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Other Minds
What wouldn’t we build; if loss was impermanent, happiness could be constructed, and our limits were boundless?
Administration agent Xi regulates an immersive nostalgic mirror of her decaying capital city, until she finds avatars controlled by dead users, and digging only raises questions about the system she serves, and the friendships she thought were real.
Disgraced aerospace engineer Ming Wen, launches her intelligent luxury orbiter, and a chance at redemption, with her daughter onboard. But when the ship seems to know things she’s long forgotten, the only way out is within.
From a cyberpunk mystery that threatens to break the violet skies of a beautiful dream, to the quiet terror of facing corrupted love, and reckoning, in deep space, OTHER MINDS will immerse you in a near-future world where anything can be built, except what we need.
Administration agent Xi regulates an immersive nostalgic mirror of her decaying capital city, until she finds avatars controlled by dead users, and digging only raises questions about the system she serves, and the friendships she thought were real.
Disgraced aerospace engineer Ming Wen, launches her intelligent luxury orbiter, and a chance at redemption, with her daughter onboard. But when the ship seems to know things she’s long forgotten, the only way out is within.
From a cyberpunk mystery that threatens to break the violet skies of a beautiful dream, to the quiet terror of facing corrupted love, and reckoning, in deep space, OTHER MINDS will immerse you in a near-future world where anything can be built, except what we need.
- GenresScience FictionNovella
230 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2023
5 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Eliane Boey
9 books29 followersEliane Boey is an SFF and thriller writer, with stories in Clarkesworld, the Penn Review, and Weird Horror, among others. She is the author of SF novella duology OTHER MINDS, and cyberpunk noir novella CLUB CONTANGO. She works with ships and ports, which continues to inspire her writing. Eliane lives in Singapore.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 24, 2023
Review originally on JamReads
Other Minds reunites two sci-fi novellas (Signal/Tracer and Carrier), both sharing themes such as the nature of reality and identity, written by Eliane Boey, and published by Dark Matter INK. Mind blowing pieces that combined with a really precise prose create a really immersive book, even with how different the stories might feel.
Signal/Tracer is a fast-paced technothriller, set in a near future in an analogue Singapore, where people are slowly disconnecting from reality and just living in a virtual world which portrays a nostalgic version of the country. In this situation is where Xi, a double agent of the Administration, enters, having to deal with a conspiracy which belongs to the cyberpunk genre; while at the same time having to deal with her own ghosts.
Boey does an excellent job of creating an interesting story around the nature of reality, creating a big question focused on if collectiveness can decide about what's real; all with an excellent pacing, using short chapters and keeping a frenetic pace. The setting does an amazing job of transmitting the near futuristic sensation, while feeling at the same time familiar due to the inclusion of nowadays Singapore details.
Courier is a brief novella, really immersive, which puts the focus on unresolved grief and on identity, and at the same time, can be interpreted as a critic of a system that puts the profits over safety, following the engineer Ming Wen. Putting her daughter inside the new intelligent orbiter is producing terrifying results, which is creating a really difficult situation for her.
Despite the change of setting, we can appreciate similar elements in the craft, keeping the fast pacing and the short chapters; a story with a big emotional weight, a payoff for a setting that is made following two different timelines.
Other Minds is an excellent duology, which I think it would be loved for those that are looking for near future sci-fi, especially if you like Asian inspired settings. Eliane Boey manages to pack so much significance in a short length; definitely an author to follow in the future.
Other Minds reunites two sci-fi novellas (Signal/Tracer and Carrier), both sharing themes such as the nature of reality and identity, written by Eliane Boey, and published by Dark Matter INK. Mind blowing pieces that combined with a really precise prose create a really immersive book, even with how different the stories might feel.
Signal/Tracer is a fast-paced technothriller, set in a near future in an analogue Singapore, where people are slowly disconnecting from reality and just living in a virtual world which portrays a nostalgic version of the country. In this situation is where Xi, a double agent of the Administration, enters, having to deal with a conspiracy which belongs to the cyberpunk genre; while at the same time having to deal with her own ghosts.
