Reactor, April 2025

“The Girl That My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed

“Liberation” by Tade Thompson

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

“The Girl My Mother Is Leaving Me For” by Cameron Reed takes place in a society dominated by corporations that engage in wars against each other. Advanced biotechnology allows for cloning and the downloading of consciousness into an artificial enhanced body. The narrator is selected to carry the clone of a corporate executive in her womb, but another takes her place when she miscarries. The story deals with the relationship between the two women, and how they react when a rival corporation attacks.

The author creates an intricately detailed, semi-dystopian future with a wide divide between rich and poor. The first part of the story is intriguing, but what happens after the attack is melodramatic, and depends on some extraordinarily fortunate circumstances. I have not mentioned the fact that the narrator is a transwoman, with a transplanted womb that allows her to accept the clone. This adds an interesting touch to the theme of artificial bodies.

“Liberation” by Tade Thompson deals with the first Nigerian space mission. A station assembled from parts of spacecrafts from other nations is launched aboard an Indian rocket with Nigerian astronauts aboard. Among the crew is a security agent with his own agenda. The unlucky combination of a disaster aboard the station and a military coup in Nigeria threatens the lives of the astronauts.

The way in which the mission comes about is realistic, particularly in the way it requires cooperation from other nations. The characters are depicted in efficient fashion. The narrative jumps back and forth in time, from the initial planning of the mission to the aftermath of the crisis. At times this is effective, as in a poignant flashback at the end. In other places, it lessens the suspense. We know there is going to be an explosion in the station from the very start, and we also know there is going to be at least one survivor before the situation is described in full.

Victoria Silverwolf has never been to Nigeria.