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sisanmo's review against another edition
3.0
As written in the preview, this book is a sort of experiment. What does it happen when Iraqi writers who usually do not deal with science fiction, to imagine the country in 2103 ad? Some stories are more interesting than other, of course, this is a 3.5 stars book. However, its value in my opinion lies on the fact that it constitutes an important testimony of Iraqi science fiction. It comes from a country that, due to its troubled history, has a very poor scene in terms of sci-fi. Once someone argued that it is really hard to imagine alternative realities when the one in which you live is already escaping any commonplace framing.
Read it, but do not judge it too hard. I think it deserves your understanding.
Read it, but do not judge it too hard. I think it deserves your understanding.
edriessen's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting read. It is a collection of (scifi) short stories set ~100 years after the invasion of Iraq by the west. As scifi is often an extrapolation of current events, these stories extrapolate elements of contemporary life in the country. It is interesting because most of my previous scifi reads were either based on technological developments (e.g. MIT's Twelve Tomorrows) or space. The stories in Iraq + 100 discuss refreshing and sometimes sad themes. I also didn't expect to read a story that should make you want to go vega(n).
theanxiousbookworm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
4.0
jimmacsyr's review against another edition
2.0
A couple of the stories had that short story hook… but several did not. Interesting collection…in that you see how some assumptions regarding turnabouts.
Not sure science fiction is a good description for sone of the stories… more speculative fiction. A couple of actual sci-fi in the bunch, however.
Not sure science fiction is a good description for sone of the stories… more speculative fiction. A couple of actual sci-fi in the bunch, however.
librarian_of_trantor's review against another edition
3.0
In the afterword the editor talked about SF being as much about the time in which it is written as the future that it is written about. That is certainly the case for this collection. I really got a sense of how these Iraqi authors view the past, present, and future of their country. But only one of the stories, "Baghdad Syndrome", was really good SF.
rpcroke's review against another edition
5.0
I very much enjoyed this. There are one or two stories that are not as good as the others but overall it's a fun (?) and interesting read. Clearly there are a lot of tropes and archetypes that are slightly different than what you generally read. Also, it was really interesting to see the divergent takes on the war and how it affects Iraqi society.
juliaz_13's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think I have enough context on contemporary Iraqi life to really appreciate this. Some of the writing was clunky but I can't tell if that has to do with the translation or not.
pipn_t's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
bespectacled's review
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
2.5