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leavesofmytree's review
dark
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
myriadreads's review
4.0
4.5. Fantastic collection of stories. Darkly prophetic. If you are a fan of the series Black Mirror, or the writing of Nancy Kress or Kij Johnson, you should give this book a try.
There are stories in this collection that stuck in my head for days, forcing me to turn over new ideas and consider new perspectives. These are the sort of stories that I aspire to write after reading about the next big tech in Discover, or seeing another dire prediction for our planet. I'll be returning to this collection for inspiration, for sure.
There are stories in this collection that stuck in my head for days, forcing me to turn over new ideas and consider new perspectives. These are the sort of stories that I aspire to write after reading about the next big tech in Discover, or seeing another dire prediction for our planet. I'll be returning to this collection for inspiration, for sure.
josie_reads_books's review against another edition
challenging
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
siebensommer's review against another edition
1.25
i liked the cartographers but… wow… this is why i rarely read men lol
gardenoftulips's review
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
i started reading this after watching after yang at iu cinema, which is a film based off the titular short story in this book. what interested me was that the short story was very distinctly hostile to the read i had of the film: i was strongly interested in yang as a person, but the story seems to discourage this from happening, instead insisting that androids are not people and are missing some human-essence without defining what it is. i don't think this is wrong per sé, but... huh.
most of the stories in this book feel like decently written episodes of black mirror, which given the things i heard from the author at the screening i went to, makes sense. there are things that read like he's old in here, but there's also some great stuff. it's just... a very mixed bag, really. the short stories in here tend to follow a structure where they aren't quite overly moralistic most of the time but instead get close to it, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. i firmly believe that if you're writing a story with a moral you have to under-cut it frequently, and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not.
the sex scenes are miserable, sometimes that's the point, but it confirms my biases as to trans women being the only people good at writing sex (even if it's meant to be unsexy).
shrug. some of these are worth your time. some of them are not.
ENJOYED: The CartoGraphers, Children of the New World, Fall Line, A Brief History of the Failed Revolution, Ice Age
EHHHH: After Yang, Heartland, Excerpts from The New World Authorized Dictionary, Rocket Night, Openness
DISLIKED: Moksha, Migration, The Pyramid and the Ass
most of the stories in this book feel like decently written episodes of black mirror, which given the things i heard from the author at the screening i went to, makes sense. there are things that read like he's old in here, but there's also some great stuff. it's just... a very mixed bag, really. the short stories in here tend to follow a structure where they aren't quite overly moralistic most of the time but instead get close to it, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. i firmly believe that if you're writing a story with a moral you have to under-cut it frequently, and sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not.
the sex scenes are miserable, sometimes that's the point, but it confirms my biases as to trans women being the only people good at writing sex (even if it's meant to be unsexy).
shrug. some of these are worth your time. some of them are not.
ENJOYED: The CartoGraphers, Children of the New World, Fall Line, A Brief History of the Failed Revolution, Ice Age
EHHHH: After Yang, Heartland, Excerpts from The New World Authorized Dictionary, Rocket Night, Openness
DISLIKED: Moksha, Migration, The Pyramid and the Ass
namtful's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
4.0
Whatever new technology brings, humans will always act like humans. I liked that at the core of Children of the New World were normal people doing everyday things, just with more advanced technology. It some cases, the climate has changed, triggering the social issues explored, such as the strains of unemployment or the selfishness of not considering others in a survival situation.
A lot of the stories follow the evolution of the internet and virtual reality to a future where people barely exist in the real world. A family who never go outside, doing everything they need to do in virtual reality, faced with a son who wants to experience the outside. A company producing memories to experience instead doing the real thing.
In one story, people have become so unused to communicating offline, they forget how to interact with people in person, they panic at the thought of a conversation without having access to their profile. The same story goes on to show the dangers of oversharing, that sometimes it’s better to filter your thoughts.
Of course, sex always plays a part. From the couple who build a virtual life and a virtual family, only to be plagued with the kind of spam that's so much easier to deal with when it only existed in 2D form, to a world populated by clones who no longer have the urges associated with reproduction.
In these futures, the feared terrorists are Buddhist, with enlightenment being a dangerous thing attained through unnatural methods. This targeting of a group so unlikely to be international terrorists helps highlight the absurdity of blanketing a whole religion as dangerous.
Each story explores a fairly believable advancement or change, but many leave a subtle punch at the end. Read too fast and you may miss the most important messages, the ones that make you think a life in the real world may be worth living after all. A desire for a simpler life and internet fatigue crops up in several stories.
Review copy provided by publisher.
A lot of the stories follow the evolution of the internet and virtual reality to a future where people barely exist in the real world. A family who never go outside, doing everything they need to do in virtual reality, faced with a son who wants to experience the outside. A company producing memories to experience instead doing the real thing.
In one story, people have become so unused to communicating offline, they forget how to interact with people in person, they panic at the thought of a conversation without having access to their profile. The same story goes on to show the dangers of oversharing, that sometimes it’s better to filter your thoughts.
Of course, sex always plays a part. From the couple who build a virtual life and a virtual family, only to be plagued with the kind of spam that's so much easier to deal with when it only existed in 2D form, to a world populated by clones who no longer have the urges associated with reproduction.
In these futures, the feared terrorists are Buddhist, with enlightenment being a dangerous thing attained through unnatural methods. This targeting of a group so unlikely to be international terrorists helps highlight the absurdity of blanketing a whole religion as dangerous.
Each story explores a fairly believable advancement or change, but many leave a subtle punch at the end. Read too fast and you may miss the most important messages, the ones that make you think a life in the real world may be worth living after all. A desire for a simpler life and internet fatigue crops up in several stories.
Review copy provided by publisher.
bunrab's review
3.0
One at a time, these are ok stories - not wildly original, but ok. Read one after another in a collection, however, there's a depressing sameness, and the same depression, to all of them. the title story isn't even the only one about artificial children.
hasnow's review
3.0
This was like reading Sherry Turkle's Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, but I was actually able to finish it because it's fiction and the stories are short.
It's freaky. Worth reading, but freaky. Makes you want to disconnect from all technology.
It's freaky. Worth reading, but freaky. Makes you want to disconnect from all technology.
chrisb0905's review
3.0
I read it alongside Homo Deus by Harari. Powerful combination of fictional and non fictional exploration of future possibilities. Generally thought-provoking stories with good variety but he returned a few too many times to a particular vision of future technology. Only the last story truly departed from the others in terms of vision.