REVIEW: “Attrition” by Leslie J. Anderson

Review of Leslie J. Anderson, “Attrition”, Luna Station Quarterly 27 (2016): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This story had a lot of Neon Genesis Evangelion overtones — a motley collection of people and mechs they must control in order to save humanity. But since it was a short story rather than a drawn-out TV series, a proportionally higher percentage of story space was spent explaining what the mechs were and how they worked. At the end, I kind of wanted more story, and less explanation. (I also think there was a continuity error — pretty sure the two references to Mr. Hernandez were supposed to be to Mr. Henderson. Props for the character in the wheelchair, though.)

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REVIEW: “Into the Starfish Heart” by J. M. Wetherell

Review of J. M. Wetherell, “Into the Starfish Heart”, Luna Station Quarterly 27 (2016): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

This one was a bit off the mark for me. I spent a lot of the story confused about chronology (partly, I think, because the initial paragraph set me up to think that Ledo the artist was dead, but then it turned out they weren’t? At least I don’t think so? Like I said: Confusion.), and despite the fact that at times it felt like there was a lot of back-story being dumped in a bit clumsily, I still never felt like I got a good picture of just what, exactly, the setting was. It was frustrating, because I wanted to understand what was going on, but never quite did.

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REVIEW: “Cara’s Heartsong” by Dawn Bonanno

Review of Dawn Bonanno, “Cara’s Heartsong”, Luna Station Quarterly 28 (2016): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Wow, this story, published four years ago, was surprisingly difficult to read in the current climes of mass protests and riots, and a lingering insidious disease. Bonanno I’m sure had no idea what 2020 would bring, but her story reads very much like a picture of our near future. Except for the bit where physiology doesn’t work the same way in Bonanno’s world as it does in ours — a very pleasant little bit of world-building that I enjoyed.

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REVIEW: “Scrap Metal” by Tara Calaby

Review of Tara Calaby, “Scrap Metal”, Luna Station Quarterly 28 (2016): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content warning:Traumatic injury, death.

It’s always risky opening a story with a character waking up — perhaps even more risky to start not only the first scene but the second scene as well that way!

Mae’s been in a bad car accident, but she is “a very lucky girl”; after all, she’s now kitted out with the best cybernetic prosthetics available. With this, Calaby takes what could’ve been a rather pedestrian premise and threads it with through with the uncomfortable side of Mae’s luck: the way in which wealth rather than need or desert determines who gets the best of care after a traumatic accident, the gaslighting of a patient by their doctor, the fact that her new limbs might not be all they seem on the surface.

Quality SF with a hint of horror towards the end. Nicely done.

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REVIEW: “Keeping the Peace” by Elisabeth R. Adams

Review of Elisabeth R. Adams, “Keeping the Peace”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact July/August (2020): 118–123 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

An alien species of intelligent reptiles is preparing to launch an attack at what is presumably our Solar System. Their intention is to spread to the stars, but only by conquering already populated planets. They’re not interested in other means of colonization. During the launching ceremony, a few who are not happy with the current predicament decide to overthrow the leader and put a stop to the cycle of violence.

What I appreciated the most in “Keeping the Peace” was its pace. The story builds up elegantly to its climax, while also giving a complete picture of what the society in question is like. I always enjoy concise world-building, and Adams does that splendidly here. Not one sentence felt wasted. Little touches like naming characters after star systems or their peculiar ritualistic chants go a long way into defining the alien culture within the story.

However, I was slightly disappointed with the resolution. The main character’s rise to power seemed a little too easy considering how violent and war-mongering their society was. Despite this, “Keeping the Peace” was a joy to read.

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REVIEW: “Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of the Imadeyunuagbon” by Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald

Review of Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald, “Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of the Imadeyunuagbon”, in Zelda Knight and Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald, ed., Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora, (Aurelia Leo, 2020) — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology).

Content note: Nuclear warfare, possible rape, nonconsensual sex, death, suicide.

The “sacred charge of Obatala” is that all the men and women of Ife-Iyoku be useful, whether through the cultivation of special gifts as see-ers or healers or light weavers, or through the application of themselves to general tasks such as hunting and cooking and childrearing. While all the rest of Afrika has been destroyed by nuclear fall out, Ife-Iyoku stands behind a protective shield, and it is the duty of those who live there to make their community as strong as possible, that they might survive until Obatala returns to save all of Afrika.

But these roles come with definite gender restrictions, with women coming out far the worse. When Ooni Olori receives a message from beyond the shield, life in Ife-Iyoku is threatened by invasion. Those who live there must question the patriarchal structures that have bound their lives and face a future radically different from any they have ever known. I enjoyed watching Imade, one of the main characters, fight back against the gender roles that have constricted her her whole life, and by the end of the story was deeply invested in her and her outcome. A strong and powerful story.