Boey does an excellent job of creating an interesting story around the nature of reality, creating a big question focused on if collectiveness can decide about what's real; all with an excellent pacing, using short chapters and keeping a frenetic pace. The setting does an amazing job of transmitting the near futuristic sensation, while feeling at the same time familiar due to the inclusion of nowadays Singapore details.
Courier is a brief novella, really immersive, which puts the focus on unresolved grief and on identity, and at the same time, can be interpreted as a critic of a system that puts the profits over safety, following the engineer Ming Wen. Putting her daughter inside the new intelligent orbiter is producing terrifying results, which is creating a really difficult situation for her.
Despite the change of setting, we can appreciate similar elements in the craft, keeping the fast pacing and the short chapters; a story with a big emotional weight, a payoff for a setting that is made following two different timelines.
Other Minds is an excellent duology, which I think it would be loved for those that are looking for near future sci-fi, especially if you like Asian inspired settings. Eliane Boey manages to pack so much significance in a short length; definitely an author to follow in the future.
August 9, 2023
OTHER MINDS is an intricately woven and complex near-future duo of novellas that is enticing and well-contructed. Boey has built a world that forces us question reality, yet at the same time, grounds us within it. At its core, OTHER MINDS is as emotionally intoxicating as it is visceral and vivid.
A big thank you to the author for an ARC of the book!
A big thank you to the author for an ARC of the book!
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February 10, 2025In Carrier, Boey crafts a futuristic environment that is simultaneously immersive, haunting, and visually stunning. This novella is a poignant and dizzying deep dive into grief that stays with you long after the last word. The emotional pay-off will have you staring into the middle space long after you're finished. Highly recommend!
August 12, 2023
What I loved most about this book is how immersive the setting is. There’s a very strong dystopian/cyberpunk vibe and great worldbuilding ideas at play, all of which are grounded on the Southeast Asian social and cultural landscape. The author gives a lot of details that help me imagine the world these characters are living in. If you enjoy a lot of worldbuilding details and expositions, you will like this.
The short chapters give the book the vibe of a fitful dream, which suits the dystopia and sense of dis-reality that seems to be at the heart of the story. Overall, this is a couple of highly imaginative novellas with great concepts, a sense of a full world, and some important things to say about our posthuman existence. Do give it a try!
(Disclaimer: I read an e-ARC. Thanks to the author and publisher for providing the copy!)
The short chapters give the book the vibe of a fitful dream, which suits the dystopia and sense of dis-reality that seems to be at the heart of the story. Overall, this is a couple of highly imaginative novellas with great concepts, a sense of a full world, and some important things to say about our posthuman existence. Do give it a try!
(Disclaimer: I read an e-ARC. Thanks to the author and publisher for providing the copy!)
October 25, 2023
(4.5, rounded up for Goodreads)
Other Minds is a made up of two novellas: Signal/Tracer and Carrier. Both take place in the same near-future universe, though at different times.
These stories verge more on the hard side of sci-fi, which is a genre I'm not particularly comfortable in simply because I don't read it often. It took me a little bit of extra effort to really get into the stories — especially Signal/Tracer — but once I did I really enjoyed them.
The stories are interesting and full of heart, and I enjoyed meeting the diverse cast of characters, but my favorite part was being able to spend time in the vivid cyberpunk world Boey has built.
Other Minds is an excellent debut, and I am excited to see what Eliane Boey writes next.
Other Minds is a made up of two novellas: Signal/Tracer and Carrier. Both take place in the same near-future universe, though at different times.
These stories verge more on the hard side of sci-fi, which is a genre I'm not particularly comfortable in simply because I don't read it often. It took me a little bit of extra effort to really get into the stories — especially Signal/Tracer — but once I did I really enjoyed them.
The stories are interesting and full of heart, and I enjoyed meeting the diverse cast of characters, but my favorite part was being able to spend time in the vivid cyberpunk world Boey has built.
Other Minds is an excellent debut, and I am excited to see what Eliane Boey writes next.
March 7, 2023
After reading this, Eliane Boey is a new favorite author. Signal/Tracer pulls you in and doesn't let go until the last page, leaving you longing for more. Like Gibson's Neuromancer but with a modern twist and an exquisite voice all her own, this novella is one I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys cyberpunk and noir sci-fi with expertly crafted characters and tremendous emotional depth. I can't recommend this book enough!
