REVIEW: “And Lilith Sewed the Seam” by Allister Nelson

Review of Allister Nelson, “And Lilith Sewed the Seam,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 22-32 Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I really love it when SFF stories take religion seriously, and my experience in recent years is that this most often happens in Jewish SFF. Nelson’s story is a great example of this, as her characters weave together magic, Russian mythology, and Jewish beliefs. Add in a bunch of queer romance, and there was a lot in this story I liked. There were also parts that weren’t for me — I’m not really into graphic descriptions of nudity — but they weren’t enough for me to not want to read it all.

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REVIEW: “Sojourner” by Esther Alter

Review of Esther Alter, “Sojourner,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Everyone who has ever followed the escapades of the Mars rovers and other extra-terrestrial sojourners via twitter or other newsfeeds will understand the draw that humans have to stories of plucky machines exploring worlds we ourselves will never visit (though maybe our great-grandchildren will).

This is a story of such machines. It’s got rocks. And robot jokes. And, oh my goodness, it made me cry. I loved it.

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REVIEW: “Misty Moon” by Elizabeth Hinckley

Review of Elizabeth Hinckley, “Misty Moon,” Luna Station Quarterly 56 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was definitely a story that is aimed at the horse-person readership demographic (a demographic I’m not a part of). I waited quite awhile before I got anything speculative, and while I was waiting I felt that the story could’ve benefited from just a tad more editing than it got (e.g., two “in facts” in the opening paragraph is just a bit clunky, and it was heavy on the telling and light on the showing).

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REVIEW: “Rain Town” by Mary J. Daley

Review of Mary J. Daley, “Rain Town,” Luna Station Quarterly 56 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Lyn and her parents live in a Rain Town — something we, the reader, never quite find out what it is, and yet Daley gives just enough details to allow us the piece together an intricate backstory to this world that feels both incredibly familiar and yet altogether foreign. Is it a vision of what our world might be in the future? Is it an alternate past? Or is it entirely it’s own thing? Again, none of these questions are answered, but instead provide a backdrop for what is, at the heart of it, a simple story: A stranger comes to town, works for room and board, and when he is able to, leaves again. Yet there was also so much more to it than that, making for an extremely effective and satisfying read.

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REVIEW: “Hell’s Bells” by Cass Sims Knight

Review of Cass Sims Knight, “Hell’s Bells,” Luna Station Quarterly 56 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Sexual harassment, physical assault.

Annie’s a telepath whose abilities tend to get herself labelled as a witch. When her horse throws a shoe, she is forced into town to find a blacksmith to replace it.

What a curious little story this was: No grand narrative, no momentous goal or quest arc, no moment of discovery. Just the story of a woman and her horse who came into town, got into trouble, and got themselves back out of trouble again. And, yet, I really enjoyed it.

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REVIEW: “A Unicorn’s Horn is Proof Against Poison” by Clare Packard

Review of Clare Packard, “A Unicorn’s Horn is Proof Against Poison,” Luna Station Quarterly 56 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Assassination plots! Intrigue! Spies! Unicorns! True love! All in the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England. This story had just enough history and just enough fantasy to hit a sweet spot, for something really fun and enjoyable to read.

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REVIEW: “Horse Girls Til the End” by SK Marre

Review of SK Marre, “Horse Girls Til the End,” Luna Station Quarterly 56 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I’m not much of a horse girl myself, but I love a good story about an underrepresented mythological creature, and I loved the way Marre told this entire story through text messages. Modern, but extremely effective. This was just pure pleasure and fun to read.

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REVIEW: “High to Kolob on a Cosmic Clydesdale” by Katrina Carruth

Review of Katrina Carruth, “High to Kolob on a Cosmic Clydesdale,” Luna Station Quarterly 56 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Be wary what you wish for when you go to your friend’s new moon crystal party — the narrator of this story wished for manifest destiny and ended up with a cosmic Clydesdale in her livingroom!

For the most part this was a quick read despite being a long story, light and humorful, but towards the end it turned surprisingly deep, in a way that made it feel like more than fluff. It can be hard to shift tone midway through a story like this, but I feel Carruth pulled it off well. It all made sense, which feels like an odd thing to say about a fantasy story, but it’s true.

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