Reviews with content warning for Death - Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century

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Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu

10 reviews

30something_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.75

These visions of modern life wrestle with themes of death and technological consequences, guilt and sexuality, and unmask the contradictions that exist within all of us.

There are some absolute bangers in this collection of short stories.*
*Edit: I actually just increased the star rating. The more that I think about it, every one of these short stories were bangers in their own right. I was trying to come up with what I may not have liked but even the story that I liked least had some phenomenal moments that made my skin crawl so like... bravo?

I think the ones that resonated the most with me were:

Pre-simulation Consultation XF007867- This is like the darker side of the holodecks from Star Tek.
Time Cubes- A dystopian nightmare, honestly.
#ClimbingNation- Me, a non-thriller reader: this would be an amazing plot for a Thriller novel. I will always support women's wrongs.
Twenty Hours- Remember that Netflix show, Altered Carbon? But make it with 3D printers and the weird middle-aged white couple next door.
Bridezilla- Actually this one reminded me of an essay titled "We Swarm" by Sabrina Imbler in How Far the Light Reaches where they are discussing salps (which kind of have a similar if not entirely more benign description as the sea monster in this short story.) Totally unrelated I guess but I think about that essay a lot.

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vincci's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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? It's complicated

3.5

I don't usually read short stories,nor do I read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy, and felt myself oscillating between "not getting it" and "getting it" as I was reading this book. Sometimes, the stories (which almost always ended with a bit of a cliffhanger) felt too short to fully develop the plot and characters. Other times, this felt like it was what made the stories so clever, as it was left up to the reader to fill in the gaps. Pre-Simulation Consultation XF007867, #ClimbingNation, and Do You Remember Candy were my favourites.

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dredgeful_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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madelaine__grace's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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tinamayreads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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rorikae's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

'Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century' by Kim Fu is a lightly speculative short story collection that has a few standout stories and a number that I wished had gone a little bit further. I would consider this a literary fiction collection with speculative elements, often just a slightly enhanced version of our everyday lives. Fu tackles a number of subjects including grief, climate change, and abusive relationships. My favorites in the collection were those that had a little more time to develop or clearly cut to the point immediately. The collection starts with one of my favorite stories, 'Pre-Simulation Consultation XF007867,' which discusses grief and virtual reality. The collection ends with my favorite story in the entire collection, 'Do You Remember Candy,' which deals with the fallout when people can suddenly no longer derive enjoyment from eating food and how one woman seeks to recreate these lost experiences for others. Two other stories that stood out to me in the middle of the collection include, 'Twenty Hours,' which questions what one couple would do if they had a printer that would reprint them, consciousness and all, if they were to die and 'June Bugs,' where a woman fleeing an abusive relationship finds herself plagued by an infestation of June bugs at her new home.
My favorite aspects of Fu's stories are the creative ideas and how she utilizes them to explore difficult subjects. I do wish that many of these stories went further. Some were rather quick and felt as if they were getting to the true meaning of what was happening right before they abruptly ended. Though I would read more of Fu's stories in the future, I think I would seek them out individually instead of seeking out an entire collection. The pieces I highlighted are great stories that really make you think and I would highly recommend them, even if I wouldn't recommend the full collection itself to everyone. I would be interested in Fu's longer works as I think when given the time to really explore her ideas, her stories flourish.

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kb_sherman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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daniellekat's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

5.0

The best collection of short stories I have ever read. The stories were interesting and thought provoking without having to be over analyzed. The only story I didn’t like was June Bugs, just because the ending was rushed and a little lack lustre compared to the rest of the collection. Kim Fu is an excellent writer and I cannot recommend this book enough.

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marissab's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A perfect weird blend of surreal premises and real emotions

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

3.75

I’m kind of struggling to figure out how much I enjoyed this one, because I did enjoy it— Just not as much as I thought I would. There were a few stories that really stood out to me while others felt a little lackluster, though I didn’t dislike any of them. I really enjoyed the elements of fantastical horror that was infused into most (if not all) of the stories to create this unsettling intimacy. It certainly helps that Fu’s prose is wonderful to highlight that these “lesser known monsters” are, indeed, not hidden from us but very much so living among and in us. I’d say it’s worth checking out this collection if you want something a little off the beaten path.

I might revisit this collection again in the near future. I think I might enjoy it more a second time around.

My favorites were “Pre-Simulation Consultation XF007867,” “Twenty Hours,” “In This Fantasy” (this may have been my favorite), “Scissors,” and “June Bugs.”

I should also note for the short story, “June Bugs,” this focuses on an incredibly toxic relationship that might be triggering for some. If you’re also not a fan of insects, you’ll probably want to skip this story because it will make your skin crawl.

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