Weekend Shorts - Missing Helen by Tia Tashiro

Name - Missing Helen

Written by - Tia Tashiro 

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine July 2025 (issue 226)

This one had quite an interesting concept dealing with a plausible future where clones are used like sperm banks for couples wanting to have children. The premise was sound, the themes the author was trying to explore were novel, but the means used were a bit uncomfortable at times, making the reading a bit strained.

This tells the story of a woman named Helen, who sells her genome for cloning purposes for money so that she might get a better future. Then by twists of fate that clone who is 16 years younger returns in her life as her ex-husband's fiance, awkward and yucky right. Then the two versions of the same person have a brief yet meaningful meeting.

The story has interesting themes like cloning depicted in a positive light, female empowerment, how relationships seemingly perfect erode away by time, a bit of narcissism, and the weird concept of your clone might be the best family for you if it were an option. All nice things to explore, but the introduction through ex-husband plot seemed kind of unnecessary and weird for me.

While an enjoyable story on its own, this is probably one of the weaker nominees for Hugo this year, this gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Retro Book Review - I Who Have Never Known Men

Name - I Who Have Never Known Men 

Written by - Jacqueline Harpman 

Translated by - Ros Schwartz

Narrated by - Nikki Massoud

Published by - Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

It is quite hard to find anything more to say for something like this. This is a novella that has been reviewed, analyzed, and talked about a lot. This is an attempt at telling a story, at creating a character who hasn't experienced the world we live in. The author doesn't pull any punches in detailing the dystopia she creates, doesn't hold our hand in explaining anything, and doesn't even provide a satisfying conclusion. And thus creates a beautifully unorthodox experiment that is sure to be talked about for a long time.

The story follows an anonymous narrator who has been raised in a cage with 39 other women who don't know why they’re there, or how they got there, and they have very vague memories of the past, but the narrator has no memory before the cage at all. Then, one day an alarm sounds and the guards flee, and they’re free. Thus begins their journey to find out the truth and to survive in a foreign land where no one else is around.

The plot is very bleak; they never find out anything, never find any other survivors. The landscape they travel through is very monotonous, and soon they have to stop traveling altogether due to advanced ages of some of the members. 

Author continues on describing their mundane ways of survival, but the author uses the narrator's inexperience with everything to color the story through her eyes. Tries to describe normal phenomena through the perspective of someone who has never known them; regular activities and objects get novel meanings and a curious point of view from her.

Then the story turns even more depressing as only the narrator remains the sole survivor, being the youngest after everyone else perishes. She starts to explore the terrain again, finds out some interesting things, and eventually comes to the point when she decides to write down her experience.

This novella is closer in concept to many dystopian works with a feminist angle that have been written, but very different in one aspect that it never really tries to depict or investigate the setting much, rather focuses on the unusual phenomenon through the lens of a protagonist so much different from us.

The translation by Ros Schwartz was very palatable and smooth, never hampering understanding. And the narration by Nikki Massoud was the driving force through some of the boring bits as she perfectly voiced the blandness and practicality with the protagonist perceives the world. This gave the audiobook a sense of authenticity and sensitivity.

While I certainly can't recommend this to everyone due to the slow pace and depressing content, the last 25% of the novella is so memorable and also includes a poignant piece by the translator who tries to explain the themes a bit in her own way. To any impressionable reader, the last portion and ending will linger in the mind for a while surely.

Overall, I will give this one 4 out of 5 stars.

New Metal Review - "Rituals of Shame" by Warning

Album Name - Rituals of Shame 

Band Name - Warning 

Genre - Doom Metal

Label - Relapse Records 

Release Date - June 19, 2026

Line Up -

  Andy  Prestidge - drums

  Patrick Walker - vocals, guiars

  Wayne Taylor - guitars

  Marcus Hatfield - bass

It has been 20 years since 'Watching from a distance' was released. No one, not even any ardent fans of Warning, thought they would come back and release another album after so long, let alone that would even be on par to be compared to that masterpiece. But Warning has done impossible it seems, creating another flawless album, incorporating the depressive traditional doom they are known for with modern production and matured sensibilities resulting from accrued experience of the past 20 years.

'Watching from a distance' was a depressive slab of utterly crushing doom metal, creating a sense of foreboding in its listener for years to come. Everyone who had heard the album became impressed almost universally, and it has also created a cult following in the underground scene.

