Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020

by Lynne M. Thomas (Editor), Michael Damian Thomas (Editor), Chimedum Ohaegbu (Editor)

Featuring all-new short fiction by Rae Carson, Eugenia Triantafyllou, C.L. Clark, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam Sharon Hsu, and Alex Bledsoe; reprint fiction by E. Lily Yu; essays by Meg Elison, Marissa Lingen, Malka Older, and Katharine Duckett; poems by Ada Hoffmann, Brandon O’Brien, Leah Bobet, and Betsy Aoki; interviews with Eugenia Triantafyllou and Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam by Caroline M. Yoachim; and Nilah Magruder’s Fallen Embers on the cover.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction, Audiobook, Poetry

173 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 7, 2020

About the author

In my day job, I am the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. I used to manage pop culture special collections that include the papers of over 70 SF/F authors at Northern Illinois University. I also teach a Special Collections course as an adjunct in the iSchool at Illinois, and used to do so at SJSU.

I'm an Nine-time Hugo Award winner, the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Uncanny Magazine with my husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), I co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics. I moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contribute to the Verity! Podcast. You can learn more about my shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skip The Long Walk. Read this.

Bonus: it's also 275% shorter.

https://uncannymagazine.com/article/y...

[Nataliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for three (!) award-nominated stories: “Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse” (Hugo and Nebula), “My Country is a Ghost” (Nebula) and “Where You Linger” (Nebula). The rating is for “Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse” — by far my favorite of the three.
————
————
Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson - 4/5

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Badass moms in the zombie apocalypse. Giving birth is hard, especially when besieged by bloodthirsty horde of zombies. Featuring placental consumption that actually makes survival sense - a sentence I never thought I’d say.

“Eyes up, knives ready.”

4 stars.

—————
—————

My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou - 2/5

When you emigrate to another country, you are made to leave your ghosts behind at the border. Literally. The new country doesn’t want to be burdened with immigrants’ ghosts and pasts.

“Foreign ghosts were considered unnecessary. The only things they had to offer were stories and memories.”

Interesting beginning that quickly fizzles out into a heavy metaphor/melancholic message lesson. I could not bring myself to care, sadly.

2 stars.
————
————

Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam - 1.5/5

Huh? A woman recounts all the men and women she had sex with, then gets to revisit her memories of them in some kind of science-fictional experience, accompanied by one of her past selves, and has more sex with them, and then some sort of lesson is learned.

Yeah, I was bored and baffled. It’s a trainwreck in slow motion, and I so don’t care.

1.5 stars.
——————

My Hugo and Nebula Awards Reading Project 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Beige · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for C.L. Clark's story You Perfect Broken Thing

I really liked the style of this story and where the author focused her lens. If this story was a photo it would be an extreme closeup, sharply focused. I sensed every drop of sweat and searing pain of the athlete racing to save their family.

Read it in Uncanny Magazine for free: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/y...

[Dennis]

Review (so far) for three of the stories in this issue of Uncanny Magazine, which, astonishingly, contains three stories that were nominated for this year’s Nebula Awards (one of those stories also being a Hugo finalist).


Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (horror / read January 25, 2021)

Well, the title almost says it all. This is about two women that are trying to get their baby during a zombie apocalypse. You must be kind of a badass to do that – and they are.

There’s tension and atmosphere and love and women doing badass things to protect themselves and their baby.

Eyes up, knives ready.

I think this would have worked great as part of some longer story. In its current format some of its more emotional moments fall flat because you don’t have enough time to get attached to the characters. Still, it was not bad at all.

3.5 stars

2020 Nebula and 2021 Hugo finalist for Best Short Story.

Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/b...

I listened to it as part of the Uncanny Magazine Podcast #32A. The story starts at 10:51 and is roughly 36 minutes long. It was competently narrated by Erika Ensign.


My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou (fantasy / read May 30, 2021)

When Niovi is immigrating to an unnamed country she must leave the ghost of her mother behind at the border. Her mom’s ghost being a metaphor for memories and the connection to the place we call home. Niovi is trying to find a way to not be a ghostless person anymore, she’s trying to find a new home.

Honestly, this story had lost me already before the halfway point. It just didn’t make me care about the main character. And seeing that this is a quiet and introspective story, well, that became a problem.

1.5 stars

Nebula 2020 finalist for Best Short Story.

Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/m...


And All the Trees of the Forest Shall Clap Their Hands by Sharon Hsu (fantasy / read January 27, 2021)

A portal fantasy told from the perspective of a tree-being.

As the constant wars the humans are fighting begin to spill over into the forest world, Dryad who’s being acquainted with the kings and queens of England for several generations already needs to push back against her rulers (and friends).

