The online VR world of “Sea of Fertility” is fascinating and a little disorienting. In it, all the senses are available including touch and smell. And sometimes they can be crossed. For example you can smell a color or taste music. And in this online world, the main character is searching for her brother. The only problem is that each time she searches for him, no matter the terms she uses, she cannot find him. She is forced to go find him herself by wandering the world.
This is a story in translation from Chinese, something that is very welcome and common in Clarkesworld. It has a very cyberpunk feel. And I found myself caring very deeply for the siblings and wanting them to reconnect. However, the story was overly long (over 17,000 words). As a result, I felt more lost in the world than in the plot. Perhaps this was due to the translation (by the author herself) or maybe that was the point of how the story was told. In any case, this was only okay for me.
My rating: 3/5
