REVIEW: “Visiting” by Avra Margariti

Review of Avra Margariti, “Visiting” Tree and Stone 1 (2022): 19-23 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Calla and her mother, Lily, (both named by Lily’s mother), are on their way to visit their grandmother, in a story full of the complications of multi-generational relationships. Viewed from one angle, everything about this story is surreal, from the Chinese dragon airplane to the half-demon cat in the seat in from of Calla, but from another angle, it is as real and as ordinary as every day life. Margariti handled the juxtaposition deftly, making for a very satisfying read.

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REVIEW: “The Broken Princess” by K. R. Segriff

Review of K. R. Segriff, “The Broken Princess,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story combined a fairy-tale-like voice with a fairly-mundane setting (hard to imagine Polk County, Iowa, as a magical land, whatever the narrator says!). Unfortunately, the result was, for me, too jarring to be enjoyable, and instead felt almost condescending. But maybe if you’re a horse person — or an Iowa person — this will be a story for you.

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REVIEW: “Before the Unicorn Hunt” by Hesper Leveret

Review of Hesper Leveret, “Before the Unicorn Hunt,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Every year there is a unicorn hunt, where the prince can flaunt his skills to his courtiers. For the remainder of the year, Lariselle, its caretaker, lives with her family in the royal hunting lodge, keeping everything ready until the next year. And each year she has a special duty: To go to the hidden Boscan village and select the unicorn whose blood will go into the special cider the prince will drink, the one whom the prince will then go on to hunt and kill. It’s an awful duty, but one that Lariselle discharges, albeit unwillingly, and in the end she gets her reward.

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REVIEW: “The Tale of the Mother and the Hexed VCR” by Nika Murphy

Review of Nika Murphy, “The Tale of the Mother and the Hexed VCR,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Postnatal depression, consideration of suicide.

Two things I loved about this story:

(1) The way it shows how the ordinary, every day events of our lives are at exactly the same time the birth of myths and folk tales.

(2) The way it illustrates, clearly and without apology, the reality of postnatal depression, and how separate it is and distinct from a mother’s love.

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REVIEW: “Left at the Altar” by Lindsey Duncan

Review of Lindsey Duncan, “Left at the Altar,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Oh, my, but I loved this absolutely delicious story. It has a classic set-up: A princess with the power of magic engaged to a foreign prince in order to end a war, her devoted bodyguard, a prince who doesn’t want to be married, a magic spell interrupted — from the start you know that princess Viatrese is going to end up with her bodyguard Berran, so it’s just a matter of figuring out how, and the unrolling of this just a pleasure to read. If you want a queer love story with a fiercely happy ending, read this!

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REVIEW: “Friendshop” by Zoe Marzo

Review of Zoe Marzo, “Friendshop,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Leah has recently moved to L.A. and is struggling adjust to her new life — if only she had a friend who could help ease the hard corners of not fitting in. Conveniently, this is when Leah encounters the Friendshop — open 24 hours only — just the right place for her to find her perfect, bosom friend.

Daisy comes along, everything Leah needs, and there’s a lovely uncertainty to this story, whether it’s going to be a cheerful one with a happily-every-after ending, or whether the initial set-up, that one can buy friendship, is the premise of something horrific.

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REVIEW: “Birds Are Not the Village” by Merri Andrew

Review of Merri Andrew, “Birds Are Not the Village,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Consideration of infant death.

This story plays on the adage “It takes a village to raise a child.” The narrator has a baby daughter, Thea, but instead of a village all she has to support her is a flock of birds. And, as the title says, “birds are not the village” — this is but a prelude for a harrowing story that will be deeply scary for any sleep-deprived parent.

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REVIEW: “Mother Mangue” by Lis Vilas Boas

Review of Lis Vilas Boas, “Mother Mangue,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Childbirth, references to infertility.

Mother Mangue is “a mother ready to help” when people are in need of help, and “when they don’t need her, she is just the witch.” The help she offers is both to bring babies into the world that are refusing to come; and to prevent others from coming when they are not wanted. Her story, a quiet one of longing and despair, takes shape when she seeks out for herself that which she has only ever given to others.

This is a long story full of many unexpected twists. It kept me curious all the way to the end.

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REVIEW: “Silk” by Alyssa C. Greene

Review of Alyssa C. Greene, “Silk,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Considering the subject of this story was weaving, it feels appropriate to describe it as “intricately woven,” threads being fed to the reader a bit at a time so that we don’t get the whole pattern at once, but have to wait for it to be built, all the while, horror deepening in the background.

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