REVIEW: “Timothy: An Oral History” by Michael Swanwick

Review of Michael Swanwick, “Timothy: An Oral History”, Clarkesworld Issue 205, October (2023): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A layered piece with a great format; it explores an all-female, utopian society, and what happens when a biological man comes into existence in such a society. An intriguing idea, elevated by the oral history narrative format that was able to incorporate so many different points of view into a short story.

Gender norms and expectations, of course, look different in this society. When a biological male upends the status quo in this utopia, the cracks start to show. An interesting examination of societal norms, and a great way to wrap up this issue.

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REVIEW: “And Lilith Sewed the Seam” by Allister Nelson

Review of Allister Nelson, “And Lilith Sewed the Seam,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 22-32 Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I really love it when SFF stories take religion seriously, and my experience in recent years is that this most often happens in Jewish SFF. Nelson’s story is a great example of this, as her characters weave together magic, Russian mythology, and Jewish beliefs. Add in a bunch of queer romance, and there was a lot in this story I liked. There were also parts that weren’t for me — I’m not really into graphic descriptions of nudity — but they weren’t enough for me to not want to read it all.

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REVIEW: “The Probability of One” by Jen Brown

Review of Jen Brown, “The Probability of One,” Fantasy Magazine 83 (September 2022): 6-8 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was quite a complex story for how short it was; I started it, got lost, had to start it again, got distracted, started again before I really go stuck into it. It feels like it skirts the barrier between very clever and unreasonably opaque. I’d rather not decide for myself, but encourage everyone to give it a go. At the very least, it’s short, and if you reach the end still confused, it’s okay — it’s short. And even at the end there’s something that leaves me thinking “I wish I understood more.”

The author bio says that Jen Brown writes “otherworldly tales about Black, queer folks righteously wielding power.” For that reason alone, I’d read this story.

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REVIEW: “All the Dead Girls, Singing,” by Avra Margariti

Review of Avra Margariti, “All the Dead Girls, Singing,” Small Wonders no. 7 (January 2024): 31-33 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Violence against women.

The story of Fairview, whose dead girls congregate by the edge of the lake, is raw and harsh and rough. On the one hand, it’s superficially a ghost story. On the other hand, it’s definitely not that, it’s a story of violence against women, and about the men who perpetrate it.

Read with care/caution.

(First published in Coppice and Brake 2020.)

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REVIEW: “The Pieces of Her” by Lora Gray

Review of Lora Gray, “The Pieces of Her,” Flash Fiction Online 124 (January 2024): 12-15 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Death of a partner.

Gray shows excellently well how to combine quite a lot into quite a little. We got a full dose of SF via the building of human-robot hybrid pilots, and a full dose of personal relationships gone wrong via Denise, Miranda, and Lilith. The story operates well at both levels, which is a difficult thing to pull off!

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REVIEW: “Five Books from the Alnif Crater Traveling Library” by Stewart C. Baker

Review of Stewart C. Baker, “Five Books from the Alnif Crater Traveling Library,” Flash Fiction Online 123 (December 2023): 16-19 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a series of vignettes (which nevertheless held together well enough to constitute a proper story) about life on Mars.

As much as I enjoyed the story, it did feel a bit of a strange choice coming, as it did, immediately after Rachael K. Jone’s “Seven Ways to Find Yourself at the Transdimensional Multifandom Convention”. Both are structurally similar and use a conceit which I think works better in isolation, rather than in conjunction.

(First published in Nature Magazine, September 2021.)

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REVIEW: “Seven Ways to Find Yourself at the Transdimensional Multifandom Convention” by Rachael K. Jones

Review of Rachael K. Jones, “Seven Ways to Find Yourself at the Transdimensional Multifandom Convention,” Flash Fiction Online 123 (December 2023): 11-14 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a fun, funny, and touching story, which I liked quite a bit even if it is in 2nd person (my least favorite way of telling a story).

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