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heniaakbar's review
adventurous
2.75
Ribbons by Natalia Theodoridou
Jan is a bisexual trans-man, and he's born with a ribbon on his neck. He's choked with it but he's afraid to take it off. This dilemma, gender confusion and finding yourself like this is my favorite theme. 4 ⭐
The Calcified Heart of Saint Ignace Battiste by Christopher Caldwell
About a religious cult which basically lies to its followers. Non existent plot. 2 ⭐
The Haunting of Dr. Claudius Winterson by Sarah Monette
Not creepy at all and there's no reason for the haunting. Could be better, I guess. 2 ⭐
How to Safely Store Your Magical Artifacts After Saving the World by Tina Connolly
Always love short stories with seemingly non existent plot but still enjoyable to read like this. 5 ⭐
Hundred-Handed One by Wen-yi Lee
So... it's about cruelty toward sharks? 1 ⭐
Jan is a bisexual trans-man, and he's born with a ribbon on his neck. He's choked with it but he's afraid to take it off. This dilemma, gender confusion and finding yourself like this is my favorite theme. 4 ⭐
The Calcified Heart of Saint Ignace Battiste by Christopher Caldwell
About a religious cult which basically lies to its followers. Non existent plot. 2 ⭐
The Haunting of Dr. Claudius Winterson by Sarah Monette
Not creepy at all and there's no reason for the haunting. Could be better, I guess. 2 ⭐
How to Safely Store Your Magical Artifacts After Saving the World by Tina Connolly
Always love short stories with seemingly non existent plot but still enjoyable to read like this. 5 ⭐
Hundred-Handed One by Wen-yi Lee
So... it's about cruelty toward sharks? 1 ⭐
afreen7's review
3.0
Overall rating: 3.5/5
FICTION
Ribbons by Natalia Theodoridou - 4/5
A nice story about identity, gender, and more
The Clockwork Penguin Dreamed of Stars by Caroline M. Yoachim - 3.5/5
kinda like happy feet but make it ai. I liked the pace and story
The Night Dance by Leah Cypess - 3.5/5
Really interesting. I like when stories tell a lot without much worldbuilding being needed or descriptions. A fairytale with an escape to the real world. It reminded me of Diamond Cuts by Shaoni C. White
The Calcified Heart of Saint Ignace Battiste by Christopher Caldwell - 2/5
well, this went right over my head. Way way too much flowery writing
Lily, the Immortal by Kylie Lee Baker - 5/5
This was heartbreaking and scary at the same time considering how much of ourselves we put online
The Haunting of Dr. Claudius Winterson by Sarah Monette - 2/5
I was waiting for some clever ending or just something to make sense but it didn't
How to Safely Store Your Magical Artifacts After Saving the World by Tina Connolly -4/5
this one is subtly brilliant. It is about battles fought in a fantasy world and coming home but then again there are battles to be fought of a different kind in the real world. It has metaphors for PTSD and longing for home but also for a life left behind.
"Portals are not always required to reach the battles. And the problem with worlds is that they never stay saved.
Rest now, instructs the Book. Let your body heal.
And wait."
Hundred-Handed One by Wen-yi Lee - 3/5
I get that the writer has a vision with this but maybe it's the writing style or maybe an imbalance between artistic writing and clarity of the prose that didn't appeal to me.
POETRY
Why do poems these days feel like sentences put together using a random word generator. I mean they weren't supposed to be this ambiguous and vague
so anyways I guess I kinda liked a 'sinkhole invites a street to consider its future' by Dominik Parisien and 'Weaver Girl Dream' by Lisabelle Tay. They were okay
EDITORIALS
The One Body Problem by Meg Elison - 4/5
very well-written essay with lots of good points and examples of writing which showcases the human body and its diversity
ESSAYS
Midnight Mass Talks Too Much but Still Manages to Compel by Alex Jennings - 4/5
a review of the show 'Midnight Mass'. This is the first I'm reading some of this sort in Uncanny I think. Anyways good honest review; a bit spoilery and I say that cause this essay reads more like a 'why you should give it a go' rather than a detailed critic and yet spoils some stuff?
The Future in the Flesh: Why Cyberpunk Can’t Forget the Body by Lincoln Michel - 4/5
amazingly detailed and urgent essay that speaks of the importance of bodies in an increasingly virtual world with a focus on the oft scapegoated Cyberpunk genre. A future where capitalism seeks to erase our physicality and hence we absolutely need literature to be a form of protest against this.
