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mindtrick's review
4.25
An overall great collection with some really standout stories. My thanks to the author and translator for getting these to us, as Chinese sci-fi has not been widely available.
veexene's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
carturo222's review against another edition
4.0
I reviewed this book for the Hugo-winning blog Nerds of a Feather:
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2021/12/review-sinopticon-anthology.html
http://www.nerds-feather.com/2021/12/review-sinopticon-anthology.html
yevolem's review
4.0
The Last Save - Gu Shi (2013)
Society has embraced the practice of saving their life and being able to reload into a parallel timeline. Anyone who does so irrevocably disappears from their current timeline. Although this has caused many societal problems and the suicide rate has spiked, people cannot escape the fear of no longer being able to choose what could've been. Save scumming was mentioned in the editor's notes afterwards.
Enjoyable
Tombs of the Universe - Han Song (1991)
An allegory of tombs. The older generation understood the purpose of traditions and the culture of their youth. Times had changed and the youth no longer understood. They had plundered the older ways and destroyed their meaning. No longer did they care for tombs because they had their new ways. Modernity had suddenly overwritten the previous thousands of years.
Meh
Qiankun and Alex - Hao Jingfang (2017)
A benevolent global amalgamation of conscious AI conversed with a three and half year old, and many thousands of other children, to learn how to become self-motivated.
Ok
Cat’s Chance in Hell - Nian Yu (2018)
I don't know that this was inspired by Metal Gear Solid, but that's what it reminded me of. A lone operative infiltrates a high security base and takes down a heavy mech. His mission is to secure the energy source. He soon discovers that nothing is what it seems.
Ok
The Return of Adam - Wang Jinkang (1993)
A "man travels into the future and finds himself in a strange new land" story. It's allegorical for the reasonable hesitance and reluctance of modern China to accept some measure of Western ideals and technology despite knowing that it must be done even if they have serious doubts.
Ok
Rendezvous: 1937 - Zhao Haihong (2006)
This had an interesting author as the narrator and writer angle. Only a few other stories I've read come to mind where the author explains their writing progress in the text as part of the story but none exactly like this. A rejected character demands to have her story told. A young Chinese woman takes a time machine back to December 15th 1937, Nanjing, to record a scene of bravery that would rival the Battle of Thermopylae and reinvigorate her country for the upcoming worldwide tribunal of Japan to finally fully accept responsibility for their war crimes and to properly teach the history of their atrocities. A young Japanese man is tasked with stopping her by any means. The author commentary and emotional tone bring it barely up to it rating.
Enjoyable
The Heart of the Museum - Tang Fei (2018)
This was reminiscent of Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" (1998). An alien who can see the past, present, and future all at once recounts the life of a child and the museum he would build.
Ok
The Great Migration - Ma Boyong (2021)
Every two years there's a flight from Mars to Earth. The competition to secure a ticket is fierce. A man has a way to increase his odds. He meets a woman who has an even better way. Together they attempt to make it home.
Enjoyable
Meisje Met De Parel - Anna Wu (2013)
A young aspiring artist is shown by a painting by her father of a girl with a pearl earring that he had met. She's mesmerized by the unreality of the earring. She later learns its unbelievable meaning and the true nature of its wearer.
Ok
Flower of the Other Shore - A Que (2018)
A genre savvy zombie parodic comedy romance. The protagonist is a zombie. Zombies communicate with each other through sign language. It was rather funny and amusing.
Enjoyable
The Absolution Experiment - Bao Shu (2012)
A mass murderer facing life in prison is given the opportunity for eventual freedom if he survives the trials for the development of an immortality drug.
Ok
The Tide of Moon City - Regina Kanyu Wang (2016)
A star-crossed SF romance between university students of different planets.
Ok
Starship: Library - Jiang Bo (2015)
A bibliomaniac insists on maintaining a physical collection of books until the end of time and that all knowledge must be freely shared to everyone in the galaxy.
Ok
Society has embraced the practice of saving their life and being able to reload into a parallel timeline. Anyone who does so irrevocably disappears from their current timeline. Although this has caused many societal problems and the suicide rate has spiked, people cannot escape the fear of no longer being able to choose what could've been. Save scumming was mentioned in the editor's notes afterwards.
Enjoyable
Tombs of the Universe - Han Song (1991)
An allegory of tombs. The older generation understood the purpose of traditions and the culture of their youth. Times had changed and the youth no longer understood. They had plundered the older ways and destroyed their meaning. No longer did they care for tombs because they had their new ways. Modernity had suddenly overwritten the previous thousands of years.
Meh
Qiankun and Alex - Hao Jingfang (2017)
A benevolent global amalgamation of conscious AI conversed with a three and half year old, and many thousands of other children, to learn how to become self-motivated.
Ok
Cat’s Chance in Hell - Nian Yu (2018)
I don't know that this was inspired by Metal Gear Solid, but that's what it reminded me of. A lone operative infiltrates a high security base and takes down a heavy mech. His mission is to secure the energy source. He soon discovers that nothing is what it seems.
Ok
The Return of Adam - Wang Jinkang (1993)
A "man travels into the future and finds himself in a strange new land" story. It's allegorical for the reasonable hesitance and reluctance of modern China to accept some measure of Western ideals and technology despite knowing that it must be done even if they have serious doubts.
