Reviews

Life Does Not Allow Us to Meet by He Xi

hwesta's review

3.5

Weird and interesting but not really my jam. Very focused on humans not getting destroyed by aliens, and included genetically modified humans as possible aliens. The strict rules to prevent interstellar settlers from ever challenging humans seemed likely to backfire and cause resentment and anger, especially with the two kids surviving the genocide at the end. 

Thought provoking either way

smoakwithwifi's review

slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Stilted dialogue, choppy prose, sooo much mansplaining, and an attempt to justify genocide 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide

anna_hepworth's review

2.0

This story did not work for me. While there were interesting ideas buried in this story, I struggled to stay focused. There were many passages that focused on technological info dumping, which didn't work. I also found the writing style clumsy, although that may be the translation rather than the story itself. Character interaction and dialogue was clumsy. 

The world building was interesting, although bleak. The plot was a little hard to follow, so I'm not sure whether it was fractured, or just the way it was presented. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia and Genocide

yathol's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

ghosthermione's review

2.0

slightly better than the other one in this anthology i read. except for the bit about the genocide. 
and fecks sake stop *telling us* everything by telling other characters who should already know the stuff.

readingthething's review

challenging dark medium-paced

1.5

Too much science lesson for a shorter story like this. Very moralistic too, in a, very spelles out way. 

vortacist's review

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.25

batesbarb's review

reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I'm not sure if this is an issue with the original story, or with the translation, but, even at 57 pages, this felt like a slog. The writing was painfully stilted, and the characterization felt like an afterthought at best. There were some interesting ideas about the effects of colonization and the violence of central control over colonized populations, but the execution just did not work for me on any level.  

futurejake's review

2.0

• Interesting ideas but I didn't love the execution
• I thought the first half in particular was dull and could have been cut
• Long passages of science info-dumping in dialogue made my eyes glaze over
• I wasn't at all convinced by the central romantic yearning
• The prose was often very stilted, which I would guess is an issue with the translation

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide

madscientistcat's review

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide