REVIEW: “The Area Under the Curve” by Matt McHugh

Review of Matt McHugh, “The Area Under the Curve”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2023): 80–87 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Emi and Zeika discover that their son Benny is an average boy – plain average – and therefore not qualified to join them in the upcoming mission to the generation ship. They must decide if they will join follow him on earth, or remain in space and continue with their mission.

The drama in the story is absolutely superb. The richness of detail in the fights and arguments between the two parents give the story a certain familiarity that every reader is bound to recognize. Moreover, the source of the tension in the story is wonderfully melancholic. I took some issue with the ending, as it felt like a bit like a cop-out from the original dilemma. Nevertheless, this is still one of the best stories in this issue.

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REVIEW: “Cornflower” by Victoria Navarra

Review of Victoria Navarra, “Cornflower”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2023): 74–79 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Living in a space station after Earth has been rendered uninhabitable, Reza gets his first job tending the semi-automated garden of the colony. He thinks it’s the worst and most boring job he could have, until a young girl his age, Amelia, changes his mind.

Though short and simple, the author does a great job at going through the characters’ motivations and psychology to move the plot forward. The world building is also excellent, providing the necessary fuel for the story’s themes. All in all, thoroughly enjoyable.

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REVIEW: “A Real Snow Day” by M. Bernardo

Review of M. Bernardo, “A Real Snow Day”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2023): 94–97 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

In the middle of a snowstorm in 1948, Lyria and Kenton decide to spend all day inside, enjoying a the warmth and comfort of their living room. However, nothing is really as it seems in their household.

This story is all about the final reveal, which I must admit that I didn’t see coming. The brevity certainly helps, because the first half is not that interesting — and the author doesn’t do the greatest job at foreshadowing. But in the end, it is a worthy read.

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REVIEW: “Direct Message” by Tom Pike

Review of Tom Pike, “Direct Message”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact January/February (2023): 88–93 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

An alien race starts a Twitter poll about which region of earth to vaporize with their heat ray. The protagonist must negotiate with the aliens to save his hometown.

An amusing and funny story, though the implausibility is at times hard to swallow. Despite the author admitting to the tongue-in-cheek nature of the story (breaking the 4th wall in a manner of speaking), it still leaves a bit to be desired. I’m not sure the author’s final message gets through.

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REVIEW: “Other Stories” by Wang Yuan

Review of Wang Yuan, “Other Stories”, Clarkesworld Issue 183, December (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A fascinating novelette about fiction and time travel and how it comes together in lovely, strange ways. This is a story I read twice, simply because it had so much depth that I had to go back. After the first read, things are revealed, and I immediately started it again, knowing the plot and hence being able to connect the dots better, seeing phrases in a new light.

You can tell that this was quite intricately written, and it’s one of those stories you can keep revisiting. Highly recommend.

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REVIEW: “The Mother Tree” by Elana Gomel

Review of Elana Gomel, “The Mother Tree,” Luna Station Quarterly 52 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Non-consensual sex, non-consensual pregnancy.

This was definitely not the sort of story I was expecting, veering off from fantasy to flirt with horror — the horror of pregnancy as your child takes over your body and then your life; the horror of losing a mother; the horror of being trapped in one place, unable to speak, unable to escape.

I loved it.

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REVIEW: “Mnemotechnic” by Fiona Moore

Review of Fiona Moore, “Mnemotechnic,” Cossmass Infinities 8 (2022): 56-75 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I love a story where the main character is described as having used to be a computer, and I genuinely cannot tell for the first page whether the word is meant in hardware or the human sense! The initial scenes leave it genuinely open to going either way. Of course, in a story as long as this one, the matter does get settled, but by the time it is, I’m already hooked enough that I don’t care which way it goes.

I was reminded of another story recently reviewed,

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REVIEW: “All Legacy Hardware” by Owen McManus

Review of Owen McManus, “All Legacy Hardware,” Cossmass Infinities 8 (2022): 7-21 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Kara Liu is just weeks away from the Olympic 10k qualifying meet when a terrible accident severs her spinal cord. The story opens on her three weeks post injury, still in the throes of recovery, reconstruction, and rebuilding of her future. The quality and precision of the scientific detail in this story is such that it made me — not a doctor! — wonder how much of it was fiction and how much already reality. I loved it. (I also really, really loved Dr. Dawson, who doesn’t know how to talk to people, who finds her research vividly exciting, and who appreciates the importance of getting a PhD thesis or two out of a new project.) This is McManus’s first published story, and all credit to him: I hope he writes lots more like this.

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REVIEW: “Battles Yet to Win” by Devi Lacroix

Review of Devi Lacroix, “Battles Yet to Win,” Cossmass Infinities 8 (2022): 85-95 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

The story opens with a feel I traditionally associated with fantasy, and when it segued into science fiction it did so in a way that didn’t clash with the atmosphere that had already been created. The juxtaposition was well-done and I enjoyed it. And this was merely setting the stage for a rich story of complex relationships between ambiguous characters, all of which made for an extremely satisfying read. (There is also a subtle, but excellent, slight rewriting of history, which I loved.)

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