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A review by lindsayb09
Your Utopia: Stories by Bora Chung
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This is my first Bora Chung collection, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. I received it from a horror book subscription and StoryGraph has it tagged as horror, so I think that screwed my expectations. This is definitely a sci-fi collection with some minor hints of horror, so if you're not a sci-fi reader you may leave disappointed.
There are some well-worn sci-fi tropes here (aliens sent to study human life, sentient robots of various types, space refugees, memory scanning). These run the gamut from boring (The Center for Immortality Research) to intriguing (Maria, Gratia Plena) to oddly emotional (Your Utopia, A Song for Sleep). The majority of the ideas are not entirely unique, but they pack a potential emotional punch.
My favorite, and the only one that really borders on horror, was The End of the Voyage. It's a pretty well explored premise -- a pandemic threatens humanity so a group of humans are sent to space as a last hope, but of course that voyage doesn't go to plan. It's a pretty classic zombie story, but the imagery is effectively disturbing, and the ending twist is interesting (if also not very original).
I don't read a lot of sci-fi so I can't say how original some of the other ideas are, but I enjoyed most of them nonetheless. I think if you're intrigued by sci-fi or enjoy your tech with a heavy dose of human emotion, you'll probably connect with these stories. But if you go in expecting horror you'll definitely be disappointed.
There are some well-worn sci-fi tropes here (aliens sent to study human life, sentient robots of various types, space refugees, memory scanning). These run the gamut from boring (The Center for Immortality Research) to intriguing (Maria, Gratia Plena) to oddly emotional (Your Utopia, A Song for Sleep). The majority of the ideas are not entirely unique, but they pack a potential emotional punch.
My favorite, and the only one that really borders on horror, was The End of the Voyage. It's a pretty well explored premise -- a pandemic threatens humanity so a group of humans are sent to space as a last hope, but of course that voyage doesn't go to plan. It's a pretty classic zombie story, but the imagery is effectively disturbing, and the ending twist is interesting (if also not very original).
I don't read a lot of sci-fi so I can't say how original some of the other ideas are, but I enjoyed most of them nonetheless. I think if you're intrigued by sci-fi or enjoy your tech with a heavy dose of human emotion, you'll probably connect with these stories. But if you go in expecting horror you'll definitely be disappointed.