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dnkboston 's review for:
Speaking Bones
by Ken Liu
I won an ARC of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. My opinions are my own.
Liu is a master world-builder, but more than any other writer I've read, he not only covers a civilization as it stands for one moment, but how it evolves. A LOT of pages are spent explaining not only new technological creations but also the thinking behind the design process. Technologists will chuckle as he explains, basically, object-oriented programming as it might be conceived by a pre-electronic civilization, but Liu's explanations are so clear that even the technologically challenged will find themselves nodding along.
But technology is not only machinery; or, rather, machinery is not limited to our gadgets. The machines Liu concerns himself with throughout the entire series also include language as the construction of ideas and systems of law and, maybe, justice. How those are created, particularly the latter, is the heart of the series as I read it. Spoiler alert: There are many systems, and none of them are perfect. It may also be said that most of them aren't entirely wicked either.
The throughlines in this book come in the form of two characters. We met both in the first book, though one doesn't come into their own until the second book. Some of their actions will make you squirm, but that's in the service, I believe, of a larger point Liu makes: history may simplify with a cohesive narrative, but the truth about people and the events they live through is too complicated to be compressed into one story. The story we choose to live can be an important touchstone for getting us through difficult, "interesting" times, but even that can be pushed only so far. But even with that, stories may be safer refuge than natures, unless we are very lucky.
This is one of the best series I have ever read of any genre. Stop reading this review and go get yourself a copy.
Liu is a master world-builder, but more than any other writer I've read, he not only covers a civilization as it stands for one moment, but how it evolves. A LOT of pages are spent explaining not only new technological creations but also the thinking behind the design process. Technologists will chuckle as he explains, basically, object-oriented programming as it might be conceived by a pre-electronic civilization, but Liu's explanations are so clear that even the technologically challenged will find themselves nodding along.
But technology is not only machinery; or, rather, machinery is not limited to our gadgets. The machines Liu concerns himself with throughout the entire series also include language as the construction of ideas and systems of law and, maybe, justice. How those are created, particularly the latter, is the heart of the series as I read it. Spoiler alert: There are many systems, and none of them are perfect. It may also be said that most of them aren't entirely wicked either.
The throughlines in this book come in the form of two characters. We met both in the first book, though one doesn't come into their own until the second book. Some of their actions will make you squirm, but that's in the service, I believe, of a larger point Liu makes: history may simplify with a cohesive narrative, but the truth about people and the events they live through is too complicated to be compressed into one story. The story we choose to live can be an important touchstone for getting us through difficult, "interesting" times, but even that can be pushed only so far. But even with that, stories may be safer refuge than natures, unless we are very lucky.
This is one of the best series I have ever read of any genre. Stop reading this review and go get yourself a copy.