Well, I understood the words but struggled a bit to grasp the whatness of this story and particularly the whyness of a couple of things that are happening towards the end.

Maybe some things could have been fleshed out a little better, or maybe it’s just me.

1.5 stars

Can be read for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a...

I once again listened to the Uncanny Magazine Podcast. This story can be found under #32B. It starts at 10:44 and is roughly 21 minutes long. The narration by Joy Piedmont was okay.

_________________
2020 Nebula Award Finalists

Best Novel
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury)
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)
• The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk (Erewhon)
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga)
• Network Effect by Martha Wells (Tordotcom Publishing)

Best Novella
• Tower of Mud and Straw by Yaroslav Barsukov (Metaphorosis)
• Finna by Nino Cipri (Tordotcom Publishing)
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom Publishing)
• Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)
• The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon)
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom Publishing)

Best Novelette
• Stepsister by Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)
• Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Shadow Prisons by Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as The Shadow Prison Experiment, Shadow Prisons of the Mind and The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma, Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)

Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math by Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• The Eight-Thousanders by Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20) (Asimov’s 9-10/20)
• My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)

The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
• Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)
• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
• A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
• A Game of Fox and Squirrels by Jenn Reese (Holt)
• Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar (HarperTeen)

________________
2021 Hugo Award Finalists

Best Novel
• Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
• The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Network Effect by Martha Wells
• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
• The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal

Best Novella
• Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire
• The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
• Finna by Nino Cipri
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

Best Novelette
• Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020)
• I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter by Isabel Fall (Clarkesworld, January 2020)
• The Inaccessibility of Heaven by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020)
• Monster by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160)
• The Pill by Meg Elison (from Big Girl)
• Two Truths and a Lie by Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com)

Best Short Story
• Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020)
• A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
• Little Free Library by Naomi Kritzer (Tor. com)
• The Mermaid Astronaut by Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
• Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
• Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)

Best Series
• The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty
• The Interdependency by John Scalzi
• The Lady Astronaut Universe by Mary Robinette Kowal
• The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• October Daye by Seanan McGuire
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Best Graphic Story or Comic
• Die, Vol. 2: Split the Party, written by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, letters by Clayton Cowles
• Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over, written by Seanan McGuire, art by Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kämpe
• Invisible Kingdom, Vol. 2: Edge of Everything, written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Christian Ward
• Monstress, Vol. 5: Warchild, written by Marjorie Liu, art by Sana Takeda
• Once & Future, Vol. 1: The King is Undead, written by Kieron Gillen, iIllustrated by Dan Mora, colored by Tamra Bonvillain, lettered by Ed Dukeshire
• Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, written by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I ended up being interested in three titles in this magazine.

Here's my review for Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse:

You get what the title promsies you: the zombie apocalypse happened. A few survivors are trying to stay alive and some even give birth - which makes them a primary target for the flesh-eaters.

Questions are being raised about whether to give up, just fight for yourself or even try to repopulate the planet and the musings weren't too bad.
I liked the rough and gritty feel to this story. Granted, I'm a sucker for zombie apocalypse stories anyway.
What I find myself tiring of are all-female end-of-the-world communities because I can't quite wrap my mind around what's bad about having men there too. But that's just me and the baby was a boy so maybe there will be mixed genders in that enclave from now on. *shrugs*

3 stars

You can read it for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/b...


Here's my review for You Perfect, Broken Thing:

Race Day. A wall-climbing, puzzle-solving contest. The prize: a shot (or two) of "the cure". In this future world, a disease has infected all humans. Degeneration, cells dying off and more rapidly than due to simple aging. Physical exertion makes it accelerate and kill you faster but that is a calculated risk some take to win the afore-mentioned race and thus a cure.

The people here don't have typical names. Instead, they are called Rowboat and Shell or Honey and Little. It makes it all a bit less personal while also making it MORE personal by emphasizing this world's harsh reality if that makes any sense.

I really liked the intensity of the actual race that had me very invested. In the end, I actually teared up when we got to the "we do what we can" bit.

4 stars

You can read it for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/y...


Here's my review for And All the Trees of the Forest Shall Clap Their Hands:

The story of a dryad or tree herd (I was reminded of Tolkien's, yes) and how/why he killed a child.

It is not true that a witch ruled our world, unless witch is the word Your Honours use for all beings who are so powerful and so free that they can rule themselves.

A wonderful tale with even more wonderful worldbuilding (I swear I could hear birds sing and smell forest while reading this). The story was that of children ending up in some form of fairyland/wonderland (only gone entirely wrong) and thus told of magic, old power and nature/environmentalism in contrast to humanity's world (England), war and a need for control / dominance. And it told of love and what we allow others to do to us because of it.

