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smalefowles's review against another edition
3.0
I feel as if I was dragging myself through all three of the books I was reading lately (oh, I still haven't finished one? Oh, sunk cost is a fallacy? Oh really? But I have this Reading Challenge, you see...). Which means I feel very three stars about them, even if they don't precisely deserve that.
A few of these stories were very enjoyable, but I kept getting bogged down. There was what seemed like a wide variety of types of scifi featured here, so I'm sure there's something for everyone. There was just very little for me.
A few of these stories were very enjoyable, but I kept getting bogged down. There was what seemed like a wide variety of types of scifi featured here, so I'm sure there's something for everyone. There was just very little for me.
yuyuv's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Goodnight, Melancholy 2
Moonlight 4
Broken Stars 2
Submarines 3
Salinger and the Koreans 2
Under a Dangling Sky 4
What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear 2
The New Year Train 3
The Robot Who Liked to Tell Tall Tales 3
The Snow of Jinyang 3
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge 3
The First Emperor’s Games 4
Reflection 2
The Brain Box 2
Coming of the Light 2
A History of Future Illnesses 1
Moonlight 4
Broken Stars 2
Submarines 3
Salinger and the Koreans 2
Under a Dangling Sky 4
What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear 2
The New Year Train 3
The Robot Who Liked to Tell Tall Tales 3
The Snow of Jinyang 3
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge 3
The First Emperor’s Games 4
Reflection 2
The Brain Box 2
Coming of the Light 2
A History of Future Illnesses 1
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Violence
nuclearpotato's review against another edition
3.0
My Rating: 7.5/10
This book was somewhat of a disappointment for me. Apparently Chinese sci-fi still has a long way to go. Many of the stories in the collection were either boring or executed badly. However, I will still review the three that made an impression on me.
Moonlight - Liu Cixin
Moonlight is a amusing alternate history short story, asking "what if?" questions. It focuses on the energy problem humans are facing right now. The time travel concept in this story falls into the "changing" type, reminding me of Asimov's The End of Eternity.
What has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear - Baoshu
A heartwarming yet heart-wrenching story revolving around a reversed Chinese history. Even though this theme isn't new to the genre, Baoshu's storytelling is both well-crafted and thought-provoking. It is recommended to have prior knowledge of modern Chinese history(1949-2008) before reading this.
The Snow of Jinyang - Zhang Ran
This was just overall a very fun read. It's about how a time traveler utilizes his knowledge of modern science to defend Jinyang against the Song army. The primitive "Internet" he created was especially fascinating.
This book was somewhat of a disappointment for me. Apparently Chinese sci-fi still has a long way to go. Many of the stories in the collection were either boring or executed badly. However, I will still review the three that made an impression on me.
Moonlight - Liu Cixin
Moonlight is a amusing alternate history short story, asking "what if?" questions. It focuses on the energy problem humans are facing right now. The time travel concept in this story falls into the "changing" type, reminding me of Asimov's The End of Eternity.
What has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear - Baoshu
A heartwarming yet heart-wrenching story revolving around a reversed Chinese history. Even though this theme isn't new to the genre, Baoshu's storytelling is both well-crafted and thought-provoking. It is recommended to have prior knowledge of modern Chinese history(1949-2008) before reading this.
The Snow of Jinyang - Zhang Ran
This was just overall a very fun read. It's about how a time traveler utilizes his knowledge of modern science to defend Jinyang against the Song army. The primitive "Internet" he created was especially fascinating.
zoe_1701's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bbbarttt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
narzibenoucdel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
natrosette's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 stars maybe? I don't know, I'm terrible at rating collections and anthologies.
My favorite by far was also I believe the longest, Baoshu's What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear. The concept was so cool, and it really made me think about the course of history, the way we think back on the past differently than the future, and just how much can take place over one lifetime. Plus, I was invested enough to augment my negligible knowledge of Chinese history with frequent googling.
A few others I enjoyed include:
- Moonlight by Liu Cixin - a shorter story around timeline alterations and what I interpreted as a reminder that what if's aren't always worth our attention, the grass may not be greener, etc.
- The Snow of Jinyang by Zhang Ran - my introduction to chuanyue; I was quite surprised how much fun I had with it, considering my typical ambivalence towards historical fiction and comedy
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge by Anna Wu - the second story I've encountered in this universe and my lesser favorite of the two, but I still really like the style and hope to have the opportunity to read the full collection some day
My favorite by far was also I believe the longest, Baoshu's What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear. The concept was so cool, and it really made me think about the course of history, the way we think back on the past differently than the future, and just how much can take place over one lifetime. Plus, I was invested enough to augment my negligible knowledge of Chinese history with frequent googling.
A few others I enjoyed include:
- Moonlight by Liu Cixin - a shorter story around timeline alterations and what I interpreted as a reminder that what if's aren't always worth our attention, the grass may not be greener, etc.
- The Snow of Jinyang by Zhang Ran - my introduction to chuanyue; I was quite surprised how much fun I had with it, considering my typical ambivalence towards historical fiction and comedy
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge by Anna Wu - the second story I've encountered in this universe and my lesser favorite of the two, but I still really like the style and hope to have the opportunity to read the full collection some day
joliendelandsheer's review
4.0
A great introduction to Chinese science fiction authors, especially if you don’t know where to start. As always with short story collections there were some stories and authors I preferred over others but I thought this was a solid collection overall. I will definitely look into translations of some of the author’s other works!
Favorite stories:
- goodnight, melancholy by Xia Jia
- broken stars by Tang Fei
- submarines by Han Song
- the new year train by Hao Jinfang
- reflection by Gu Shi
Favorite stories:
- goodnight, melancholy by Xia Jia
- broken stars by Tang Fei
- submarines by Han Song
- the new year train by Hao Jinfang
- reflection by Gu Shi