Review of Julie Sondra Decker, “Everyone’s Gay in Space,” After Dinner Conversation 3, no. 12 (December 2022): 109-131 — Subscribe here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
(Note: After Dinner Conversation pairs spec fic stories with philosophical reflection questions. In some reviews, I’ll engage with the questions; in some, I won’t.)
I found this story to be a rather blunt take on the central moral issues involved — childbirth, abortion, disease, eugenics. I also found it to be full of judgement, unhappy relationships, and homophobia. The overall lack of nuance made the whole story feel very heavy-handed, and didactic, and that made it not particularly enjoyable to read. No one likes to feel that they are being moralized at.
There was also not nearly as much space gayness (gaiety?) as I expected, given the title of the story.
SFF Reviews 