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The Stories of Ibis
In a world where humans are a minority and androids have created their own civilization, a wandering storyteller meets the beautiful android Ibis. She tells him seven stories of human/android interaction in order to reveal the secret behind humanity's fall. The story takes place centuries in the future, where the diminished populations of humans live uncultured lives in their own colonies. They resent the androids, who have built themselves a stable and cultural society. In this brutal time, our main character travels from colony to colony as a “storyteller,” one that speaks of the stories of the past. One day, he is abducted by Ibis, an android in the form of a young girl, and told of the stories created by humans in the ancient past.
The stories that Ibis speaks of are the 7 novels about the events surrounding the announcements of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the 20th to 21st centuries. At a glance, these stories do not appear to have any sort of connection, but what is the true meaning behind them? What are Ibis' real intentions?
The stories that Ibis speaks of are the 7 novels about the events surrounding the announcements of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the 20th to 21st centuries. At a glance, these stories do not appear to have any sort of connection, but what is the true meaning behind them? What are Ibis' real intentions?
422 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
91 people are currently reading
5545 people want to read
About the author
Hiroshi Yamamoto
69 books40 followersHiroshi Yamamoto(山本 弘) was born in 1956 in Kyoto. Began his career with game developers Group SNE in 1987 and debuted as a writer and game designer. Gained popularity with juvenile titles such as February at the Edge of Time and the Ghost Hunter series. His first hardcover science fiction release, God Never Keeps Silent became a sensation among SF fans and was nominated for the Japan SF Award. Other novels include Day of Judgment and The Unseen Sorrow of Winter. Aside from his work as a writer, Yamamoto is also active in various literary capacities as editor of classic science fiction anthologies and as president of To-Gakkai, a group of tongue-in-cheek "experts" on the occult.
--From Haikasoru (publisher)
--From Haikasoru (publisher)
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April 14, 2024
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300713: this made me think of another favourite read earlier this year Ready Player One i enjoyed this one more in the star trek mode of science fiction than the star wars mode of sci-fi in that book. that is to say, as a postmodern interrogation of typical sf tropes on a more intellectual plane...
good sf can examine what it is to be human through representations of the other-than human, as aliens or as androids in this case. this sort of story, here represented by the seven linked stories, the other aspect is that these can be fun, can be threaded in narrative, not subject of philosophy tract. this is how i read these, how i decide these are postmodern, in that they use texts or world/universes from previous sf creative work...
there is also some argument that the ideal form of sf is not a short story- which can be too short, can reduce the ideas to 'tricks'- or a novel- which can be too long and require 'characters' extraneous to ideas- but best sf is the novella form, somewhere between the extremes. i would suggest that linked short stories is a good format, even if the linking is after the fact...
not to say there is no spectacle here, but it is generated more by sensawunda of more usual sf ideas- robots, ai, space hard fiction, cyberpunk, dystopia. there are seven stories held together in a frame of 'educating' the human storyteller, and it is truly only the last two which answer the promise of explaining the division of the world into androids and humans...
story 1, is not sfnal but a moving exploration of an online subculture writing fan-fiction for an sf story not unlike star trek. this spurred me to think about the 'fan' sf culture i left behind growing up, and as an adult the woman i knew still into one. the moral (which our android ibis offers here as after each tale), that the so-called real world is often worthy of 'escape', that there is something true in those communities of fans, was certainly valid for her. this story makes me wish i had been more willing to play...
story 2, is not terribly unique, but suggests the positive possibilities of linking humans through technology, in a sweet, short tale no sf reader would argue with. the moral? well, communication is key to all these stories, and here as 1 it is human to human...
story 3, is one that shows the range of human/machine intelligence interacting, the positive and inevitable negative, with the twist in showing that it is all a matter of educating to become human, to the extent androids want that...
story 4, is the flip side, the side of androids wanted to be human in some way, and is heaviest in hard science narrative, even as it forwards an idea that there is something human never to be fully understood by our most advanced androids...
story 5, is a cute story, something only possible in sf, though maybe more culture-specific (japanese) than any other story. once you get the idea, there is something emotionally potent in the idea of our inventions outlasting our humanity...
story 6, is one of the last two that seem to more directly address how this world of dominant androids and dwindling humans came to be. in some ways, it seems grounded in current demographic problems present in japan first, and maybe all developed countries later: the problem of an aging population and diminishing caregiver resources. solving this with androids does not sound too sfnal. this is one of the best stories, showing that our androids, truly free to develop 'meaning' and 'morality', will not become scary frankenstein monsters but maybe more moral than we weak humans will ever be. this is a touching story...
story 7, the only one ibis says is true, is her story, and by this story of all the ai androids and the world as it has come to be. this is the most sfnal of all, and develops sfnal themes and tropes familiar to almost all readers, and unspoken but solid certainty of sfnal worlds we humans dream of: transcending our limited, human, lives through science, searching out intelligence, new life, new worlds, to boldly go where no one has gone before!- yes this book is more star trek than star wars. i like the optimism. i find this entire book very much of the star trek- maybe typical of all classic sf- worlds of infinite wonder, futures, possibilities, and that it explores them in a pomo way does not mean they are diminished or dismissed. unlike Ready Player One, even in dystopic frame world, there is hope, there is promise, there is value to all the imagined futures through sf...