My only gripe pitting such literature against others like Ready Player One. The latter is for kids and isn't meant to be taken seriously and tbh its ends with the character being hit by reality. I does have its flaws i will admit but comparing this to other more complex literature kinda cheapens the latter.
Gone with the Clones: How Confederate Soft Power Twisted the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy by Louis Evans - 4.5/5
a near perfect essay that succinctly showcases the complicated topic how a shitty take of the American Civil War influenced the Star Wars prequel trilogy thereby indirectly creating a hollow series of movies and propagating racist views. I say 'near perfect' because Evans claims Lucas may have acted in ignorance but that's just compliance with right wing ideology at this point. Surely a filmmaker of such *cough* calibre*cough* knew what he was doing. Evans himself states Lucas could've emulated so many other events in history but didnt.
Even After Death: An Essay in Questions by Shingai Njeri Kagunda - 5/5
Afrofuturism is an exploration, an experiment in both the collapse of time and the sitting in the feeling of everything. Believing and living in the worlds created for Black afterlives is permission, allowing us to see our pain as valid enough to sit with in our bodies for as long as we need to.
an important essay with writing that sounds poignant yet calm and is about Black death, religious elements of Black diaspora, its cultural significance, and its corruption by colonialism and Christianity.
FICTION
Ribbons by Natalia Theodoridou - 4/5
A nice story about identity, gender, and more
The Clockwork Penguin Dreamed of Stars by Caroline M. Yoachim - 3.5/5
kinda like happy feet but make it ai. I liked the pace and story
The Night Dance by Leah Cypess - 3.5/5
Really interesting. I like when stories tell a lot without much worldbuilding being needed or descriptions. A fairytale with an escape to the real world. It reminded me of Diamond Cuts by Shaoni C. White
The Calcified Heart of Saint Ignace Battiste by Christopher Caldwell - 2/5
well, this went right over my head. Way way too much flowery writing
Lily, the Immortal by Kylie Lee Baker - 5/5
This was heartbreaking and scary at the same time considering how much of ourselves we put online
The Haunting of Dr. Claudius Winterson by Sarah Monette - 2/5
I was waiting for some clever ending or just something to make sense but it didn't
How to Safely Store Your Magical Artifacts After Saving the World by Tina Connolly -4/5
this one is subtly brilliant. It is about battles fought in a fantasy world and coming home but then again there are battles to be fought of a different kind in the real world. It has metaphors for PTSD and longing for home but also for a life left behind.
"Portals are not always required to reach the battles. And the problem with worlds is that they never stay saved.
Rest now, instructs the Book. Let your body heal.
And wait."
Hundred-Handed One by Wen-yi Lee - 3/5
I get that the writer has a vision with this but maybe it's the writing style or maybe an imbalance between artistic writing and clarity of the prose that didn't appeal to me.
POETRY
Why do poems these days feel like sentences put together using a random word generator. I mean they weren't supposed to be this ambiguous and vague
so anyways I guess I kinda liked a 'sinkhole invites a street to consider its future' by Dominik Parisien and 'Weaver Girl Dream' by Lisabelle Tay. They were okay
EDITORIALS
The One Body Problem by Meg Elison - 4/5
very well-written essay with lots of good points and examples of writing which showcases the human body and its diversity
ESSAYS
Midnight Mass Talks Too Much but Still Manages to Compel by Alex Jennings - 4/5
a review of the show 'Midnight Mass'. This is the first I'm reading some of this sort in Uncanny I think. Anyways good honest review; a bit spoilery and I say that cause this essay reads more like a 'why you should give it a go' rather than a detailed critic and yet spoils some stuff?
The Future in the Flesh: Why Cyberpunk Can’t Forget the Body by Lincoln Michel - 4/5
amazingly detailed and urgent essay that speaks of the importance of bodies in an increasingly virtual world with a focus on the oft scapegoated Cyberpunk genre. A future where capitalism seeks to erase our physicality and hence we absolutely need literature to be a form of protest against this.
My only gripe pitting such literature against others like Ready Player One. The latter is for kids and isn't meant to be taken seriously and tbh its ends with the character being hit by reality. I does have its flaws i will admit but comparing this to other more complex literature kinda cheapens the latter.
