[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, September 4, 2023

“On the Way to Jeju-do” by Michelle Denham

Reviewed by David Wesley Hill

Over the years I’ve read a lot of clone stories. In this variation on the theme, “On the Way to Jeju-do” by Michelle Denham, the first offering of the September Strange Horizons, we’re taken to the twenty-second century, where memories may be recorded, and human clones can be grown, but the memories cannot be integrated into the clone until the clone reaches the physical age of the person from whom the memories were extracted, a process resulting in the destruction of the clone’s personal identity. You’d think that given such a background, clones would be raised so that they never develop a consciousness of their own (i.e., under sedation or in a sensory deprivation tank), but in this world they are allowed to mature into people until the time of implantation arrives, which struck this reviewer as a pretty iffy assumption (although, to be fair, I have read other clone stories based on the same premise). Even less plausible to me, however, is that the mothers of the clone cousins Seungwan and Eunjeong would choose to rear them as their own daughters until the time came to implant the recorded memories into their heads and, essentially, murder the two girls. No, sorry, I’m just not feeling it. That being said, the tale is well written, poetic, and bittersweet. An enjoyable read, if you don’t read too closely.