300713: this made me think of another favourite read earlier this year Ready Player One i enjoyed this one more in the star trek mode of science fiction than the star wars mode of sci-fi in that book. that is to say, as a postmodern interrogation of typical sf tropes on a more intellectual plane...
good sf can examine what it is to be human through representations of the other-than human, as aliens or as androids in this case. this sort of story, here represented by the seven linked stories, the other aspect is that these can be fun, can be threaded in narrative, not subject of philosophy tract. this is how i read these, how i decide these are postmodern, in that they use texts or world/universes from previous sf creative work...
there is also some argument that the ideal form of sf is not a short story- which can be too short, can reduce the ideas to 'tricks'- or a novel- which can be too long and require 'characters' extraneous to ideas- but best sf is the novella form, somewhere between the extremes. i would suggest that linked short stories is a good format, even if the linking is after the fact...
not to say there is no spectacle here, but it is generated more by sensawunda of more usual sf ideas- robots, ai, space hard fiction, cyberpunk, dystopia. there are seven stories held together in a frame of 'educating' the human storyteller, and it is truly only the last two which answer the promise of explaining the division of the world into androids and humans...
story 1, is not sfnal but a moving exploration of an online subculture writing fan-fiction for an sf story not unlike star trek. this spurred me to think about the 'fan' sf culture i left behind growing up, and as an adult the woman i knew still into one. the moral (which our android ibis offers here as after each tale), that the so-called real world is often worthy of 'escape', that there is something true in those communities of fans, was certainly valid for her. this story makes me wish i had been more willing to play...
story 2, is not terribly unique, but suggests the positive possibilities of linking humans through technology, in a sweet, short tale no sf reader would argue with. the moral? well, communication is key to all these stories, and here as 1 it is human to human...
story 3, is one that shows the range of human/machine intelligence interacting, the positive and inevitable negative, with the twist in showing that it is all a matter of educating to become human, to the extent androids want that...
story 4, is the flip side, the side of androids wanted to be human in some way, and is heaviest in hard science narrative, even as it forwards an idea that there is something human never to be fully understood by our most advanced androids...
story 5, is a cute story, something only possible in sf, though maybe more culture-specific (japanese) than any other story. once you get the idea, there is something emotionally potent in the idea of our inventions outlasting our humanity...
story 6, is one of the last two that seem to more directly address how this world of dominant androids and dwindling humans came to be. in some ways, it seems grounded in current demographic problems present in japan first, and maybe all developed countries later: the problem of an aging population and diminishing caregiver resources. solving this with androids does not sound too sfnal. this is one of the best stories, showing that our androids, truly free to develop 'meaning' and 'morality', will not become scary frankenstein monsters but maybe more moral than we weak humans will ever be. this is a touching story...
story 7, the only one ibis says is true, is her story, and by this story of all the ai androids and the world as it has come to be. this is the most sfnal of all, and develops sfnal themes and tropes familiar to almost all readers, and unspoken but solid certainty of sfnal worlds we humans dream of: transcending our limited, human, lives through science, searching out intelligence, new life, new worlds, to boldly go where no one has gone before!- yes this book is more star trek than star wars. i like the optimism. i find this entire book very much of the star trek- maybe typical of all classic sf- worlds of infinite wonder, futures, possibilities, and that it explores them in a pomo way does not mean they are diminished or dismissed. unlike Ready Player One, even in dystopic frame world, there is hope, there is promise, there is value to all the imagined futures through sf...
June 2, 2010
Hiroshi Yamamoto has come up with a clever framing device for compiling several of his short stories into a novel, presenting them as stories one character reads to another. He quickly acknowledges that this is not an original gimmick, name-checking "1,001 Arabian Nights" right away, but it allows him to connect five stories that are otherwise only related in theme, add in a longer story that nudges us toward the big revelations, and then hit us with the sort of post-human characters who can often come across as deliberately confusing , except that we've been well-prepared for the concepts.
The individual stories are very good; they occasionally play on very familiar sci-fi (and sci-fi fandom) archetypes, but are well-executed examples of those ideas. Yamamoto is a shameless but effective borrower; in addition to Scheherazade, he also makes use of Asimov's famed Laws of Robotics, updating them for current ideas about artificial intelligence. The end result is a novel that is very much about ideas, more so than plot and, at times, more so than characterization, but does an excellent job of walking the fine line between dry exposition and frantic future shock.
More so than the other novels I've read in Viz's Haikasoru line, this one seemed to come from a specifically Japanese perspective. In the second half, especially, there are pointed references made to the present and coming crises of population and demographics in Japan (and, likely, other prosperous first-world countries), and while Western post-cyberpunk sci-fi certainly embraces the idea of machine intelligences, it feels very natural coming from a culture that has historically believed that everything in nature (and even many man-made things) has a spirit. Yamamoto doesn't use that as a crutch, though - indeed, as much as he gives his machines a (literally) complex emotional range, he also makes it very clear that their nobility is a combination between cold logic and a design based to an extent on servitude.
Even more than being a story about AIs and how they may evolve, "The Stories of Ibis" is a tribute to the creative impulse, whether it be the drive to create more powerful machines, new forms of life, or stories - and how the last is what makes the others possible, even if those stories are not necessarily "accurate" or predictive.