To try to release a follow-up after such a long time was truly a daunting task, which I never thought the band would undertake. Even after learning about this album, unlike many, I was also sceptical. Wondering whether Warning might fail like so many had before, returning after a long time and being unable to recreate the magic. But upon starting to listen I was pulled in from the opening song, and upon reaching the phenomenal 'Stations' I was pulled in remorselessly and decided to get buried in this new monument of fathomless introspection and depression.

Only Patrick Walker and Marcus Hatfield remain from the members who put out the last album. A new drummer Andrew Prestidge is introduced and Wayne Taylor, who played bass with the band for a brief period during its early years, returns this time as the second guitar player. 

Walker has improved much since his days and changed his style a bit, while he focused more on agonized emotional delivery last time; this time he creates a sense of operatic cadence and his vocals have aged beautifully to create a captivating landscape of emotions. The overall song structures once again focuses on creating a doom-infused backdrop with their crushing melancholic riffs and raw yet immersive heaviness. The introduction of the second guitar adds a new layer, often freeing Walker to focus more on his vocal duties. Hatfield does a commendable job in the bass paying, but it occasionally do get buried under everything else. While the drumming sacrifices tightness and rigidity to create an immersive atmosphere of devastating emotions.

If we talk briefly about the songs, the opener does the perfect beginning for listeners with its careful use of the strengths to showcase what's on offer. But the real journey starts from 'Stations', certainly one of the best songs so far, starting with a perfectly weighted intro, blending into some beautiful vocals, utterly soul melting riffs and powerful instrumental part to end. 'Night Comes Down' pick up exactly on the same emotional vein, delivering an even more emotionally destructive doom experience, with tortured vocals and evocative riffs galore. The next track is a showcase of Walker's vocal prowess mostly. Then comes the finale, another amalgamation of what the band has to offer, ending in a deeply emotional vocals performance and atmospheric instrumentation.

I feel like a few words need to be said about the lyrics and production. Warning has the special trait of writing lyrics that are poetic, thought-provoking and with huge emotional  depth. There are lines that stay in your mind a long time after you have finished due to their melancholic poignancy. The production of this album is very clean, which might sound like a bad thing to some, but it makes the vocal shine and the riffs clearer, although it did sacrifice the bass a bit.

If I had to find a negative angle, I have to say that this album should have come with a warning, due to how depressed and suicidal it might feel, due to its heavy themes.

Overall Score -

                         9.5 out of 10.

For more info check out the bands official website and their metal-archives page -

https://www.warningband.com/

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Warning/10936   

Weekend Shorts - Six People to Revise You

Name - Six People to Revise You

Written by - J. R. Dawson

Published on - Uncanny Magazine (Issue 62)

Well, that certainly was some fine prose. The story seemed to flow so smoothly, making quite a simplistic premise shine due to sheer literary power. 

The story follows protagonist Liz, as she is thinking of going through a procedure called revision that would revise her being, cutting out the bad things, introducing new aspects, making her into a better version of herself. During the story she tries to collect input from six specific persons regarding herself, on what they would like changed about herself. 

We get to learn that Liz is queer, sensitive, and insecure; but she also has many endearing and positive qualities that she seldom recognizes herself. All the while we are discovering her, we travel towards a predictable yet emotional ending.

The story is rather simple; it has been done before, highlighting that we needn't always change to be better; instead, we should learn to embrace our true selves. Yet, the beautiful and captivating prose makes this very enjoyable and memorable.

This gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Name - Small Things Like These 

Written by - Claire Keegan 

Narrated by - Aidan Kelly 

Published by - Faber & Faber

Audiobook by - Faber & Faber Audio

This was a rather slim book, but packed a heavy punch in terms of the message on offer. Focuses on a time in the not so distant past, on a seemingly civilized setting, where people were acting quite hypocritically, acting blind to injustice and the needs of others and one man performing quite a small yet heroic act.

The setting is 1985, in a small Irish town, during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Our narrator, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, is quite busy during this time of the year. But one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, he makes a shocking discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the present reality of a town controlled by the church.

The prose is simplistic, often using words of Irish dialect that forced me to use the internet to decipher meaning, but gave a feeling of authenticity. The story has no serious conflict; the pace is slow, yet the soothing calmness with the poignant inner monologues by Furlong kept me continuing on listening instead of going back to the other thriller I was listening to also at the time.

