Review of Elou Carroll, “It’s Become a Bit of a Habit,” Flash Fiction Online 141 (June 2025): 16-17 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
What an absolutely peculiar little story.
I honestly have no idea what else to say about it.
REVIEW: “Missing Helen” by Tia Tashiro
Review of Tia Tashiro, “Missing Helen”, Clarkesworld Issue 226, July (2025): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.
If you had a clone, would you wonder about them? If you were a clone, would you want to know more about your origin?
Both sides of the story seem interesting, and I’m happy this story gave us all that and more.
A tightly woven tale of these two people, so similar and so different. The prose added a lot to the story; this is something I always appreciate about Clarkesworld stories. They’ve got a beautiful way with words.
REVIEW: “Henrietta Armitage Doesn’t Read Anymore” by Damon Young
Review of Damon Young, “Henrietta Armitage Doesn’t Read Anymore,” Flash Fiction Online 138 (March 2025): 9-13 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Content note: suicidal ideation.
In this compelling story, Young takes a metaphor and pushes it to the extreme. While Henrietta tells her doctor, “You can’t get sick from a metaphor,” Young manages to construct a believable story where this statement itself becomes no longer all that believable.
REVIEW: “The Ferryman Makes His Morning Crossing” by Corey Davis
Review of Corey Davis, “The Ferryman Makes His Morning Crossing,” Luna Station Quarterly 61 (2025): 175-194 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a superlative story, made even better by how effortlessly it was done. I hardly know what to say of it, because to describe it as “climate fiction” or “political commentary” is to completely drain it of that magical thing that only some stories have. Though it’s one of the longer stories in this issue of LSQ, it’s definitely one of the ones most worth reading.
REVIEW: “Lacus Odii (Lake of Hate)” by Josh Pearce
Review of Josh Pearce, “Lacus Odii (Lake of Hate)” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 66-67 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Well, this is quite a prescient poem! I had to go back and check just exactly when in 2025 this issue of Radon Journal came out — and the answer is, two days after the US presidential inauguration. Who knows whether Pearce had insider knowledge of what was to come, or is just very good at predicting the future, the first stanza of this poem cuts awfully close to home, a month on from the inauguration. Want to be thoroughly depressed? Read this poem.
REVIEW: “Dirt.” by Nadia Steven Rysing
Review of Nadia Steven Rysing, “Dirt.” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 74 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
Apocalyptic poetry isn’t supposed to be “nice,” but this one was definitely harsh — but that harshness turned into strength at the end, and it felt something like a victory cry, or maybe a challenge.
REVIEW: “Review of the Pre-Anthropocene Museum” by A J Dalton
Review of A J Dalton, “Review of the Pre-Anthropocene Museum,” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 72 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
The ending stanza of the poem is what made it for me.
REVIEW: “The World Ends With a Whimper” by Nicholas De Marino
Review of Nicholas De Marino, “The World Ends With a Whimper,” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 59 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
When one starts off their piece with a call-back to such an iconic poem, it sets the reader’s expectations high. While the poem was a strong one (cleverly constructed so it could be read in multiple ways), I’m not sure the title helped rather than hindered it, especially as the title was also the opening line. I wonder what the poem would’ve been like if instead of setting things up to repeat an idea, the title was instead used to introduce something new and unexpected?
REVIEW: “The World Has Been This Way For a Long Time” by Vincent Endwell
Review of Vincent Endwell, “The World Has Been This Way For a Long Time,” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 44-47 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This title intrigued me, as there was a delightful ambiguity in what it is signalling — would this be a happy story or a sad one? It could be either!
And then it turned out to almost be neither, rather instead it was mostly a quiet story, “speculative” in the sense that the narrator spent a lot of time wondering what if, what if, what if. But at the end, there is definitely some solace that we as the reader can take away.
REVIEW: “Thicker Than Water” by Aeryn Rudel
Review of Aeryn Rudel, “Thicker Than Water,” Radon Journal 9 (2025): 26-28 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.
This was a gruesome little gem of a story, set in a apocalyptic world; or perhaps our own world, in just a few decades’ time — you decide how soon you think global warming will suck us all dry and leave humans competing not only with animals for water, but also with the trees!
SFF Reviews 