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craigwallwork's review against another edition
5.0
Tieryas's Bald New World begins with a strange phenomenon where the entire population wakes up one day to find all their hair has fallen out. From that moment on you're thrown into a world of espionage, wig-wars, faith-blind zealots that make Marathon Man seem like child's play, telekinetic cricket fighting, and a friendship that stretches beyond life and into death. The world which Tieryas creates is rich in detail, from the grand architecture of the future to the smaller statements on the influence of mass advertising on modern society (I particular liked how a taxi cab fare could be subsidised if you are willing to watch adverts for the entire journey, and the coat that diminishes with the seasons). But like Watering Heaven, Tieryas's brilliant short story collection, the real strength of this book lies is the intertwining themes of acceptance, love and an enduring quest for fulfilment. They say every author writes themselves into the characters of their books. Nick is a character who feels detached emotionally due to his past, and yet through his in laws he truly understands the meaning of family. I mention this because it adds a layer of emotion that fleshes out the character. Nick is not contrived in design, therefore you believe him in, and through all the pain he endures, you want him to survive. This is the test of a great writer, to give a little bit of themselves to the world, even if it's uncomfortable. For this and many other reasons, Tieryas is a great writer.
I don't want to dilute this book by comparing it to another. It stands alone and will measured that way for years to come. The storytelling and amazing detail added from Tieryas's furtive imagination lend themselves perfectly to the silver screen. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this in the cinema in the next 5 years. A fantastic read for anyone whose frustration in modern literature as reached the point where they're pulling out their hair. There is a new world of great storytelling with us, and that world is bald.
I don't want to dilute this book by comparing it to another. It stands alone and will measured that way for years to come. The storytelling and amazing detail added from Tieryas's furtive imagination lend themselves perfectly to the silver screen. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this in the cinema in the next 5 years. A fantastic read for anyone whose frustration in modern literature as reached the point where they're pulling out their hair. There is a new world of great storytelling with us, and that world is bald.
abookishaffair's review against another edition
4.0
In "Bald New World," author Peter Tieryas imagines a world where one day everyone wakes up and loses their hair. I've been looking forward to reading this book after I read Liu's "Watering Heaven," which I really loved. This book is a full length novel rather than short stories as "Watering Heaven" was but all of the elements that I loved about "Watering Heaven" are present and accounted for. I love a good sci fi tale and this definitely fit the bill. Liu is definitely one to watch when it comes to sci fi and dystopian tales.
World building is always really important to me when it comes to sci fi and this book has it in spades. I really appreciated the way that Liu was able to "normalize" some of the strange things in this book. First off, the book opens with our main character, Nick, waking up and discovering that he has lost all of his hair and he realizes very quickly that he's not the only one. Super weird, right? But Liu is able to do some fancy writing footwork to make this feel completely understandable. There is a lot of good detail that made it very easy to picture what was happening in the book. It reminded me again of Murakami's writing, one of my favorite masters of the extraordinary, high praise to be sure!
There is a lot to like about this book! This book also gives you a good chance for some armchair traveling. A lot of the book takes place in Korea, which I loved reading about. I loved all of the little details that brought the futuristic setting to life. It was subtle but really vivid at the same time. I also liked the writing style as I did with "Watering Heaven." This book is not just about the strange new world that Nick finds himself living in. There is also a great storyline about what Nick, himself, is going through in his personal life so this book has something more than just the sci fi/ dystopian angle! Overall, this is a great book if you're looking for sci fi with great detail!
World building is always really important to me when it comes to sci fi and this book has it in spades. I really appreciated the way that Liu was able to "normalize" some of the strange things in this book. First off, the book opens with our main character, Nick, waking up and discovering that he has lost all of his hair and he realizes very quickly that he's not the only one. Super weird, right? But Liu is able to do some fancy writing footwork to make this feel completely understandable. There is a lot of good detail that made it very easy to picture what was happening in the book. It reminded me again of Murakami's writing, one of my favorite masters of the extraordinary, high praise to be sure!
There is a lot to like about this book! This book also gives you a good chance for some armchair traveling. A lot of the book takes place in Korea, which I loved reading about. I loved all of the little details that brought the futuristic setting to life. It was subtle but really vivid at the same time. I also liked the writing style as I did with "Watering Heaven." This book is not just about the strange new world that Nick finds himself living in. There is also a great storyline about what Nick, himself, is going through in his personal life so this book has something more than just the sci fi/ dystopian angle! Overall, this is a great book if you're looking for sci fi with great detail!
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