Sublimation
by Isabel J. Kim
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted October 21, 2026
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A fantastic debut novel by Isabel J. Kim, Sublimation contains so many levels to the story, over and above the multiple character perspectives. I doubt I can explain it coherently. It is a blend of fantasy and science fiction, since it is also an alternate history story, plus in the later chapers it becomes an espionage thriller. Imagine a world in which you could separate yourself from yourself, become an instance of your other self. It is not about twins, although that is a close approximation. No matter their similarities, each twin is a unique individual, and may have completely different thought patterns, different hopes and dreams for their future. The separation might happen without conscious effort; instead it could be a subliminal, psychological, or emotional feeling of wanting to be somewhere, someone, else. Instancing was about desire, thus psychological; reintegration was about the physical. The science fiction part comes in when corporations and governments want to control who can instance, as well as developing technology to prevent instancing, or to reintegrate two instances back into the original, singular person, since many instances occurred at border crossings, as well as airports.
This is happening within a world where instancing had been acknowledged throughout history, with multiple examples of texts that mentioned it, including the Bible, Homer's Odyssey, history books, as well as many folktales. Isabel Kim is Korean/American, born in New Jersey, now living in New York, but she spent some of her pre-teen years in South Korea due to her father's employment. This story divides its time between South Korea, mainly Seoul, and New York. There are two different instance pairs at the core of the story: Kang Soyoung and Soyoung Rose Kang, plus Yujin and YJ. I may be mistaken, but I don't think either of the Ys' surname was mentioned. Rose instanced as a pre-teen, at the same time her mother instanced, and at that time they moved to the US. YJ instanced at the age of 20 I believe, which occurred after Yujin spent a short time in the US studying at NYU. YJ wanted to recreate that feeling of freedom he had experienced while Yujin had been in America. It is possible the decision was mutual, since they kept in contact, talking on the phone often. The plan was for each to educate themselves in different disciplines, Yujin in science, YJ in business. YJ would pursue US citizenship, so that when they reintegrated Yujin could claim dual citizenship, and hopefully that would allow him to avoid Korea's mandatory military service. It was very different for Soyoung and Rose. They had no contact from the time of instancing. Rose would get occasional phone calls from her grandfather, usually her birthday or other holidays, and she would ask about Soyoung, but never got to talk to her. Until Soyoung calls with the news their grandfather has died. All four instances were now in their late 20s. Soyoung and Yujin had been friends in elementary school, but grew distant after that, until Yujin contacted her after YJ instanced. Rose had little memory of Yujin due to her instancing at such a young age.
If two instances come into contact, skin to skin, it triggers reintegration. YJ works at MERGEBREAK, a company that manufactures a device, worn as a bracelet, that prohibits reintegration. Other companies have purchased the patent, so a MERGEBREAK device could be incorporated into other things, rings or other jewelry, or another article of clothing. Yujin asks YJ to send him a bracelet for Soyoung to wear when Rose comes for the funeral. Rose does not want to reintegrate, and supposedly neither does Soyoung. And yet… That's the point where I have to stop with the synopsis in order to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say that is when the espionage part kicks in. The majority of chapters are very short, and alternate between the perspectives of Soyoung and Rose, plus those of Yujin and YJ. Occasioanlly interspersed between those are the historical references to instancing. Most of them are about leaving a family situation, or leaving one country for the other, thus immigration/migration is part of the theme, along with efforts to limit that.
Several of the interstitial comments are about altered concepts and verses from Genesis. That resonated with me due to my very conservative religious upbringing. Pardon me while I compare it to a thought I had nearly 60 years ago, when I first read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. If Mike's pronouncement of "Thou Art God" was correct, that would mean we are all instances of God. Everything would be an instance of God, including Lucifer. Much earlier in my life I had felt much apart from the rest of my family, and there was a running joke that I must have been adopted. Where would I be now, what kind of person would I be, if I had been able to instance myself out of that situation? Where would anyone be if they had the power to leave their worldly situation for something they think will be better? Would it be better, or would they regret that action? I would be willing to try it right now to escape the conservative hellhole where I live, but then again, if the situation changes for the better would I need to change myself? I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time. It has found a place on my 2026 favorites list, eventual winner to be determined later. Highly recommended.
Related link:
Read Kim's short story that was the genesis of this book, at Clarkesworld.
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