What a Fish Looks Like

Beker debuts with an inventive, genre-defying sci-fi love story that reads like a scrapbook of letters; transcriptions; snippets of fairy tales, playlists, and short stories; marginalia; and other bits and pieces. This eclectic assemblage is compiled by Seb as a means of communication with their ex, Jay, in a not-so-distant future in which Earth has been ravaged by climate change and some choose to flee on experimental missions to a recently discovered planet that is believed to be inhabitable. Seb plans to stay on Earth, while Jay seems likely to take the risk. Beker’s descriptions of an empty ocean, rapid species extinction, and fire-and-flood-prone environments are depressingly plausible, but they offer glimmers of hope in their celebration of queer community and resilience. The story itself feels somewhat familiar, but the pieced-together presentation fascinates. Climate fiction fans should check this out. (Sept.)