Gone with the Clones: How Confederate Soft Power Twisted the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy by Louis Evans - 4.5/5
a near perfect essay that succinctly showcases the complicated topic how a shitty take of the American Civil War influenced the Star Wars prequel trilogy thereby indirectly creating a hollow series of movies and propagating racist views. I say 'near perfect' because Evans claims Lucas may have acted in ignorance but that's just compliance with right wing ideology at this point. Surely a filmmaker of such *cough* calibre*cough* knew what he was doing. Evans himself states Lucas could've emulated so many other events in history but didnt.
Even After Death: An Essay in Questions by Shingai Njeri Kagunda - 5/5
Afrofuturism is an exploration, an experiment in both the collapse of time and the sitting in the feeling of everything. Believing and living in the worlds created for Black afterlives is permission, allowing us to see our pain as valid enough to sit with in our bodies for as long as we need to.
an important essay with writing that sounds poignant yet calm and is about Black death, religious elements of Black diaspora, its cultural significance, and its corruption by colonialism and Christianity.
bookwyrmknits's review
4.5
This was a better-than-usual mix of stories to me, where I liked more of them than I had expected to. You can read most (if not all?) of the Uncanny Magazine content online, if you want to check it out; I'm glad to be a subscriber. Favorites from this issue include “The Night Dance” by Leah Cypess, “Ribbons” by Natalia Theodoridou, “How to Safely Store Your Magical Artifacts After Saving the World” by Tina Connolly, “The Haunting of Dr. Claudius Winterson” by Sarah Monette, and “The Clockwork Penguin Dreamed of Stars” by Caroline M. Yoachim.
howardgo's review
3.0
I was disappointed by this issue. None of the fiction really connected for me. I felt like too much was left unclear on the background of the stories. The topics were very interesting, but the execution left me feeling like the stories could have been improved.
The one piece that really grabbed me was "Gone with the Clones: How Confederate Soft Power Twisted the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy". Briefly, the argument is that while the original Star Wars trilogy was based on WWII with the clear enemy being the Nazis and fascism, the prequels were based on the US Civil War, the meaning of which is much more messy due to the myth of the "Lost Cause". The best part was the author's amazing summary of how organizations like the Daughters of the Confederacy muddied the cause for the Confederacy from preserving slavery to a number of nebulous higher level ideas like states' rights (states' rights to do what?). Buying this issue is worth it just for this article.
The one piece that really grabbed me was "Gone with the Clones: How Confederate Soft Power Twisted the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy". Briefly, the argument is that while the original Star Wars trilogy was based on WWII with the clear enemy being the Nazis and fascism, the prequels were based on the US Civil War, the meaning of which is much more messy due to the myth of the "Lost Cause". The best part was the author's amazing summary of how organizations like the Daughters of the Confederacy muddied the cause for the Confederacy from preserving slavery to a number of nebulous higher level ideas like states' rights (states' rights to do what?). Buying this issue is worth it just for this article.
kristamccracken's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
8bitlapras's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
3.25
Fiction
The Night Dance by Leah Cypess: 3/5
The Calcified Heart of Saint Ignace Battiste by Christopher Caldwell: 2.5/5
Ribbons by Natalia Theodoridou: 3/5
The Haunting of Dr. Claudius Winterson by Sarah Monette: 2/5
Lily, the Immortal by Kylie Lee Baker: 5/5
Hundred-Handed One by Wen-yi Lee: 4/5
How to Safely Store Your Magical Artifacts After Saving the World by Tina Connolly: 4/5
The Clockwork Penguin Dreamed of Stars by Caroline M. Yoachim: 3.75/5
The Night Dance by Leah Cypess: 3/5
The Calcified Heart of Saint Ignace Battiste by Christopher Caldwell: 2.5/5
Ribbons by Natalia Theodoridou: 3/5
The Haunting of Dr. Claudius Winterson by Sarah Monette: 2/5
Lily, the Immortal by Kylie Lee Baker: 5/5
Hundred-Handed One by Wen-yi Lee: 4/5
How to Safely Store Your Magical Artifacts After Saving the World by Tina Connolly: 4/5
The Clockwork Penguin Dreamed of Stars by Caroline M. Yoachim: 3.75/5
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