Review of Samantha Murray, “This Blue World,” Fantasy Magazine 83 (September 2022): 19-20 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Ghost stories aren’t usually my thing; stories told in 2nd person POV aren’t usually my thing. Yet Murray’s 2nd-person-POV-ghost-story was EXACTLY my thing, one of those wonderful surprises that shows you just how the flexibility of language can result in something so enjoyable.
Review of Jen Brown, “The Probability of One,” Fantasy Magazine 83 (September 2022): 6-8 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was quite a complex story for how short it was; I started it, got lost, had to start it again, got distracted, started again before I really go stuck into it. It feels like it skirts the barrier between very clever and unreasonably opaque. I’d rather not decide for myself, but encourage everyone to give it a go. At the very least, it’s short, and if you reach the end still confused, it’s okay — it’s short. And even at the end there’s something that leaves me thinking “I wish I understood more.”
The author bio says that Jen Brown writes “otherworldly tales about Black, queer folks righteously wielding power.” For that reason alone, I’d read this story.
Review of Sharang Biswas, “I Kissed a Dragon,” Fantasy Magazine 83 (September 2022): 29-30 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem had some nice turns of phrases, but overall I felt like it was lacking in substance, with just a few too many stereotypes.
Review of Angel Leal, “The Hole is the Beginning,” Fantasy Magazine 83 (September 2022): 27-28 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This lovely poem touched me, particularly some of the lines towards the end:
These children may not feel connected,
but it’s their otherness that connects them.
It’s about motherhood and otherness and how in the best of worlds the children we love, we love whoever they are.
Review of Janna Miller, “The Sternum Ties it All Together,” Small Wonders no. 7 (January 2024): 22-24 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a surprisingly gruesome little story — not quite body horror, but adjacent to it. Not ordinarily my cup of tea, but there was something quite gripping about it.
(First published in The Molotov Cocktail, 2022).
Review of Avi Burton, “Quantum Eurydice,” Small Wonders no. 7 (January 2024): 14-16 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Oh, I really loved this. It’s part myth, part literary commentary, and part Eurydice coming into her own. It’s the sort of story I’d give to my students to show them what stories can be.
(First published in Fantasy Magazine 2022).
Review of Chelsea Sutton, “Ursula the Monster,” Flash Fiction Online (October 2023): 18-20 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
A short, sweet story of one woman’s revenge on every wrong that’s ever been done to her gender.
(First published in Orca Literary Summer 2022.)
Review of Lyle Stiles, “Mephisto & Me,” Assemble Artifacts 2 (2022): 156-176 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
When Jerod’s demon-possessed robot finally succeeds in harnessing Jerod’s angerinto bringing about Armageddon, he won’t have anyone to blame but himself. After all, it was Jerod who was willing to do anything to bring his father back after he was murdered — including a pack with the devil.
The premise has a lot of potential, but I found the implementation of it sometimes a bit clunky and stodgy; I never really quite got into the story. I did appreciate Jerod’s attempts to speak up against the horribly whitewashed version of BML his teacher tried to give him in school.
Review of Brianna R. Whitrock, “End of the Earth,” Assemble Artifacts 2 (2022): 119-155 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was long but nevertheless worth it. Full of romance and humor and longing and fun, and told in a vivid and bright narration. Enjoyable!
Review of Nick Shafir, “Prism,” Assemble Artifacts 2 (2022): 97-118 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The narrator is off to test their potential as a Querier, a person in charge of gathering information that will contribute to determining what, exactly, are the Prism Events. We see their interview with an astronomer, we hear about their own experience with the first Prism Event, and the twist at the end is both fitting and not so telegraphed in advance to not be a surprise. But the entire thing was let down for me by a simple inconsistency in how the main character was presented. First, they say “It’s fortunate that in a job like this, being emotionally attuned wouldn’t do me any favors. That’s part of the reason it was a good fit for me” (p. 98). But then just a few pages later — “I’d been warned about keeping my sympathy in check when I took the assignment” (p. 101) and on the next page there’s a reference to “my unintentionally callous nature” (p. 102). So: sympathetic/empathetic or not? Which are we to believe? I’m not sure I can buy this being simply an unreliable narrator when the explanation of inconsistent author strikes me as more likely. And as soon as I am worried that I’ve got an inconsistent author, it makes me uncertain about everything else I’m given in the story.
A real shame, because the idea had potential, I think.
SFF Reviews