Review of Sarah Dropek, “Swallow It Down,” Luna Station Quarterly 49 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a vivid, powerful story of a woman caring for her mother as she watches her die. I have not yet had to shepherd a parent through their final days yet, but I have watched friends do it and there is a ring of truth in the way Dropek takes this and turns it into something bleakly horrorful. A tough, but good, read.
Review of Sarah Salcedo, “Experiment Ninety-Four,” Luna Station Quarterly 49 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Caspian lives “decommissioned space station which orbited a nebula in a remote quadrant of space”, abandoned or forgotten by his parents, he doesn’t know which. During years of trying to stave off boredom and loneliness, Caspian has taken apart almost every instrument on the station, learning how they were made, and how to make his own things, continually experimenting.
Experiment Ninety-Four was the most experiment of all, and neither Caspian nor the reader could ever have imagined the outcome of it. Took me by surprise and resulted in a very satisfying — if slightly horrific and unsettling — story, with the added bonus of the lovely accompanying artwork, courtesy of the author.
(First published in Collective Realms Magazine, January 2021)
Review of Cindy Phan, “Alistair Catfish,” Luna Station Quarterly 49 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
“You grant small wishes and complain” is an absolute stunner of a line, said by Colin Abrams, the narrator, to the titular Alistair Catfish, whom he rescued from a hurricane and rehabilitated in his bathtub, and who now owes Colin wishes. Small wishes only, and only granted with complaint.
This was was an ordinary twist on the traditional “fisherman catches a glamorous fish and is well rewarded” tale until it was slowly overcome by a creeping horror. I was not expecting the story to go where it did, from how it started. Kept me on my toes!
Review of Robert Jeschonek, “Dog and Pony Show”, Clarkesworld Issue 180, September (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
Wow, what an insanely creative and unsettling story! A dog isn’t a dog, soft isn’t soft, what breakfast actually could be is unimaginable, and playtime is terrifying torture.
The details and descriptions were written so well, as was our narrator Beneathy. Fantastically paced with well-fleshed out characters, this is a memorable story. I read this twice – the second time simply for the unsettling beauty of the prose.
This month, Clarkesworld stories have all had an element of hope, and this one gave us a bit of that as well. However, the ending was unexpected and so much worse than I would have imagined. Fantastic story.
Review of Michael Merriam, “Fast Gliding Down the Rails,” Unfit Magazine 2 (2018): Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There is some sort of horror lurking in the background of this story, of a pleasure train full of dining cars intended to sate any appetites its passengers might have — except the desire to leave.
Review of Damon Shaw, “Air Kisses,” Flash Fiction Online 93 (2021): Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
A swimmer steals a kiss with terrible consequences in this sharp, taught, tightly-written story.
(First published in The Touch of the Sea, Lethe Press, 2012.)
Review of Lindz McLeod, “Glissade” Cossmass Infinities 5 (2021): Read or purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Sam learned how to walk through the woods in the Quiet from her father (a skill her brother Jamie never really understood). The Quiet is what allows Sam and her family to hunt, and at first, reading the story, the Quiet seems peaceful, tranquil, something good. It’s only as you read further along that you realise just what it is that Sam and her family are hunting…
An unexpectedly gruesome and vicious story!
Review of Nikki Blakely, “Blackbird,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Death of a child.
This was another unexpected horror story from LSQ! A slow-burn horror, if that’s something you can say, starting off ordinary enough but slowly increasingly becoming more and more disturbing, until it reach a perfectly pitched ending.
Review of Laney Gaughan, “Syrup-Tapping Season,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
When I think of tapping maple trees for syrup, the last thing I think is: “Ah, yes, horror.” And yet, Gaughan’s story is deliciously horrific, full of creepy uncertainty and spreading terror. Totally incongruous, the setting and the genre, and thoroughly satisfying.
Review of Kim Mary Trotto, “The Gold Fish,” Luna Station Quarterly 21 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There aren’t enough mermaids stories where the mermaids are in fact hideous sirens. Top marks to this one for being one! Well done, full of delicious creepiness and a tinge of horror.
SFF Reviews