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A review by dee9401
Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction by Bao Shu, Gu Shi, Ma Boyong, Zhao Haihong, Wang Jinkang, Tang Fei, Jiang Bo, Regina Kanyu Wang, Han Song, Anna Wu, Nian Yu, Hao Jingfang, A Que
5.0
What a fantastic collection of SF from Chinese authors. I found a recommendation for this work and picked it up end of 2021 and finally started reading it in January 2023. The introduction by Xueting Christine Ni was very good, setting up the stories and process for the book. I liked many of the stories and only a few left me wanting, hence the 5 star rating overall. A good choice for my first five star of the year.
“The Tide of Moon City”, by Regina Kanyu Wang, was one of the best stories in the collection. It reminds me of 70s New Wave in all its best attributes: love, science, politics, friendship, and inner thoughts. All beautifully woven here. A Que’s “Flower of the Other Shore” was also a standout in this volume. At times I grimaced with the parody or fourth wall breaking, but it was a great story well told. I also loved “Starship: Library” by Jiang Bo, and not just because libraries are dear to my heart. So well done.
I really liked Gu Shi’s “The Last Save”, with its cool time travel idea approached from unique perspective. Han Song’s haunting, philosophical “Tombs of the Universe” was excellent and nicely written to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed the very short “Qiankun and Alex” by Hao Jingfang, which explored a fun approach to AI between a machine and a child. A perfect nibble of a story. A more provocative story on AI that is growing more relevant in our age today was Nian Yu’s “Cat's Chance in Hell”. I also really enjoyed Anna Wu’s “Meisje met de Parel”, a thought provoking piece.
“Rendezvous: 1937”, by Zhao Haihong was an important that was hard to follow at the beginning. But, as the story progressed, it made great, and sad, sense. This is the style of work that many on the right would seek to ban today, that explores truth and hard realities.
Of the other stories, “The Return of Adam” by Wang Jinkang was an interesting idea but it had too much exposition. It was an early work by the author and one of the oldest in the collection as a whole, so that might partly contribute to why I didn’t like it is as much as the other stories. I thought Tang Fei’s “The Heart of the Museum” was just a little “too clever”. Ma Boyong’s “The Great Migration” was just okay too. “The Absolution Experiment” by Bao Shu was also an interesting idea but it was too short to work effectively. Immortality stories are very good but they need time to grow and develop.
Overall, I highly recommend this collection of stories.
“The Tide of Moon City”, by Regina Kanyu Wang, was one of the best stories in the collection. It reminds me of 70s New Wave in all its best attributes: love, science, politics, friendship, and inner thoughts. All beautifully woven here. A Que’s “Flower of the Other Shore” was also a standout in this volume. At times I grimaced with the parody or fourth wall breaking, but it was a great story well told. I also loved “Starship: Library” by Jiang Bo, and not just because libraries are dear to my heart. So well done.
I really liked Gu Shi’s “The Last Save”, with its cool time travel idea approached from unique perspective. Han Song’s haunting, philosophical “Tombs of the Universe” was excellent and nicely written to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed the very short “Qiankun and Alex” by Hao Jingfang, which explored a fun approach to AI between a machine and a child. A perfect nibble of a story. A more provocative story on AI that is growing more relevant in our age today was Nian Yu’s “Cat's Chance in Hell”. I also really enjoyed Anna Wu’s “Meisje met de Parel”, a thought provoking piece.
“Rendezvous: 1937”, by Zhao Haihong was an important that was hard to follow at the beginning. But, as the story progressed, it made great, and sad, sense. This is the style of work that many on the right would seek to ban today, that explores truth and hard realities.
Of the other stories, “The Return of Adam” by Wang Jinkang was an interesting idea but it had too much exposition. It was an early work by the author and one of the oldest in the collection as a whole, so that might partly contribute to why I didn’t like it is as much as the other stories. I thought Tang Fei’s “The Heart of the Museum” was just a little “too clever”. Ma Boyong’s “The Great Migration” was just okay too. “The Absolution Experiment” by Bao Shu was also an interesting idea but it was too short to work effectively. Immortality stories are very good but they need time to grow and develop.
Overall, I highly recommend this collection of stories.