REVIEW: “A Game of Go” by P.A. Cornell

Review of P.A. Cornell, “A Game of Go,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 12-43 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

The main character in this story is Ava, the SmartHome who has been raising Christopher since his mothers both disappeared. As a sentient AI character, Ava has been programmed to abide by certain rules; while with the rapid growth of gen-AI, LLM-driven models we tend to think that rules are important for keeping AIs from doing the wrong thing, the crux of this story is how Ava’s constraints prevent her from doing the right thing, and how she fights back against this. It was a curiously optimistic view of AI agents.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “The Spacefarer’s Guide to Connecting With Your Daughter’s Descendants” by Stewart C. Baker

Review of Stewart C. Baker, “The Spacefarer’s Guide to Connecting With Your Daughter’s Descendants,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 168-177 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Oh, this was a glorious story — full of love over generations and forgiveness and parenting mistakes and recoveries. I nearly cried while reading it, and was so delighted by the ending.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “The Grammar of Jespersen-b” by Holly Schofield

Review of Holly Schofield, “The Grammar of Jespersen-b,” Adventitious no. 4 (Aug 2026): 136-145 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story reminds us that just because a planet may not have any humanoid or humanlike lifeforms on it, it doesn’t mean we weren’t colonizing it just the same when we land on it and force it to conform to our own needs. I particularly enjoyed the way that Schofield uses linguistic metaphors in her depiction of unsettlement, longing, and disorientation.

(First published in On Spec 33, no. 4, 2023)

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “This Is an Emergency Broadcast” by R.S.A. Garcia

Review of R.S.A. Garcia, “This Is an Emergency Broadcast”, Clarkesworld Issue 238, July (2026): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Oh my. What a story. This one will surely be collecting some nominations, I think!

I have been reading this very slowly amidst a busy few weeks, and it was so so worth it. 

Even when I only got to read a few minutes at a time, it was immediately arresting. So many moments in this story that evoked many different kinds of reactions and feelings in me. 

At the end of the story, when I tell you I got literal chills and scrolled all the way back up to check something again (you’ll know what I mean if you read the story).. this one was a pure pleasure to read. 

Do yourself a favour and read it. 

myra naikLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Last Edit to THE ALL BANGERS LIST Made By Your Sex Robot at 11:39 A.M.” by Natalie Zutter

Review of Natalie Zutter, “Last Edit to THE ALL BANGERS LIST Made By Your Sex Robot at 11:39 A.M.,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 152-161 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

In this very interesting piece reflecting on how sex with a sex robot — especially one who has some level of personhood or at least the capacity to simulate falling in love — compares with sex with a person, the one thing that I found most interesting was the lack of any consideration of consent.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Of Sight, Of Mind, Of Heart” by Samantha Murray

Review of Samantha Murray, “Of Sight, Of Mind, Of Heart,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 88-100 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I knew before I started reading that this was going to be a gut-wrenching story — because in flipping ahead to confirm the page number of the last page, I read the final line. Oof. It was enough of a sucker punch for me to tamp down my usual antipathy to second-person POV stories.

And I was right. What can I say about this story? Only what every parents knows: We love our children fiercely knowing that one day we’ll have to say good-bye, never knowing whether that day will come sooner or later. And also that maybe this was not the story to read the day I waved my own kid off at the airport not to see her again for three weeks!

(First published in Clarkesworld no. 122, 2016)

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment

REVIEW: “Penance” by Jennifer Hudak

Review of Jennifer Hudak, “Penance,” Adventitious no. 2 (Apr 2026): 101-108 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I love a genre-bending story like this: It has all the trappings of a moderately generic SF setting, but the story itself is a story of gods and mortals and the one being who hears the voice of their god when they should not. I’m a sucker for this kind of story, so I enjoyed “Penance” very much — especially it’s absolute killer ending.

Sara L. UckelmanLeave a comment