Excerpt of the
Tangent Review of Shadowed Realms #5 by E. Sedia:
As Jeff and Marianna, a married couple, travel to attend the funeral of Jeff's aunt, we learn more about Jeff's parents and his cousin. This story skillfully builds a quiet, understated tension, and its matter-of-fact tone underlines this truly unusual situation. I was impressed with the author's ability to convey so much in such a short space, and yet never allow the story to feel crammed.
"The Wind and the Sky," The Best of Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine
October 2006
Excerpt of the
Tangent Review of Neo-opsis #5 by James Palmer:
In "The Wind and the Sky," Suzanne Church paints a moving story of an android on a space station orbiting a decimated Earth. His interest in the surviving members of humanity instead of his scientific studies gets our hero, Polnine, scheduled for a sinister-sounding software upgrade. Sneaking down to Earth, Polnine joins a tribe of humans and befriends a young woman named V'keso. ... This is a compassionate tale ... in which artificial life is granted emotion.
"Waste Management," Challenging Destiny #21
December 2005
Excerpt of the Review of
Challenging Destiny #21 by Douglas Hoffman published by
Tangent:
Hell hath no fury like a woman with a deadbeat boyfriend. In Suzanne Church’s “Waste Management,” Lorna is an engineer itching to put distance between herself and planet Forbi—and her guy, Tanker, whose sole crime seems to be the fact he’s broke. Lorna takes her leave with a vengeance, leaving Tanker to the mercies of their carnivorous landlord, Drevik (“scum-lord” in Church’s gritty vernacular). She’s entitled to half of their common property, so she saws their conjugal sofa in two. What she does with her half makes for one cool image.
"Tattoo Ink," Shadow Box e-Anthology
November 2005
Comments by
Andrew McKiernan on the
Shadowed Realms Readers Forum:
"I think Shadow Box is one of the most original concepts I have ever come across, not just in Horror and Dark Fantasy, but in any genre! Many publications have tried electronic delivery via PDF before, but they're still just print magazines. Shadow Box is something new and entirely different in a great way! I hope many people in the publishing industry see this as an example of how Fiction Publishing and E-books can really evolve. [Shadow Box is] a new way for people to enjoy Fiction in the Digital Age. This is what E-Books will become."
Excerpt of the Review of
Shadow Box e-Anthology by Jason Fischer published by
Tangent:
Fantastic! This is what it’s all about! The protagonist wonders what tattooed skin tastes like and finds out as they eat his victim alive. There are some brilliant lines in this short, and this is clearly one of the best stories in this collection. Read this, cringe, and enjoy.
"Free Range," Northwest Passages:
A Cascadian Anthology,
September 2005
Northwest Passages is a diverse and fully captivating anthology of speculative fiction, science fiction and fantasy from both new and established authors. From the hilarious "Free Range," to the surreal "Dance of the Cube-Farm Dreamers" and the poignant "The Pulse of the Sea," here are stories that break new ground, recast the stereotypes of the genre and truly evoke the essence of the Pacific Northwest at every turn.
Review by Aimee Poynter published by
Tangent:
The first story in Northwest Passages: A Cascadian Anthology edited by
Cris DiMarco is “Free Range” by Suzanne Church. It is the tale of a chicken named Cluck and his quest for love and freedom in a world that considers him property. The premise—and a note in the introduction—sets up the expectation for a really funny story.
“Free Range” is funny, but it’s also bittersweet. In spite of the fact that Cluck is relatively well-treated by his human master, he is unhappy because he isn’t free to live the life he wants to with his girlfriend, Henni.
Church’s careful and almost loving treatment of her characters sells the story. She makes us care about what happens to a chicken without resorting to the most obvious path of making him dinner. Well done.
Still reeling from the nightmare excesses of CHIMERAWORLD #1? Relax a while and enjoy the ambient tones of sadness, depression, degradation and utter hopelessness of CHIMERAWORLD #2. Twenty three of the most mentally corrosive stories from twenty three of the most innovative authors ever assembled in one collection. Stories from Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis, Brian W Keen, Kurt Newton, Dustin LaValley, David L Tamarin, Derek Gunn, Michele Acker, Anthony Cain, William D. Carl, Glen Alan Hamilton, Quentin S Crisp, J. M. Heluk, Charles Richard Laing, Ken Goldman, Nicholas Alan Tillemans, Suzanne Church, Eric Shapiro, Tony Richards, Karen James, John Meany, Andrew Zimmerman Jones, Richard Lee and Destiny West.
Review by E. Sedia published by
Tangent:
"Driving the Past Home" by Suzanne Church was a tale of a truly dysfunctional family. As Jeff and Marianna, a married couple, travel to attend the funeral of Jeff's aunt, we learn more about Jeff's parents and his cousin. This story skillfully builds a quiet, understated tension, and its matter-of-fact tone underlines this truly unusual situation. I was impressed with the author's ability to convey so much in such a short space, and yet never allow the story to feel crammed.
Review by James Palmer published by
Tangent:
In "The Wind and the Sky," Suzanne Church paints a moving story of an android on a space station orbiting a decimated Earth. His interest in the surviving members of humanity instead of his scientific studies gets our hero, Polnine, scheduled for a sinister-sounding software upgrade. Sneaking down to Earth, Polnine joins a tribe of humans and befriends a young woman named V'keso. V'keso becomes enamored with Polnine, and grows angry with him when he won't lie with her to have offspring (she'll never understand that he is an android and unequipped). She contracts a fever and quarantines herself in a remote cave, as is her people's custom. Polnine risks deactivation by returning to the space station to save her, as well as to give her what she has been wanting throughout the story. This is a compassionate tale along the same lines as "INSER" in which artificial life is granted emotion. This wonderful android who cares about human life and culture reminded me of the moravecs in Dan Simmons' novel Illium. If it is our destiny to be surpassed by our own creations and ultimately replaced, let it be by creations such as Polnine.
Review by Marsha Sisolak published by
Tangent:
"Suzanne Church, in "Everyone Needs a Couch" posits the likely results if a writer's short story inspires the actual production of teleportation. This one was quite amusing, with the main character, Tank Lazier, running into various species who variously want to devour him or use him as inspiration. Although the mystery is no real puzzle to the reader, it is fun, especially since the protagonist is a likeable character with a strong reliance on booze and a desire for revenge on his ex-girlfriend. Still, despite its strengths, the end just misses satisfying."
"Fuzzy Green Monster Number Two," Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine, Issue #12
"Storm Child," Cicada, Volume 9, Number 6
"Hell's Deadline," Book of Dead Things
"Driving the Past Home," Book of Shadows Volume One
"The Wind and the Sky," The Best of Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine
"Waste Management," Challenging Destiny #21
"Tattoo Ink," Shadow Box e-Anthology
"Free Range," Northwest Passages:
"Grey Love," Chimeraworld #2
"Driving the Past Home,"
"The Wind and the Sky,"
Everyone Needs a Couch,"