Review of Stewart C. Baker, “The Spacefarer’s Guide to Connecting With Your Daughter’s Descendants,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 168-177 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Oh, this was a glorious story — full of love over generations and forgiveness and parenting mistakes and recoveries. I nearly cried while reading it, and was so delighted by the ending.
Review of Ruth Joffre, “A Hole in My Heart the Shape of the Multiverse,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 147-166 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The looping back and forth through time and space and character in this story is effortless in a way that can only have taken Joffre considerable effort and attention and care. I loved this story in the way that I loved Natasha Pulley’s The Kingdoms (which I utterly adored).
Review of Holly Schofield, “The Grammar of Jespersen-b,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 136-145 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story reminds us that just because a planet may not have any humanoid or humanlike lifeforms on it, it doesn’t mean we weren’t colonizing it just the same when we land on it and force it to conform to our own needs. I particularly enjoyed the way that Schofield uses linguistic metaphors in her depiction of unsettlement, longing, and disorientation.
(First published in On Spec 33, no. 4, 2023)
Review of Priya Sridhar, “How to Lose to Death,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 106-109 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There was such a lot of complexity twisted into such a short story. I found this both ephemeral and satisfying!
Review of Aimee Ogden, “The Fruit is Very Acceptable Here,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 56-61 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was thick with theology, but still managed to be not particularly religious. It’s not so much a story as a monologue; I think I would have liked it a bit more with a bit more story to it, but it was still an intriguing read. (And as an erstwhile American expat in the Netherlands, I loved all the Dutch references.)
Review of Kari Maaren, “The Fruit is Very Acceptable Here,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 45-55 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
On the one hand, this is a story about social norms. On the other hand, it’s a story of possession. Put both hands together, and I really enjoyed this!
Review of Moira Richardson, “Heartwood,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 110-115 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There was something a little Pygmalion about this little story. It’s not quite a love story — more like an obsession story.
Review of Ayida Shonibar, “We Decay in the Dark,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 51-85 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Basically everything Tanika has been told is a lie, and we get to watch her find this out over the course of 30+ pages.
Review of Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, “Fractal House,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 110-133 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I found this story somewhat annoying to start off with, but the moment at which it stopped from being annoying to being horror was the moment at which I realized we were supposed to find the story annoying up to that point.
Horror, yes, but also: kinda hilarious. I was properly amused by this story by the end.
Review of Natalie Zutter, “Last Edit to THE ALL BANGERS LIST Made By Your Sex Robot at 11:39 A.M.,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 152-161 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
In this very interesting piece reflecting on how sex with a sex robot — especially one who has some level of personhood or at least the capacity to simulate falling in love — compares with sex with a person, the one thing that I found most interesting was the lack of any consideration of consent.
SFF Reviews