REVIEW: “The Death Haiku of the Azure Five” by L Chan

Review of L. Chan, “The Death Haiku of the Azure Five”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A very technical sort of story, maybe we could call it hard science fiction? It’s a war fought in outer space, by AI. And these particular second-gen AIs don’t have much in the way of free will. What they do have, is a bit of poetry at the end of their lives. Poetry they can write near death, participating in a war they don’t really want to fight.

But they have a little family, and they look out for each other. Suffused with emotion amidst all the technicality, it makes for an interesting read!

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REVIEW: “Between Zero and One There is Infinity” by Shari Paul

Review of Shari Paul, “Between Zero and One There is Infinity”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A high stakes story that pulls you into it right from the beginning. There’s habitation on Mars, humans coexisting with (and also fighting with) alien invaders, people being uploaded to computers, and space pirates!

So many elements in this novelette, and all of them paced super well in a tight plot. The characters are fleshed out so well, even the minor ones. A very engaging read, and you’ll definitely love it if any of these settings/character types appeal to you. To be frank, you’d enjoy it even otherwise!

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REVIEW: “Opening Doors” by Juliet Kemp

Review of Juliet Kemp, “Opening Doors,” Cossmass Infinities 7 (2022): 41-48 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Cancer, death.

Dysfunctional relationships are still dysfunctional, even if they are set on Mars! Despite the setting, the story Kemp gives us is in some respects quite mundane, ordinary. The juxtaposition of the ordinary, every-day against the Martian backdrop made for an intriguing contrast. Don’t get me wrong, “ordinary” and “mundane” are good descriptions here.

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REVIEW: “Normalization” by Xauri’EL Zwaan

Review of Xauri’EL Zwaan, “Normalization,” Cossmass Infinities 7 (2022): 33-39 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story opens immediately upon a violent death, so if that’s not for you, avoid this one.

Richter, the narrator, is part of a collective, where everyone is a “we”, no one is an “I”, until something catastrophic happens and the narrator is separated from the others and becomes an “I” again. After the violent opening, the next few paragraphs are a rather labored info-dump. All in all, the pitch of this story wasn’t right for me, but I did appreciate the meta-commentary on how all too often people have a very narrow view about what (or who!) gets to count as “humanity”.

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REVIEW: “The Language Birds Speak” by Rebecca Campbell

Review of Rebecca Campbell, “The Language Birds Speak”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A hauntingly lovely novelette. We, readers and writers, love words. Words can do so much, but there is another layer of deeper feeling where words do not entirely suffice. This story beautifully explores that.

There’s also a nice slow build up of dread from almost the start, though we may not know what we’re dreading. But it escalates quite nicely to a satisfying conclusion. There’s also a lovely hopeful ending.

We can do a lot with words, but there’s so much more to emotion, feeling and desire than words can do justice to.

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REVIEW: “External Processors” by Sherry Yuan

Review of Sherry Yuan, “External Processors,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

I really enjoyed this particular take on the notion of the “extended mind” — the idea that we think with more than just our brain, but also with parts of our environment. Not many people in Nolan’s class are lucky enough to get an ExP — an external processor. After getting one for his 12th birthday, he’s the envy of all his classmates. But the other side of his good fortune is a much darker one. I’m not sure whether this story is SF or horror, but whatever the genre: It’s one of those stories that feels all too real, and hence was very good.

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REVIEW: “This Stitch, This Time” by Anna Martino

Review of Anna Martino, “This Stitch, This Time”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Very imaginative concept. Just like the last story from this issue of Clarkesworld, I find it enjoyable when disparate passions are combined to make a beautiful tale. Space suit seamstress is a science fiction profession I have not encountered before, and I love it!

A quick read, yet suffused with a lot of emotion.

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REVIEW: “Dark Waters Still Flow” by Alice Towey

Review of Alice Towey, “Dark Waters Still Flow”, Clarkesworld Issue 182, November (2021): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Such a good story! Soft yet logical, I enjoyed every sentence. I don’t mean to sound partial, but this is why I love women science fiction writers. There was such beauty in the descriptions, the poetry, the minute details – this is a story you want to take the time to absorb.

The level of detail in this story surprised me, and then I read that apart from writing, Towey works as a civil engineer specializing in water resources management. That explains why she had such knowledge of the subject at hand. I do love it when writers combine their two favored disciplines in this manner.

Very enjoyable story. Read slowly. Savor it.

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REVIEW: “Felt” by Denise Khng

Review of Denise Khng, “Felt,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This was a beautiful love elegy — slow paced but never dragging or over written, continually building emotions in layers. Nothing much happened, it mostly meandered from one place to another, but the strength and depth of feeling evoked something visceral in me. And that was before everything turned sad.

It was also very long, and yet, it seemed to be simultaneously exactly the right length. A very well put together piece.

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REVIEW: “The Hall of Being” by T. K. Rex

Review of T. K. Rex, “The Hall of Being,” Luna Station Quarterly 51 (2022): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

SF stories don’t incorporate religion often enough, so Rex’s story, which weaves together, poetry and ritual, science and religion, from the start predisposed me to like it. When the religious aspect were not monolithic, but diverse and varied across cultures, I liked it even more. And when she started poking fun at traditional theism and citing medieval philosophers? I knew I was in for a real treat! This was a wonderful mixture of mysticism and rationalism, and I really enjoyed it.

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