I found it a fascinating and satisfying story exploring the nature of love. Is love something deeply spiritual or simply the result of chemical reactions in the brain? The story is an example of how science fiction can deal with issues that matter greatly to us in the here-and-now, despite being set in the future and involving alien species. It’s told from an alien perspective, mostly in flashback, and concerns a young alien female who becomes a language tutor for a young human male. Over time, a relationship develops which we see entirely from the alien’s viewpoint. As with many such stories, the aliens are depicted as possessing human qualities, which can be a legitimate criticism, though in this case it’s the whole point, enhanced here by Heather Welliver’s expressive reading.
The Aye No Maybeblog writes:
I like podcasts. I like science fiction. So I often listen to cool SF podcasts. I know many of my readers are not huge SF fans (why not?), but I think there are a couple of gems you might be interested in listening to.
The first thing is a short story I listened to this afternoon called Longing For Langalana by Mercurio D. Rivera. It’s a lovely story of unrequited love beautifully read. Aw. Go listen to it at Transmissions From Beyond.