King, the Hunter — it has monsters beyond the castle walls, secrets, and little girls who can talk to birds. But entwined with these are ugly threads that you don’t expect to find in a fairy tale — alcoholism, abuse. If there is any happy ending at all, it is the little girl discovering that the monsters outside are not nearly as evil as ones inside.
Review of E. Fox, “The Price of Pearls,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a vibrant story of love, betrayal, jealousy, seals and puffins and sea otters. Full of beauty, this was a good reminder that no woman should ever be the possession of a man.
Review of M. L. Clark, “Love Unflinching, at Low- to Zero-G”, Clarkesworld Issue 181, October (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
A veterinarian in space wrangles with ethics, morality and duty, with inter-species collaborative space stations thrown in for good measure.
The Doc is getting on in years, but they are still very committed to ensuring a healthy, balanced existence on the station, amongst all species and their companions. But humans are only human, after all, and Doc takes it upon themselves to try and diffuse the situation before it becomes a potentially disastrous actual situation.
The descriptions were lovely, the characters were well-defined, and the ending was particularly poignant. Long yet engaging.
Review of Madeleine Sardina, “Ghosts in My Lungs,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I’m not sure if the titular ghosts were intended to be a metaphor for disease — they certainly can be read that way, but it’s not required — or if they’re just a fun creepy thing to imagine and write a story about, but either way, they definitely made for a fun creepy thing to read a story about, especially entangled in an absolutely glorious love story. A real treat!
Review of Savannah Wade, “Magpie Girls,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
One part fairy tale, one part tarot reading, and one part coming out story, this was a haunting little tale, of two magpie girls Jo and Lily, thieving beautiful trinkets, forgotten things, the chance at a life of their own, not dictated by any man…
Review of Daphne Fama, “What Has Waited Between the Stars,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Woman breaks up with her girlfriend, takes to the stars, crashes on a lonely planet: A simple, and not especially original, premise. The only thing that kept me going through the opening paragraphs was the hint of the title, the promise that I might be dazzled with something unexpected.
The abrupt shift the story took about three quarters of the way through was certainly unexpected, but I think I ended up more perplexed than dazzled. And odd little SF tale!
Review of Hannah Whiteoak, “Earth Report,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Whiteoak really has a knack for capturing humanity, and this story — witty, full of humor, and also exceptionally perceptive — puts this knack on full display!
(First published in Asymmetry Fiction, 2018.)
Review of Carol Scheina, “One More Fairy Tale” Cossmass Infinities 9 (2022): 20-24 — Read or purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story is both one final fairy tale that a mother tells her child, of bargains made for wishes fulfilled, and a pretty classic SF story, of genetically engineered soldiers and trans-world travel. I like it when authors play with genres like this, and Scheina’s touching story does so successfully.
SFF Reviews