The individual stories are very good; they occasionally play on very familiar sci-fi (and sci-fi fandom) archetypes, but are well-executed examples of those ideas. Yamamoto is a shameless but effective borrower; in addition to Scheherazade, he also makes use of Asimov's famed Laws of Robotics, updating them for current ideas about artificial intelligence. The end result is a novel that is very much about ideas, more so than plot and, at times, more so than characterization, but does an excellent job of walking the fine line between dry exposition and frantic future shock.
More so than the other novels I've read in Viz's Haikasoru line, this one seemed to come from a specifically Japanese perspective. In the second half, especially, there are pointed references made to the present and coming crises of population and demographics in Japan (and, likely, other prosperous first-world countries), and while Western post-cyberpunk sci-fi certainly embraces the idea of machine intelligences, it feels very natural coming from a culture that has historically believed that everything in nature (and even many man-made things) has a spirit. Yamamoto doesn't use that as a crutch, though - indeed, as much as he gives his machines a (literally) complex emotional range, he also makes it very clear that their nobility is a combination between cold logic and a design based to an extent on servitude.
Even more than being a story about AIs and how they may evolve, "The Stories of Ibis" is a tribute to the creative impulse, whether it be the drive to create more powerful machines, new forms of life, or stories - and how the last is what makes the others possible, even if those stories are not necessarily "accurate" or predictive.
September 1, 2011
Essentially, this is a short story collection framed by another story to make it cohesive, a novel of surprising power.
This is a world where humans have become the minority and machines rule it. There is great fear and anger carried by the humans and they hate the machines, who've become to advanced as to appear human, to act human.
The novel's narrated by a storyteller. He travels between colonies to tell stories, to share movies, as the human world is a much smaller place, sort of stuck in the end of the 20th century, technologically. Quickly he encounters Ibis, an android, whom he tries to fight. He loses, is injured, and she takes him to a machine city, for lack of a better word. There we discover her intentions: She wants to tell him stories.
And so she does. She tells him only stories that are fiction, which we disappear into--leaving Ibis and the narrator behind--and then, after the story is finished, we go back to our distrustful narrator. This process repeats until we come to the only nonfiction story: The story of Ibis' life.
It's hard to judge the writing here, because it may be a translation problem more than a problem of the author. But the actual writing is simply okay. It's not prose that's going to impress you or leave you begging for more, but the stories are quite good. And, more than the individual stories that make up the novel, the shape of the novel is what makes this a worthy read. It's a powerful book, really, about the nature of truth, of language, but, mostly, it's about the power of stories. How stories can heal us, can save us, will change us.
They are stories about the future [though, within the novel, they're the distant past] that reflect so clearly what life is now. It is a book about peace, about the beauty of differences. It is not about tolerating those who are different, but accepting them. Android, robots, AI, or whathaveyou stand in for every minority group to great effect, but they also stand in for themselves, and the fear and distrust many humans carry for the progression of technology.
They speak of our fears, of the fears that lead to tragedies, to racism, to unspeakable evils, and give, in simple and clear terms, the absurdity of these fears. That the other needn't be an aggressor, but may just be another sentience wishing to live, to help others live.
It's a beautiful book, despite the sometimes clumsy writing.
This is a world where humans have become the minority and machines rule it. There is great fear and anger carried by the humans and they hate the machines, who've become to advanced as to appear human, to act human.
The novel's narrated by a storyteller. He travels between colonies to tell stories, to share movies, as the human world is a much smaller place, sort of stuck in the end of the 20th century, technologically. Quickly he encounters Ibis, an android, whom he tries to fight. He loses, is injured, and she takes him to a machine city, for lack of a better word. There we discover her intentions: She wants to tell him stories.
And so she does. She tells him only stories that are fiction, which we disappear into--leaving Ibis and the narrator behind--and then, after the story is finished, we go back to our distrustful narrator. This process repeats until we come to the only nonfiction story: The story of Ibis' life.
It's hard to judge the writing here, because it may be a translation problem more than a problem of the author. But the actual writing is simply okay. It's not prose that's going to impress you or leave you begging for more, but the stories are quite good. And, more than the individual stories that make up the novel, the shape of the novel is what makes this a worthy read. It's a powerful book, really, about the nature of truth, of language, but, mostly, it's about the power of stories. How stories can heal us, can save us, will change us.
They are stories about the future [though, within the novel, they're the distant past] that reflect so clearly what life is now. It is a book about peace, about the beauty of differences. It is not about tolerating those who are different, but accepting them. Android, robots, AI, or whathaveyou stand in for every minority group to great effect, but they also stand in for themselves, and the fear and distrust many humans carry for the progression of technology.
They speak of our fears, of the fears that lead to tragedies, to racism, to unspeakable evils, and give, in simple and clear terms, the absurdity of these fears. That the other needn't be an aggressor, but may just be another sentience wishing to live, to help others live.
It's a beautiful book, despite the sometimes clumsy writing.
November 18, 2010
The Stories of Ibis offers a sparkling, fresh stance on man vs. machine science fiction, proving that the lines between both camps are not so simple to discern. Quite enjoyed the more heady philosophical debates on the role of machines in human lives and vice versa, how both parties rely on one another for companionship, purpose, and evolution. In particular, the idea of death as discussed between the nameless Storyteller and the android Ibis is a compelling one that will linger long after the book is closed. Also, loved how vital the act of storytelling is to this novel. Hiroshi Yamamoto places the writer in a central role as the preserver of human culture and as the bonding link between disparate civilizations. Meta-narrative at its most sci fi - delicious.
