Doppelgangers, corporate intrigue, heartbreak, betrayal, and the harsh permanence of the border: Sublimation is a thrilling and provocative debut that asks what you'd sacrifice for a different life.
By Isabel J. Kim, winner of two Nebula Awards, the Locus Award, the British Science Fiction Award, and the Shirley Jackson Award, and a finalist for the 2025 Hugo Award and 2023 Astounding Award.
“In this dazzling parable of connection and isolation, Isabel J. Kim’s vividly crafted characters navigate identity, belonging, and the weight of a divided history.” —Scott Westerfeld, New York Times bestselling author of Uglies and The Mortons
The border cuts you in two.
When you immigrate, you leave a copy of yourself behind. One person enters their new country, the other stays trapped at home.
Some instances keep in touch, call each other daily, keep their lives and minds in sync in the hopes of reintegrating and resuming a life as one person. Others, like Soyoung Rose Kang, leave home at ten years old and never speak to their other selves again. Rose, in America, never imagined going back to Korea until her grandfather died and her Korean instance called her home for the funeral.
She doesn’t know that Soyoung plans to steal her body and her life.
How far would you go to live the choice you didn’t make?
