Review of Akmay, “The Doula,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Childbirth.
What a creepy, bloody, gory story! If you are squeamish about innards and organs, I’d recommend avoiding.
REVIEW: “Silk” by Alyssa C. Greene
Review of Alyssa C. Greene, “Silk,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Considering the subject of this story was weaving, it feels appropriate to describe it as “intricately woven,” threads being fed to the reader a bit at a time so that we don’t get the whole pattern at once, but have to wait for it to be built, all the while, horror deepening in the background.
REVIEW: “The Final Kiss” by Sam Lesek
Review of Sam Lesek, “The Final Kiss,” Luna Station Quarterly 53 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a short, sweet, sad post-apocalyptic story, of the last man, the last dog, and the last kiss the Angel of Death will ever give.
REVIEW: “What They Do Not Tell You” by A. M. Young
Review of A. M. Young, “What They Do Not Tell you,” Luna Station Quarterly 53 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: An abusive relationship.
This was a powerful retelling of the story of Pygmalion — or rather, a first telling of Galatea‘s story.
REVIEW: “A Memory is Like a Talon” by Anna Martino
Review of Anna Martino, “A Memory is Like a Talon,” Luna Station Quarterly 53 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Oh, this was a wonderful story — beautiful, visceral, raw, powerful. It’s about a shapeshifter and the one who loves them during WWI, and of their descendants, and it was just gorgeous.
I am now going out to seek out everything else Martino has written, because if they are half as good as this, they will be amazing.
REVIEW: “The Twin’s Paradox” by P. L. Watts
Review of P. L. Watts, “The Twin’s Paradox,” Luna Station Quarterly 53 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a simple story: One of a pair of identical twins goes on a journey to Alpha Centauri, the other stays at home, and when the former returns they are no longer identical because the latter has aged. A good premise, but there wasn’t much more than that, no twist, no unexpected move, no deeper insight. Just a simple story.
REVIEW: “Sophie Baker’s Vanishing Act” by B. B. Garin
Review of B. B. Garin, “Sophie Baker’s Vanishing Act,” Luna Station Quarterly 53 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story was one part modern ring of Gyges, one part commentary on modern medicine’s inability to understand that women exist, have pain, and need treatment, and one part commentary on the erasure of women.
REVIEW: “The Governess” by Chloe Smith
Review of Chloe Smith, “The Governess,” Luna Station Quarterly 53 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I love it when a sci fi story takes a binary and turns it on its head, in unexpected — and yet totally realistic — ways. This story nailed that. Utterly breathtaking.
REVIEW: “Alone” by E. M. Gaucher
Review of E. M. Gaucher, “Alone,” Luna Station Quarterly 53 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Parental abuse; death.
The bulk of this story is conversation between a woman and a girl. Mother and child? Sisters? Friends? As the reader I have to piece together their relationship through their words, and Gaucher does an excellent job at pacing things so that each exchange builds a picture of who they are and what they’re doing, and why.
REVIEW: “Artist in Residence” by Anna Ziegelhof
Review of Anna Ziegelhof, “Artist in Residence,” Luna Station Quarterly 53 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I loved this piece, which was centered around the questions of who gets to do art, and who gets to value art, and how these decisions get made, all set within a deep and vivid SF setting. It’s full of power and recovery and healing — and then a sharp shift sideways into even bigger questions and issues. So much packed into one short story!
SFF Reviews 