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samdalefox's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.75
It's hard to describe Ken Liu's writing style and subject matter. It's an easy to read, sci-fi, magical realism, literary, historical fiction, kind of genre. There were several times I looked up specific events referenced and learnt about Chinese and pan-Asian history. I found this incredibly enjoyable, the way history and culture are presented is informative, but in an appeasing way because it's told almost like a fairy tale. I also greatly appeciated the author's notes at the end of the stories with historical features explaining the references and pointing to further reading.
The stories cover difficult themes such as imperialism, industrialisation, migration and immigrant experience, ethical use/misuse and philosophical development of technology, revolution and nationalism, militarianism, philosophy of communication and memory, and censorship, all with respect to Chinese people.
"Every act of communication is a miracle of translation"
The book making habits of select species 4.25⭐
State change 4.75⭐
The perfect match 4.25⭐
Good hunting 4⭐
The literomancer 4.5⭐
Simulacrum 5⭐
The regular 4⭐
The paper menagerie 5⭐
An advanced reader's picture book of comparative cognition 4.25⭐
The waves 4.5⭐
Mono no aware 4.5⭐
All the flavours 3.5⭐
A brief history of the trans Pacific tunnel 4.25⭐
The litigation master and the monkey king 4.75⭐
The man who ended history: a documentary 5⭐
Average = 4.43
Moderate: Colonisation and Classism
Minor: Murder, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Genocide, Confinement, Hate crime, Bullying, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Rape
The stories cover difficult themes such as imperialism, industrialisation, migration and immigrant experience, ethical use/misuse and philosophical development of technology, revolution and nationalism, militarianism, philosophy of communication and memory, and censorship all with respect to Chinese people.dkrish22's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, War, and Medical content
mariopartygod's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Sexual assault, Colonisation, War, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Colonisation, Genocide, Medical content, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Death of parent, Racism, Suicide, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Rape, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Police brutality, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Minor: Dementia and Sexual content
sofiadanielle's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Ken Liu is certainly an author who has undeniable power in his words. Each story has left an impact on me. He created worlds so complete that even the shortest stories included don’t leave the reader feeling not submerged in whatever the setting and plot is.
The intertwining of Asian folklore, futuristic creations and ideals, was something new for me to find in a singular story, never mind a series of them. Liu also doesn’t shy away from gruesome bits in the stories centered around real wars and global conflicts.
Definitely not for the faint of heart, as some topics are heavy and detailed, but I feel that despite these sometimes gory details, the heart of the story- reflectivity on society most of the time- always prevails.
Simply amazing and deeply moving. I won’t be forgetting this read for a long time.
Graphic: Death, Rape, Torture, and War
Moderate: Suicide, Racism, and Xenophobia
kalira's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
It took me a long time to read this anthology, largely because the stories are very good . . . and sometimes, so painful and heavy and immediate that upon finishing I needed to set the book aside and take some time. Both to process the story and to give myself a little emotional space to breathe.
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child death, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Gore, Trafficking, Vomit, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Death, War, Alcohol, Colonisation, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Chronic illness, and Grief
konfx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Genocide, Grief, Murder, and Racism
mikeypwest's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
These stories cover all sorts of genres: magical realism, sci-fi, fantasy (more fantasy-lite), alternate history, and historical fiction (and sometimes a mix of these). Important topics/themes that are touched upon here:
culture (especially when cultures collide), sacrifice, loss, death, identity, unrighteous authority, moral duty, xenophobia, humanity, and relationships.
Most of Liu's stories touch on aspects of Chinese culture in some way. (Liu is a Chinese American). Many touch on the Chinese/American culture dynamic. Others are influenced by Chinese history (and/or Japanese in a couple of cases). A lot of his stories made me dive a bit deeper into that history (and he does provide references for some of them). While I still feel ignorant of much of Chinese history, these stories definitely taught me more than I previously knew.
Liu is a master at what he does here. Each story was compelling in its own way and a few stories here are straight-up haunting. Warning: he does incorporate some HEAVY topics (torture, murder, racism, sexual violence, genocide) as part of his story-telling, but they are not there for shock value but to open our eyes to the broader philosophical and moral meanings/context. I feel like I could spend hours on some of these stories just researching the historical context as well as musing on the moral and philosophical meanings that are present.
Overall, I wouldn't call this book outright "entertaining", but the stories within are at an artistic/literary level that I feel is unmatched (at least I can't remember reading anything so artistically captivating). I will say while not a popcorn read, all of the stories did grab my interest - some in a very intense way. (There is a sci-fi detective story that I felt was a little more of a popcorn story, but it was the outlier here). There are some REALLY fascinating sci-fi premises for his stories as well. All in all, if you want to read some stuff that may make you feel uncomfortable and make you think about the complexities (and dark side!) of humanity, I cannot recommend this book more.
My favorites: Waves, All the Flavors, Mono No Aware, The Man Who Ended History, and The Regular (as an honorary mention).
Moderate: Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Violence
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
These stories incorporate real places and history into science fiction and fantasy. They are raw, unique, heartbreaking, and in many ways, eye opening. While a couple were a bit long or not for me, I had quite a few that I thoroughly enjoyed and could still find appreciation for all of them.
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
maneatingbadger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, and Gun violence
Minor: Suicide, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia