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Review of “Inertia” by Wendy Nikel

Plot: The unnamed narrator and her unnamed mate meet at the launch pad. “Is it love at first sight?” he asks her. “Does it matter?” she responds. They are one of a one hundred assigned couples about to be sent off to replenish the human race on a distant world. They will sleep in suspendedContinue reading “Review of “Inertia” by Wendy Nikel”

Review of “A Plague of Santas” by Emily Dorffer

This is not really a story, as there is no plot. It is a portrait, a satire of the frenzy surrounding Christmas time. And it is cute. “It starts innocently enough in November,” the reader is told. “A shortage of cookies and milk at the grocery store, a faint jingling at night, the lingering scentContinue reading “Review of “A Plague of Santas” by Emily Dorffer”

Review of “Tenure” by Andy Tubbesing

Plot: The Philosopher is out walking up the slate steps up Academy Hill, as she frequently does when puzzling out problems. The path circles the school so she can pace it for hours if need be. A call to wait up comes from the Artisan. “Well, keep up,” the Philosopher grumbles. The Philosopher despises theContinue reading “Review of “Tenure” by Andy Tubbesing”

Review of “Rainbows” by William R.D. Wood

Note: the story comes with an editorial warning from Daily Science Fiction that it is a dark, adult tale. In short, you won’t see any rainbows. Plot: Jacob holds his four-year-old daughter Becca up to the basement window so she can look out to the outside world. There, the reader is told, “[a] cloud ofContinue reading “Review of “Rainbows” by William R.D. Wood”

Review of “Living Image” by James Rumpel

Plot: Twenty-four-year-old Joseph Marshal has just lost his mother. He had never left home and had rarely ventured out in public. He misses his mother but is not lonely. He worries about how he will survive without her to provide a buffer between himself and the rest of the world. At her funeral, a tall,Continue reading “Review of “Living Image” by James Rumpel”

Review of “The Last Rider of the Apocalypse” by Floris M. Kleijne

Plot: The Four Horsemen of lore—Pestilence, Famine, War, and Death, have destroyed humanity in an Apocalypse, leaving only Porcaleo alive. Porcaleo pursues them with vengeance across the vast expanse of space through Andromeda and the Horsehead Nebula. With the final quarry, a problem arises: how does one kill Death? Thoughts: This was a fun littleContinue reading “Review of “The Last Rider of the Apocalypse” by Floris M. Kleijne”

Review of “The Raleigh Temple of Artemis” by Caroline Diorio

Plot: The reader is told that the Temple of Artemis closes at midnight, and it’s now 11:52. The narrator apologizes to the snake-headed girl in the UNC Chapel Hill sweatshirt who’s cleaning the statue of Artemis. She’s waiting for someone. Not that she has an appointment. She tells the reader she just knows the otherContinue reading “Review of “The Raleigh Temple of Artemis” by Caroline Diorio”

Review of “How to Get to Heaven” by Trina Jacobs

Janet has died during what was supposed to be a routine appendectomy. Something went wrong. Now she sees a ghost in the corner telling her not to go into the light. “You wouldn’t like it there.” The ghost is a young man wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans, bearing an uncanny resemblance toContinue reading “Review of “How to Get to Heaven” by Trina Jacobs”

Review of “The Colossus Stops” by Dafydd McKimm

The Colossus that has circled the waters outside the island three times a day as long as anyone can remember has stopped. From birth, the people know the sound of its great gears, forever turning, as it protected the island from pirate ships. On the day before yesterday, the Colossus slowed, making only two rounds.Continue reading “Review of “The Colossus Stops” by Dafydd McKimm”

Review of “The History of the World in Four Sentences” by Liam Hogan

This history of the world is relayed as a bedtime story from a man to his great-granddaughter. She knows it as the story of the things their “an-ces-tors did wrong, an’ what our future is.” Annoyed, the great-grandfather tells the story in four short sentences. The little girl prefers the longer version with Adam andContinue reading “Review of “The History of the World in Four Sentences” by Liam Hogan”