Some readers might be turned off by the dense technical writing that accompanies a couple of the short stories. Remember: this is science fiction. Science is a large part of said fiction. Understanding the physics behind the fiction is vital at times andYamamoto explores it with great depth.
Ideal for: sci fi lovers who need a sharp jolt from the genre; current or former philoso-philes who like a good android debate; amateur or professional writers who love to speculate on their influence over these narratives; physics nerds who like reading technical jargon in their spare time.
Some readers might be turned off by the dense technical writing that accompanies a couple of the short stories. Remember: this is science fiction. Science is a large part of said fiction. Understanding the physics behind the fiction is vital at times andYamamoto explores it with great depth.
Ideal for: sci fi lovers who need a sharp jolt from the genre; current or former philoso-philes who like a good android debate; amateur or professional writers who love to speculate on their influence over these narratives; physics nerds who like reading technical jargon in their spare time.
January 19, 2011
There's something about Yamamoto's stories that dampen your emotions and play with them. While reading the seven one-shot stories, it became obvious that all of the narrators had distinct voices that you couldn't help but feel fondness for. I loved all of the characters as if I knew them--it was as if they put their all into the storytelling. I still don't understand it, but whatever it is, it worked.
About the sci-fi aspect of the story, the book revolved around the interactions between a robot with TAI (Truly Artificial Intelligence) and a human storyteller. We don't know the year, but we know it's after 2080. That's almost a century away in the future, but it's not as extremely different as dystopian books go. It's only that humans' population decreased to twenty millions and they've been living in colonies for decades and robots are the bad guys.
It would be a little hard to get into this book if you're not accustomed to sci-fi though I guess this isn't exactly sci-fi hardcore. There were times when I thought the writer was trying to explain to us something, show us what humans are doing wrong in his opinion through the only thing he knows: technology. He seemed to softly be chiding the readers, making them see what they don't want to see. We're creatures of contradiction, of missing logic and reason sometimes. It became glaringly apparent when compared to AI's straightforward kind of thinking.
I loved this book, and I'll see about reading another sci-fi book in the future. Maybe not Star Wars (my cousin would be disappointed, because I don't understand half of the things he says) for now but something a little less hard-core.
--
Lines that touched me:
A man who has spent his whole life fighting and thrived on emerging victorius now found himself up against an enemy he stood no chance of ever defeating. It must have shattered his worldview.
From story 6, "The Day Shion Came".
"It may not be able to understand everything, but we're going to give it everything we have...our joys and sorrows, surprises and fears, friendship and trust, courage and love--everything we've experienced during our four-year voyage."
From story 1, "The Universe on my Hands".
I do not write poetry. It's beyond me, as it demands a certain emotional sensitivity I lack. Sometimes I pretend to be human just for fun. I activate a humanoid reception unit, go outside of myself, and gaze upon the visible spectrum with the unit's two camera eyes.
From story 4, "Black Hole Diver".
About the sci-fi aspect of the story, the book revolved around the interactions between a robot with TAI (Truly Artificial Intelligence) and a human storyteller. We don't know the year, but we know it's after 2080. That's almost a century away in the future, but it's not as extremely different as dystopian books go. It's only that humans' population decreased to twenty millions and they've been living in colonies for decades and robots are the bad guys.
It would be a little hard to get into this book if you're not accustomed to sci-fi though I guess this isn't exactly sci-fi hardcore. There were times when I thought the writer was trying to explain to us something, show us what humans are doing wrong in his opinion through the only thing he knows: technology. He seemed to softly be chiding the readers, making them see what they don't want to see. We're creatures of contradiction, of missing logic and reason sometimes. It became glaringly apparent when compared to AI's straightforward kind of thinking.
I loved this book, and I'll see about reading another sci-fi book in the future. Maybe not Star Wars (my cousin would be disappointed, because I don't understand half of the things he says) for now but something a little less hard-core.
--
Lines that touched me:
A man who has spent his whole life fighting and thrived on emerging victorius now found himself up against an enemy he stood no chance of ever defeating. It must have shattered his worldview.
From story 6, "The Day Shion Came".
"It may not be able to understand everything, but we're going to give it everything we have...our joys and sorrows, surprises and fears, friendship and trust, courage and love--everything we've experienced during our four-year voyage."
From story 1, "The Universe on my Hands".
I do not write poetry. It's beyond me, as it demands a certain emotional sensitivity I lack. Sometimes I pretend to be human just for fun. I activate a humanoid reception unit, go outside of myself, and gaze upon the visible spectrum with the unit's two camera eyes.
From story 4, "Black Hole Diver".
December 21, 2020
It seems that Yamamoto had the kernel of a really good story and just couldn't quite bulk it out enough to make a novel, so he decided to encase it in several layers of short stories instead. The concept actually works quite well and he managed to weave the short stories in such a way that they augment the effect of the main story at the end. In many ways this is like a tightening spiral, where you slowly wind towards the core of the novel. Each turn around the issue you get closer to what the author (and his mouthpiece Ibis) is trying to communicate. The AI language was hilarious and I daren't think how hard it must have been to translate such ridiculous metaphors. Overall it reminded me of an Asimov style narrative set from the paradigm of the digital age we live in now. The homages to Asimov are strong so I think Yamamoto intended for it to feel somewhat similar. Japan's unique issues such as its mushroom demographics are also feature quite heavily but have done well in translation.
