Name - Missing Helen
Written by - Tia Tashiro
Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine July 2025 (issue 226)
This one had quite an interesting concept dealing with a plausible future where clones are used like sperm banks for couples wanting to have children. The premise was sound, the themes the author was trying to explore were novel, but the means used were a bit uncomfortable at times, making the reading a bit strained.
This tells the story of a woman named Helen, who sells her genome for cloning purposes for money so that she might get a better future. Then by twists of fate that clone who is 16 years younger returns in her life as her ex-husband's fiance, awkward and yucky right. Then the two versions of the same person have a brief yet meaningful meeting.
The story has interesting themes like cloning depicted in a positive light, female empowerment, how relationships seemingly perfect erode away by time, a bit of narcissism, and the weird concept of your clone might be the best family for you if it were an option. All nice things to explore, but the introduction through ex-husband plot seemed kind of unnecessary and weird for me.
While an enjoyable story on its own, this is probably one of the weaker nominees for Hugo this year, this gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me.
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