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kalin_grace's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-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
3.0
goatsrsexy's review against another edition
4.25
I was a big fan of Cursed Bunny, so I was excited to read Your Utopia. Yet I kept putting it off. There were stories in here that I absolutely loved but there were also quite a few misses for me. It wasn't the 5 star every story is a winner kinda experience I had with Cursed Bunny. There was definitely still more than enough in here to be worth the read though.
The End Of The Voyage was so much fun and a really unique take on two common tropes.
Maria, Gratia Plena was beautiful and so sad.
A Song For Sleep was my favourite story, I just loved it.
Seed was my other favourite and it was hard to choose between this one and A Song For Sleep as my top pick. Such a sad but also funny and unique story.
To Meet Her was also a very good story, I loved the protagonist.
Your Utopia, A Very Ordinary Marriage, & The Center For Immortality Research were the three that just didn't really work for me.
This collection was a lot more focused on SciFi which I love but I did wish there was more horror as well. Definitely excited to see what Bora Chung puts out next, I think I remember seeing a novel in the works but I don't see it listed anywhere now so I'm not sure.
The End Of The Voyage was so much fun and a really unique take on two common tropes.
Maria, Gratia Plena was beautiful and so sad.
A Song For Sleep was my favourite story, I just loved it.
Seed was my other favourite and it was hard to choose between this one and A Song For Sleep as my top pick. Such a sad but also funny and unique story.
To Meet Her was also a very good story, I loved the protagonist.
Your Utopia, A Very Ordinary Marriage, & The Center For Immortality Research were the three that just didn't really work for me.
This collection was a lot more focused on SciFi which I love but I did wish there was more horror as well. Definitely excited to see what Bora Chung puts out next, I think I remember seeing a novel in the works but I don't see it listed anywhere now so I'm not sure.
lindsayb09's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This is my first Bora Chung collection, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. I received it from a horror book subscription and StoryGraph has it tagged as horror, so I think that screwed my expectations. This is definitely a sci-fi collection with some minor hints of horror, so if you're not a sci-fi reader you may leave disappointed.
There are some well-worn sci-fi tropes here (aliens sent to study human life, sentient robots of various types, space refugees, memory scanning). These run the gamut from boring (The Center for Immortality Research) to intriguing (Maria, Gratia Plena) to oddly emotional (Your Utopia, A Song for Sleep). The majority of the ideas are not entirely unique, but they pack a potential emotional punch.
My favorite, and the only one that really borders on horror, was The End of the Voyage. It's a pretty well explored premise -- a pandemic threatens humanity so a group of humans are sent to space as a last hope, but of course that voyage doesn't go to plan. It's a pretty classic zombie story, but the imagery is effectively disturbing, and the ending twist is interesting (if also not very original).
I don't read a lot of sci-fi so I can't say how original some of the other ideas are, but I enjoyed most of them nonetheless. I think if you're intrigued by sci-fi or enjoy your tech with a heavy dose of human emotion, you'll probably connect with these stories. But if you go in expecting horror you'll definitely be disappointed.
There are some well-worn sci-fi tropes here (aliens sent to study human life, sentient robots of various types, space refugees, memory scanning). These run the gamut from boring (The Center for Immortality Research) to intriguing (Maria, Gratia Plena) to oddly emotional (Your Utopia, A Song for Sleep). The majority of the ideas are not entirely unique, but they pack a potential emotional punch.
My favorite, and the only one that really borders on horror, was The End of the Voyage. It's a pretty well explored premise -- a pandemic threatens humanity so a group of humans are sent to space as a last hope, but of course that voyage doesn't go to plan. It's a pretty classic zombie story, but the imagery is effectively disturbing, and the ending twist is interesting (if also not very original).
I don't read a lot of sci-fi so I can't say how original some of the other ideas are, but I enjoyed most of them nonetheless. I think if you're intrigued by sci-fi or enjoy your tech with a heavy dose of human emotion, you'll probably connect with these stories. But if you go in expecting horror you'll definitely be disappointed.
shippy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
erinlilika's review against another edition
4.75
in many ways, the perfect book for me to have read as i navigate grief. how raw and painful and human! “…we survive, and remember, and mourn.” ❤️
kifimia's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
To be honest, I wouldn’t have rated it this high until the last study. I really liked Cursed Bunny better for its stories, but this anthology is necessary. I would do anything to read this out of translation one day.
pompompurinworlds's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
maria, gratia plena and your utopia stick out to me most. especially your utopia - using a car as a main character is genius (think Cars the movie but smarter). overall i enjoyed this collection more than i would think i would as I'm not a huge sci fi person. i am sick of hearing about the pandemic and virus related stories, however. not a fan.
maria, gratia plena and your utopia stick out to me most. especially your utopia - using a car as a main character is genius (think Cars the movie but smarter). overall i enjoyed this collection more than i would think i would as I'm not a huge sci fi person. i am sick of hearing about the pandemic and virus related stories, however. not a fan.
shershenk's review against another edition
3.5
I think the critiques I’ve seen about this ring true. The “point” of these stories feels obvious and not as nuanced as Chung’s other work. It was still fun to read
ciarrareads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Cursed Bunny was one of my favorite books in 2023, so I was super excited to pick this up. Sadly, I wasn't as in love with this one as I was with Cursed Bunny, but there are definitely a few stand outs that I enjoyed.
A few of the stories seemed more like 'ideas' of stories rather than an actual short story. That is why I loved Cursed Bunny - there felt like a full beginning, middle, and end to most of the stories and like the full spectrum of the idea came across. Here, some of them felt just like longer stories that were condensed.
My favorites were probably A Very Ordinary Marriage (super creepy!!!) and Seed.
A few of the stories seemed more like 'ideas' of stories rather than an actual short story. That is why I loved Cursed Bunny - there felt like a full beginning, middle, and end to most of the stories and like the full spectrum of the idea came across. Here, some of them felt just like longer stories that were condensed.
My favorites were probably A Very Ordinary Marriage (super creepy!!!) and Seed.