Review of S. I. Fapohunda, “Fire and Brimstone,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 162-178 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is a nightmare of a story, where human frailties are far more evil than any witchcraft or sorcery.
REVIEW: “Biter” by Michelle Knudsen
Review of Michelle Knudsen, “Biter,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 179-186 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a sweet little story of family angst and trauma wrapped up in the form of an animal that can only be described as, well, a biter.
REVIEW: “Spirit Alembic Keeper” by Emma Burnett
Review of Emma Burnett, “Spirit Alembic Keeper,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 137-144 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: military conscription
Before the conscripts go off to war, first they go to August — leaving their souls behind, to be preserved untainted, until their bodies are done battling. But of course, bodies don’t go to war to come back. August’s profession is both vitally important and endlessly futile. There’s a feeling of inevitability about this story: You don’t know quite how it’s going to end, but that it will end in the only way it possibly could. When that ending comes, it is very satisfying.
(First published in Uncharted, year unknown)
REVIEW: “Penance” by Jennifer Hudak
Review of Jennifer Hudak, “Penance,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 101-108 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I love a genre-bending story like this: It has all the trappings of a moderately generic SF setting, but the story itself is a story of gods and mortals and the one being who hears the voice of their god when they should not. I’m a sucker for this kind of story, so I enjoyed “Penance” very much — especially it’s absolute killer ending.
REVIEW: “Passing Through” by Laurie Doyle
Review of Laurie Doyle, “Passing Through,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 45-49 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Sometimes a good story is one that can hint at a much broader world behind the brief snippet the story lets you see. Sometimes, a good story is one that gives no context, no background, no explanations, nothing to help you understand what is going on. Doyle’s story is one of the latter, and I loved it precisely for that reason.
(First published in Manawaker Studio’s Flash Fiction Podcast 2024.)
REVIEW: “Fernie” by Angela Liu
Review of Angela Liu, “Fernie,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 32-43 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
With time travel, dinosaurs, and sentient plants, this fun little story didn’t bother taking itself too seriously.
REVIEW: “Madam Strzyga’s Pagan Pest Control” by Katharine Tyndall
Review of Katharine Tyndall, “Madam Strzyga’s Pagan Pest Control,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 27-31 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
“Catholic solutions won’t work for pagan problems,” Madam Strzyga tells an anxious client (p. 29), in this funny little story that’s almost noteworthy for how mundane it is considering how fantastical it is. Pests are pests, whether they are natural or supernatural, I guess!
REVIEW: “Seastrand Beyond” by Anna Clark
Review of Anna Clark, “Seastrand Beyond,” Flash Fiction Online 152 (July 2026): 24-27 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Parental death.
This was an absolutely beautiful story of grief and loss and the memory of abiding love.
REVIEW: “What Any Dead Thing Wants” by Aimee Ogden
Review of Aimee Ogden, “What Any Dead Thing Wants,” Adventitious no. 1 (Feb/Mar 2026): 72-109 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was exceptionally long, meaning I kept putting it off whenever I’d sit down to read and review a story because I didn’t have the time.
I finally did today, and the story completely repaid what I spent on it. At the end, I find it hard to know what to say about it, other than echo Hob when he says that “he would have known what to do, if there were obvious bad guys” (p. 103). It’s a story where there’s no good moves, even when there are moves that are right, and it ends up being really, really sad.
(First published on psychopomp.com, 2024)
REVIEW: “The Right Hand of Justice” by Annie ZH Sun
Review of Annie ZH Sun, “The Right Hand of Justice,” Flash Fiction Online 151 (June 2026): 14-17 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story was wildly fascinating. My only complaint is that it was too short. I want the epic version of this story, I want to know all about this world, I want to know how the main character got how they did, I want to know more about the woman who knows about the noodle shop.
I want to see the law get changed.
SFF Reviews 