REVIEW: “The Runners” by B. Pladek

Review of B. Pladek, “The Runners,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 21-24 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Childlessness not by choice.

This is the sort of story I would probably have opted not to read, if it had the sort of content note that I’m providing here: It’s a story about a couple, who start off neither of them sure they want children, but then grow into a couple where one does and the other doesn’t. But having read it, I can say that the way in which it navigates this tough and sometimes treacherous situation is good, it’s a good story…it’s just one that I find hard to read.

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REVIEW: “Kumbaya” by Ubong Johnson

Review of Ubong Johnson, “Kumbaya,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 35 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Fantasy poetry is a tricky genre, in part because even ordinary poetry is itself often fantastical in nature. I felt that this poem could be read in two ways, one, merely as using metaphorical language to express grief and loss, the other in a more fantasy light; how I read it was definitely influenced by the nature of the venue it was published in. Without that, I’m not sure I’d call it “fantasy,” but I would still call it beautiful.

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REVIEW: “Voices of Kings” by Joshua Lim

Review of Joshua Lim, “Voices of Kings,” Fantasy Magazine 94 (August 2023): 8 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a lovely little story circling around the question “Who gets to be king?” Is it the person that someone else has appointed as king? Is it the person everyone agrees is their king? Is it — the relevant question for this story — the one who can sing the most beautiful? In posing and answering these questions, Lim strikes the perfect note of mythology, bringing Malaysian folktales to a wider audience.

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REVIEW: “To Persist, However Changed” by Aimee Ogden

Review of Aimee Ogden, “To Persist, However Changed,” Small Wonders no. 3 (September 2023): 27-28 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a very sciencey science fiction, full of botanical terms. It’s tricky to take plants and make them into sympathetic characters, and I struggled a bit with getting past the jargon. But maybe someone more familiar with the vocabulary would enjoy the story more!

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REVIEW: “How My Sister Talked Me Into Necromancy During Quarantine” by Rachael K. Jones

Review of Rachael K. Jones, “How My Sister Talked Me Into Necromancy During Quarantine,” Small Wonders no. 3 (September 2023): 22-23 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Everyone has at least one pandemic bad decision in their closet, whether it’s sourdough starter gone green or ordering jellybeans by the kilo from amazon. This is the perfect story for anyone who wants to feel a bit better about their own bad decision, which probably pales in comparison’s to Becca’s decision to let her sister Lila live with her during lockdown. Short, sweet, funny — a great antidote to plague blues.

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REVIEW: “A Gardener Teaches His Son to Enrich the Soil and Plan for the Future” by Jennifer Hudak

Review of Jennifer Hudak, “A Gardener Teaches His Son to Enrich the Soil and Plan for the Future,” Small Wonders no. 3 (September 2023): 20 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Every avid gardener is familiar with the scourge that are caterpillars and slugs; but the titular gardener here teaches his son not only how to deal a far greater pest: zombies! The advice is equal parts gross and heartwarming, and makes for a sweet little story.

(First published in Triangulation: Habitats, 2021.)

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REVIEW: “Once In As Many Lifetimes” by Luc Diamant

Review of Luc Diamant, “Once In As Many Lifetimes,” Small Wonders no. 3 (September 2023): 14-15 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story was one of those rare gems: A second-person POV which I didn’t dislike! This is in large part due to the fact that it’s also first-person POV, which makes it much easier for me to believe that the “you” is not addressed at me. Instead, what I, as the reader, get from this story is a glimpse into a private conversation (or rather, directed monologue), which is both heart-warming and utterly heart-breaking. I nearly ended up crying on the train at the ending.

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