Review of Reyzl Grace, “Zvezdochka,” Luna Station Quarterly 61 (2025): 283-306 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a sweet little reflective love story steeped in folklore and theology.
REVIEW: “Sun Flowers” by Samantha Rich
Review of Samantha Rich, “Sun Flowers,” Luna Station Quarterly 61 (2025): 273-281 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Rich provides us here with a quietly hopefully story of ecological restoration, a welcome diversion from the doom and gloom climate fiction often provides.
REVIEW: “Into the Shell” by K. L. Marsh
Review of K. L. Marsh, “Into the Shell,” Luna Station Quarterly 61 (2025): 77-85 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I enjoyed the way that this story’s main character robot felt both accessible and understandable and yet at the same time just enough foreign to really feel that it was a robot, and not just a person’s interpretation of what being a robot would be like.
REVIEW: “First to Go” by Jenny Perry Carr
Review of Jenny Perry Carr, “First to Go,” Luna Station Quarterly 61 (2025): 49-54 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a sparse, spare little story about space-travel on the very personal, individual level. Its tight prose reflects the tension of the situation that the main character is in, giving us an intimate glimpse into her mind, and it meant that all it took was a single, perfect, line for it to send chills down my spine:
Maybe my only chance to be first to go.
If you need a win, a victory, then definitely read this story!
REVIEW: “What the Witch Needs” by Alison Mulder
Review of Alison Mulder, “What the Witch Needs,” Luna Station Quarterly 61 (2025): 321-325 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a lovely example of a cosy story: Something that makes you feel better after having read it.
REVIEW: “Sister Death” by Erin Kissick
Review of Erin Kissick, “Sister Death,” Luna Station Quarterly 61 (2025): 121-125 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
While reading this story, I had a sense of being held at arm’s length, of never being given quite enough detail. We learn a lot of dragons and those who feed on their corpses, but very, very little about the woman who is traveling so far away from her home city just to visit the corpse. I felt a little bit cheated, by the end, because I think she was someone I’d like to know better.
REVIEW: “Not At This Address” by Emily Smith
Review of Emily Smith, “Not At This Address,” Luna Station Quarterly 61 (2025): 87-89 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This ended up being a cute little amusing story, not quite what I expected from how it started. I even almost forgave it for being in my personal-unfavorite, 2nd-person voice.
REVIEW: “Progress, Incorporated,” by S. Thomas Drake
Review of S. Thomas Drake, “Progress, Incorporated,” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 48-54. — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an eerie, creepy story. It starts off with a premise that is well-suited for futuristic SF: Progress, Inc., provides sleeping pods for marginalized people who wish to take some time out until the world has progressed enough to accept them for who they are.
Spoilers below:
Then we find out that the story is set in 2030.
Then we find out that Progress, Inc., asks for people to sign away their voting rights for while they are in the pods. And at this point, I had just about as many misgivings about the whole endeavor as Simon, the MC, had.
This is only the start of things, and let’s just say: They don’t end any better!
REVIEW: “Canis” by Wugee Kelly
Review of Wugee Kelly, “Canis,” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 37-49. — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
While at 12 pages this story is longer than many in Radon Journal, it still felt like it took an especially long time to get going. At no point did we actually meet any humans (at least, not living!) — the only creatures we encounter are a menagerie of animals, and then the robot who becomes the central focus of the story. But no matter how much you anthropomorphise a robot, it’s still not a person; and without a character to latch on to, I found this a difficult story to get invested in.
REVIEW: “When the Sun Passed Through Me” by Edward Hodge
Review of Edward Hodge, “When the Sun Passed Through Me,” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 29-33. — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Hodge’s prose in this story is really lovely and lyrical, bringing a beauty that I don’t often find in futuristic SF. So many expertly deployed turns of phrases — it makes me want to seek out his other work to see if it has the same voice.
SFF Reviews 