REVIEW: “The Weight of Your Own Ashes” by Carlie St. George

Review of Carlie St. George, “The Weight of Your Own Ashes”, Clarkesworld Issue 212, May (2024): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A deeply layered story of identity, and what a sense of self could mean. The protagonist is multi-bodied, with a single soul. What this effectively means in terms of perception, acceptance, and gender identity to themselves, and to other single-bodied organisms, like humans, is the journey of this story.

There are also moments of beauty, like a passage about symphonies, that also show how all those experiences shape Yonder, the protagonist. A great story with many lovely elements.

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REVIEW: “The Hanging of Billy Crabtree” by H. A. Eugene

Review of H. A. Eugene, “The Hanging of Billy Crabtree,” Flash Fiction Online 132 (September 2024): 13-16 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

The story starts off with an execution and immediately turns surreal. I love it when I read a story and think, “I could never have thought of that,” and that’s definitely the case for this story. So weird.

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REVIEW: “Reclaiming a Traditional African Genre: The AfroSurrealism of Ngano” by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu

Review of Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, “Reviving a Traditional African Genre: The AfroSurrealism of Ngano,” Fantasy Magazine 84 (October 2022): 39-41 — Read here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

While in the last five years or so I have made an effort to read more spec fic outside the western/European tradition, including especially African speculative fiction, I still feel like quite a novice when it comes to the details and differences of traditions that I didn’t grow up with. Ndlovu’s article is an excellent piece for me, therefore, because it’s a concise introduction to a particular tradition — Ngano — clearly explained with Ndlovu’s own experiences hearing, reading, and writing it interleaved.

AfroSurrealism, for Ndlovu, is a way “to capture the flavor of the absurdity and horror I experience daily as an African woman” (p. 39). Ngano, a story telling genre (traditionally oral story telling) from Zimbabwe, is made up of five elements (pp. 39-41):

  1. the sarungano, or storyteller
  2. shamismo, or fantastical or surreal elements grounded in reality
  3. hunhu/ubuntu, or humanist morals
  4. nziyo, or song/call and a response
  5. tsuro naGudo, or anthropomorphism

I was particularly interested in Ndlovu’s discussion of how each of these elements shape the structure, as opposed to the content of the stories.

I would love to see more short essays on different non-European genres of this type!

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REVIEW: “The Blinding Light of Resurrection” by Rajeev Prasad

Review of Rajeev Prasad, “The Blinding Light of Resurrection”, Clarkesworld Issue 212, May (2024): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Kept me hooked! An emotionally resonant story where I was genuinely invested in the characters and what happened to them. When someone is driven by obsession, rationality goes out the window, and that’s always a recipe for disaster.

This novelette provides a really, really good perspective on obsession and the cost of following through on it. Deftly written in a way that you can understand the protagonist’s motivations while also understanding how they’ve gone off track.

Again, I cannot overstate the emotional resonance in this one. Lovely writing.

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REVIEW: “The Texture of Memory, of Light” by Samara Auman

Review of Samara Auman, “The Texture of Memory, of Light”, Clarkesworld Issue 212, May (2024): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Much like the previous story in this issue, this is a poignant one that deals with memories of a late mother. There’s a great emphasis on working through conflicting feelings, while being caught up in tightly constructed and intricately layered human systems.

The protagonist has much to work through, coming out on the other side with greater understanding and healing. The character development was fantastic, and I loved seeing all the changes – and the decisions that grew from there.

Great background and secondary characters, too. I especially liked the world building and would definitely read more stories set here.

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REVIEW: “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha

Review of Thomas Ha, “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video”, Clarkesworld Issue 212, May (2024): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

Set in a not too distant dystopian future, this story follows an unnamed protagonist who finds a dead book. A real one, with no pixelated layer on the pages, no swiping to increase the brightness. Just paper.

That’s rare in this world, and the book itself is so different from the kinds of books generally available. Present day books have their endings sanitized, plot lines changed, and audience acceptance maximized by following tropes and guidelines. That’s why this one stands out, attracts attention.

I always love to see stories of people finding their inner strength and purpose. Plus, the character arc and world building in this story is a treat. Definitely recommend.

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REVIEW: “Everything Is Idaho” by Eliza Sullivan

Review of Eliza Sullivan, “Everything Is Idaho,” Luna Station Quarterly 58 (2024): 213-234 — Purchase online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

It’s an apocalyptic story, but one that feels very “samey”. We don’t know any details about the apocalypse, such as what caused it; we just know the aftermath, and it feels as if it could be any apocalypse. Maybe this makes the story universal, allowing the reader to fill in the gaps and adapt it how they wish; or maybe it just makes it underdeveloped and vaguely defined.

So if this is a vague and ill-defined post-apocalyptic story, why read this one, as opposed to any other one? I’d say, read it for the brothers’ relationship that is central to the story — that part was good. And also unbearably sad.

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REVIEW: “The Chicken’s Just Fine” by J. Autumn Needles

Review of J. Autumn Needles, “The Chicken’s Just Fine,” Flash Fiction Online 128 (May 2024): 11-13 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

What a strange little story. The FFO editors classified this as science fiction, but the only SF element I could find is the setting — one oblique reference to the characters having “brought those ideas from another world” (p. 11). The speculative elements are loosely defined enough that one could interpret them as either science or magic, a pleasing ambiguity which definitely helps the story along.

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