June 15, 2023
Disclosure: I received a copy of Signal / Tracer in exchange for an honest review.
Signal / Tracer is a breathless roller coaster ride through a near future Singapore analogue where the population has slowly succumbed to existing mainly in a nostalgic virtual reality version of the country. Enter Xi, an Administration double agent, failed academic. An older protagonist, she has to navigate a classic cyberpunk conspiracy, play both sides, resolve her own ghosts AND maybe find a little love along the way.
What I loved about it was how locally grounded the story was in Singapore, the backlanes, the culture and the food, even down to how Boey views the powerful helplessness of the Administration.
Despite the short length of the novella and the limited POV, Boey keeps the pace frenetic with sharp, choppy chapters, and sketches out the tantalizingly close dystopia / utopia settings with a deft touch, matching nostalgic minutiae with the horror of being cocooned in a virtual haptic suit while sipping blended food.
A riveting read!
Signal / Tracer is a breathless roller coaster ride through a near future Singapore analogue where the population has slowly succumbed to existing mainly in a nostalgic virtual reality version of the country. Enter Xi, an Administration double agent, failed academic. An older protagonist, she has to navigate a classic cyberpunk conspiracy, play both sides, resolve her own ghosts AND maybe find a little love along the way.
What I loved about it was how locally grounded the story was in Singapore, the backlanes, the culture and the food, even down to how Boey views the powerful helplessness of the Administration.
Despite the short length of the novella and the limited POV, Boey keeps the pace frenetic with sharp, choppy chapters, and sketches out the tantalizingly close dystopia / utopia settings with a deft touch, matching nostalgic minutiae with the horror of being cocooned in a virtual haptic suit while sipping blended food.
A riveting read!
February 18, 2024
This book is a diptych of 2 loosely related novellas. "Signal\Tracer" and "Carrier".
The first "Signal\Tracer" is a fascinating and uncomfortably plausible cyberpunk novella about identity, spycraft, political conspiracies, reality and memory, set in a future Singapore. The writing is so beautiful and tense here and I really enjoyed it.
The second, "Carrier", is intricately woven and complex horror-adjacent story of technoeconomic ambition, loss, motherhood and memory, set in a version of space that feels as real as the shipping ports of Singapore and follows a spacecraft designer aboard her latest design in the wake of a catastrophic mistake she is still processing. Layers are added to the story in incrementally and carefully, like 3D printing a haunting story.
While I found "Signal\Tracer" to be the more engaging of the two, Eliane's talent for story is undeniably evident in both and they are certainly worth the time. 4.5 rounded up to 5.
The first "Signal\Tracer" is a fascinating and uncomfortably plausible cyberpunk novella about identity, spycraft, political conspiracies, reality and memory, set in a future Singapore. The writing is so beautiful and tense here and I really enjoyed it.
The second, "Carrier", is intricately woven and complex horror-adjacent story of technoeconomic ambition, loss, motherhood and memory, set in a version of space that feels as real as the shipping ports of Singapore and follows a spacecraft designer aboard her latest design in the wake of a catastrophic mistake she is still processing. Layers are added to the story in incrementally and carefully, like 3D printing a haunting story.
While I found "Signal\Tracer" to be the more engaging of the two, Eliane's talent for story is undeniably evident in both and they are certainly worth the time. 4.5 rounded up to 5.
September 20, 2023
Author Eliane Boey is the best of two worlds. Like William Gibson, Boey plays science fiction songs on noir instruments. OTHER MINDS is as much Dashiell Hammett as it is Robert Heinlein. This is a brilliant debut.
For fans of her short stories, OTHER MINDS is a promise fulfilled. The same great characterizations, the seemingly effortless lyricism of the language, the telling details that sell the premise are all here in abundance. Boey is a top-notch literary writer whose genre label happens to be science fiction.
OTHER MINDS is a collection of two sibling novellas, same milieu, but set at different points in the near future. "SIGNAL/TRACER" is the more noir of the two, featuring a disaffected agent of an authoritarian government who is sent on an undercover mission to gather intelligence about a rebel group's latest plans. It's hard enough to tell who's lying in our time, but in this story the characters are living the bulk of their lives in a virtual reality simulation.