Absolutely wonderful and thus deserving 5 stars.

You can read it for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a...

[Silvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating for two stories only:

Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson.
Exciting! But that's what you get when going into labor while zombies are banging outside your door. Lots of cool female-comradeship moments.

My Country is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou.
The premise was interesting at first, I was genuinely intrigued with the opening. But then it just falters and I stopped caring even before halfway.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tenjō kudari (“ceiling hanger” yōkai) defends her theft
BY BETSY AOKI | 246 WORDS

„at night I hover above the beams you’ve hammered
between heaven and your spread silk coverlet“

A poem about a yokai, a Japanese spectre/demon and her revenge. I like it.

Can be read here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a...
————
You Perfect, Broken Thing
BY C.L. Clark | 3930 WORDS

“When I leave the kill floor, my legs are wasted. I shuffle to the women’s locker room. I can’t stand anymore, but I know if I sit, I’ll never get back up. At least, not for another hour.“

Short story. Winning a race to stay alive. And to give life to loved ones. Interesting.

Can be read here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/y...

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addition to review.

HAHAHA GR Librarians!!!! You took my review of a short story and smushed it into the compilation it was published in, but because I included the title and author in my review of the one story, I AND EVERYONE WHO READS THIS REVIEW KNOWS WHAT STORY THE REVIEW IS FOR!!!!!

It took me a while to figure out, BUT IVE FIGURE OUT HOW TO NOT FALL PREY TO YOUR GAMES!!!

Et hem, sorry about that. I am just incredibly happy that what I did worked. Watch, some irked GRL is going to completely remove this review, but for one brief shining moment, I prevailed!!

Review for You Perfect, Broken Thing by CL Clark

FINALLY! A story read by the ever amazing LeVar Burton that I ENJOYED and not just because of his gorgeous voice.

4, dark but hopeful, stars.

[charlotte, · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rep: wlw mc with chronic illness, side characters with chronic illness

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touching, depressing, exhilarating and hopeful all within a span of about 30 minutes. Quite an achievement!

[Alia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fucking awesome:
- Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson
- You Perfect, Broken Thing by C.L. Clark
- And All the Trees of the Forest Shall Clap Their Hands by Sharon Hsu
- Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
- Braid of Days and Wake of Nights by E. Lily Yu

Nice:
- The Spirit of the Leech by Alex Bledsoe
- My Country Is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou

[Banshee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The review is for the 3 Nebula and Hugo nominees only.

"Where You Linger" by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam

A very confusing story about a messed up person with messed up past going back to her memories thanks to a future medical invention. It was fascinating in the same way watching a train wreck might be. I also quite enjoyed the exploration of the differences between our imperfect memories versus actual past events. But then again: confusing. 3/5

"Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse" by Rae Carson

It was refreshing to read a zombie story that focuses on normal, everyday life occurrences such as pregnancy and childbirth. It was also emotional and nerve-wrecking. 4/5

"My Country Is a Ghost" by Eugenia Triantafyllou

A quiet, soft and melancholic story about the connection between the living and the dead, the past and the present, the person and the culture. The immigrant experience explored here was realistic and relatable. 5/5

[Beth Tabler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read many stories, sad stories, happy stories, fluffy ones, and occasionally violent stories. But in all of my reading, I rarely get a chance to read a mom story. Moms are usually portrayed as one of three different ways: soccer mom, women who are nothing but a mom, and an older mom or grandma-like figure. Fantasy is full of cliches, and being a mom myself, I don't see myself in any of these characters. It is as if literature is afraid to portray a mom as a badass or a warrior. Women can't be warriors and moms. They cancel each other out, right? Just because we had kids, we don't lose the badassery while passing the afterbirth. And frankly, life is a lot more exciting and complex than a trope.

But then I read Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse, and finally. FINALLY, we have some great badass moms having babies and kicking some ass. Thank you, Rae Carson, for giving the world this story and me, mainly because I needed to be reminded that I am also a badass mom on occasion.

First, let me set a bit of a scene. Giving birth is a dirty business. It is primal; it is the most primal feeling many women feel only seconded to protecting their child from danger. Moma bear is not just a cute saying; most moms would rip the throat out of anyone who would come at their kid and lick their lips. Now imagine trying to do all this, being pregnant, your body is split in two with excruciating pains that feel like they are tearing at the very fabric of who you are, and zombies are outside scratching at the door. I know zombies get a bad rep; they are everywhere in horror. But they are representative in this story. The mom Brit is being pulled apart by two massive forces, childbirth and the flight reaction of getting the hell out of there. Zombies are scary, and we want none of that.

