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A review by ashleympeacock
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation by Ken Liu
4.0
An excellent anthology of Chinese sci-fi. Discovered this because of Folding Beijing, which I read several years before. It was delightful to read again. I also quite enjoyed The Year of the Rat, A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight, Tongtong's Summer, and Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse.
There were a few I didn't enjoy though. The City of Silence was just a rehash of 1984 that didn't really explore anything new. Mentioning 1984 in the story doesn't change the fact that it's the exact same story. Call Girl was very confusing - not sure what that was about, but maybe I need to re-read it. Taking Care of God was very blunt; it felt like the author was shouting in your face with a megaphone instead of letting you discover the story on your own.
Ken Liu did a phenomenal job as a translator/editor. Translations can often be difficult, but all of the stories were well-written and evocatively beautiful.
There were a few I didn't enjoy though. The City of Silence was just a rehash of 1984 that didn't really explore anything new. Mentioning 1984 in the story doesn't change the fact that it's the exact same story. Call Girl was very confusing - not sure what that was about, but maybe I need to re-read it. Taking Care of God was very blunt; it felt like the author was shouting in your face with a megaphone instead of letting you discover the story on your own.
Ken Liu did a phenomenal job as a translator/editor. Translations can often be difficult, but all of the stories were well-written and evocatively beautiful.