REVIEW: “All Our Whiskered Idols” by Kahlo Smith

Review of Kahlo Smith, “All Our Whiskered Idols,” Luna Station Quarterly 54 (2023): Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Ruminations on death.

Smith’s story is an exploration of the complications and complexities of family, and death, and religion, and grief. The first part of it was almost aggressively ordinary — good and satisfyingly told, but leaving me wondering what was going to be speculative about it — which made the contrast of the second, weird and wildy speculative, part all the more sharp.

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REVIEW: “Learning to Hate Yourself as a Self-Defense Mechanism” by Andrea Kriz

Review of Andrea Kriz, “Learning to Hate Yourself as a Self-Defense Mechanism”, Clarkesworld Issue 184, January (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

The narrator’s friend made a virtugame that featured their relationship. It also included a slightly fictionalized version of the narrator, a hurtful one at that.

You know that moment when you discover that someone you thought of as a friend just thought of you as a means to an end, a joke, or perhaps both?

That’s what our narrator faces, and then makes a choice. An insightful story into interpersonal relationships, especially with people who think of you in a much different way than you think of them.

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REVIEW: “No One at the Wild Dock” by Gu Shi

Review of Gu Shi, “No One at the Wild Dock”, Clarkesworld Issue 184, January (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A timely, beautiful story. It was exceedingly well written. It’s stories like these that keep drawing me back to translated fiction.

The progression of AI from childlike curiosity and learning difficulties, to slowly gaining knowledge, skills and eventually sentience is lovely, with a perspective that I’ve rarely seen.

The depth of emotion, and subtle changes in interaction as the AI develops and grows are part of what made this story magical for me.

The story is truly poignant due to the commentary on the present state of humanity and our technological dependence inter-weaved with the staggering growth of AI’s abilities.

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REVIEW: “The Five Rules of Supernova Surfing or A For Real Solution to the Fermi Paradox, Bro” by Geoffrey W. Cole

Review of Geoffrey W. Cole, “The Five Rules of Supernova Surfing or A For Real Solution to the Fermi Paradox, Bro”, Clarkesworld Issue 184, January (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A story about a pair of “surfer dudes” who enjoy surfing supernovas. The supernovas have been exploding too soon, which we later find out is due to the heat death of the universe, and they are supposed to set up a simulation. Why they were selected is beyond me and not really explained in the story.

Indeed, I don’t see why they were chosen to do something so important and **spoiler alert** they don’t even actually set up the simulation they were supposed to. They choose to get high and surf together instead.

They do manage to set up something eventually, but it was an unsatisfying end to the plot.

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REVIEW: “Hunting Snowmen” by Aeryn Rudel

Review of Aeryn Rudel, “Hunting Snowmen,” Radon Journal 2 (2022): 16-18 — Read online. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman.

Content note: Domestic violence.

This was a funny [in the strange rather than humoristic, although there is definitely humor in it] little post-apocalyptic story about zombies who head north and then freeze in the bitter cold. It’s full of vindictive justice, and even though I could see the ending coming from a mile away, it was so satisfying.

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REVIEW: “The Lion and the Virgin” by Megan J. Kerr

Review of Megan J. Kerr, “The Lion and the Virgin ”, Clarkesworld Issue 184, January (2022): Read Online. Reviewed by Myra Naik.

A solitary woman in a one-person ship travels alone for many many days, with some company. It’s an interesting study on how real someone can become to you, irrespective of what they really are. It’s also a pretty realistic representation of how humans might react to prolonged space travel in isolation.

Loneliness is real and biting. Lovely prose, too.

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