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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 against another edition
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
purpleberryblue's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
3.25
whippycleric's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Very short review of each story. The average across them all for the rating comes to 3.8, so rounded to 4.
Goodnight Melancholy: Fictionalised history of Alan Turing juxtaposed with a modern look at living with AI. Not bad but not amazing, 3 stars.
Moonlight: phone calls from the future to save the world. Huge fun to read and entertainingly depressing. 5 stars
Broken Stars: Had no idea where this sashimi and was a little disappointed whilst reading it but the reveal at the end really made up for it. 4.5 stars
Submarines: It was a nice read but I couldn't grasp the hidden meaning and so it just felt like the story didn't go anywhere. 2 stars
Sallinger and the Koreans: Short, bizarre, but thought provoking. 3.5 stars
Under a Dangling Sky: A bit strange and to much fantasy for me. 2.5 Stars
What happened in kinder light appears: Longer than the others, very enjoyable read especially since I'm a fan of the alternative history genre,and this was it done well. 4.5 stars
The new year train: Very sorry, but itself not really a story but a very good premise to a novel I would read in a second. 4 stars
The robot who liked to tell tall tales: Found this one a little dull unfortunately. 2.5 stars
The snow of Jinyang: Time travel a la cosmonaut in king Arthur's court / Evil dead 3 is always fun and it's done very well here. 5 stars
The resruarant at the end of the universe: quite good but not really my style: 3.5 stars
The first emporrers game: Lots of fun references but not really much plot in my opinoin. 3 stats
Reflection: Strong premise, decent story telling. 4 stars
The brain box: A commentary on the mind vs soul vs body well done. 4.5 stars
Coming of the light: Future tech meats Buddhism and Fantasy, fun and easy to read. 4 Stars
History of future illnesses: A lot of fun and very insightful. 5 stars
Goodnight Melancholy: Fictionalised history of Alan Turing juxtaposed with a modern look at living with AI. Not bad but not amazing, 3 stars.
Moonlight: phone calls from the future to save the world. Huge fun to read and entertainingly depressing. 5 stars
Broken Stars: Had no idea where this sashimi and was a little disappointed whilst reading it but the reveal at the end really made up for it. 4.5 stars
Submarines: It was a nice read but I couldn't grasp the hidden meaning and so it just felt like the story didn't go anywhere. 2 stars
Sallinger and the Koreans: Short, bizarre, but thought provoking. 3.5 stars
Under a Dangling Sky: A bit strange and to much fantasy for me. 2.5 Stars
What happened in kinder light appears: Longer than the others, very enjoyable read especially since I'm a fan of the alternative history genre,and this was it done well. 4.5 stars
The new year train: Very sorry, but itself not really a story but a very good premise to a novel I would read in a second. 4 stars
The robot who liked to tell tall tales: Found this one a little dull unfortunately. 2.5 stars
The snow of Jinyang: Time travel a la cosmonaut in king Arthur's court / Evil dead 3 is always fun and it's done very well here. 5 stars
The resruarant at the end of the universe: quite good but not really my style: 3.5 stars
The first emporrers game: Lots of fun references but not really much plot in my opinoin. 3 stats
Reflection: Strong premise, decent story telling. 4 stars
The brain box: A commentary on the mind vs soul vs body well done. 4.5 stars
Coming of the light: Future tech meats Buddhism and Fantasy, fun and easy to read. 4 Stars
History of future illnesses: A lot of fun and very insightful. 5 stars
bravadette's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
anonymous_blobfish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
4.0
Time travel, AI, technology in all its forms, and a powerful sense of humanity - this collection had it all! Overall this was an excellent collection and I had a great time reading it! Not every story was for me but, unlike other short story collections I’ve read, they were all incredibly well written and the ratings below are subject to my specific taste rather than the actual quality of the work.
Goodnight, Melancholy by Xia Jia - 5/5 ⭐️
A stunning and heartbreaking reflection on technology and mental health that was equally despondent and hopeful. (This was my personal standout, I’m still thinking about it a week after first reading it)
Moonlight by Liu Cixin - 3.75/5 ⭐️
A bleak reflection on our inability to truly alter the future through the lens of climate science.
Broken Stars by Tang Fei - 4/5 ⭐️
I’m sorry - what?? Less sci-fi more surrealist horror, messed up and somehow poetic? Weird shit man.
Submarines by Han Song - 3.5/5 ⭐️
An interesting reflection on poverty and capitalism and on the adaptability of humans.
Salinger and the Koreans by Han Song - 4/5 ⭐️
I really liked this strange “what if” story that posed the question: what if the North Koreans loved Catcher in the Rye?
Under a Dangling Sky by Cheng Jingbo - 4/5 ⭐️
So long and thanks for all the fish!
What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear by Baoshu - 4.5/5 ⭐️
Times change but life stays the same in this beautiful reflection on humanity.
The New Year Train by Hao Jingfang - 3.5/5 ⭐️
I need this technology 😭
The Robot Who Liked to Tell Tall Tales by Fei Dao - 2/5 ⭐️
The first story in this collection that has left me feeling nothing. Not bad, just not for me!
The Snow of Jingyang by Zhang Ran - 2/5 ⭐️
I’m pretty particular about my sci-fi and apparently this was not it for me. Another one that wasn’t bad, just wasn’t for me.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge by Anna Wu - 4/5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this - it felt like an homage to Hitchhikers’ whilst still be an emotional, reflective and unique tale.
The First Emperor’s Games by Ma Boyong - 4/5 ⭐️
What if computers and phones existed in the time of the first Chinese emperor? This might be the funniest story yet!
Reflection by Gu Shi - 4.5/5 ⭐️
Sometimes we see the world but not ourselves.
The Brain Box by Regina Kanyu Wang - 4/5 ⭐️
The concept of an emotional black box is soooo unsettling and this story captures exactly why!
Coming of the Light by Chen Qiufen - 4/5 ⭐️
Religion and technology: the battle of the bastards.
A History of Future Illnesses by Chen Qiufen - 3/5 ⭐️
A not unrealistic examination of the health consequences of technology that should have been interesting but kinda felt like a journal article.
Note: there are also 3 essays on Chinese science fiction writing which I’m not reading this time around but I definitely plan on coming back to. This has been a really great experience and I’m excited to learn more about Chinese sci-fi as an industry (I’m also just too tired/lazy to do it right now lol).
mweis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
This was a really interesting collection! While I ultimately ended up giving this the same star rating as its companion, Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation, I think I did enjoy this more. This book seemed to focus more on what is traditionally seen as Western science fiction, where I remembered the previous book, having more stories that were fantastical or genre blended.
Standouts in this collection for me were:
“Goodnight, Melancholy” by Xia Jia
Standouts in this collection for me were:
“Goodnight, Melancholy” by Xia Jia
- What a way to start the collection! I might have cried a little and definitely broke out the highlighter/annotation pens, but this flips back and forth between someone training artificial intelligence and parts of the life of Alan Turing
“Moonlight” by Liu Cixin
- Such a fascinating concept and the ending was so impactful
“What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear” by Baoshu
- A timeslip of a novel with a star crossed lovers romance at the heart, I wanted to highlight so many lines
“The New Year Train” by Hao Jingfang
- Short but wow did this pack a punch and make me feel so many emotions
“The First Emperor’s Games” by Ma Boyong
- China’s first emperor has leaders of various schools of thought pitch him video games… he legitimately plays The Sims in this one
ishouldreadthat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5