[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, November 6, 2023

“Time is an Ocean” by Angela Liu

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

Like many works of imaginative fiction these days, “Time is an Ocean” by Angela Liu is written in second person present tense. In this case, you are a depressed student just out of high school. You have attempted suicide before, and are thinking of it again. You fail to connect with people until a time traveler arrives at your door with his broken machine. He promises to take you to any time you wish to visit when it is repaired.

The two main characters have no names and are hardly described at all. In sharp contrast, the story is full of vivid sensory details, particularly during a heavy rainstorm. There is also a great deal of insight into the student’s psychology.

The use of the currently popular narrative technique of second person may be an attempt to dive into the character’s mind, but it does not add much to the text. This melancholy, poetic work is an effective study of loneliness, but its speculative content is of little importance.

Victoria Silverwolf does not live near an ocean.