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A review by paladinjane
Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation by Ken Liu
5.0
This collection of translated Chinese sci-fi features 16 short stories and 3 essays by 15 different authors. In his introduction, Ken Liu explains that he chose these stories to demonstrate a range of styles, although he does not claim to have created a "representative" or "best of" anthology of Chinese SF. Rather, he selected these stories because he enjoyed them and found them memorable. The essays provide context for the reader on the history of Chinese science fiction, from the early translation of western SF into Chinese, to the political and cultural challenges the genre has faced in China, to the development of the genre in China and its current state.
As Liu notes in his introduction, a couple of these stories are less accessible to western audiences, given that they require an understanding of Chinese political history and culture. I personally loved them, but readers may find them a tad challenging. As a whole, I thought the stories in this anthology were fascinating and delightful. Some were funny, some were deeply philosophical, and some were heartbreaking. In this anthology, you'll find time travel, alternate history, and Black Mirror-esque explorations of technology, as well as complex reflections on climate change, Chinese and global politics, and the self.
A few of my favorite stories include:
Baoshu's "What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear," a devastating story of love and survival as the protagonists watch their world descend into fear and insecurity. It involves time travel, of a sort: while all the characters live their lives forward, the events around them unfold backwards through about 70 years of Chinese history.
Liu Cixin's "Moonlight," in which a man is contacted by his future self to ask him to save the world from climate change, only for there to be unintended consequences.
Chen Qiufan's "A History of Future Illnesses," which explores a number of strange future illnesses brought on by changes in our world.
I highly recommend this anthology, which I think I enjoyed even more than Invisible Planets, Liu's earlier anthology of Chinese SF stories in translation. That's saying a lot, because I loved Invisible Planets. This is already one of my favorite books of the year.
As Liu notes in his introduction, a couple of these stories are less accessible to western audiences, given that they require an understanding of Chinese political history and culture. I personally loved them, but readers may find them a tad challenging. As a whole, I thought the stories in this anthology were fascinating and delightful. Some were funny, some were deeply philosophical, and some were heartbreaking. In this anthology, you'll find time travel, alternate history, and Black Mirror-esque explorations of technology, as well as complex reflections on climate change, Chinese and global politics, and the self.
A few of my favorite stories include:
Baoshu's "What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear," a devastating story of love and survival as the protagonists watch their world descend into fear and insecurity. It involves time travel, of a sort: while all the characters live their lives forward, the events around them unfold backwards through about 70 years of Chinese history.
Liu Cixin's "Moonlight," in which a man is contacted by his future self to ask him to save the world from climate change, only for there to be unintended consequences.
Chen Qiufan's "A History of Future Illnesses," which explores a number of strange future illnesses brought on by changes in our world.
I highly recommend this anthology, which I think I enjoyed even more than Invisible Planets, Liu's earlier anthology of Chinese SF stories in translation. That's saying a lot, because I loved Invisible Planets. This is already one of my favorite books of the year.