"I know how tough my baby is. Remember when you came out to your Baptist preacher dad while holding the hand of the most beautiful Black woman in the world?"
"Yes."
"This is not harder than that."
"No."
"Remember when you fucked that trader silly, faking the big O night after night until you were good and sure he'd given us a baby?"
"Yeah."
"This is not harder than that."
"Not even close."
"You got this."
"I think my water broke."

Now imagine that you have to run for it. Fluid leaking down your leg, contractions are squeezing your body until you can hardly breathe. You mostly waddle now that you are nine months pregnant, carrying a watermelon in your pelvis. But you have to be quiet; sound travels. If you make a sound, they will come. And most of all, you need to get to the safe birth room so that you can lock yourself in. In Brit and Marisol's case, it is a metal freight car. Zombies love the smell of birth, it drives them crazy, and they will swarm outside and get in given a chance. Also, Brit has no medicine and the most rudimentary help. She is lying on the floor of a metal shipping container stuffing rags between her legs to stifle the smell of birth. If that is not badass, I don't know what is.

"We barely got here in time," I say.
"We knew they'd find us."
We are silent a long moment. Another bang, then a slick whisper of a sound as something slides along the wall. I hardly dare to breathe.
"The container will hold," Mari says.
"I know."
"They'll mass while you push that baby out, and for a day or two after. But we'll keep quiet, and the birthing scent will fade, and they'll eventually give up."
"I know."
"We'll go back to the enclave with a brand new baby for everyone to love on."
"I know."
"They'll be so glad we did this."

"The container will hold. The container will hold," Brit and Marisol chant to themselves. It will hold. It has to hold. An innocent is being born into this world, and he needs to live long enough so that they can name him.

Please hold.
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
It isn't going to hold.

Rae Carson has created a hell of a short story here. I almost gave up trying to summarize and talk about my feelings about it with, "God, this is good. Please read." Instead, I'll start with God; this is good. Please read. But read it because Rae Carson took tropes of womanhood and mothers, twisted them, and smacked them with a hammer. There are no weak women in this world of zombies and blood. It is loving; Brit and Marisol are truly loving partners. It is full of community strength. It is primal. It is exciting, and most important of all, it is badass because you will need badass moms to lead the world out of a zombie apocalypse one child at a time.

[Kandice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautifully written story. Dystopias are my favorite landscapes, and vague dystopias even more so. Clark drops us into the setting with no world building, which is preferable to me in a short story. I don't need to know why something is happening or how the characters got where they are, but if a writer is good enough, and Clark clearly is, I won't care about any of that, but I will care about what's happening now, and who it is happening to.

I definitely cared, even in these few short pages.

[Ron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure how this got published, let alone a Hugo finalist. Gratuitous violence, profanity, and silliness. Sophomoric concept, mediocre execution, and zombies.

[Lis Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brit lives in a protected enclave with a community of women, in a time of zombie apocalypse. She's also very, very pregnant, near to giving birth. Some in the community are very supportive; others think she's being selfish, putting two of the community's most essential members at risk.

Zombies are attracted to the smell of blood, of course. They're even more attracted to the smell of birth. So the enclave has a separate, secure location for women to give birth in. When Brit goes into labor, she and her partner, Marisol, go to that location--a shipping container.

What follows is a story of the drive to reproduce, danger, courage, community, and female solidarity.

I really, really don't like zombie fiction, and wouldn't have read this if it weren't a Hugo Finalist. And yet, after my initial resistance, I enjoyed it.

Recommended.

This story is available to read for free on the Uncanny Magazine website, and I am reviewing it voluntarily.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

So very good.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review is for My Country is a Ghost, by Eugenia Triantafyllou.

[Kristīne Vītola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read:
“Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse” 3☆
“My Country is a Ghost” 2,5☆
“Where You Linger” 2☆

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of short fiction and poetry, though of course I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. I may have enjoyed the non-fiction and poetry more than the short stories in this one.

Quick thoughts on what I read:
“Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse” by Rae Carson
This story was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards, and is why I picked up this volume to read now (rather than later). However, it wasn't my style of story... which should have been obvious from the title. I'm not a fan of zombie stories in general, so this one wasn't likely to win me over.

“My Country Is a Ghost” by Eugenia Triantafyllou
Really neat look at memory and immigration and belonging. Have food on hand when you read this one; it made me hungry.

“You Perfect, Broken Thing” by C.L. Clark
This one wasn't my style of story either: the main action point in the story is a physical competition that read a bit like an even more extreme X Games kind of thing, and I am not a fan of sports so it lost me on that count.

