Review of Elou Carroll, “Tatterdemalion, or Of Apple Bough and Straw,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Death of a partner.
A very classic sort of fairy tale: A bereaved woman makes a bargain, only to find the price more than she can bear to pay. She gets her happily ever after in the end, but not without a heavy dose of heartache in between.
Review of Jenna Grieve, “Osteomancy,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
My god, this was a good story. The language in this story is exceedingly beautiful, putting images into my head in a way that most stories don’t (those who don’t have any degree of aphantasia may not appreciate this quite as much). I can vividly picture Stranger, arriving at the door of Locksmith begging the creation of a key that only Locksmith can make, everything sharp but cloaked in shades of grey. What a sublime experience, reading this!
Review of Kathleen Chadwick, “The Tiger Who Fell in Love With the Sky,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
From the “once upon a time” to the “happily ever after,” this was a beautiful little fairy tale that I will probably read to my child. It was reminiscent of Kipling’s “Just So” stories in its voice.
Review of Lisa Farrell, “Crowd Demons,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Take a photographer hired to photograph a rich man’s soiree, a bunch of photos that don’t turn out exactly how she expected, and a newspaper article a few days later and what do you get? A supernatural ghost mystery that feels like it could’ve been straight out of an episode of the X Files (and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible.)
Review of Claire McAneny, “Reaping Rewards,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Domestic abuse.
If only getting a problematic man out of your life was as easy as going to the local fortune teller…
Review of Amelia Brunskill, “The Hunter’s Child,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a weird, almost grotesque, little fairy tale. It has all the characteristic roles — the Queen, the King, the Hunter — it has monsters beyond the castle walls, secrets, and little girls who can talk to birds. But entwined with these are ugly threads that you don’t expect to find in a fairy tale — alcoholism, abuse. If there is any happy ending at all, it is the little girl discovering that the monsters outside are not nearly as evil as ones inside.
Review of E. Fox, “The Price of Pearls,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a vibrant story of love, betrayal, jealousy, seals and puffins and sea otters. Full of beauty, this was a good reminder that no woman should ever be the possession of a man.
Review of Madeleine Sardina, “Ghosts in My Lungs,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
I’m not sure if the titular ghosts were intended to be a metaphor for disease — they certainly can be read that way, but it’s not required — or if they’re just a fun creepy thing to imagine and write a story about, but either way, they definitely made for a fun creepy thing to read a story about, especially entangled in an absolutely glorious love story. A real treat!
Review of Savannah Wade, “Magpie Girls,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
One part fairy tale, one part tarot reading, and one part coming out story, this was a haunting little tale, of two magpie girls Jo and Lily, thieving beautiful trinkets, forgotten things, the chance at a life of their own, not dictated by any man…
Review of Daphne Fama, “What Has Waited Between the Stars,” Luna Station Quarterly 50 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Woman breaks up with her girlfriend, takes to the stars, crashes on a lonely planet: A simple, and not especially original, premise. The only thing that kept me going through the opening paragraphs was the hint of the title, the promise that I might be dazzled with something unexpected.
The abrupt shift the story took about three quarters of the way through was certainly unexpected, but I think I ended up more perplexed than dazzled. And odd little SF tale!
SFF Reviews