REVIEW: “The Prince & the Raven” by Rebecca Burton

Review of Rebecca Burton, “The Prince & the Raven,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I would have liked this fairy tale-esque story better if it hadn’t taken all the frustrating bits of fairy tales instead of the good ones: The woman who sees a prince from the distance and falls hopelessly in love; the prince who has to marry or lose his lands, but cannot find a woman interesting enough. I love fairy tales, both traditional and modern, but cis-normative patriarchy-enforcing ones always end up disappointing me. This one tried to subvert those stereotypes, in the end, but not soon enough for it to be convincing.

But there was one very beautiful line in it, when the Moon tells the Raven-Maid: “Don’t lose your self as well as your heart.”

Good advice.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Syrup-Tapping Season” by Laney Gaughan

Review of Laney Gaughan, “Syrup-Tapping Season,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

When I think of tapping maple trees for syrup, the last thing I think is: “Ah, yes, horror.” And yet, Gaughan’s story is deliciously horrific, full of creepy uncertainty and spreading terror. Totally incongruous, the setting and the genre, and thoroughly satisfying.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “The Groupies (1974)” by Meghan Louise Wagner

Review of Meghan Louise Wagner, “The Groupies (1974),” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Animal death, drug use, violence.

Didi and her friend Bella are the titular groupies, hanging out with the band Die Obscure whenever they can. This story exudes all the hormones, angst, and uncertainties of teenagers in the 70s, with an added layer of entirely unexpected magic. It’s part glorious, part sordid, and I loved it.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon” by Alyssa Villaire

Review of Alyssa Villaire, “Keep Your Eyes on the Horizon,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Nell is the keeper of the lighthouse, charged with watching vigilantly for the day the enemy will come to destroy her home of Greyisle. Her mother trained her and helped her prepare for her destiny, before she died. Now the day — and the enemy — has come, and he is nothing like what Nell has trained to defeat.

I really loved this story and the way the characters force the reader to question who is the hero and who is the villain, and how the stories we are told and tell ourselves about our destinies are not always true.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “The Hawk and the Wren” by Kristina T. Saccone

Review of Kristina T. Saccone, “The Hawk and the Wren,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Two little girls, growing up playing pretend, one the hawk, the other the wren. One grows up to fly planes in WW2, the other grows up to be a witch. This was a lovely fantasy adaptation of the Night Witches, playing neatly on the name and bringing to life the magic of flying.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Jane and the Crows” by Jen Mierisch

Review of Jen Mierisch, “Jane and the Crows,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

For twelve months after the death of her sailor husband John, crows plagued Jane, until she is driven into the woods to seek the answer to the mystery of his final voyage.

This story was quite short, and felt very sparse. I’m not sure that was necessarily to the story’s benefit.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Omen” by Katrina Carruth

Review of Katrina Carruth, “Omen,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Cissa is the daughter of an Augur, forced into hiding when the evil king came to power, enslaving all the Augurs to his purposes or driving them away. Cissa herself isn’t an Augur because only men can be Augurs, but she’s still guilty by association. There is no hope of escape, no hope of any future for Cissa, only endless hiding, so one day she decides to take matters into her own hands, go to the river and collect the moss beans whose noxious gasses can incapacitate or kill. But before she can safeguard the beans, she is captured, and brought before the king.

Of course, we know — the narrative demands it — that the evil king will not triumph, and that Cissa will find the power she needs to defeat him. What wasn’t obvious until it happened was how she would do it, and that resolution, when it came, was appropriate and satisfying. A solid story.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “The Nix Trial” by Emma Schmid

Review of Emma Schmid, “The Nix Trial,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

As a member of the Oreada clan, Ida participates in the Nix Trial, a series of gruelling climbs in search of Lady Helike’s blessing. When she succeeds in scaling to the very top of Mount Hellene, numb from the cold and nursing an old injury, she can only hope to be found worthy, that she will be reborn underneath the new risen sun.

Overall this was a strong story, only slightly marred at times by a bit too much info-dumped back-story.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Birds of a Feather” by Jenna Hanan Moore

Review of Jenna Hanan Moore, “Birds of a Feather,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I had to lolsob at the opening line of this story — “Today is the day. After months of lockdown, the Avalon Café is finally open for indoor dining” — because I read it the evening the UK voted to implement more stringent measures. There are days where I wish reality resembled fiction a little more…

But since I can’t do any of the things I want to be doing right now, I’m living vicariously through those who can, and that includes, Janice, who is back at the Café for the first time in far too long. That would’ve been good enough, but then it gets better: There’s an emu.

This was exactly the story I needed to read on a night like tonight.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Seven Beacons Burning” by Leanne Howard

Review of Leanne Howard, “Seven Beacons Burning,” Luna Station Quarterly 48 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Ah, I love me some aro/ace representation! Howard manages it both overtly and unobtrusively in this story. The tale itself is that of an old man and his daughter, who have escaped a life of drudgery in the laundries to serve a fifteen year spell as keepers of one of the seven beacons, always watching another beacon to see if it is lit, signalling that war has come to their people. They are three months away from the end of their term when the drums of war are heard, and the Jubilee Beacon is lit, forcing them to discharge the duties that have been laid upon them.

These duties turned out to be far more gruesome than I would have imagined, and I confess I don’t quite understand why the final sacrifice was necessary; surely there could have been another way. It’s always a bit dissatisfying when drama appears to happen only for the purposes of plot; I would have liked a bit more world-building to make the ending feel necessary or inevitable, rather than merely shocking.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment