Reactor, January 2026

“Joiner and Rust” by Lavie Tidhar

“Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation by K. N. Sirsi and Sandra Botkin” by Cameron Reed (revised reprint, not reviewed)

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

The title characters in the novelette “Joiner and Rust” by Lavie Tidhar are robots. One of them makes a pilgrimage to visit the other to share their memories of a discovery they made in deep space.

It is difficult to say more about this story without giving too much away about the plot. Suffice to say that flashbacks show the robots salvaging an abandoned starship in deep space. Scenes set in the present day almost seem like fantasy, with a talking cat and a vampire-like entity, although these have scientific explanations. The flashbacks are more like space opera. The conclusion adds a touch of sentimentality.

The author shows great imagination, offering multiple speculative concepts. Some of these are only briefly mentioned, particularly the nature of the beings, human and otherwise, who accompany the robots in their salvage mission. Readers may wish to know much more about these strange characters.

Victoria Silverwolf finally dropped off the recyclables.