REVIEW: “The Fish Who Dreamt of Dragons” by Lilia Zhang

Review of Lilia Zhang, “The Fish Who Dreamt of Dragons,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 156-175 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Xinyue is the last member of the Crescent Moon sect — more than that, she is the Crescent Moon sect — and while other warriors discount her at first, her prowess earns her fame as she travels the world. When a fisher village is beset by a deadly spirit, Xinyue meets Wanyue and takes on her first disciple. Xinyue and Wanyue then travel together, until Xinyue’s fame catches the attention of the emperor and fate catches up with her — a fate that only Wanyue can rescue her from.

I don’t get to read much Wuxia in English — so I really enjoyed this!

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REVIEW: “Open Your Eyes” by Allie Marini

Review of Allie Marini, “Open Your Eyes,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 124-139 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: miscarriage, death of a parent.

This is a two-part story, switching viewpoint half-way through. The first half I felt dragged a bit; there was a lot of prose at times, which I’ll admit I ended up skimming because it seemed primarily to just spend time, rather than push the story forward or tell me more about the character. But things picked up in the second half, and it ended strongly.

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REVIEW: “Bedtime Story” by Rhonda Parrish

Review of Rhonda Parrish, “Bedtime Story,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 102-109 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This is a story of a story, a horror story told by Laura, an old doll, to Clara, the daughter of her previous owner. Clara was the one who asked Laura to tell the story, but during Laura’s telling I kept wondering what the purpose of the story was — would there be a moral? Was it just to scare Clara? I kept waiting for some signal, why did Clara ask Laura to tell her a story, or this story in particular? I never quite got any of the answers I hoped for.

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REVIEW: “Lost in Target” by Camden Rose

Review of Camden Rose, “Lost in Target,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 46-54 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Child loss.

“Target is magical,” the narrator tells us, and she means it literally, as the nexus for her exploration of grief after miscarriage. Throughout the story, we feel the intensity of her grief, as well as the palpable lack — or apparent lack — of her husband’s grief. It’s a raw, tough story, finely crafted and satisfying to read.

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REVIEW: “Rafi” by Amal Singh

Review of Amal Singh, “Rafi”, Clarkesworld Issue 205, October (2023): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

I’ve read this author before, and have always enjoyed his work. Happily, this story is no different. He really does write grief and anguish very well. Whenever music plays a part in an uprising, it always brings me joy. Here, in the thought-policed dystopia of the story, singing itself is as an act of rebellion. A story with depth and great prose, particularly in these aforementioned moments of pain.

And of course, my personal heritage bias means I will always be appreciative of a story set in India or by a writer of Indian origin. It’s so lovely to see people of your culture represented in media.

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REVIEW: “Regarding Your Application to This Year’s Orpheus Fellowship” by Anna-Claire McGrath

Review of Anna-Claire McGrath, “Regarding Your Application to This Year’s Orpheus Fellowship,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 34-44 Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Death of a parent.

Any academic who has ever written a grant application will resonate with this story — but I’m pretty sure that even if you haven’t gone through that specific circle of hell, you’ll still enjoy this clever and touching tale!

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REVIEW: “And Lilith Sewed the Seam” by Allister Nelson

Review of Allister Nelson, “And Lilith Sewed the Seam,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 22-32 Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I really love it when SFF stories take religion seriously, and my experience in recent years is that this most often happens in Jewish SFF. Nelson’s story is a great example of this, as her characters weave together magic, Russian mythology, and Jewish beliefs. Add in a bunch of queer romance, and there was a lot in this story I liked. There were also parts that weren’t for me — I’m not really into graphic descriptions of nudity — but they weren’t enough for me to not want to read it all.

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REVIEW: “Sojourner” by Esther Alter

Review of Esther Alter, “Sojourner,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Everyone who has ever followed the escapades of the Mars rovers and other extra-terrestrial sojourners via twitter or other newsfeeds will understand the draw that humans have to stories of plucky machines exploring worlds we ourselves will never visit (though maybe our great-grandchildren will).

This is a story of such machines. It’s got rocks. And robot jokes. And, oh my goodness, it made me cry. I loved it.

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