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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
a really interesting collection of short stories. a weird fascination with ants. a bizarre fixation on punishing the father of an inventor for the failure of the invention...that one was super strange.
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Though the prose is wonderful, this science fiction book is very heavy on the science. The explanations for the new scientific inventions usually start of interesting, but the longer they go, the more they start to lose me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Collection of short stories by Cixin Liu, the author of the Remembrance Trilogy, one of my favorite sci-fi sagas of all time. This book had a lot of really unique stories set in a near-future earth. Some were better than others, for example I thought that 'For the good of Mankind' and 'Mountain' were spectacular, while I wasn't a huge fan of 'The Wandering Earth' or 'Cannonball'. They were still good, just not really entertaining. However, my one big gripe with the stories in this book, as well as all of Liu's work is the atrocious dialogue. I don't know if it's something that's lost in translation, or is just the style in China, but every casual conversation that isn't exposition is cringe-worthy. However, this doesn't particularly take away from the stories themselves and they can still be enjoyed as a whole. I look forward to Liu's future work.
adventurous
Women are written weirdly; stories are interesting but concepts get a bit repetitive I think; but this collection is permeated with love for our planet and that is always my cup of tea
These short stories deals with such a huge scale of time and space. Thousands and thousands of years and the far reaches of the universe. The ebs and flow of humanity, how we deal with alien encounters, how we deal with ourselves. Simulatenously traumatizing and hopeful at the same time. All of the protagonist are men. Most POV are pretty flat/the every man? Doesnt have a lot of female characters. Very interesting thoughts and theories on where tech and soDeals with huge time scale. Thousands and thousands of years. Ebs and flow of humanity. Simulatenously traumatizing and hopeful at the same time. All of the protagonist are men. Most are pretty flat/the every man? Doesnt have a lot of female characters. Very interesting thoughts and theories on where tech and society will be.
Wandering Earth - watched both movie one and two before reading the short story. The written story is such a tiny glimpse into the world being built by the movie
Mountain - cool concept, fun to see the possible changes in discoveries based on different starting factors. A little unweildy in execution/exposition, the sense of time scale is ginormous
Sun of China - feels a tad bit propagandistic, but also strangely hopeful, fun spin of the village boy goes into the world
For the Benefit of Mankind - author is starting to have fun with the concepts, its interesting and depressing to see Capitalism pushed to the extreme
Curse 5.0 - wild application of AI programming pushed to the limits seen through the curse iteration, whacky author self inserts, but why oh why must the two female characters that touch the curse meet their end that way
Micro-era - where we go miniature instead, it is hard for me to believe that micro era doesnt have its own problems, the destruction of bank at the end confuses me, also is curious as to the impact of macro human trying to reintroduce a lot of pre micro-era species and what effect that would have on the society
Devourer - surprisingly poignant? Especially the part re: ant society/history, but also DINOSAURS
Taking Care of God - a bit too preachy and too "you must take care of those who came before you" for my taste, I already get that from my family
With Her Eyes - this just makes me so sad, how does she not go crazy yet
Cannonball - very amusing as a concept, seems like it ties in with With Her Eyes, quite curious as to how one person can get so much power to see his imagine into fruition and get the sole blame for when it goes wrong
Wandering Earth - watched both movie one and two before reading the short story. The written story is such a tiny glimpse into the world being built by the movie
Mountain - cool concept, fun to see the possible changes in discoveries based on different starting factors. A little unweildy in execution/exposition, the sense of time scale is ginormous
Sun of China - feels a tad bit propagandistic, but also strangely hopeful, fun spin of the village boy goes into the world
For the Benefit of Mankind - author is starting to have fun with the concepts, its interesting and depressing to see Capitalism pushed to the extreme
Curse 5.0 - wild application of AI programming pushed to the limits seen through the curse iteration, whacky author self inserts, but why oh why must the two female characters that touch the curse meet their end that way
Micro-era - where we go miniature instead, it is hard for me to believe that micro era doesnt have its own problems, the destruction of bank at the end confuses me, also is curious as to the impact of macro human trying to reintroduce a lot of pre micro-era species and what effect that would have on the society
Devourer - surprisingly poignant? Especially the part re: ant society/history, but also DINOSAURS
Taking Care of God - a bit too preachy and too "you must take care of those who came before you" for my taste, I already get that from my family
With Her Eyes - this just makes me so sad, how does she not go crazy yet
Cannonball - very amusing as a concept, seems like it ties in with With Her Eyes, quite curious as to how one person can get so much power to see his imagine into fruition and get the sole blame for when it goes wrong
This is an amazing collection of Sci-Fi novellas from Cixin Liu.
I'm giving it five stars because even if there were two stories I did not like (out of personal taste), the rest was intriguing, thought provoking and impressive - even touching.
They are about essential topics and questions of humankind, they inspire and awe, and sometimes depress. Hard Sci-Fi, easy to enjoy and relate.
Definitely worth reading!
The Wandering Earth 4/5
Mountain 4/5
Of Ants and Dinosaurs 2/5
Sun of China 5/5
Taking Care of Gods 5/5
Curse 5.0 4/5
The Micro-Age 2/5
Devourer 3/5
The Wages of Humanity 3/5
The Longest Fall 5/5
With Her Eyes 5/5
I'm giving it five stars because even if there were two stories I did not like (out of personal taste), the rest was intriguing, thought provoking and impressive - even touching.
They are about essential topics and questions of humankind, they inspire and awe, and sometimes depress. Hard Sci-Fi, easy to enjoy and relate.
Definitely worth reading!
The Wandering Earth 4/5
Mountain 4/5
Of Ants and Dinosaurs 2/5
Sun of China 5/5
Taking Care of Gods 5/5
Curse 5.0 4/5
The Micro-Age 2/5
Devourer 3/5
The Wages of Humanity 3/5
The Longest Fall 5/5
With Her Eyes 5/5