Reviews

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu

pianoman543's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

mcaitycook's review against another edition

4.0

A collection of short stories, full of haunting worlds just slightly stranger than our own, exploring themes like desire and becoming and grief, illustrating many of the horrors and shames and joys of modern life. I particularly loved "Twenty Hours" (about a husband who kills his wife over and over again, knowing that her body will be reprinted by the 3-D bio-printer in their basement), "Scissors" (a sexy, kinky short story about dominance amidst an explicit Cabaret act), and "Do You Remember Candy" (a moderately triggering story about an phenomenon where everyone across the world lost the ability to taste all at once, in which a woman creates personalized conceptual art installations to help those who remember taste their favorite foods again). This collection felt not dissimilar in some ways to Animal Wife, which I read last year, but where that book felt like it built upon fairy tales, this one built upon technology. 

abitliterate's review against another edition

4.0

lots of really strong stories in this one! particularly fond of 'the sandman', 'time cubes', 'scissors', and 'june bugs'.

i read an interview with the author and she described being inspired by ted chiang's stories of your life and others, which tickled me bc that was my last read. i think that has influenced my rating, bc there were points (particularly with the last story) where i could feel some of chiang's style elements coming into play, and also chiang's collection was sooooo perfect to me that this just didn't hit the same in comparison.

really great overall though and a pretty good audiobook experience!

apothecarum's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

gabbi_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

brewsandbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

dialhforhgai's review against another edition

4.0

"The realm of pretend had only just closed its doors to us, and light still leaked through around the edges."

amanda_baird's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

chase0w0's review against another edition

mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

ellenjp's review against another edition

4.0

A really interesting collection. The stories were all captivating, a bit unsettling, and some had a Black Mirror vibe. Pre-Simulation Consultation XF007868, Twenty Hours, and June bugs were the highlights for me.