Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Head of Zeus (2019), 480 pages
Description
"The stories span the range from short-shorts to novellas, and evoke every hue on the emotional spectrum. Besides stories firmly entrenched in subgenres familiar to Western SFF readers such as hard SF, cyberpunk, science fantasy, and space opera, the anthology also includes stories that showcase deeper ties to Chinese culture: alternate Chinese history, chuanyue time travel, satire with historical and contemporary allusions that are likely unknown to the average Western reader. While the anthology makes no claim or attempt to be "representative" or "comprehensive," it demonstrates the vibrancy and diversity of science fiction being written in China at this moment. " --Amazon.com.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Zoes_Human
Goodnight, Melancholy by Xia Jia
5 stars
A haunting short story in which Turing machines offer hope and possibility to the those struggling with depression.
Moonlight by Liu Cixin
3 stars
An eco-scifi short about the law of unintended consequences
5 stars
A haunting short story in which Turing machines offer hope and possibility to the those struggling with depression.
Moonlight by Liu Cixin
3 stars
An eco-scifi short about the law of unintended consequences
LibraryThing member fred_mouse
This is a fascinating anthology, with a wide-ranging selection of beautifully written stories. Well recommended.
It doesn't get five stars, because, despite having finished it in the last few days, I can tell you nothing about the stories. The essays about the state of SF in China would need a few
It doesn't get five stars, because, despite having finished it in the last few days, I can tell you nothing about the stories. The essays about the state of SF in China would need a few
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more readings before I hope to remember even half the detail, but they are a much appreciated detail. Show Less
LibraryThing member antao
Dystopian fiction is always a bit frustrating, possibly because, as a depressive, it mirrors the way I catastrophise stupid little problems. I know that that impulse is irrational, so it's weird for an author to essentially explain why it isn't. Too often, dystopian fiction is anti-technology,
Still, it can work. Star Trek's Federation, and Iain M Banks' Culture, have managed to stay honest-to-goodness utopias over the course of multiple stories, without having to crumble just for the sake of creating conflict. Most of their conflict comes from outside the utopia - and there is always an outside to any utopia, of course. But mainly they are not technophobic. They are utopias because they rely upon and trust in technology, rather than demonising it because of how someone might use it.
I think it's telling that the blame for dystopia is so often laid on technology, because if history tells us anything, it's that fascistic and totalitarian societies have been able to force people into submission with nothing more advanced or high-tech than manpower and bits of paper. Star Trek even nods to this - the Cardassians are noted for their filing, something that seems weirdly quaint in a universe of supercomputers. The technology is not the problem - it's the people and their drives.
In the same way that dystopias don't speak to "us", neither do utopias. The pronoun "we" can only ever include some of us - hopefully even "many people", as some of the writers in this Chinese anthology say. What it really all comes down to is "caring about strangers", whether that means other living people who are different from us or people who haven't been born yet, but too few of those with the power to change things - also part of the "we" - are encouraging us to do any such thing. Hence all the dystopias.
Of course, every generation gets the utopia or dystopia it deserves, be it coming from China or coming from any other Western country.
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relying on very conservative, slippery-slope logic. We invent x thing, and years later, society is a trainwreck and we're supposed to blame the invention, rather than the litany of terrible decisions that would have to have been made since its invention. I'm glad that this trend seems to be dying out in fiction, tbh, and that how we actually get to a bad place is seen as worth exploring, rather than just taking as read. Of course, the problem in fiction is that, from a narrative perspective, a utopia doesn't seem particularly interesting. Stories rely on conflict, and utopian societies seek to reduce the need for or the impact of such conflicts. So a writer sitting down to write a story probably prefers an environment and a society that can throw up obstacles, rather than one that tries not to.Still, it can work. Star Trek's Federation, and Iain M Banks' Culture, have managed to stay honest-to-goodness utopias over the course of multiple stories, without having to crumble just for the sake of creating conflict. Most of their conflict comes from outside the utopia - and there is always an outside to any utopia, of course. But mainly they are not technophobic. They are utopias because they rely upon and trust in technology, rather than demonising it because of how someone might use it.
I think it's telling that the blame for dystopia is so often laid on technology, because if history tells us anything, it's that fascistic and totalitarian societies have been able to force people into submission with nothing more advanced or high-tech than manpower and bits of paper. Star Trek even nods to this - the Cardassians are noted for their filing, something that seems weirdly quaint in a universe of supercomputers. The technology is not the problem - it's the people and their drives.
In the same way that dystopias don't speak to "us", neither do utopias. The pronoun "we" can only ever include some of us - hopefully even "many people", as some of the writers in this Chinese anthology say. What it really all comes down to is "caring about strangers", whether that means other living people who are different from us or people who haven't been born yet, but too few of those with the power to change things - also part of the "we" - are encouraging us to do any such thing. Hence all the dystopias.
Of course, every generation gets the utopia or dystopia it deserves, be it coming from China or coming from any other Western country.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Islandmum84
My first dip into Chinese Science Fiction and I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology. “What shall pass in kinder appear” was so I touched by this story it pulled all my heart string. There are stories that makes you think a lot about our current situations especially of our dependency on
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technology. I will definitely be on the look for more Chinese Science Fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member MusicalGlass
Splendidly engaging modern SciFi from China that stretches and rearranges time, mashes up past and future, matches clever, creative story telling with human thought and feeling. Great collection.
LibraryThing member mykl-s
This is one I read some time ago and cannot recall enough about to review, not even whether the stories were alike or different from the kind of sci-fi stories I was familiar with.
LibraryThing member SChant
Like most anthologies it's a mixed bag. There are a few decent stories but generally I found it underwhelming.
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Anthology — 2020)
Ignyte Award (Shortlist — 2020)
Language
Original language
Chinese
Physical description
7.76 x 5.12 inches
ISBN
1788548124 / 9781788548120