Review of Robin M. Eames, “Greenteeth,” Luna Station Quarterly 21 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a delicious little story, about the monsters that wait for us in the wilds, about the transformatory power of first love, about a young girl making her own way in the world. I never quite knew what to expect, there was nothing predictable about it.
Review of A.E. Ash, “Daughter of the Sun,” Luna Station Quarterly 21 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Dr. Lian Leandros is the only one left alive on the crippled space ship Aldebaran. Once she has sent out a distress signal, there is nothing left for her to do but wait.
It’s a premise that sets a story up for nothing happening: And yet, even though very little does happen in it, the way Ash brings the reader into Leandros’s world, helps us to understand her mind, is compelling and enjoyable, and in the end extremely beautiful.
Review of Samantha Murray, “Preserved in Amber”, Clarkesworld Issue 178, July (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
Spaceships are always a great way to start a story, but this ship is a bit different. It looks different, it’s goal is different, and it communicates differently.
We switch between two points of view – one is of a scientist trying to decipher the message coming from the spaceship, the other is another scientist farther in the future who has a different task at hand.
Memory is a strong part of this story, seeping into feelings, thoughts and conversations for both women. Another tale from this Clarkesworld issue about the transient nature of time, with the emphasis here being on the transient nature of humans in time. Longing, memory, and feelings collide to make this a powerful novelette.
Review of Nick Wolven, “When the Sheaves Are Gathered”, Clarkesworld Issue 178, July (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
A story revolving around Johnny and his chosen family. Gaps in memory that are slowly but surely getting larger, to the extent of forgetting people entirely. Aided by hints of a folk song that takes on a tragic, terrifying color. A childhood memory that brings a certain type of solace.
The walls are closing in, but only metaphorically, because the world is getting larger and lonelier otherwise. A twist comes and makes things better, but the overarching feeling of the transient nature of memory remains. Time is fickle and we are reminded of this through the tale in various ways.
Review of K B Sluss, “Empire of Dirt,” Luna Station Quarterly 22 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Reference to self-harm.
In its simplest description, this is a story of unrequited love — ugly and chaotic. It was a tough read: Characters whom you wanted to sympathize with became increasingly unsympathetic, and the hurt and anger and betrayal that is woven through everyone’s story was hard to handle sometimes. Sluss shows real mastery in writing this piece.
Review of Grace Chan, “He Leaps for the Stars, He Leaps for the Stars”, Clarkesworld Issue 178, July (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
I do love futuristic fiction where the protagonists are really sweet and a little different from the usual science-oriented folks. This piece of speculative fiction was set in a future where people have soma projections of themselves and can go wherever they please, without actually going anywhere.
Yennie lives exactly such a life, and he’s a musical star on the rise. But does he want the success because he wants it himself, or because he was genetically selected and predetermined to want it?
Freedom, but not really. Happiness, but maybe not truly. Privacy, not even a pretense of. But hope, friendship and love finds a way.
Review of Cathrin Hagey, “His Soul,” Luna Station Quarterly 23 (2015): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There are a lot of lovely fairy tale elements in this story, as well as echoes of the myth of Narcissus, but also a lot of patriarchal stereotyping with an underlying misogyny.
I would love to have been able to enjoy this story, but it just failed to push the boundaries in the way it maybe could have.
Review of Rebecca Burton, “No Place Like Home”, Luna Station Quarterly 47 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Saffi and her wife moved North so her wife could escape the city and a job that was slowly killing her. Now, Di wants nothing more than to leave the countryside behind and return home.
There’s a good layer of tension in the story, as it is wholly unclear until right at the end whether Saffi will go with Di or not, but that alone wasn’t quite enough to elevate the story from ordinary to extraordinary.
Review of Amy Bennett, “Elixir of Life”, Luna Station Quarterly 47 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Drug addiction, murder.
This was an entertaining take on PI-solves-a-murder, set in space, full of secret agents, double-crossing, and the sordid underbelly of society. I also enjoyed the ambiguous ending.
Review of Jennifer Lee Rossman, “The Good Girl”, Luna Station Quarterly 47 (2021): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
In this story, the main character undergoes two important transitions: one from AFAB to trans man, the other from human to vampire. It’s a pretty blunt metaphor, and while the story of how “the good girl” got turned feels raw and real, I’m also a little bit uncomfortable with the equation of transitioning and becoming a monster.
SFF Reviews