[On May 10, 2021 Strange Horizons officially expressed its political support for Palestinian solidarity. The views of Tangent Online reviewers are not necessarily those of Strange Horizons. Fiction critiqued at Tangent Online is, as much as is humanly possible, without prejudice and based solely on artistic merit.]

Strange Horizons, June 21, 2021

“Temporal Slider” by Blaze Forbes

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

The narrator of “Temporal Slider” by Blaze Forbes is a teenager working in New Zealand. In this world, certain unskilled laborers undergo a process that makes them unconscious while at work, although still able to perform their simple duties. The narrator hopes to escape low-paying jobs of this kind and earn better wages as a conscious worker.

The premise is an interesting one, and the author’s portrait of life among poorly paid laborers is realistic and convincing. The speculative content does not seem entirely necessary in what could have been mainstream fiction about lower class workers.

Victoria Silverwolf has never been to New Zealand.