Call number
Genres
Publication
London : Head of Zeus, 2017.
Pages
383
Description
"Thirteen intriguing visions of the future from China"--Cover."The thirteen stories in this collection...add up to a strong and diverse representation of Chinese SF. Some have won awards in translation, some have garnered serious critical acclaim, some have been selected for Year's Best anthologies, and some are simply Ken Liu's personal favorites.To round out the collection, there are several essays from Chinese scholars and authors, plus an illuminating introduction by Ken Liu."--Book jacket."Award-winning translator and author Ken Liu presents a collection of short speculative fiction from China. Some stories have won awards (including Hao Jingfang's Hugo-winning novella, Folding Beijing); some have been included in various 'Year's Best' anthologies; some have been well reviewed by critics and readers; and some are simply Ken's personal favorites. Many of the authors collected here (with the obvious exception of New York Times bestseller Liu Cixin's two stories) belong to the younger generation of 'rising stars'. In addition, three essays at the end of the book explore Chinese science fiction. Liu Cixin's essay, The Worst of All Possible Universes and The Best of All Possible Earths, gives a historical overview of SF in China and situates his own rise to prominence as the premier Chinese author within that context. Chen Qiufan's The Torn Generation gives the view of a younger generation of authors trying to come to terms with the tumultuous transformations around them. Finally, Xia Jia, who holds the first Ph.D. issued for the study of Chinese SF, asks What Makes Chinese Science Fiction Chinese?" -- Publisher's description… (more)
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Anthology — 2017)
The A.V. Club best books (2016)
Language
Original language
Chinese
Physical description
383 p.; 7.9 inches
ISBN
9781786692788
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User reviews
LibraryThing member chaiya
I felt fascinated, terrified, and hopeful after reading these stories. The window into Chinese science fiction provided by this anthology is rich and varied. I particularly appreciated the story "The City of Silence" by Ma Boyang -- the possible future of censorship is clear, and it is terrifying.
LibraryThing member santhony
I recently read Cixin Liu’s science fiction Three Body Problem trilogy, and was pretty much blown away. The second book in the series, The Dark Forest, may be the finest science fiction work I have ever read (and I’ve read hundreds). I was anxious to read more of his work along with other
Liu’s writing is clearly in the genre of classical science fiction, with interstellar travel, alien species and good hard science fiction technology. I was somewhat disappointed with the work of the other authors. The translator of this work, Ken Liu, explained in his introduction the various sub-genres of Chinese science fiction, with which I was not familiar. Whereas, Cixin Liu fits very comfortable in my understanding of what encompasses science fiction, most of the other short stories didn’t register as science fiction to me at all. In addition, there were recognizable cultural aspects of most of the other work that do not appear in Liu’s work. Aside from the short story Folding Beijing, and Liu’s contributions, I was pretty much underwhelmed.
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recognized Chinese science fiction authors and purchased a collection of short stories as soon as I found it. Liu’s writing is clearly in the genre of classical science fiction, with interstellar travel, alien species and good hard science fiction technology. I was somewhat disappointed with the work of the other authors. The translator of this work, Ken Liu, explained in his introduction the various sub-genres of Chinese science fiction, with which I was not familiar. Whereas, Cixin Liu fits very comfortable in my understanding of what encompasses science fiction, most of the other short stories didn’t register as science fiction to me at all. In addition, there were recognizable cultural aspects of most of the other work that do not appear in Liu’s work. Aside from the short story Folding Beijing, and Liu’s contributions, I was pretty much underwhelmed.
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LibraryThing member Algybama
Overall disappointing aside from Folding Beijing, The City of Silence, and some of the essays at the end. Liu Cixin's massive diss to Robert Sawyer was funny and the different takes of varying candor on The Chinese Dream were interesting.
No hyperlinked table of contents is extremely frustrating and
No hyperlinked table of contents is extremely frustrating and
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backwards. How can you have an anthology without a table of contents? Just now I tried to look up the other story that I liked but I couldn't be bothered to dig through the entire book just to find it. Sad! Show Less
LibraryThing member eldang
An essential introduction to the rather distinctive body of scifi coming out of modern China. It's hard to pin down exactly what the characteristics of "Chinese Science Fiction" are--in fact one of the essays at the end labours that point somewhat--but much more fruitful to show than tell, which
As with any diverse collection I didn't love every single story, but there are so many that I did that I'm already looking forward to getting my hands on the next volume that Liu's edited and translated. And adding books by at least half of the authors to my wishlist.
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this collection does by covering a very wide range. There are stories that are obviously mocking the Party, openly enough that I'm surprised they were allowed to be published, and stories that feel much less political but go deep into technological fantasy or just straight fantasy worlds. And in between there are some social commentary stories that bite just as hard in the US as they must in China.As with any diverse collection I didn't love every single story, but there are so many that I did that I'm already looking forward to getting my hands on the next volume that Liu's edited and translated. And adding books by at least half of the authors to my wishlist.
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LibraryThing member allison_s
Like most anthologies, there were some hits and some misses.