The other novella, "CARRIER," is set farther in the future. Centered around a designer of space ships, the story features artificial intelligence, space travel, and other hard sf tropes, but the focus is really on mothers and daughters and how hard it can be to reach out to the person who's closest to you. There's a lot of heart in this one.
Final Word: An excellent debut from a writer with a bright future in the SF genre. I feel lucky to have gotten a front-row seat.
For fans of her short stories, OTHER MINDS is a promise fulfilled. The same great characterizations, the seemingly effortless lyricism of the language, the telling details that sell the premise are all here in abundance. Boey is a top-notch literary writer whose genre label happens to be science fiction.
OTHER MINDS is a collection of two sibling novellas, same milieu, but set at different points in the near future. "SIGNAL/TRACER" is the more noir of the two, featuring a disaffected agent of an authoritarian government who is sent on an undercover mission to gather intelligence about a rebel group's latest plans. It's hard enough to tell who's lying in our time, but in this story the characters are living the bulk of their lives in a virtual reality simulation.
The other novella, "CARRIER," is set farther in the future. Centered around a designer of space ships, the story features artificial intelligence, space travel, and other hard sf tropes, but the focus is really on mothers and daughters and how hard it can be to reach out to the person who's closest to you. There's a lot of heart in this one.
Final Word: An excellent debut from a writer with a bright future in the SF genre. I feel lucky to have gotten a front-row seat.
November 9, 2023
Rewarding reads
As the author explains in the Introduction, these two short stories take place in the same furure world 50 years apart, but are not directly connected.
For both stories the author has assuredly crafted a future world where technology rules, in which individuals’ agency has been lost, and holding on to principles, and even reality, is challenging.
In the first story, Signal/Tracer, the protagonist wrestles with whether to investigate anomalies in key data points which could make or break her non-person status. I found how a non-person status could occur, and what that existence could be like, thought-provoking, as was the new types of “currencies” in this future world.
In the second, Carrier, the protagonist seeks redemption both professionally and personally, for past tragedies for which she may or may not have been responsible.
In Carrier, the mystery was deeper and the clues more intricately brought forward, with good use of flashbacks and their subtle reveals.
It was the mystery aspect that drew me to this book, even though speculative science fiction is not my first choice of genre. It explains why Carrier was my favourite of the two stories. But the author so skillfully presented the future world as to draw in, rather than alienate, a novice to the genre, that the detail did not distract from the main thread of the stories.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
As the author explains in the Introduction, these two short stories take place in the same furure world 50 years apart, but are not directly connected.
For both stories the author has assuredly crafted a future world where technology rules, in which individuals’ agency has been lost, and holding on to principles, and even reality, is challenging.
In the first story, Signal/Tracer, the protagonist wrestles with whether to investigate anomalies in key data points which could make or break her non-person status. I found how a non-person status could occur, and what that existence could be like, thought-provoking, as was the new types of “currencies” in this future world.
In the second, Carrier, the protagonist seeks redemption both professionally and personally, for past tragedies for which she may or may not have been responsible.
In Carrier, the mystery was deeper and the clues more intricately brought forward, with good use of flashbacks and their subtle reveals.
It was the mystery aspect that drew me to this book, even though speculative science fiction is not my first choice of genre. It explains why Carrier was my favourite of the two stories. But the author so skillfully presented the future world as to draw in, rather than alienate, a novice to the genre, that the detail did not distract from the main thread of the stories.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 20, 2023
This book is both thought-provoking and heart-rending. I can't think of a better combination, and it's honestly a difficult combination to nail. But Boey does it. I always say that if a book makes me cry, particularly if it's a book that I didn't expect to reach me in that way, it's an instant 5-stars from me. I teared up at the end of one of these stories, and I loved every minute of it.
Boey has constructed worlds that are fascinating while simultaneously banging on the raw nerve of worry I have about our current global state. So many times, "Oh God, WHAT IF???" ran through my mind as I read these stories. It was uncomfortable, and relatable, and so beautifully written.
In addition to freaking me the fuck out about what "could be," Boey offers characters that are so real, with such actual inner conflict and grief, that I couldn't help but root for them, flaws and all.
I highly recommend OTHER MINDS if you like dark sci-fi, or dark stories with loads of heart.
