Review of JM Cyrus, “You and Me, Here and There, Now and Then and When,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 140-154 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
What a fun little story this was, with undercurrents of time travel and split personal identity, but ultimately, just a comforting little love story.
Review of Emily Yu, “The Angelus Machine,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 212-221 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
If you’re looking for a slightly uncomfortable story about love between a human and an AI, this is a story for you.
Review of Remy Welch, “Souls on the Open Plane,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): 176-195 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This story, told through alternating diary entries, introduces us to Lyre, a human scientist on an expedition space ship, and Bob, a Ragak who works in her lab. The entries are distinctive in voice in a way that conveys Bob’s alien-ness very effectively, and there is a rich sense of development. This was a strong debut publication for Welch — I look forward to reading more by her!
Review of Amal Singh, “Rafi”, Clarkesworld Issue 205, October (2023): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
I’ve read this author before, and have always enjoyed his work. Happily, this story is no different. He really does write grief and anguish very well. Whenever music plays a part in an uprising, it always brings me joy. Here, in the thought-policed dystopia of the story, singing itself is as an act of rebellion. A story with depth and great prose, particularly in these aforementioned moments of pain.
And of course, my personal heritage bias means I will always be appreciative of a story set in India or by a writer of Indian origin. It’s so lovely to see people of your culture represented in media.
Review of Esther Alter, “Sojourner,” Luna Station Quarterly 57 (2024): Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Everyone who has ever followed the escapades of the Mars rovers and other extra-terrestrial sojourners via twitter or other newsfeeds will understand the draw that humans have to stories of plucky machines exploring worlds we ourselves will never visit (though maybe our great-grandchildren will).
This is a story of such machines. It’s got rocks. And robot jokes. And, oh my goodness, it made me cry. I loved it.
Review of Jen Brown, “The Probability of One,” Fantasy Magazine 83 (September 2022): 6-8 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was quite a complex story for how short it was; I started it, got lost, had to start it again, got distracted, started again before I really go stuck into it. It feels like it skirts the barrier between very clever and unreasonably opaque. I’d rather not decide for myself, but encourage everyone to give it a go. At the very least, it’s short, and if you reach the end still confused, it’s okay — it’s short. And even at the end there’s something that leaves me thinking “I wish I understood more.”
The author bio says that Jen Brown writes “otherworldly tales about Black, queer folks righteously wielding power.” For that reason alone, I’d read this story.
Review of Timothy Hickson, “Constellations of Flesh, Bone, and Memory,” Small Wonders no. 7 (January 2024): 25-27 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was an interesting, if slightly uncomfortable, read, full of memory and heredity and genetics. SF regularly reminds us that the future isn’t necessarily better than the present, and that’s certainly the moral I took from this story.
Review of Grace Chan, “Post Hacking for the Uninitiated”, Clarkesworld Issue 205, October (2023): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
Straight into the action with this one! A sharp yet soft tale of things lost or taken away, and what it takes to take the power back. With hints of a much larger space opera world-building going on in the background, I’d love to see more stories set in this universe. The story stands very well on its own, of course. The parts that focus on Orin’s thoughts and memories are particularly poignant.
A bittersweet story that left me wanting more!
Review of Lora Gray, “The Pieces of Her,” Flash Fiction Online 124 (January 2024): 12-15 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: Death of a partner.
Gray shows excellently well how to combine quite a lot into quite a little. We got a full dose of SF via the building of human-robot hybrid pilots, and a full dose of personal relationships gone wrong via Denise, Miranda, and Lilith. The story operates well at both levels, which is a difficult thing to pull off!
Review of Rachael K. Jones, “Seven Ways to Find Yourself at the Transdimensional Multifandom Convention,” Flash Fiction Online 123 (December 2023): 11-14 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a fun, funny, and touching story, which I liked quite a bit even if it is in 2nd person (my least favorite way of telling a story).
SFF Reviews