REVIEW: “Laisha” by Amantia Menalla

Review of Amantia Menalla, “Laisha,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 79-100 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a fascinating, haunting, beautiful story — full of rich, complex characters and threads that I wasn’t entirely sure how they all woven together until the denouement came. The story was on the longer side, yet I never got bored and it never dragged, if anything, it became increasingly more interesting the longer I read. I’d love to read a novella or even a novel by Menalla, if she can replicate this kind of taut story-telling!

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REVIEW: “Are We There Yet?” by Allison Mulder

Review of Allison Mulder, “Are We There Yet?” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 205-210 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

In our fast-paced, modern society, there is always too much work and not enough people to do it, meaning corners get cut, in every occupation and industry — including the grim reaping industry, where it’s easy to not notice a left-behind soul.

At first I thought this ghost story was going to be sweet and sad, but in the end I actually found it funny, in a sort of ironic way — but definitely very sweet!

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REVIEW: “Squilla of the Flower Moon” by M. McNamara

Review of M. McNamara, “Squilla of the Flower Moon,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 35-52 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Violence against women, sex work.

Bordello Bot Jenny was programmed with Level 14 curiosity, which left her unsatisfied with her intended purpose and longing for adventure. But the adventure she embarked upon wasn’t anything like what was advertised, which is how she ended up as a Bordello Bot.

This story was predicated on the violence and oppression of women and so of course the only solution available was also violent. I’m sure there are audiences for stories like this, but I’m not one.

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REVIEW: “Ghost Story” by Feby Idrus

Review of Feby Idrus, “Ghost Story,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 25-32 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story was a first for me — my first Muslim ghost story!

There are two ways it can be read, sequentially and chronologically, and while I started off reading it the former half-way through I was confused enough to switch to reading it the latter, which certainly helped.

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REVIEW: “The End of the World, Simon et al.” by T. L. Xue

Review of T. L. Xue, “The End of the World, Simon et al.,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 15-22 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

“End of the world” stories rarely contain anything new, insofar as there aren’t that many cataclysmic ways the world can end, so when this story didn’t give me anything new in terms of apocalypses, I wasn’t terribly disappointed. What this story had that was new was its framing, constructed along the lines of a scientific paper. I enjoyed that.

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REVIEW: “Gig Economy” by Ali MacLeod

Review of Ali MacLeod, “Gig Economy,” Luna Station Quarterly 64 (December 2025): 173-193 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I absolutely love how MacLeod plays with the reader’s knowledge of how apps like Uber work to give us enough idea of what’s going on while simultaneously making us wait a couple of pages before we find out just what kind of gig the narrator is involved in — a reveal which I found positively delightful, a real “I’m going to enjoy this story!” moment.

And I was right. It was so warm, and sweet, and funny, and it pulled at my heart-strings in the very best of ways. I loved it!

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REVIEW: “Diving Into the Wreck” by Sierra Bibi

Review of Sierra Bibi, “Diving Into the Wreck,” Luna Station Quarterly 64 (December 2025): 155-170 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

20 years ago, on a dive, Sonja lost her camera — and her sister. Now, on another dive, she has found a camera; it couldn’t possibly be hers, from so long ago, and having found it, she couldn’t possibly also find her sister.

There’s a bit of horror in this story, and a bit of fantasy too, and a lot of old memories, raw grievances, and desperation, and an ending I did not expect.

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REVIEW: “Magical Thinking” by J. Amanda Ferry

Review of J. Amanda Ferry, “Magical Thinking,” Luna Station Quarterly 64 (December 2025): 73-93 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Serious childhood illness.

Where’s the border between magic and science? It’s a hard enough question for an adult to answer, much less for a 9yo like the story’s narrator, Rainbow (even a “catastrophically precocious” 9yo like Rainbow). I was a bit nervous upon starting the story, because 1st person POV where the narrator is a child often goes awry; but Ferry handles the balance between making Rainbow be a child without being childlike exceptionally well.

In many respects, this is a stark, harsh, and sad story. But it was also utterly gripping — one of the best in this issue.

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REVIEW: “Big Sister” by Jang Ami, translated by Joheun Lee

Review of Jang Ami, Joheun Lee (trans.), “Big Sister,” Luna Station Quarterly 64 (December 2025): 235-258 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Death.

There’s something about the classic fairy tale style that seems to transcend cultures — I was surprised at how familiar the archetype of this story (originally written in Korean) felt, even while none of the characters or elements or tropes were themselves familiar. It made the story both comforting and eerie; and with the final twist being saved for the very end, it kept me hooked until the final page.

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