Thia Reads A Lot’s Reviews > Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 237, June 2026 > Status Update

Ice, Rock, Empathy: 3* Giant crabs can absorb the mind of what they eat and become "Communities". One eat a human who died in a submarine, then they find a human settlement. Not clear what happened to the humans but the crabs pov is interesting.

To Know, and to Have a Choice: A Conversation with Isabel J. Kim
good interview
"By buying a copy of Sublimation, you are actively supporting the “Isabel Doesn’t Have to Go Be a Lawyer Again” fund. We hope you support our noble cause." haha

WRONG TITLE, I read When The Future Catches Up To You: A Conversation with Naomi Kritzer

To Know, and to Have a Choice: A Conversation with Isabel J. Kim good interview. I should read "So Much Cooking" (also in Clarkesworld)

Finite Resources & Congestion Charges: What Will EV Technology of the Future Actually Look Like? fine

A Life Measured in Seconds 3*
Ashwan was born just a second too late to be a god (augmented humans controlled by the Master), while Barra is a god (beauty, always smiling, shimmering, etc.). She ran away during a parade and hid in a river. He helped her remove her implants.

Three Cases from the Cosmic Psychiatric Clinic: 3*
A psychotherapist on a remote space station handles 3 cases: a man who thinks he is a tree (he pretends to carve it into a puppet and forces him to do even more work), a salesman who can't sell anything (he suggests selling prank toys, but that becomes dangerous and the salesman is arrested) and a murderous collective of cleaning bots (who stop cleaning).

The Floating Republic: 3* Interesting cast of characters but the story doesn't fully resolve. Several ship crews mixed on Gliz during the 30 years of the war. Charis the medic will be tried as a deserter while the others crewmembers and the children leave. Ignatius will remain in the Philoctetes to be their link to space. Growing apple trees on graves to protect them.

The Potential Side Effects of Roleplay Stimulation Therapy: 2* Emma Clarke was a violin prodigy, but she damaged her hands in a car accident while drunk with the girl she had a crush on. She is trying simulation therapy to regain her ability, but there is "nothing wrong" with her. It doesn't work. She meets another patient who cuts herself. The story doesn't really go anywhere.

Up the Line to Death: 4* AI drones are on strike and write war poetry. Lucas asks his boyfriend Ted to come in to look at it. The idea that the next AI version might not choose to be pacifist is haunting.