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A review by bookwyrmknits
Uncanny Magazine Issue 47: July/August 2022 by Juliet Kemp, Radha Kai Zan, Jordan Taylor, Sarah Grey, Gay Haldeman, John Chu, Marie Brennan, AnaMaria Curtis, K.S. Walker, Tochi Onyebuchi, Meg Elison, Michael Damian Thomas, Jim C. Hines, Brandon O'Brien, Jeannette Ng, Millie Ho, Lynne M. Thomas, Sonya Taaffe, Keidra Chaney
3.5
As with many multi-author compilations, some of these stories and poems were more to my liking than others. That's fine, though; it means more people are likely to find something they enjoy here even if they don't share my taste in reading. There were a couple of stories here with fantasy religion as a big plot point; I haven't seen many of those stories lately and it was good to see even if neither of those pieces were my favorite stories.
A few thoughts on some of the individual pieces:
"Family Cooking" by AnaMaria Curtis is a look at how our feelings about family can get complicated. I liked that the story's ending left the resolution up to the reader.
"If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You" by John Chu gives superheroes an Asian-American flavor. I always appreciate when some stereotypically white character types (in this case a Superman-style hero) are given a POC re-do.
“To Hunger, As with Perfect Faith” by Radha Kai Zan has a bit of body horror mixed with religion and sacrifice. Not my cup of tea but fans of horror might like it.
“At the Lighthouse Out by the Othersea” by Juliet Kemp is a new favorite. I love the quiet beauty in this story—both the setting and the theme of self-discovery.
“Bramblewilde” by Jordan Taylor was a fun fairy tale of a story, not as deep as some of the other pieces in this issue but perhaps a better read because of it.
Poem “Mirrors” by Millie Ho was really enjoyable, there was more plot there than I usually expect from a poem and I love how the piece goes from being vaguely innocent to unsettling.
I also very much agree with Jim C. Hines' essay “In Defense of the To Be Read Pile”. He says a lot of things there that I agree with, and I will (try to) no longer feel defensive about owning a bunch of books I will likely never read.
A few thoughts on some of the individual pieces:
"Family Cooking" by AnaMaria Curtis is a look at how our feelings about family can get complicated. I liked that the story's ending left the resolution up to the reader.
"If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You" by John Chu gives superheroes an Asian-American flavor. I always appreciate when some stereotypically white character types (in this case a Superman-style hero) are given a POC re-do.
“To Hunger, As with Perfect Faith” by Radha Kai Zan has a bit of body horror mixed with religion and sacrifice. Not my cup of tea but fans of horror might like it.
“At the Lighthouse Out by the Othersea” by Juliet Kemp is a new favorite. I love the quiet beauty in this story—both the setting and the theme of self-discovery.
“Bramblewilde” by Jordan Taylor was a fun fairy tale of a story, not as deep as some of the other pieces in this issue but perhaps a better read because of it.
Poem “Mirrors” by Millie Ho was really enjoyable, there was more plot there than I usually expect from a poem and I love how the piece goes from being vaguely innocent to unsettling.
I also very much agree with Jim C. Hines' essay “In Defense of the To Be Read Pile”. He says a lot of things there that I agree with, and I will (try to) no longer feel defensive about owning a bunch of books I will likely never read.