REVIEW: “Private Cabin, Ocean View” by Jane Campbell

Review of Jane Campbell, “Private Cabin, Ocean View,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 55-76 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Infertility.

Stories often give off certain signs, usually signalling their genre, early on. Campbell’s story is long enough that she keeps her cards quite close to her chest for quite a while (comparatively, for a short story) — my first guess was that this was going to be a ghost story, then it took a turn that felt like it was heading towards horror. It took a further turn some time after that, while keeping the earlier elements, all woven together. It was intriguing and unsettling!

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REVIEW: “The Disparity of Confidence” by Emmie Christie

Review of Emmie Christie, “The Disparity of Confidence,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 155-159 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Sometimes experiences give people confidence; sometimes it stifles them. Robin has the ability to see the disparity between the two for each person — and also knows what to do to fix it. This was a short, sweet, beautifully empowering story!

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REVIEW: “Laisha” by Amantia Menalla

Review of Amantia Menalla, “Laisha,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 79-100 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a fascinating, haunting, beautiful story — full of rich, complex characters and threads that I wasn’t entirely sure how they all woven together until the denouement came. The story was on the longer side, yet I never got bored and it never dragged, if anything, it became increasingly more interesting the longer I read. I’d love to read a novella or even a novel by Menalla, if she can replicate this kind of taut story-telling!

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REVIEW: “Are We There Yet?” by Allison Mulder

Review of Allison Mulder, “Are We There Yet?” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 205-210 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

In our fast-paced, modern society, there is always too much work and not enough people to do it, meaning corners get cut, in every occupation and industry — including the grim reaping industry, where it’s easy to not notice a left-behind soul.

At first I thought this ghost story was going to be sweet and sad, but in the end I actually found it funny, in a sort of ironic way — but definitely very sweet!

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REVIEW: “Ghost Story” by Feby Idrus

Review of Feby Idrus, “Ghost Story,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 25-32 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story was a first for me — my first Muslim ghost story!

There are two ways it can be read, sequentially and chronologically, and while I started off reading it the former half-way through I was confused enough to switch to reading it the latter, which certainly helped.

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