Scan barcode
adrianhon's review against another edition
4.0
Several tremendously smart and funny stories in this collection, including:
Submarines by Han Song
What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear by Baoshu (extraordinarily good)
The Robot Who Liked to Tell Tall Tales by Fei Dao (Liu compares this to Calvino, but the more obvious inspiration is Stanislaw Lem)
The Snow of Jinyang by Zhang Ran (absolutely hilarious yet also a very smart take on the old “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court” genre)
The First Emperor’s Games by Ma Boyong (this shouldn’t work but it absolutely does, and has some OG videogame knowledge)
Coming of the Light by Chen Qiufan (wasn’t wholly convinced but it’s very well written)
...
Though I realise these are not presented as a representative selection of Chinese sci-fi (if such a thing were possible), or even a “best of” (ditto), I can’t help but wonder at a number of trends:
- Why is there so much historical fiction? I don’t see the same thing in western sci-fi. Is it because the US is a much young country?
- There are a *lot* of nagging wives. It’s not a good look, folks.
- Interesting range in the background of authors. Lots of philosophers and historians and economists.
Submarines by Han Song
What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear by Baoshu (extraordinarily good)
The Robot Who Liked to Tell Tall Tales by Fei Dao (Liu compares this to Calvino, but the more obvious inspiration is Stanislaw Lem)
The Snow of Jinyang by Zhang Ran (absolutely hilarious yet also a very smart take on the old “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court” genre)
The First Emperor’s Games by Ma Boyong (this shouldn’t work but it absolutely does, and has some OG videogame knowledge)
Coming of the Light by Chen Qiufan (wasn’t wholly convinced but it’s very well written)
...
Though I realise these are not presented as a representative selection of Chinese sci-fi (if such a thing were possible), or even a “best of” (ditto), I can’t help but wonder at a number of trends:
- Why is there so much historical fiction? I don’t see the same thing in western sci-fi. Is it because the US is a much young country?
- There are a *lot* of nagging wives. It’s not a good look, folks.
- Interesting range in the background of authors. Lots of philosophers and historians and economists.
theslowreaderr's review against another edition
3.0
3.8
Phew! It took me awhile to finish this short story collection of Chinese SF but I'm glad I took my time with it. For those who don't really read SF like me, you'll find some of the stories a bit hard to follow as it can be quite dense in regards to science terms and information. Other than that, I really enjoyed some of the stories in here and even marked my favourites down at the content page!
It's definitely a great collection for those who are looking to start reading Chinese SF or just wanting to read more diversely when it comes to SF.
Favourites:
- Goodnight, Melancholy by Xia Jia
- What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear by Baoshu
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge by Anna Wu
- A History of Future Illnesses by Chen Qiufan
- (ESSAY) Science Fiction: Embarrassing No More by Fei Dao
Phew! It took me awhile to finish this short story collection of Chinese SF but I'm glad I took my time with it. For those who don't really read SF like me, you'll find some of the stories a bit hard to follow as it can be quite dense in regards to science terms and information. Other than that, I really enjoyed some of the stories in here and even marked my favourites down at the content page!
It's definitely a great collection for those who are looking to start reading Chinese SF or just wanting to read more diversely when it comes to SF.
Favourites:
- Goodnight, Melancholy by Xia Jia
- What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear by Baoshu
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge by Anna Wu
- A History of Future Illnesses by Chen Qiufan
- (ESSAY) Science Fiction: Embarrassing No More by Fei Dao
exterus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.5
amused_peanut2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.25
spacerookie's review against another edition
4.0
Probably a 3.5 stars overall. It made me think more than it made me feel.
I most enjoyed:
~ Submarines, Han Song
~ What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear, Baoshu
~ The New Year Train, Hao Jingfang
~ The First Emperor's Games, Ma Boyong
~ Reflection, Gu Shi
~ A History of Future Illnesses, Chen Quifan
I most enjoyed:
~ Submarines, Han Song
~ What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear, Baoshu
~ The New Year Train, Hao Jingfang
~ The First Emperor's Games, Ma Boyong
~ Reflection, Gu Shi
~ A History of Future Illnesses, Chen Quifan
athryn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
What a fantastic anthology. I would say that not all of the stories were a 100% hit with me, possibly because of me missing cultural context, but I really did love this collection overall. A great look at science fiction from a completely different cultural point of view than my own.
bookaneer's review against another edition
3.0
Ah, Ken Liu, I guess our taste differs this time. I enjoyed [b:Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation|28220730|Invisible Planets Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation|Ken Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463570833l/28220730._SY75_.jpg|48249401] more than this one. The stories in there are more touching. This one felt a bit more distant, and I am not sure why there are stories with so many Western pop culture references in there. Good effort, nonetheless.
The highlights from this anthology for me:
"Goodnight, Melancholy" by Xia Jia
Any AI/robot fans need to read this. Hands down, Xia Jia, you are one of the best short fiction writers in my book.
"Moonlight" by Liu Cixin
Amusing what-ifs. Going straight to my Hugo ballot, this one is.
"What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear" by Baoshu
The reverse time arrow idea might not be original, but the way it was stitched together still makes it endearing.
"Coming of the Light" and "A History of Future Illnesses" by Chen Qiufan
These are two separate stories but both have the same somewhat disturbing, often droll and very possible scenarios in our tech-laden and device-dependent world.
There are three essays at the end and I absolutely enjoyed the first one: "A Brief Introduction to Chinese Science Fiction and Fandom" by Regina Kanyu Wang. I did not know there were quite a few established SF magazines and at least two SF organizations with regular cons as well as various clubs in China. We barely have one club in Indonesia (that I know).
The highlights from this anthology for me:
"Goodnight, Melancholy" by Xia Jia
Any AI/robot fans need to read this. Hands down, Xia Jia, you are one of the best short fiction writers in my book.
"Moonlight" by Liu Cixin
Amusing what-ifs. Going straight to my Hugo ballot, this one is.
"What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear" by Baoshu
The reverse time arrow idea might not be original, but the way it was stitched together still makes it endearing.
"Coming of the Light" and "A History of Future Illnesses" by Chen Qiufan
These are two separate stories but both have the same somewhat disturbing, often droll and very possible scenarios in our tech-laden and device-dependent world.
There are three essays at the end and I absolutely enjoyed the first one: "A Brief Introduction to Chinese Science Fiction and Fandom" by Regina Kanyu Wang. I did not know there were quite a few established SF magazines and at least two SF organizations with regular cons as well as various clubs in China. We barely have one club in Indonesia (that I know).
spietro's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the short stories. Could definitely have skipped the essays at the end.
tejaswininaik's review against another edition
4.0
Brilliant collection of stories. Each different from the other. Would prefer Asian Chinese fiction any time over the ones coming from the west