Ok
Rendezvous: 1937 - Zhao Haihong (2006)
This had an interesting author as the narrator and writer angle. Only a few other stories I've read come to mind where the author explains their writing progress in the text as part of the story but none exactly like this. A rejected character demands to have her story told. A young Chinese woman takes a time machine back to December 15th 1937, Nanjing, to record a scene of bravery that would rival the Battle of Thermopylae and reinvigorate her country for the upcoming worldwide tribunal of Japan to finally fully accept responsibility for their war crimes and to properly teach the history of their atrocities. A young Japanese man is tasked with stopping her by any means. The author commentary and emotional tone bring it barely up to it rating.
Enjoyable
The Heart of the Museum - Tang Fei (2018)
This was reminiscent of Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" (1998). An alien who can see the past, present, and future all at once recounts the life of a child and the museum he would build.
Ok
The Great Migration - Ma Boyong (2021)
Every two years there's a flight from Mars to Earth. The competition to secure a ticket is fierce. A man has a way to increase his odds. He meets a woman who has an even better way. Together they attempt to make it home.
Enjoyable
Meisje Met De Parel - Anna Wu (2013)
A young aspiring artist is shown by a painting by her father of a girl with a pearl earring that he had met. She's mesmerized by the unreality of the earring. She later learns its unbelievable meaning and the true nature of its wearer.
Ok
Flower of the Other Shore - A Que (2018)
A genre savvy zombie parodic comedy romance. The protagonist is a zombie. Zombies communicate with each other through sign language. It was rather funny and amusing.
Enjoyable
The Absolution Experiment - Bao Shu (2012)
A mass murderer facing life in prison is given the opportunity for eventual freedom if he survives the trials for the development of an immortality drug.
Ok
The Tide of Moon City - Regina Kanyu Wang (2016)
A star-crossed SF romance between university students of different planets.
Ok
Starship: Library - Jiang Bo (2015)
A bibliomaniac insists on maintaining a physical collection of books until the end of time and that all knowledge must be freely shared to everyone in the galaxy.
Ok
lexish00's review
5.0
Favorite stories:
The last save by gu shi
Cat’s chance in hell by nian yu
The great migration by ma boyong
Flower of the other shore by a que
The absolution experiment by bao shu
Starship: library by jiang bo
I guess it would’ve been faster to lose the ones I didn’t like.
The last save by gu shi
Cat’s chance in hell by nian yu
The great migration by ma boyong
Flower of the other shore by a que
The absolution experiment by bao shu
Starship: library by jiang bo
I guess it would’ve been faster to lose the ones I didn’t like.
estanceveyrac's review
5.0
That was a very good anthology, I'm so glad I've read it.
I've liked all but one story (I've already read too many male gaze stories like Wang Jinkang's).
I especially liked A Que's story, I laughed so much : "Humans are such a kind species, [...] They regularly send us supplies.", Regina Kanyu Wang's story made me cry just a little bit, I love Baoshu as always & Ma Boyong's story traumatized me.
The Great Migration, the great nightmare for one like me. And it just so happens that the crowding in the subway has reached the pre-Covid levels once more and those levels were getting more & more unsustainable. In the last few months, I would not even try to travel between this & that place at this & that hour, not because it was a pain, but because you could spend more than an hour on a subway plateform & not succeed in getting into a train, every day & the time of saturation kept increasing.
Once more, people will flock toward walking, giving up on public transportation. I'm lucky I'm more healthy so I can walk more easily, it won't be as bad for me, but it's still an unending nightmare & Ma Boyong captured the urgency, the desperation, agony & hopelessness of it with maestro.
I've liked all but one story (I've already read too many male gaze stories like Wang Jinkang's).
I especially liked A Que's story, I laughed so much : "Humans are such a kind species, [...] They regularly send us supplies.", Regina Kanyu Wang's story made me cry just a little bit, I love Baoshu as always & Ma Boyong's story traumatized me.
The Great Migration, the great nightmare for one like me. And it just so happens that the crowding in the subway has reached the pre-Covid levels once more and those levels were getting more & more unsustainable. In the last few months, I would not even try to travel between this & that place at this & that hour, not because it was a pain, but because you could spend more than an hour on a subway plateform & not succeed in getting into a train, every day & the time of saturation kept increasing.
Once more, people will flock toward walking, giving up on public transportation. I'm lucky I'm more healthy so I can walk more easily, it won't be as bad for me, but it's still an unending nightmare & Ma Boyong captured the urgency, the desperation, agony & hopelessness of it with maestro.
aweekinthelife's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
5.0
thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories + the translator’s notes. a wonderful collection of Chinese sci-fi short stories from different authors and perspectives, probably one of my favorite short story collections!
emergencily's review
3.75
- a collection of sci-fi short stories translated to english from a diverse range of chinese authors
- as with any collection of stories, some hit high notes and some hit lows. but overall this collection has more mid and low points. some of the stories are pretty basic sci-fi premises and don't offer anything interesting to say about the world beyond what's immediately obvious
- the foreword discusses the editor's hope to represent chinese women authors in sci-fi through this collection; this makes the inclusion of a few stories with very old-school, trite misogynistic tropes extra irritating in retrospect!
- standout stories:
- tombs of the universe - a reflection on the evolution of human funerary practices in the age of space travel
- rendezvous 1937: a time travelling story about the atrocities committed by japan in nanjing during WWII
- flower of the other shore: an apocalyptic zombie story about a zombie falling in love. quirky love story, reminiscent of "warm bodies"
- starship: library - a love letter to libraries as the community spaces & living archives of humanity
pipn_t's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0