Review of Davida Kilgore, “My Dear, My Love,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 10-20 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This is a frank, intimate story of queer Black love. The fantastical element is simultaneous slight and integral.
REVIEW: “Sleep Well, My Prince” by Lyndsey Croal
Review of Lyndsey Croal, “Sleep Well, My Prince,” Luna Station Quarterly 55 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Ten years ago, the ship Pippa’s sister Rosa was on lost contact in the Kuiper Belt and nothing has been found of the ship since. Now Pippa captains her own ship, and is always on the lookout for an answer to what happened to her sister. When she finds it, it is far more complicated than anyone, including the reader, could have guessed.
The story had a very Star Trek feel to it, and I mean this in a most complimentary way — stable, believable sci fi telling a good story about characters that I liked.
REVIEW: “Lips Like Sugar” by Cynthia Gómez
Review of Cynthia Gómez, “Lips Like Sugar,” Luna Station Quarterly 55 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Oblique references to sexual harassment and assault.
If you’re looking for an amusing and slightly raunchy bisexual vampire urban fantasy, this is a story for you.
REVIEW: “Left at the Altar” by Lindsey Duncan
Review of Lindsey Duncan, “Left at the Altar,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Oh, my, but I loved this absolutely delicious story. It has a classic set-up: A princess with the power of magic engaged to a foreign prince in order to end a war, her devoted bodyguard, a prince who doesn’t want to be married, a magic spell interrupted — from the start you know that princess Viatrese is going to end up with her bodyguard Berran, so it’s just a matter of figuring out how, and the unrolling of this just a pleasure to read. If you want a queer love story with a fiercely happy ending, read this!
REVIEW: “Old School Sensibilities” by Christina Tang-Bernas
Review of Christina Tang-Bernas, “Old School Sensibilities” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 33-39 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an absolutely beautiful and sweet little story of teenage love across the technological divide.
(First published in Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly, 2015.)
REVIEW: “Pandora’s Capsule” by Shaliz Bazldjoo
Review of Shaliz Bazldjoo, “Pandora’s Castle” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 48-55 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
There is so much tension and backstory and history in this story, right from the very start. Bazldjoo strikes an excellent balance for the reader between the enjoyable uncertainty about what’s going on and how everything fits in, and frustration about the exact same thing. I immediately want to know more about the narrator, who are they, why is their life like this. A great read.
REVIEW: “Misrule” by Fiona Moore
Review of Fiona Moore, “Misrule,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Misrule is a multifaceted entity in this story — both the time of year when the Lord of Misrule holds court, but also the court itself, and the chaos that results from it. When Mary faces Misrule, it’s in the form of the wanton destruction of her mother’s livelihood, and it’s an enemy that she cannot fight. For as the Vicar says, “There’s always Misrule. It’s a way of letting go of the pain of the other fifty weeks of the year.”
This was a timely and thought-provoking story. Reading it, I couldn’t help but think of the recent protests in the UK, arising out of the myriad crises facing the ordinary people. They’re protests now, but how many tomorrows will it be before they are riots? Before we have our own form of Misrule? Maybe the Vicar is right: set aside twelve days each year for destruction, and maybe we can survive the rest of the year. Or maybe Mary is right, and rather than trying to endure it we must undo the very foundations on which Misrule is built. I’m not sure I’m convinced Mary’s solution is one that can be applied more generally, but it was certainly interesting to read it play out.
REVIEW: “Felt” by Denise Khng
Review of Denise Khng, “Felt,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a beautiful love elegy — slow paced but never dragging or over written, continually building emotions in layers. Nothing much happened, it mostly meandered from one place to another, but the strength and depth of feeling evoked something visceral in me. And that was before everything turned sad.
It was also very long, and yet, it seemed to be simultaneously exactly the right length. A very well put together piece.
REVIEW: “The Birth of a Child” by Joyce Chng
Review of Joyce Chng, “The Birth of a Child,” Luna Station Quarterly 19 (2014): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
What a beautiful pearl of a story, with so many wonderful threads. For one, it captures beautifully all the ambivalence that can surround childbirth, how it can be a combination of the most beautiful thing ever and the most cold, sterile, and heartless thing, too. For another, it mixes traditional fairy tale and romance tropes with modern concerns of immigration, alienation, foreigness, and cultural appropriation, creating a perfect blend of fantasy and Vietnamese culture. I really loved this, absolutely stellar.
REVIEW: “Love Like Chocolate” by Risa Wolf
Review of Risa Wolf, “The Long Way Home” Cossmass Infinities 9 (2022): 115-122 — Read or purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Oh, this was a heartbreaker! I could feel it from the very opening scene, when we meet Kari and Sonora (and their new puppy!) and find out just how much they love each other — and also that something is not right. The dramatic tension as we find out what that something is, over the course of the story, is perfectly pitched and left me shattered at the ending.
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