REVIEW: “Europan Culture (Seven Theses)” by Meagan Kane

Review of Meagan Kane, “Europan Culture (Seven Theses),” Flash Fiction Online 151 (April 2026): 28-31 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I’m really not sure what I think about this story. Perhaps my cognitive dissonance comes from the title, which led me to think the story was going to be very different from how it was. But I also wonder if I would’ve liked the story even if it had a different title; there was just something unsettling about the way Conamara’s very being and existence was handle, by the unnamed narrator, or maybe by the author.

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REVIEW: “You Are Invited to Our SPRING CELEBRATION” by Thoraiya Dyer

Review of Thoraiya Dyer, “You Are Invited to Our SPRING CELEBRATION”, Clarkesworld Issue 234, March (2026): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A story that’s beautifully wild and familiar at the same time. 

One of those stories where you know the worldbuilding has been done so thoughtfully, yet the plot itself was not ignored in service of it. 

I really enjoyed the narrator’s voice and personality; in my opinion it was the cherry on top that made the story what it is.

Such a pleasure to read.

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REVIEW: “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone” by Sylvie Althoff

Review of Sylvie Althoff, “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 131-152 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Those who really like jazz will appreciate Althoff’s ability to pull more than twenty pages out of one improv session at a small bar on a far-flung planet. For those who could take jazz or leave it, this story is rather…long.

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REVIEW: “Eva” by Ashley Burnett

Review of Ashley Burnett, “Eva,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 185-203 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Enslavement, prison, forced adoption, forced pregnancy.

I find that I am beginning to tire to stories where misogyny is baked into the core of the narrative — even if the narrative is one of release, and freedom, and vengeance, and retribution, of escape for the woman/women involved, I am increasingly longing for stories that imagine an entirely different way of existence.

Still, I understand the value in ones that take our world as it is, and show that we can resist, so I don’t want to speak too negatively of Burnett’s story; it’s just not the story for me, I guess.

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REVIEW: “Person, Place, Thing” by Marissa Lingen

Review of Marissa Lingen, “Person, Place, Thing”, Clarkesworld Issue 234, March (2026): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A story about a colony, with many subcolonies. One of those, the translator subcolony, interacts with the first humans they’ve ever come across. 

They are all one, and they are all united. This story explores how these two very vastly different kinds of creatures interact. 

It’s way more beautiful than that, I’m definitely not doing justice. 

Such a pleasure to read.

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REVIEW: “Squilla of the Flower Moon” by M. McNamara

Review of M. McNamara, “Squilla of the Flower Moon,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 35-52 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Violence against women, sex work.

Bordello Bot Jenny was programmed with Level 14 curiosity, which left her unsatisfied with her intended purpose and longing for adventure. But the adventure she embarked upon wasn’t anything like what was advertised, which is how she ended up as a Bordello Bot.

This story was predicated on the violence and oppression of women and so of course the only solution available was also violent. I’m sure there are audiences for stories like this, but I’m not one.

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REVIEW: “The End of the World, Simon et al.” by T. L. Xue

Review of T. L. Xue, “The End of the World, Simon et al.,” Luna Station Quarterly 65 (January 2026): 15-22 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

“End of the world” stories rarely contain anything new, insofar as there aren’t that many cataclysmic ways the world can end, so when this story didn’t give me anything new in terms of apocalypses, I wasn’t terribly disappointed. What this story had that was new was its framing, constructed along the lines of a scientific paper. I enjoyed that.

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