Thia Reads A Lot’s Reviews > Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 238, July 2026 > Status Update

This Is an Emergency Broadcast: 3* Interesting idea, but I think the interruptions could have been done better? It's hard to put together the story. A company sells subscriptions to "Restful" where you get to live in a virtual reality for a while, giving them your right to vote and your power of attorney. There is also a drug that doesn't work properly? An emergency message is broadcasted to reach the people.

The Animator and the Glazer: DNF. I don't think I can read about an animator whose job was stolen by AI right now. Nope. Nothing against the story or the author, just a subject too close to home.

Art and Arcade Games: A Conversation with Tran Nguyen
good interview

Cliff's Girl: 4* The setting and characters were familiar, I read a story in this universe before (The Iron Piper, I think?), there are several more! Seamus the robot has been struggling. Morag goes to another town to get information on how to fix it. Meanwhile Cliff's new girlfriend Mandy tries to fix it and it goes rogue. Morag does a factory reset on Seamus. He is not the same, but still makes mandalas so maybe...

Nesting Behavior of Imported Species Troglodytes aedon on Planet Americearth: 3* From the perspective of a bird that mutates. A native creature (the moaner) has been hiding in the human shelter on an alien planet, eating their cats and other birds. After the couple fight, the moaner eats the man and a police officer. The narrator bird and the creature flee into the wild, hatches eggs and teach theiryoungtokillhumans.

Our Revels Now Are Ended: 2* Interesting ideas but I struggled a lot to finish it. Nameless narrator is brought into a simulacra where a guy named Saul interrogates him. There are other versions of them, with Saul interrogating with different methods every time. The narrator might have been planted in the system to corrupt it, but he has no crucial information to give.

Donut Brains and Skin Dreams: Aliens on Earth
good essay, mentions a few books related to octopuses

Focus: 2* A bunch of rich bird-watching people got enhanced eyes called Delphi. One of them, Julio, died (how? no clue) and somehow hack the others' eyes to show 30,000 bird cams. They meet and decide to get his eyes back. The narrator Isa somehow communicates with him still, and with the birds?

Editor's Desk: July Is for Survivors
good

The Life and Times of the Extraterrestrial Potoo: 5* very sweet story. Isaac is collecting pollen on an alien planet whrn his connection syops working. He then meets a potoo who travels with him for a couple of weeks. He realizes that the survival of the potoos is linked to the pollen and wants to protect them from the Wyland corporation ( who uses the pollen in an anti-aging product).