REVIEW: “The Grand Finale” by Elly McFadden

Review of Elly McFadden, “The Grand Finale,” Luna Station Quarterly 60 (2024): 109-124 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Death. Lots of dead family members. And guns. And suicidal plans.

The basic premise of this story is simple, and true: When the apocalypse comes, not everyone can afford to escape it. McFadden’s narrator knows that she is one of those, and so decides to take matters into her own hands, to meet the apocalypse on her own terms. What unfolds is surprisingly lovely, and hopeful, even considering how it ends.

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REVIEW: “One, Sorrow, Two, Joy” by Sarah Magaharan

Review of Sarah Magaharan, “One, Sorrow, Two, Joy,” Luna Station Quarterly 60 (2024): 37-54 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a weird, somewhat dreamy, slightly gruesome story, the dreaminess enhanced by the way it felt like a disjointed collection of incidents without any proper narrative thread. (This definitely felt intentional, not accidental!)

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REVIEW: “Mothering Lessons” by Asa West

Review of Asa West, “Mothering Lessons,” Luna Station Quarterly 60 (2024): 15-34 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Parental illness.

The background worldbuilding of this story is complex enough that it took me a bit of work to keep track of who was who, but the premise of it made the work more than worth it. Mostly sweet, often incredibly sad, and sometimes wretched, this was a wonderful story about learning how to be a mother — but also about sisterhood, and how complicated it can be, at any stage of life. Make sure you have tissues on hand while reading it. I haven’t cried so hard over something I’ve read for SFFReviews in years.

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REVIEW: “A Throne Fit for Two Kings” by K. J. Chien

Review of K. J. Chien, “A Throne Fit for Two Kings,” Luna Station Quarterly 60 (2024): 57-68 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Sun Wukong is 15, so he is small and therefore suited for the most dangerous jobs on the railway, usually those involving tight spaces and dynamite. One day a job goes awry and he ends up trapped — only to meet the most curious little character, whose sole purpose at first seems to be to tease and taunt him, but who eventually makes him an offer he can’t refuse.

This is a queer little story (in the sense of strange rather than straight). I’m not entirely sure what to make of it.

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REVIEW: “Seven Days of Bleeding” by Chloe-Lynn Russo

Review of Chloe-Lynn Russo, “Seven Days of Bleeding,” Luna Station Quarterly 60 (2024): 270-273 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story traces one woman’s week of bleeding, and the effect of her blood upon the world each day. It’s quite short, and quite remote, in the sense that we only ever see the woman and her actions, never anything else. And yet, we never learn anything about the woman, who she is, where her power comes from, why she is doing all of this. So in the end, I felt I was wanting rather more than I got.

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REVIEW: “Real People” by Fija Callaghan

Review of Fija Callaghan, “Real People,” Luna Station Quarterly 60 (2024): 70-78 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Before the story starts there is a note about the author’s inspiration, a note which definitely made me nervous about what would be coming. But, I shouldn’t have been: This story took the best part of its inspiration, rather than the worst parts, and turned it into something new and magical. It’s a story about the things we love as children and what comes after we’ve grown up. It made me think of my own baby girl doll, Catherine, who when she was inherited by my daughter remained Catherine but somehow ended up a he instead, and wonder who she might be if she’s inherited by a grandchild.

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REVIEW: “Plastic-Eating Fungus Caused Doomsday [2][3]” by Emma Burnett

Review of Emma Burnett, “Plastic-Eating Fungus Caused Doomsday [2][3],” Flash Fiction Online 135 (December 2024): 12-15 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This is the first time I’ve encountered a story written in the form of the talk page of a wikipedia article. Burnett constructed this brilliantly, right up to the ending that made me laugh Two thumbs up, recommended reading even if you don’t like fungus!

(First published in Nature: Futures June 2024).

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REVIEW: “A Year in the Life of the Drowned Wastewater Plant East of Bellmarsh Village” by D. A. Straith

Review of D. A. Straith, “A Year in the Life of the Drowned Wastewater Plant East of Bellmarsh Village,” Flash Fiction Online 135 (December 2024): 27-29 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

For a story set in a post-apocalyptic setting, this was surprisingly peaceful and serene, and even almost hopeful. A lovely little gem in this issue!

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REVIEW: “Why I Quit Teaching at the Villain Academy” by Tina S. Zhu

Review of Tina S. Zhu, “Why I Quit Teaching at the Villain Academy,” Flash Fiction Online 135 (December 2024): 17-19 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Maybe it’s just because I’m an academic at the end of term, but you can totally read the first page of this story replacing “villain academy” with “university” and “villain” with “academic” and it is so, so, depressingly true. Doesn’t get much better on the second page, even if the substitutions no longer really work, because it’s full on climate depression.

Basically, don’t read unless you’re in a mood to get really bummed out!

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