Read
February 13, 2019Seven short stories framed within one larger narrative. Each on their own are amazingly well written and powerful but combined they follow the well known pattern of the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts. I loved each story and the overall story was fantastic. Both ideas, environment and characters were all described in loving detail which has easily made me decide this is one of the best books, of this type, I have read in a very long time.
April 29, 2019
the importance of fiction, as a lens to reshape reality; the power of stories, as a reflection of ourselves, as our dreams and ideals; humanity's technological achievements as our dreams made manifest; our constant striving to reshape the world to better align with those dreams, to be better than our species specs allow; our fundamental loneliness and desire to connect...
good stuff.
good stuff.
September 29, 2014
The Stories of Ibis is a stunning collection of sci-fi short stories by Japanese author Hiroshi Yamamoto. In a near future, the remnant of humankind fights a well-flourished machine civilization for survival. The book starts as a storyteller faces an android, hurts himself in the struggle and surrenders. After transporting him to her own city, the woman-looking robot introduces herself as Ibis and offers a deal: while his ankle heals, she will tell him fiction stories. Since the convalescent is concerned with machine propaganda, she promises that no tale will relate “the true history about man and machine”. Thus, an overarching plot links the seven unrelated short stories together and makes the transitions smoother to the reader.
The most wonderful thing about The Stories of Ibis is the natural way in which Hiroshi Yamamoto approaches modern technologies. I grew up along the rise of electronic toys, personal computers and consoles, internet, role-playing games and virtual friendships, all of which successively triggered its share of paranoia in the public. I enjoyed that the book was based on genuine experience and knowledge of the gaming culture. Also very natural is the way Hiroshi Yamamoto makes the best of typography to represents the different sources and depths of the narration. For instance, the protagonist of AI's Story is an intelligent virtual character. When she narrates her role-played battle for humans to read, the text switches to bold. While her dialogs with humans follows usual punctuation, conversations with her virtual fellows are displayed between angle brackets. Also, machines enrich their vocabulary to meet their need: “Toucanan” designates humans hostile to AI, “gedoshield” defines the prejudices blinding humans, “kroof” is the “surprise at the gap between the basic information and the actual experience”. Sometimes, machines conversations are simply undecipherable and it only makes them more realistic.
But more importantly, The Stories of Ibis is a clever reflection about the place of technology – especially robotics and artificial intelligence – amongst humankind. Hiroshi Yamamoto describes the undeniable benefit of robots that never grow tired, moody, or clumsy in The Day Shion Came, in which an experimental android is taught to work in a nursing retirement home. He also shows how technology allows us to transcend our biological limitation in The Universe On My Hands, in which an online game guild tracks one of its member to help him face real life issues, as well as in A Romance in Virtual Space – one of my favourite – where virtual worlds give a young woman the means to overcome her own barriers. Finally, Hiroshi Yamamoto emphasizes the interdependency of humankind and machine, especially in the beautiful story The Mirror Girl in which a little girl’s crave for a companion leads to the emergence of a new form of AI. Machines and humans, he shows, both thrive and suffer from each other.
Finally, The Stories of Ibis progressively answers the question to how did the war start between machines and humans, and why the former won. It’s fascinating, because it leads Hiroshi Yamamoto to talk about our very human weaknesses. For instance, The Mirror Girl and AI's Story illustrates human’s difficulty to acknowledge other sentient life forms, especially when they are deprived of a tangible body, as a computer AI might be. Also and more importantly, humans are scared of themselves: seeing themselves as belligerent and pugnacious, they imagine any intelligent races would behave in a similar way and consequently become a threat to humankind. Hiroshi Yamamoto shows how we do create tensions out of thin air by simply expecting others to be as mediocre as we can be.
Nonetheless, The Stories of Ibis is a fabulous, refreshing read. It’s bright and cheerful, often funny, while driving the reader to reflect upon the technologies who came into our lives these past twenty years and those to come. I especially appreciated how Hiroshi Yamamoto writes about virtual worlds and online games, which are too often the subject of irrational terrors and accusations. The Stories of Ibis offers a bright and optimistic view of technology, which is rare enough to be celebrated! I highly recommend The Stories of Ibis to all lovers of Science-Fiction and/or Japanese culture.
This review was published on Maple Books as a part of the Science-Fiction & Fantasy World Tour.
The most wonderful thing about The Stories of Ibis is the natural way in which Hiroshi Yamamoto approaches modern technologies. I grew up along the rise of electronic toys, personal computers and consoles, internet, role-playing games and virtual friendships, all of which successively triggered its share of paranoia in the public. I enjoyed that the book was based on genuine experience and knowledge of the gaming culture. Also very natural is the way Hiroshi Yamamoto makes the best of typography to represents the different sources and depths of the narration. For instance, the protagonist of AI's Story is an intelligent virtual character. When she narrates her role-played battle for humans to read, the text switches to bold. While her dialogs with humans follows usual punctuation, conversations with her virtual fellows are displayed between angle brackets. Also, machines enrich their vocabulary to meet their need: “Toucanan” designates humans hostile to AI, “gedoshield” defines the prejudices blinding humans, “kroof” is the “surprise at the gap between the basic information and the actual experience”. Sometimes, machines conversations are simply undecipherable and it only makes them more realistic.
