Clarkesworld #81, June 2013

“The Urashima Effect” by E. Lily Yu
“This is Why We Jump” by Jacob Clifton
“Free-Fall” by Graham Templeton
 

Reviewed by Barbara Melville

This month’s Clarkesworld opens with “The Urashima Effect” by E. Lily Yu. Astronaut Leo Aoki goes about his mundane duties on a small and restricted spacecraft. He longs for his wife, who he hopes to see again on a later mission. This premise isn’t new, so I was heartened by its original mode of narration. The story switches back and forth between his monologue and recordings from his wife, making for a metafictional tale of love, isolation and loneliness.

Though this narrative switching is clever, the story lends itself to being longer or better paced; in its current state, I couldn’t buy into Leo’s isolation. Patches of clunky, inactive prose let it down too: “He had to climb a thin ladder…” – why not “He climbed”? I was also surprised to learn the ship only had a “handful of mindless games.” My cell phone could hold a hundred mindless games in 1998. Surely even the most basic of future spacecraft would eclipse this? I’d hope so, anyway…

“This is Why We Jump” by Jacob Clifton is intriguing but confusing. Our mostly nameless central character lives in the tunnels of a hollowed-out moon, shunning the societal norms of the colonists on the surface. This theme of intolerance and co-existence is echoed through the character’s fiery personal relationships. This tension, along with sophisticated ideas, makes for a curious read.

So, why the confusion? This story uses defamiliarization, a technique I applaud when it works. But while it brings richness to the world, it’s difficult to follow, even after a second read. At one point our central character asks “Do we need names?” My answer is yes – or at least some other distinguishing feature, as there were times where I couldn’t tell who was talking.

“Free-Fall” by Graham Templeton follows a writer stranded in a space elevator with the three scientists he came to observe. He narrates with a warm and relatable tone for the most part, and spends his time trying to identify with the others. He explores their coping mechanisms and reasons for being there in the first place, assessing when each is likely to crack.

This narrative works well, and I found myself eager to know more about the scientists. It isn’t perfect though. Some sections are a little flat due to an unnecessary switch from conversational tone to more objective, distant language. But overall, this story is the strongest and most sophisticated of the issue.