“And All the Trees of the Forest Shall Clap Their Hands” by Sharon Hsu
This is a sort-of a Narnia retelling from the POV of a dryad, and it should have been right up my alley. It got darker than I prefer, though, and I kept feeling like there was more to the story beyond the Narnia references that I was missing.

“The Spirit of the Leech” by Alex Bledsoe
This is a fun story, and if the reader can see where it's going, it is believable that the main character would not.

“Braid of Days and Wake of Nights” by E. Lily Yu
I liked the premise and the set-up and the main secondary character (Vivian) of this one. The main character made some odd decisions to my way of thinking, but then again I'm not in her shoes. The descriptions, especially near the end of the story, were wonderful.

“Writing with My Keys Between My Fingers” by Meg Elison
“Street Harassment Is an Access Issue” by Katharine Duckett
The non-fiction I read was thought-provoking and worth a read. I don't normally read the non-fiction in these magazines (simply because I buy them for the fiction) but I'm glad I didn't skip these. Some of the issues I was aware of to start with, but there were new things and nuances that are less obvious.

And the poetry:
“Who Do You Think You Are” by Ada Hoffmann
“Elegy for the Self as Villeneuve’s Belle” by Brandon O’Brien
“The Death of the Gods” by Leah Bobet
“A tenjō kudari (“ceiling hanger” yōkai) defends her theft” by Betsy Aoki
The poems were all enjoyable, and nicely crafted, and I find it really hard to review poetry. If you enjoy poems with a speculative bent, you should check these out.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty good issue. I really liked Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse by Rae Carson, Where You Linger by Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam, My Country is a Ghost by Eugenia Triantafyllou, and the reprint Braid of Days and Wake of NIghts by E. Lily Yu. The other three stories were enjoyable too. I didn't actively dislike any of the stories.

Writing With My Keys Between My Fingers by Meg Elison was a fantastic piece about misogyny online and Street Harassment is an Access Issue by Katharine Duckett really challenged my views on accessibility.

Good start to the year.

[Flinx · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review for Where You Linger: this just to say that I don't think the magazine is bad, only this particular sex-crazed story is more a journal of a very unhappy person, who can only live life through their sexual encounters, and it makes sense to a point, but it's repetitive and boring and why would you time-travel, and have some sex, and meet your past self and have some more sex?! How is this scientific? It definitely is fantastical, but not good enough. As a side note, I'm starting to dread the Hugo nominees shorts and novelettes.

[Jelka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Especially liked the found family aspect.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very artistic, well-done story. It's too clingy/nostalgic for me, but I'm sure many others will like it more.

[Rebecca Crunden]

War, it turns out, is the easiest thing of all to make anywhere.

This was utterly gutting, but so beautifully written.

Merged review:

Have you ever torn through a forest of books, trawling the half-naked
flotsam
of dream and the tarnish of myth, desperately seeking
a memory?

Oooh, I liked this one. What a lovely poem. Read 'Who Do You Think You Are' by Ada Hoffmann. Available here.

Wanting pretty things is hunger, too,
and having is feasting, denied by few.

Brandon O’Brien's 'Elegy for the Self as Villeneuve’s Belle' was also brilliant. Available here.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only listened to the hopeful short story You Perfect, Broken Thing by C.L. Clark from this collection, through the LeVar Burton Reads podcast. In this apocalyptic future, a degenerative disease has taken hold of the population, and medicine is in short supply. Athletes participate in a grueling race to win shots for themselves and their loved ones, but the training also speeds up the disease's toll on their bodies. One participant pushes her body to the limit for a chance to save her lover and daughter, with a win at all costs mentality, but her sacrifices prove worth it.

[Tam G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Maybe I was looking for something a little different in a zombie apocalypse. Or maybe it was the sneaky judgement that I did think they were being selfish, biological imperative or not.

Merged review:

A really moving look at how emigration, the severing of oneself from a past and inserting into the shared past of another group, affects people.

[Nicholas Gasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story in uncanny, I don’t have the link, but I got it from Carol’s review.

Even though it’s a depressing setting, the people in it are mostly good people, which is nice because some stuff I’ve read lately is full of awful people lol. Great story.

[Penny Ramirez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fabulous little tale set in west Tennessee. Anti-vaxxers, beware!

Bledsoe is a master of setting the scene, giving you just enough to leave you wanting more. I enjoyed this brief glimpse of Enoch!

Merged review:

I am destroyed.

[chvang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Niovi immigrated to an unnamed country, with literal ghosts as metaphors for memories and homesickness. Great.

Read it here:

https://uncannymagazine.com/article/m...