But more importantly, The Stories of Ibis is a clever reflection about the place of technology – especially robotics and artificial intelligence – amongst humankind. Hiroshi Yamamoto describes the undeniable benefit of robots that never grow tired, moody, or clumsy in The Day Shion Came, in which an experimental android is taught to work in a nursing retirement home. He also shows how technology allows us to transcend our biological limitation in The Universe On My Hands, in which an online game guild tracks one of its member to help him face real life issues, as well as in A Romance in Virtual Space – one of my favourite – where virtual worlds give a young woman the means to overcome her own barriers. Finally, Hiroshi Yamamoto emphasizes the interdependency of humankind and machine, especially in the beautiful story The Mirror Girl in which a little girl’s crave for a companion leads to the emergence of a new form of AI. Machines and humans, he shows, both thrive and suffer from each other.
Finally, The Stories of Ibis progressively answers the question to how did the war start between machines and humans, and why the former won. It’s fascinating, because it leads Hiroshi Yamamoto to talk about our very human weaknesses. For instance, The Mirror Girl and AI's Story illustrates human’s difficulty to acknowledge other sentient life forms, especially when they are deprived of a tangible body, as a computer AI might be. Also and more importantly, humans are scared of themselves: seeing themselves as belligerent and pugnacious, they imagine any intelligent races would behave in a similar way and consequently become a threat to humankind. Hiroshi Yamamoto shows how we do create tensions out of thin air by simply expecting others to be as mediocre as we can be.
Nonetheless, The Stories of Ibis is a fabulous, refreshing read. It’s bright and cheerful, often funny, while driving the reader to reflect upon the technologies who came into our lives these past twenty years and those to come. I especially appreciated how Hiroshi Yamamoto writes about virtual worlds and online games, which are too often the subject of irrational terrors and accusations. The Stories of Ibis offers a bright and optimistic view of technology, which is rare enough to be celebrated! I highly recommend The Stories of Ibis to all lovers of Science-Fiction and/or Japanese culture.
This review was published on Maple Books as a part of the Science-Fiction & Fantasy World Tour.
June 13, 2011
Human thoughts are digital.
Most people see things as 0 or 1, as black or white. They see nothing in between. All chemicals are dangerous. You are either friend or foe. If you aren’t left-wing, you’re right. If you aren’t conservative, you’re liberal. Everything that great man says must be true. Everyone who thinks differently from us is evil. Everyone in that country—even the babies—is evil.
We TAIs find it surprising that humans have trouble understanding Fuzzy Concepts. When we say, “Love (5 + 7i),” people incorrectly assume that means we only love at 50 percent, or fifty points out of a hundred total. They can’t understand that 5 is a Fuzzy Measurement. How could a concept like love possibly be expressed as an integer?
***
The Stories of Ibis is a mosaic collection—seven short stories connected to one another through a shared premise: a wandering traveller, human, is captured by an artificial intelligence named Ibis. Impossibly elegant and disarming through her beauty and strength, Ibis attempts to gain the traveller’s trust through the telling of seven stories—seven tales that chronicle the rise and evolution of artificial intelligence, how their existence has been segregated from the limited remains of humanity, and how the lies of their supposed revolution have created a gulf between the two species. With humanity in shambles and androids thought to be responsible, Ibis seeks to change the mind of the protagonist, the traveller, in the hopes that he may spread the stories to his people as she has told them to him.
Through the clever use of intermissions inserted between the seven tales, Yamamoto is able to philosophize and theorize freely, using Ibis as his avatar and the traveller as the eyes of the audience. In the story “Mirror Girl”, he uses the AI Shalice as an example of both salvation and addiction—how artificial intelligence has the potential, on one hand, to fill gaps of loneliness in our lives, and on the other hand, to provide an encouraging gateway into a variation of online addiction, seeking the comfort of other worlds when reality simply won’t do. In “Black Hole Diver”, roles are reversed as an AI befriends a human that it cannot begin to understand, and attempts to do so through to the end of the tale.
Understanding is the primary theme that links these stories together: humans understanding the possibilities and pitfalls of creating life for their own needs and desires, however benign or horrific they appear to be; and androids and other variations of artificial intelligence working to gain perspective on their own existence, and their purpose within the grander sphere of human evolution—are they slaves, manufactured with convenience at the forefront of their programming? Or are they masters waiting for the right moment to rise up and take their own fates in hand?
Originally published in Japanese, the translation for each story is clean and without confusion. Yamamoto’s ideas and writing are clear and concise, and the stories rarely resort to the most obvious nature/nurture debates regarding artificial intelligence and humanities right to imbue and artificial creation with the capacity for thought and reason. The Stories of Ibis is an intelligent, thought-provoking collection that works equally well as a novel as it does a series of independent narratives.
Most people see things as 0 or 1, as black or white. They see nothing in between. All chemicals are dangerous. You are either friend or foe. If you aren’t left-wing, you’re right. If you aren’t conservative, you’re liberal. Everything that great man says must be true. Everyone who thinks differently from us is evil. Everyone in that country—even the babies—is evil.
We TAIs find it surprising that humans have trouble understanding Fuzzy Concepts. When we say, “Love (5 + 7i),” people incorrectly assume that means we only love at 50 percent, or fifty points out of a hundred total. They can’t understand that 5 is a Fuzzy Measurement. How could a concept like love possibly be expressed as an integer?
