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The Archronology of Love, by Caroline M. Yoachim, follows Dr. Saki Jones as she pursues the truth of what happened to her partner, MJ, on a doomed colony on New Mars.

What I liked:

• Yoachim’s writing is incredibly reminiscent of Nnedi Okorafor’s style in the Binti series; both authors excel at constructing complex worlds with remarkably few words. I am not generally a huge reader of short fiction or novellas and kept expecting to feel a lack of description or detail somewhere in the text, but Yoachim perfectly walks the balance between too little and too much.
• The concept of archronology and its similarities to archaeology is fascinating! As someone who once dreamed of becoming a paleontologist, archaeologist, or anthropologist, I particularly enjoyed the conceptual framework of this story. Maybe I need to read more science fiction, because I find myself wishing more authors would delve into this area. I also appreciated the emphasis on how journeys into the Chronicle destroy the original data, a notion which I often feel is somewhat overlooked in certain fields of contemporary scholarship.

What I learned:

• Yoachim created a whole world, an entire story, without once describing the physical appearance of the main character! I thrive on character descriptions, but though I was slightly surprised by the absence of them in this story, at the end I found myself considering how the lack of visual cues provided by the author affects the reader’s experience. Certainly, I felt the pared-down descriptions streamlined the narrative as a whole. In many ways, this story felt like a 180-degree turn from full-length adult SFF novels, in which I often feel bogged down by pauses in the plot to unload excessive descriptions. I appreciate worldbuilding as much as the next reader, but I believe there are ways to effectively paint a picture without putting the reader to sleep or losing track of the main story. S.A. Chakraborty and Rebecca Roanhorse are some of my favorite epic SFF writers when it comes to integrating rich worldbuilding seamlessly into a compelling plot. I do wonder if Yoachim ever envisioned a version of this story in full-length novel form, with those missing character and setting descriptions included.

Questions I had:

• Saki and Kenzou have recognizably Japanese names, but does Yoachim intend these characters to be Japanese? What about MJ, whose initials are never explained? His hair is described as black at one point, upon which I chose to imagine him as Japanese, but I could very well be wrong.
• What does Yoachim think of the concept of ‘nikkei literature?’ Does she envision her own works as part of such a body of literature?
• Most of the named characters in the story appear to be Asian, yet no one ever makes a cultural or linguistic reference to their background. What prompted Yoachim to make these naming decisions?
• Saki appears to begin a relationship with Li Yingtai after her final meeting with MJ. Kenzou and Hyun-sik are also in a relationship. Considering the relatively small number of characters in the story, these relationships have a commensurately greater impact, suggesting Yoachim wishes to normalize the concept of queer Asians in space. What are Yoachim’s thoughts on LGBTQIA+ culture(s) and spaces within nikkei and/or Asian American communities?

Follow-up:

• Yoachim’s short story collection, Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World, has been on my to-buy list for years, but I think it’s finally time to hit buy!