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

As I continued to read through the August issue of Clarkesworld, I next read this story. Put simply, it tells of a young Chinese person working in the city hoping to make enough money to get back home to the country for New Year’s. That’s a pretty common story. What makes this somewhat unique is that the city is a floating city in an unspecified future. Oh, and the worker has just been laid off. And the worker is you. That’s right, the story is told using the second person.

The overall theme here is exploring how we change and how the places we visit and change while we are not there. Sort of a take on Thomas Wolfe’s idea that you can’t go home again. And as such, there isn’t that much different here for me. I also found the second person very distracting here. But if you are looking for a simple, touching, poignant story of a young person’s quest to get home for the holidays, you can’t go wrong.

My rating: 3/5

This unique story takes place largely in virtual reality. Honestly, I struggled a bit to understand what was going on in this one. I was never quite sure what it was the main character was trying to do. I think he was trying to find a way to make the world more real. Ultimately, this effort leads him to pursue the assassination of a cult leader who essential runs the VR world.

I think the author is attempting to explore the ideas of fate and free will. Unfortunately, I am not sure he fully succeeds. In the process, though, he does create a fascinating world expressed through incredible imagery.

My rating: 2/5

The August issue of Clarkesworld continues with this second story. It is a challenge to read as it describes a form of sentient mycelium, essentially the root system of a fungus. The tale opens when a wife on a colonized planet starts to hear the voice of her dead husband on the radio from outside her habitat. The colony is run by a myopic corporation that cares little for its employees. This attitude contributed to the death of the woman’s husband, who she starts to see as well as hear. It becomes clear that the source of these hallucinations is the sentient mycelium communicating with her. But what this means is explored in the story and culminates in the surprising climax.

The story is told largely through the hallucinations of the wife and from her perspective. This is what creates the cognitive friction for the reader, with all the rewards that come with it. Ultimately, the author explores the idea of what alive means and how different life could be from what we as humans know of it. A fascinating and fantastic read.

My rating: 5/5

This first story in the August 2025 issue of Clarkesworld magazine (Issue #227) left me wanting more. It takes place in a near future world where people who have suffered from a stroke can get a neural bridge implant. This helps speed recovery for those unable to afford the lengthy physical therapy otherwise required. But after the father of a family receives an implant, they start to notice that he is not quite himself. And he occasionally says things that he wouldn’t have before. They sound almost like ads. The story follows the family as they struggle with the change in the father and how their limited means affect the range of options they have.

The writing is simple and clear allowing the reader to really get a feel for what the family is going through and the difficult choice that has to be made. This is speculative fiction at its best—taking a current day technology, nudging it slightly into the future, and exploring how that development might effect ordinary people. And at the end I wanted to continue following the family to see how their decision turned out for them.

My rating: 5/5