Boey has constructed worlds that are fascinating while simultaneously banging on the raw nerve of worry I have about our current global state. So many times, "Oh God, WHAT IF???" ran through my mind as I read these stories. It was uncomfortable, and relatable, and so beautifully written.
In addition to freaking me the fuck out about what "could be," Boey offers characters that are so real, with such actual inner conflict and grief, that I couldn't help but root for them, flaws and all.
I highly recommend OTHER MINDS if you like dark sci-fi, or dark stories with loads of heart.
October 3, 2023
Thanks BookSirens for this ARC. There are two short stories in this book, and I enjoyed the first a lot more than the second, though neither were quite my style of sci-fi.
Signal/Tracer was the kind of setting I adore, and was the reason I wanted to read the book in the first place. I liked the main characters well enough, and I really liked the way the author addressed gender throughout. The plot was fine. I wanted so much to be gripped by the story, but - I just wasn't. It took me a disproportionately long time to read and I didn't care as much as I'd hoped I would.
Carrier was both less appealing to me initially and much less interesting to read. In the last few pages, there was a reveal that made the whole thing so much more exciting and I sort of got into it! but then it was over.
A slow read for me, but possibly a really enjoyable one for others.
Signal/Tracer was the kind of setting I adore, and was the reason I wanted to read the book in the first place. I liked the main characters well enough, and I really liked the way the author addressed gender throughout. The plot was fine. I wanted so much to be gripped by the story, but - I just wasn't. It took me a disproportionately long time to read and I didn't care as much as I'd hoped I would.
Carrier was both less appealing to me initially and much less interesting to read. In the last few pages, there was a reveal that made the whole thing so much more exciting and I sort of got into it! but then it was over.
A slow read for me, but possibly a really enjoyable one for others.
July 11, 2023
OTHER MINDS captures a future where nothing and no one is what they seem, reality is liquid, and the past is a ghost who haunts you.
Beautifully written, emotionally taut, and uncomfortably plausible.
Beautifully written, emotionally taut, and uncomfortably plausible.
September 25, 2023
A cerebral pair of novellas with a great sense of place and timeliness. Interlinked but independent and smart as a whip. I'll be eagerly awaiting Boey's next work!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMbad...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMbad...
January 15, 2024
Not activly bad and I see why people like it so much, but not for me. It felt a bit too episodic and in the end gimick-y. Maybe the problem was that I expected this to be a short novel but because it is actually 2 stories in the same universe, it follows the beats of a short story
August 25, 2024
This is an excellent selection of two novellas. I’m interested in seeing where Elaine goes as a writer. I think I’m ready for a longer story, but I also had lots of fun here so I’ll take whatever is offered next. The sci-fi vibes were top notch.
November 8, 2023
The descriptions in this book jump off the page. It is rare to read something and feel fully immersed. Eliane accomplishes that so well! Her writing is a work of art!
December 7, 2023
Signal\Tracer is a story that throws you right into a mix of the anxieties we’re living in the real world. It splendidly blends Cyberpunk with the dystopian nature of a virtual reality that replaces our battered, neglected real world. Sometimes it feels like a future that is just around the corner. Nevertheless, you’ll quickly find that you want to explore both Lion City and this future ruled by the Administration.
Carrier is a novella about loss, redemption, and responsibility. Boey builds a world that engulfs you into Ming Wen’s anguish as she tries to reconcile with a past that promises to haunt her. You’ll get into both spaceships that Ming Wen designed as if you’re stepping into the protagonist’s mind itself, then and now. Overall, a thrilling near-future space opera with the best the genre has to offer.
Eliane’s worldbuilding reminds me of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, and weirdly enough, of our own world and how we’re fast pacing into a future we didn’t exactly ask for.
Carrier is a novella about loss, redemption, and responsibility. Boey builds a world that engulfs you into Ming Wen’s anguish as she tries to reconcile with a past that promises to haunt her. You’ll get into both spaceships that Ming Wen designed as if you’re stepping into the protagonist’s mind itself, then and now. Overall, a thrilling near-future space opera with the best the genre has to offer.
Eliane’s worldbuilding reminds me of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, and weirdly enough, of our own world and how we’re fast pacing into a future we didn’t exactly ask for.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews