[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, April 14, 2025

“Pandora’s Formula” by Hannah Yang

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

In “Pandora’s Formula” by Hannah Yang, the narrator and her wife are on their honeymoon in Mexico when news reaches the world of a simple way to create a self-perpetuating poison gas that would end all human life. The two women react in different ways to the possibility that a single person could easily destroy humanity.

This is more of a character study than a plot-driven story, with the threat of apocalypse as a source of emotional stress between the pair. In a work of mainstream fiction, this could be replaced by some other crisis, such as a terminal illness. Flashbacks reveal more about the early relationship between the women, further evidence that the author is more interested in characterization than the speculative premise.

Victoria Silverwolf has been to Mexico.