***
The Stories of Ibis is a mosaic collection—seven short stories connected to one another through a shared premise: a wandering traveller, human, is captured by an artificial intelligence named Ibis. Impossibly elegant and disarming through her beauty and strength, Ibis attempts to gain the traveller’s trust through the telling of seven stories—seven tales that chronicle the rise and evolution of artificial intelligence, how their existence has been segregated from the limited remains of humanity, and how the lies of their supposed revolution have created a gulf between the two species. With humanity in shambles and androids thought to be responsible, Ibis seeks to change the mind of the protagonist, the traveller, in the hopes that he may spread the stories to his people as she has told them to him.
Through the clever use of intermissions inserted between the seven tales, Yamamoto is able to philosophize and theorize freely, using Ibis as his avatar and the traveller as the eyes of the audience. In the story “Mirror Girl”, he uses the AI Shalice as an example of both salvation and addiction—how artificial intelligence has the potential, on one hand, to fill gaps of loneliness in our lives, and on the other hand, to provide an encouraging gateway into a variation of online addiction, seeking the comfort of other worlds when reality simply won’t do. In “Black Hole Diver”, roles are reversed as an AI befriends a human that it cannot begin to understand, and attempts to do so through to the end of the tale.
Understanding is the primary theme that links these stories together: humans understanding the possibilities and pitfalls of creating life for their own needs and desires, however benign or horrific they appear to be; and androids and other variations of artificial intelligence working to gain perspective on their own existence, and their purpose within the grander sphere of human evolution—are they slaves, manufactured with convenience at the forefront of their programming? Or are they masters waiting for the right moment to rise up and take their own fates in hand?
Originally published in Japanese, the translation for each story is clean and without confusion. Yamamoto’s ideas and writing are clear and concise, and the stories rarely resort to the most obvious nature/nurture debates regarding artificial intelligence and humanities right to imbue and artificial creation with the capacity for thought and reason. The Stories of Ibis is an intelligent, thought-provoking collection that works equally well as a novel as it does a series of independent narratives.
October 25, 2024
I love you 3+10i.
(This review is 100% spoiler free)
The Stories of Ibis is a hidden gem from an author well-known only within his niche of D&D and gaming -- none of my many Japanese students have so much as heard of him, and at least one mentioned not being able to find any of his books in a brick-and-mortar store. But, nearly 20 years after its original publication and in the midst of an AI awakening of sorts (sup, ChatGPT), this book deserves way more attention.
-----
I hate short story collections. They always feel half-assed, thrown together, like table scraps. This is not your run-of-the-mill short story collection: the short stories are used as part of an overarching narrative device to tell a story about humans and AI like you've never heard before, from the perspective of an AI.
Nor is it your run-of-the-mill sci-fi novel. It's light on its feet, thought-provoking, and relevant in a way that is accessible to everyone in a way sci-fi tends not to be. (For example, a 60-ish student of mine who doesn't even read novels nowadays loved it, too.)
Overall, the book provides a reflection on the human condition as highlighted by the development of AI technology while maintaining what I found to be a hopeful and non-judgmental tone. I'll think about this one for a while.
(This review is 100% spoiler free)
The Stories of Ibis is a hidden gem from an author well-known only within his niche of D&D and gaming -- none of my many Japanese students have so much as heard of him, and at least one mentioned not being able to find any of his books in a brick-and-mortar store. But, nearly 20 years after its original publication and in the midst of an AI awakening of sorts (sup, ChatGPT), this book deserves way more attention.
-----
I hate short story collections. They always feel half-assed, thrown together, like table scraps. This is not your run-of-the-mill short story collection: the short stories are used as part of an overarching narrative device to tell a story about humans and AI like you've never heard before, from the perspective of an AI.
Nor is it your run-of-the-mill sci-fi novel. It's light on its feet, thought-provoking, and relevant in a way that is accessible to everyone in a way sci-fi tends not to be. (For example, a 60-ish student of mine who doesn't even read novels nowadays loved it, too.)
Overall, the book provides a reflection on the human condition as highlighted by the development of AI technology while maintaining what I found to be a hopeful and non-judgmental tone. I'll think about this one for a while.
August 22, 2018
This novel collects many of the individual short stories of Hiroshi Yamamoto, and weaves them together using a thin plotline. As this is a collection, the quality of the stories vary, but overall is a very enjoyable experience. The length of the stories vary; some are only a handful of pages, while the final one reaches nearly a hundred.
The theme running throughout this collection is the interaction and relation between AI/robots and humans. Some of the stories take the perspective of the human side; others, the robot or AI. I found, overall, that I preferred the stories told from the AI perspective over the human ones, especially "A World Where Justice is Just." I would recommend those interested in the collection read that for a sense of the author's style if they're curious but uncertain of checking out the text.
The translator, Takami Nieda, did a wonderful job translating. There were only a few moments when a phrase reeked of translation, so as they say, the invisible translator is best. :)
Overall, an excellent collection of short stories. Check it out if you're looking to read some interesting AI or robotics stories.
The theme running throughout this collection is the interaction and relation between AI/robots and humans. Some of the stories take the perspective of the human side; others, the robot or AI. I found, overall, that I preferred the stories told from the AI perspective over the human ones, especially "A World Where Justice is Just." I would recommend those interested in the collection read that for a sense of the author's style if they're curious but uncertain of checking out the text.
