Sci Phi Journal, Spring 2026/1
“Pandora’s Revenge” by Richard Lau
“Placing an Alien Claim” by Stephen Kramer Avitabile
“The Green Workbook for Refugees from Earth” by F.B. Hughes
“Verticity” by Gheorghe Sâsârman, Translated by Monica Cure
“The Miracle Of…” by Tilemahos Efthimiadis
“What To Expect When You’re Expecting Hecatoncheires” by A.J. Rocca
“Don’t Defund Radio Communication With Other Bunkers!” by James Mapes
“An Implied Edict” by Robert L. Jones III
“Legible Through Flame” by Miah O’Malley
“The Minutes of Scale” by Jane McCarthy
Reviewed by Chuck Rothman
“Pandora’s Revenge” by Richard Lau starts out the first 2026 issue of Sci Phi Journal on a strong note, in a situation where Pandora turns the tables on Zeus and the other Greek gods by giving them a gift. It turns out to be a revenge that fits nicely into the magazine’s message of philosophical stories.
Stephen Kramer Avitabile’s “Placing an Alien Claim” is a series of missives between Claire and her insurance company after an alien ship crashed into her house. It’s a standard ranting against bureaucratic red tape and reads like something Robert Sheckley would have done in the 1960s. Still, there’s life in the story and handles the situation well.
“The Green Workbook for Refugees from Earth” is exactly as described in the title: it’s a series of instructions for people from Earth—which seems to be unreachable due to time and equipment failure—who are now refugees on the colony world of Avunculus. F.B. Hughes paints a picture in the background of one character, but it never really comes alive.
“Verticity” by Gheorghe Sâsârman (Translated by Monica Cure) describes a city of towers. Nat is from another place and learns about the city. Nat is not a very vivid character, and the story tries to get by with images that leads to a minor revelation. Rather turgid overall.
Tilemahos Efthimiadis is the author behind “The Miracle Of…,” a cataloging of natural events throughout history that have major effects on the people of the time. It is devoid of any emotional content and is telling everything while showing very little. I found it amounts to nothing overall.
“What To Expect When You’re Expecting Hecatoncheires” by A.J. Rocca is from Greek mythology, a series of instructions to a being—Gaea—who is going to give birth to the monstrous children who will help destroy the Titans. The Hecatoncheires are real mythological figures, but are too obscure to carry the story which depends on the reader understanding the mythology.
James Mapes contributes “Don’t Defund Radio Communication with Other Bunkers!,” a missive from one of the bunkers where humans are under some sort of unnamed attack. The bunkers are going silent and the story documents it. It suffers from keeping everything at arm’s length and not portraying any people involved.
“An Implied Edict” by Robert L. Jones III is another report, this time about Mars, where some creatures are discovered. But the story stays millions of miles away from the action and, again, there is no sign of characterization. The ending is something most serious people have heard before, and turns the story didactic.
“Legible Through Flame” by Miah O’Malley is a description of a fire that seems to mean something, but it’s all too murky to figure out what. Again, the lack of characterization makes the story hard to read.
Jane McCarthy’s “The Minutes of Scale” is once again in the format of a report, this time on an attempt to create a framework to regulate technological growth on planets. Like many of the other stories in the issue, the structure eliminates any hint of drama.
I really hate having to write so many critical reviews, but the stories here do not engage (unless you like reading bureaucratic documents). Few provide any characterization or show any life. Things are not helped by the layout, with random white space in the two columns, which, when read on a screen, is very confusing.
Chuck Rothman’s novel The Cadaver Princess is out from Amazing Stories Selects. He’s online at chuckrothman.com.