Furlong is a simple man, growing up through the kindness of a rich widow, didn't know his father, lost his mother early, but acquired a keen sense of morality due to his upbringing. His sense of morality is quite often absent in solvent people and unfortunate ones alike. And his willingness to work hard for his family and deciding to help others despite his own condition is what makes him the hero and the simple story remarkable.

This book also enlightened me about a small but significant bit of history, teaching me about Magdalene laundries in Ireland and atrocities being committed there using religion as cover, and in the guise of healing 'Fallen Women'. Yet another instance of history where social dogma and moral indifference triumph over basic humanity.

The narration by Aidan Kelly was quite unique, making me feel like Furlong is such a way, as often becoming quite melancholic and thoughtful. Without divulging much more, I want to just end the review by quoting one line from Furlong's inner monologue - 'Was there any point in being alive without helping one another?'

4.5 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-young

Name - A Plagued Sea

Written by - Kim Bo-young 

Translated by - Sophie Bowman 

Series - Lovecraft Reanimated 

Published by - Honford Star  

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Honford Star for this opportunity.

This one started so well, had so much potential, the main character was portrayed with such finesse, yet somehow did not achieve what it promised. The Lovecraftian atmosphere was created with perfect nuances, racial angles were explored a bit, and the twists were also utilized quite well. Yet it could have been so much more poignant with a bit more work.

Kim Bo-young is one of the most famous science fiction writers in South Korea, has received various awards in his country, and one of the few writers from Korea to be translated into English. As far as I am aware, she had two collections published in English prior to this; 'A Plagued Sea' is her first novella published by Honford Star.

This novella is part of The Lovecraft Reanimated project by Honford Star, which translates Korean speculative fiction writers reimagining the works of horror master H.P. Lovecraft, giving them their own unique signature updating these stories for modern sensibilities.

The author manages to capture the true atmospheric charisma of the Cthulhu mythos in her attempt at recreating a modern version of 'The Shadow over Innsmouth'. Her interpretation incorporates the truly horrifying existential dread of Lovecraft, with even modern technological forms of communication unable to alleviate the despair of being locked in isolation, abuse, and racism in the form of social media posts and the characters using internet forums to create awareness and propaganda regarding the mysterious incidence of Haewon village.

The character of Moyoung was a fine creation, with her desperation and anguish over not being able to save her niece, her almost illogical yet understandable hatred towards the infected, her inner struggle of not being able to become a member of the villagers nor being able to be a member of normal society, and her manic paranoia in trying to deal with the source of her calamities. But sadly the other characters didn't get as much attention and felt rather like placeholders compared to her.

The author touched on the sense of racism, social stigma, and uncalled for abuse towards the unfortunate infected, but didn't really elaborate on this aspect of the story much, which in my opinion could have elevated this retelling to a whole new level. Rather she focused on the grotesque and monstrous horror angles of the story, which resulted in a fun reading experience nevertheless.

The prose was quite a delightful read; I simply loved the first chapter that introduced us to Muyoung and her niece, and also the chapter which revealed the new species. Sophie Bowman did a brilliant job with the translation, as I never really felt like I wasn't reading the book in its native form.

This was a fun read, made me interested in the Lovecraft Reanimated series as well as other stories from Kim Bo-young, but it also felt like a missed opportunity at creating the perfect Lovecraftian horror for the modern age due to its shortcomings.

3.5 out of 5 stars from me.

Weekend Shorts - Laser Eyes Ain't Everything by Effie Seiberg

Name - Laser Eyes Ain't Everything 

Written by - Effie Seiberg

Edited by - David Steffen

Published on - Diabolical Plots (DP fiction #123B)

Well, that was quite a lot of fun to read. In a modern writing landscape of overcomplicated stuff or stylistic approaches, a rather straightforward superpower science fiction with a quite relevant message for people all around.

Without spoiling much about this one, I'll just tell you that this one is about RazorBeam, who even after obtaining the power of having laser eyes, finds it difficult to get traffic circles built among her various struggles to get some comfortable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Then comes the supervillain Doctor Croc and things get interesting.

I was interested in this because of the title and with the knowledge decided to check out this Nebula winner and was quite delighted with the breezy prose, compassionate and interesting protagonist and a nice feel-good ending. While people are usually reluctant to read any genre fiction that tries to deliver a message, if it's done like this it certainly becomes worth checking out.

A deservedly award-worthy short story, this gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.