REVIEW: “Love, Happiness, and All the Things You May Not Be Destined For” by Lindz McLeod

Review of Lindz McLeod, “Love, Happiness, and All the Things You May Not Be Destined For,” Assemble Artifacts 2 (2022): 62-96 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I know it’s still early 2024, but this story is an exceptionally strong candidate for being my story of 2024. The conceit is novel: Georgia meets up regularly with other versions of herself, at different ages, both learning how her life will turn out from the older versions and in turn teaching the younger ones the same. And the twist(s! plural!) at the end are glorious and unexpected and perfect.

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REVIEW: “First Ship” by Eric Lewis

Review of Eric Lewis, “The Family Proof,” Assemble Artifacts 2 (2022): 45-61 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Corralyn Fan-Anders has spent the last 16 years in stasis, on the first manned mission to another star system. When she awakens from stasis, everything goes smoothly — until another ship, impossibly, appears.

For someone as clever as Corralyn must have been, she seems remarkably obtuse about the possibility of technology improving in the time that she’s been asleep. That, combined with some bad judgment and poor decision making, made her a relatively unrelatable, unsympathetic character. The story was billed as a comedy, but I didn’t quite see that side of things; maybe other readers will have a different experience.

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REVIEW: “The Family Proof” by Arianna Reiche

Review of Arianna Reiche, “The Family Proof,” Assemble Artifacts 2 (2022): 1-44 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Sexual assault/violence.

At 44 pages, this is almost a novelette than a short story. But the length worked: It allowed Reiche to feed the reader small bits and dribs and drabs, the hints that let us know that things are not as they seem. It’s a story that sits in the uncanny valley: It’s almost just an ordinary story about ordinary people, and just enough not that to make for an incredibly rewarding read. (I also think it would make a fascinating short film.)

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REVIEW: “Babirusa” by Arula Ratnakar

Review of Arula Ratnakar, “Babirusa”, Clarkesworld Issue 185, February (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A beautifully engaging novella with so many elements, twists and surprises that I was reluctant to put it down whenever real life called.

Roop and Kabir are the brother-sister duo I never knew I needed in fiction. The richly layered portrayal of their relationship adds so much depth to the story.

I was especially impressed by the level of scientific detail, as well as the character’s well-rounded and interesting personalities. Would definitely recommend this story, especially if you’re interested in the idea of consciousness and individuality. Especially as seen through the lens of a human society farther advanced than us – one with the skillset to program and modify a human being.

This is going to be one of my most recommended stories for people wanting to explore the world of short SFF.

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REVIEW: “The Direction of Clocks” by Jess Levine

Review of Jess Levine, “The Direction of Clocks”, Clarkesworld Issue 185, February (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Time-related stories strongly appeal to me, irrespective of actual plot. In this story, the protagonist travels in a starship solo, through time dilation. This means that she spent three years on the starship, while almost a century has passed in earth years. She left her friends, family, and relationship to escape through time.

**Spoiler:**
Once she reaches a space station, a stop on the way to continuing her journey rimward, she learns that relativistic journeys are no longer allowed, and she would have to spend the rest of her days on the space station.
**Spoiler ends**

Her journey of growth and self awareness make up a large part of the story, but I would have really liked it if the story explored more of her “why”, or how she grows through different situations. Or showcase her maturity. Not all characters need to be likable, so I’m not going to count that against this story.

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REVIEW: “Hedwig Eva” by Victory Witherkeigh

Review of Victory Witherkeigh, “Hedwig Eva,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 43-47 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a particularly odd time travel story — I’m not entirely sure what the motivation was for this specific combination of fictional character and
historical person, or what I was supposed to get from it. It was, nevertheless, compellingly told with beautiful details.

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REVIEW: “Ophelia’s Song” by Rebecca Birch

Review of Rebecca Birch, “Ophelia’s Song,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 37-42 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Death.

Kathleen has buried seven of her crewmates and now there’s no one left to bury her when she dies. The colonisation of this new planet is a failure. You’d think, from this, that this is a sad story — and while it definitely tugs at your heartstrings, there is just a little bit of hope at the end.

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REVIEW: “Afterlife” by Lucy Zhang

Review of Lucy Zhang, “Afterlife,” Tree and Stone 2 (2022): 25-28 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

One of my favorite parts of reading SFF and speculative fiction is when in the middle of something entirely fictive I get something that is so entirely real. In Zhang’s story, that comes via this killer line: “Anger and self-perceived injustices are a product of overstimulation.” And that’s just one excellent portion of this rich story full of a deeply different imagined world. High quality stuff!

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