Review of Kawai Shen, “The Doll’s Boy,” khōréō 4, no. 4 (2025) — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Explicit body horror; non-consensual sex.
Reading this story was an extremely voyeuristic — and hence distinctly uncomfortable — experience. Definitely well-written, but nothing something I could comfortably recommend to anyone to read.
Review of KÁNYIN Olorunnisola, “Kolumbo 1619: Choose Your Own Adventure,” khōréō 4, no. 4 (2025) — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Racism, police brutality, murder.
This is a “choose your own adventure” through systematic racism in early 20th C America, over and over and over again. It’s the sort of story that never in a million years could I have ever written, because it is so far removed from my own (privileged!) experiences: I can only ever hope to get a glimpse of understanding of these experiences by reading about them. It’s a tough read, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to do so.
Review of Rae Mariz, “The Tangle,” khōréō 4, no. 4 (2025) — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Animal harm, references to genocide.
As a reader from the tail end of the blip generation, you’re accustomed to your stories having a very particular shape. A recognizable structure. This narrative is likely to be new terrain.
This quote completely encapsulates the thoughts I’d been having very shortly before this quote — that the story itself was a tangle, structured in an unfamiliar, and hence confusing, way. This quote helped reassure me that persevering would be worth it. I think by the end I’d mostly sorted out the tangle. Was it worth it? I’m not sure. Parts of it were too didactic (and too rhetorical) for my taste. But I suspect this is a story I’ll continue to think about.
Review of Fumio Takano, Sharni Wilson (trans.), “The Secret,” khōréō 4, no. 4 (2025) — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Roughly a hundred years into the future, the division between the haves and the have-nots has become even further entrenched; this story is the story of two “have-nots” on opposite sides of a century who have each ended up making a living for themselves in an unexpected way. What connects them is the Mistress, who holds an unexpected secret.
Review of Christos Callow Jr., “The Trauma Tourist,” khōréō 4, no. 4 (2025) — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Suicide, torture simulation, cultural appropriation.
The capitalist idea of turning trauma into a source of income isn’t one that feels very far-fetched at all, though I confess to wondering a bit about the psyche of the people who would actively choose to consume such a product. But that’s precisely why it makes such a great idea for a story!
SFF Reviews