Review of Rio Lombana and Kaitlin Schmidt, “Life Imitates,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 82-104 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an exceptionally creepy piece. The horror in this story is that even when Mari does everything right, it still isn’t enough to save Karley.
Review of Ruth Joffre, “A Hole in My Heart the Shape of the Multiverse,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 147-166 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The looping back and forth through time and space and character in this story is effortless in a way that can only have taken Joffre considerable effort and attention and care. I loved this story in the way that I loved Natasha Pulley’s The Kingdoms (which I utterly adored).
Review of Ayida Shonibar, “We Decay in the Dark,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 51-85 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Basically everything Tanika has been told is a lie, and we get to watch her find this out over the course of 30+ pages.
Review of S. I. Fapohunda, “Fire and Brimstone,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 162-178 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is a nightmare of a story, where human frailties are far more evil than any witchcraft or sorcery.
Review of Christine Hanolsy, “Festival,” Flash Fiction Online 151 (June 2026): 18-20 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a story of both regrets and hopes, and the fact that by the end, the hopes and dreams outweighed the regrets and sorrows made me very happy.
(First published in Small Wonders September 2023)
Review of P. A. Cornell, “The Soundtrack of My Afterlife,” Adventitious no. 1 (Feb/Mar 2026): 26-47 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: attempted rape.
“Then I died and became a car” (p. 26).
Sometimes, all it takes is one sentence in the opening page to make me know I’m going to love a story. That was this sentence for this story!
And I did love it. I’m of an age where the soundtrack of the narrator’s afterlife was also the soundtrack of my childhood, and of the songs I’m sharing with my own kid. Nothing like a good dose of nostalgia! But I also loved Cornell’s delicate touch in this coming-of-age story, and how realistic it felt. Honestly, this should be a movie!
Review of Abigail Guerrero, “This is Why Magical Realism
and Family Tree School Projects Shouldn’t Mix,” Adventitious no. 1 (Feb/Mar 2026): 19-25 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I’m not sure if this was a ghost story, a fantasy story, a slipstream story, a magical realism story, or something else altogether, but I am sure it was A LOT of fun to read! And I loved the thread of something deeper and more serious that ran through it all: That we are not bound by our pasts and we are free to decide what our futures will be.
Review of Joelle Killian, “After Enlightenment, the Sewage,” Flash Fiction Online 152 (May 2026): 7-9 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Addiction and rehab.
I had expected the title to be somewhat more metaphorical than it turned out to actually be. I think I would preferred it to be a little less literal.
Review of David Farrow, “The Last Eleven Seconds,” Flash Fiction Online 151 (April 2026): 8-12 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: War.
These eleven seconds last an eternity, and every second I took reading it, I wanted them to last even longer.
Review of Christine Hanolsy, “A Thimbleful of Need,” Flash Fiction Online 149 (February 2026): 15-18 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Addiction.
This story of unequal desire and unmet needs left an unhappy taste in my mouth at the end.
SFF Reviews