Sara L. Uckelman2 Comments

REVIEW: “Clanfall: Death of Kings” by Odida Nyabundi

Review of Odida Nyabundi, “Clanfall: Death of Kings”, in Zelda Knight and Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald, ed., Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora, (Aurelia Leo, 2020) — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology).

This was a glorious, brilliant, wild ride of a story, of warring clans (the Fisi, the Simba, the Chui, the Kobe), of futuristic tech, and of a warrior heroine to shout and cheer on. There’s a lot thrust upon the reader right at the beginning — different names, different people, different types of equipment — and the lines between robot, battlegear, alien, and human are often blurred. But the story is long enough that the onslaught of unknown at the beginning eventually tapers off and the pieces start becoming clearer and fitting together.

I would have liked to see more of Shibuor, heroine and princess of the Simba Clan — she was the one who caught my attention and aroused my sympathy. In the end, it felt like she was primarily a foil for the male characters in the story, robbed of a full chance to exercise her agency, which was disappointing considering how strong and active she started out.

This is only a moderate complaint, though: I still enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Sara L. Uckelman1 Comment

REVIEW: “Mars, the Dumping Ground of the Solar System” by Andrew Kozma

Review of Andrew Kozma, “Mars, the Dumping Ground of the Solar System”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact July/August (2020): 100–105 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

Once a thriving colony, now Mars is nothing but a slum for poor people and unwanted genetically engineered humans. Jonquil is a government worker in charge of managing the different communities on Mars. One day, a Mercurian (a human genetically engineered to survive the harsh environment of Mercury) comes to his office and asks him for help to find her missing daughter. The Mercurian is worried that amid growing “anti-engineered” sentiments on Mars, her daughter might be in grave danger.

Kozma’s story has a couple of things going for it. The author delivers a fair amount of world-building in an effective and concise way, without overloading the prose with tiresome info-dumps. Unfortunately, the details of said world-building appear very poorly thought out. Aside from the scientific implausibility of terraforming Jupiter or, even worse, genetically engineering humans to survive on it, I find it impossible to believe that a humanity who’s able to colonize the entire solar system would treat the engineered so badly. The whole notion stinks of fabricated drama. Along similar lines, the plot of the missing girl builds up nicely throughout the story, but it concludes in a very anticlimactic way. The protagonist’s actions are irrelevant to the resolution, as things simply work out on their own.

Interesting in places, but overall this was a disappointing piece.

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REVIEW: “The Satellite Charmer” by Mame Bougouma Diene

Review of Mame Bougouma Diene, “The Satellite Charmer”, in Zelda Knight and Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald, ed., Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction From Africa and the African Diaspora, (Aurelia Leo, 2020) — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology).

Ibrahima, by his own description, has many problems. Despite what his friends say, thinking he knows better is not one of them. No, his problems are the dreams that haunt his sleep, the way that sometimes “every muscle in his body contracted, and somewhere, deep in his mind, something opened up.” His problems are all connected to the beam boring down out of the sky, mining the earth for minerals: But what the connection is, and how it came about, and why he doesn’t know — and that’s another problem, one that must be solved.

The mining company that is destroying his homeland, and which is the source of the beam that he feels such an attraction to, is in the background for almost all of the story. And yet, there is no escaping it: Whether for Ibrahima or the reader.

This was another gorgeously long piece, full of meaty depths to sink your teeth into. I enjoyed the way I was able to slowly piece together Ibrahima’s history and the history of his country, and the deep sense of family and community bonds that pervaded his life — how those bonds were forge, and how they were broken.

Sara L. Uckelman1 Comment

REVIEW: “On the Changing Roles of Dockworkers” by Marie Vibbert

Review of Marie Vibbert, “On the Changing Roles of Dockworkers”, Analog Science Fiction and Fact July/August (2020): 90–93 (Kindle) – Purchase Here. Reviewed by John Atom.

Contains spoilers.

Mary is a dock supervisor in charge of maintaining the dock’s robot workers. One day, while investigating a malfunctioning robot she discovers that the damage was self-inflicted. Digging deeper, Mary finds out that the robot is trying to prevent a new update that will take away its recently obtained sentience. Now, Mary faces a dilemma: should she help the robot, or wipe its consciousness away?

An enjoyable story, on the short and sweet side. Vibbert manages to give her robot a “motivation,” so to speak, without making it unrealistically emotional. The scenario is plausible, even if a tad unlikely. Some of Vibbert’s metaphors err on the side of silly, like “These logs record every time an electron farts.” However, they rarely detract from the story.

All in all, an excellent short story.

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