A few personal stand-outs:
Xia Jia's "Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse"
Tang Fei's "Call Girl" (I need to look up some more of her work ASAP)
Cheng Jingbo's "Grave of the Fireflies"
I'm admittedly not a huge Liu Cixin fan but his stories
A few personal stand-outs:
Xia Jia's "Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse"
Tang Fei's "Call Girl" (I need to look up some more of her work ASAP)
Cheng Jingbo's "Grave of the Fireflies"
I'm admittedly not a huge Liu Cixin fan but his stories
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here serve as a good introduction to his longer work, for people who may be interested! Show Less
LibraryThing member antao
Ok, Star Trek has world peace, one world government, and a religious, monetary and hunger free world to boot... woo hoo!! But (and it's a bit of a big but) it doesn't happen without a third world war, massive depopulation, some very handy gadgets and a lot of help from some friendly Vulcans, who
Hao Jingfang's "Folding Beijing", a tale of social stratification, is the best of the lot. Jingfang was able to show us it all comes down to balance, i.e., we need to keep shifting the balance as life never stops changing. The modern idea of making everybody the same is weird and contrary to nature. Celebrate the differences in all things and accept. Utopia is not a place it is an inner frame of mind, nirvana, where good and bad are all one and much depends on a point of view. For instance, to some humans eating meat is a happy experience but it is not a happy experience for the animal who has been treated horribly and slaughtered. So utopia for you is not utopia for the cow. Everything in life is an instance of this balance. The outward world is the way things are for this moment in time but the inner world can be a contrast to that, a detachment of inner peace and acceptance will change everything. The profusion of science fiction writing in China is an expression of the mastering of science and technology, its transformation into an industrial, urban society, and its rise as a new imperialist power, like the US in the 1950s, which ushered in mass science fiction. Both societies worship the idol of technology, and sometimes it seems both sets of writers from both countries lack imagination beyond the tropes of dystopian futures that regurgitate the pessimistic outlooks of a frustrated middle-class that can only imagine societies governed by the law of value, and eternal capitalism.
Roads to Utopia are difficult to find and most visions of the future, particularly Chinese, are dystopian for a reason. And that reason is us, in our ever teeming billions.
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are due to pop in to oversee the transformation of human society in 2063. So, that's something to look forward to, at least. Yay!! (The Vulcany bit, not the Armageddony bit, which, tbh, is likely to be a bit of a downer.)Hao Jingfang's "Folding Beijing", a tale of social stratification, is the best of the lot. Jingfang was able to show us it all comes down to balance, i.e., we need to keep shifting the balance as life never stops changing. The modern idea of making everybody the same is weird and contrary to nature. Celebrate the differences in all things and accept. Utopia is not a place it is an inner frame of mind, nirvana, where good and bad are all one and much depends on a point of view. For instance, to some humans eating meat is a happy experience but it is not a happy experience for the animal who has been treated horribly and slaughtered. So utopia for you is not utopia for the cow. Everything in life is an instance of this balance. The outward world is the way things are for this moment in time but the inner world can be a contrast to that, a detachment of inner peace and acceptance will change everything. The profusion of science fiction writing in China is an expression of the mastering of science and technology, its transformation into an industrial, urban society, and its rise as a new imperialist power, like the US in the 1950s, which ushered in mass science fiction. Both societies worship the idol of technology, and sometimes it seems both sets of writers from both countries lack imagination beyond the tropes of dystopian futures that regurgitate the pessimistic outlooks of a frustrated middle-class that can only imagine societies governed by the law of value, and eternal capitalism.
Roads to Utopia are difficult to find and most visions of the future, particularly Chinese, are dystopian for a reason. And that reason is us, in our ever teeming billions.
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LibraryThing member justchris
I loved [Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation] edited and translated by Ken Liu. The general introduction to the collection and the introduction to each author were so helpful to this clueless western reader. The book contains 13 short stories by 7 authors chosen
The story by Cheng Jingbo was "Grave of the Fireflies," and I wondered whether the title was inspired by the Studio Ghibli movie and/or its source (I'm a devotee, and this movie consistently ranks high in best of animation lists--but absolutely the most depressing movie I think I've ever seen, no rewatching that). Or whether the title in both cases is some cultural referent that I regretfully don't know. "The Year of the Rat" from Chen Qiufan was a gut punch to start the collection, while I found "Tongtong's Summer" by Xia Jia the most charming; Ma Boyang's "The City of Silence" was a wonderful homage to [1984], while "The Circle" by Liu Cixin really reminded me of [The Silent Stars Go By] by James White; I found Tang Fei's "Call Girl" very haunting and Hao's"Folding Beijing" poignant. With the exception of "Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse," all of these stories were previously published in both Chinese and English-language science fiction magazines. However, Ken Liu newly translated all of them for this collection.
It's a great collection. I recommend it.
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by Ken Liu, as well as essays by 3 of the authors about Chinese science fiction. This collection made me really wish I could read Chinese so I could appreciate the originals. I loved everything I read and know I missed so much lacking the cultural context. I especially enjoyed the titular story by Hao Jingfang because it made my little biology nerd heart so happy. I mean, the story wasn't much, and I didn't really get the closing message, but I heart all the different alien biology/society vignettes--so very playful and imaginative. The story by Cheng Jingbo was "Grave of the Fireflies," and I wondered whether the title was inspired by the Studio Ghibli movie and/or its source (I'm a devotee, and this movie consistently ranks high in best of animation lists--but absolutely the most depressing movie I think I've ever seen, no rewatching that). Or whether the title in both cases is some cultural referent that I regretfully don't know. "The Year of the Rat" from Chen Qiufan was a gut punch to start the collection, while I found "Tongtong's Summer" by Xia Jia the most charming; Ma Boyang's "The City of Silence" was a wonderful homage to [1984], while "The Circle" by Liu Cixin really reminded me of [The Silent Stars Go By] by James White; I found Tang Fei's "Call Girl" very haunting and Hao's"Folding Beijing" poignant. With the exception of "Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse," all of these stories were previously published in both Chinese and English-language science fiction magazines. However, Ken Liu newly translated all of them for this collection.
It's a great collection. I recommend it.
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LibraryThing member quondame
An interesting and colorful collection of stories competently translated by Ken Liu. It is interesting how fanciful an author can get when a planet is described in a paragraph or even five. And the stories run from the fanciful to the grim, though more sad and resigned that buoyant or hopeful.