Review of Doug Lane, “To Sleep, Perchance,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 26-32 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The premise of this story is “what will the legal system look like once it’s been entirely overtaken by cloud-based technologies?” It’s equal parts funny and cautionary, making for a nice enjoyable little story.
Review of Aeryn Rudel, “Hunting Snowmen,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 16-18 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Domestic violence.
This was a funny [in the strange rather than humoristic, although there is definitely humor in it] little post-apocalyptic story about zombies who head north and then freeze in the bitter cold. It’s full of vindictive justice, and even though I could see the ending coming from a mile away, it was so satisfying.
Review of Jordan Hirsch, “Every Moment Hereafter,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 65-66 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an excellent example of a good story-telling poem that is still a poem first and foremost, and not an oddly formatted story. Beautiful.
Review of Deborah L. Davitt, “Aqua Vitae,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 76 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
If water is the source of our life, what kind of life would water on another planet be the source of? It’s the sort of question that is apt for turning into poetry, as Davitt does — though maybe those who haven’t studied 20th C analtyic philosophy and the question of whether water is H2O or not will appreciate the poem more than I did!
Review of Brian U. Garrison, “Domestic Tranquility,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 75 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem was a clever retelling of the fairy tale of the Elves and the Shoemaker, turned into a cutting commentary on modern capitalism.
Review of Lisa Timpf, “Run Run Renegade,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 69 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I liked the story that this poem told, but I think I would have preferred it as a story, rather than as a poem.
Review of Darius Jones, “In the Dose,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 67 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This poem was a lovely little commentary on the ways in which one and the same thing can both kill us and give us life.
Review of Rachel Ayers, “They Came In Tiny Ships,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 59 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a sparse, spare little poem, giving away very little — including who “they” are, which I found a bit frustrating. But this verse was gorgeous:
They tried to fix us but we
liked the parts they thought broken.
Review of Bruce Boston, “Double Down on Darkness,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 56-57 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a dark and desperate poem, easy to read as a commentary on the current state of the US.
Review of Louis Evans, “Surgical Strike,” Radon Journal 3 (January 2023): 20-28 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Sexually explicit material.
This story was prefaced by one of the most intriguing content notes that I’ve ever come across. [It does not highlight the same issue I have highlighted in my content note.] It identifies the key piece of fantasy that the story relies on, and explicitly says that such a fantasy should not be engaged with. The paradox is that we cannot help but engage with the fantasy while we are reading it.
There are some stories that I come away from reading thinking, “of all the stories that could have been told, why this one?” I was worried that I would have the same reaction here: Given the problematic fantasy upon which it is premised, why tell this story, instead of the innumerable other stories that could be told instead?
Sadly, I think I was right to be worried. By the time I reached the end, all I could think of was the other stories I could have read instead. There was a lack of finesse that made the entire story feel a bit clumsy; and definitely not for me.
SFF Reviews