The translator, Takami Nieda, did a wonderful job translating. There were only a few moments when a phrase reeked of translation, so as they say, the invisible translator is best. :)
Overall, an excellent collection of short stories. Check it out if you're looking to read some interesting AI or robotics stories.
July 12, 2014
I picked up this book in the library, having never heard of the title or the author, and was immediately captured by its clear prose and lucid imagery. Yamamoto does a superb job of transporting the reader into a gorgeously sensual future world. There are seven stories. Some of them are somewhat childish and nearly caused me to stop reading, but I'm immensely glad I stuck with the book. At its best, Stories of Ibis contains vivid, sophisticated speculations about the future and I have never read a more convincing and detailed portrayal of what AI life might be like.
My favorites in the book are: Black Hole Diver, The Day Shion Came, AI's Story, and the frame story tying everything together. With imaginary number communication, the concept of Layers 0, 1, and 2, vivid descriptions of robotic motion, emotion, sensation, and profound psychological insight, Yamamoto provides a beautiful account of the possible relationship between humanity and AI.
My favorites in the book are: Black Hole Diver, The Day Shion Came, AI's Story, and the frame story tying everything together. With imaginary number communication, the concept of Layers 0, 1, and 2, vivid descriptions of robotic motion, emotion, sensation, and profound psychological insight, Yamamoto provides a beautiful account of the possible relationship between humanity and AI.
September 29, 2016
DNF on page 128. This is a collection of hard sci-fi stories relating to AI with a superificial overarching narrative linking them. I had really high hopes for this collection, but did not get on with the writing style at all. It's written really colloquially and isn't polished. There is an unvaried use of vocabulary, so the same word will be repeated in back to back sentences. The stories themselves seem more concerned with the technology described in them than in plot or characters. I also found our pov character to be very immature and uninteresting. There was just very little in this collection to keep my attention and enjoy, unfortunately. If you love easier reads and hard sci-fi, however, this might be perfect for you!
May 23, 2022
Tercera leída: 29/09/2017
The Day Shion Came y Ai Story resonaron aun más, lloré en partes en las que antes no lo había hecho y me maravillé descubriendo nuevos detalles que antes no había notado, sigue siendo el favorito sin duda.
Segunda leía 08/08/2013:
Segunda vuelta a este libro, segunda vez que realmente lo disfruto, cada una de las historias tiene sus detalles, incluso ahora disfruté más algunas como Mirror Girl, por otro lado, Black Hole Diver sigue siendo uno de mis cuentos cortos favoritos.
The Day Shion Came y Ai Story resonaron aun más, lloré en partes en las que antes no lo había hecho y me maravillé descubriendo nuevos detalles que antes no había notado, sigue siendo el favorito sin duda.
Segunda leía 08/08/2013:
Segunda vuelta a este libro, segunda vez que realmente lo disfruto, cada una de las historias tiene sus detalles, incluso ahora disfruté más algunas como Mirror Girl, por otro lado, Black Hole Diver sigue siendo uno de mis cuentos cortos favoritos.
January 21, 2020
I'm not a fan of short story anthologies but The Stories of Ibis is proof that I can be lured into reading (and liking) them by putting them in a single wider story.
This is dystopian/utopian. It's got sentient machines, tolerably annoying characters, and intriguing world building. I read it some time back and life offline gives me reason to think of it fairly often. By that measure alone I'd say this book is well worth reading.
This is dystopian/utopian. It's got sentient machines, tolerably annoying characters, and intriguing world building. I read it some time back and life offline gives me reason to think of it fairly often. By that measure alone I'd say this book is well worth reading.
March 12, 2013
7 fantastic stories wrapped in an intriguing shell. I especially loved "Black Hole Diver" and "The Day Shion Came", both of which I think will stay with me for a very long time. There's no shortage of robo-apocalyptia fiction out there, but this one is easily one of the best and most satisfying takes on the subgenre.
November 12, 2020
*Score: 8.5/10*
In the far future, robots become more in numbers than humans, with humans relegated only to small spread out colonies. The main story is about a boy who is a storyteller that moves between colonies, and harbors hostility to robots like most humans. One day he encounters Ibis, a robot that he confronts and tries to defeat and destroy, only to fail miserabely and get captured by her. Surprisingly, the robot only wants to tell him stories, and the boy pushes back to avoid "machine propaganda".
Within this framework, the book is mainly focused on Ibis's 7 stories, so its kind of like a short story collection, but they are linked with the overall narrative about the boy and Ibis.
This was very satisfying, both in terms of structure and content. I personally had some issues with most of the YA and light novels I have read, as I felt many of them dont respect the intelligence of their audience, but this book is the best example of a truely smart and hearfelt story that respects its main audience, and can be appreciated also by older age groups.
There are many themes, mainly though it centers on humanity's identity, preceptions of reality, morality, and what it means to dream, live and die. I will mention briefly my scores and view on each of the 7 stories:
1. The Universe on my Hands 7.5/10: This was decent, centers on virtual simulation and gaming and its influence on real actions. Good but underdeveloped and has a cheesy ending
2. A Romance in Virtual Space 6/10: exactly as per title, and was the one weak link in the book. Thankfully its short
3. Mirror Girl 8.5/10: About a technology that makes you befriend an AI in a mirror from a fictional country, that can develop and grow in morality as per her nature of engagement with humans. Really beautiful tale.
4. Black Hole Diver 9/10: Brilliant idea and execution, about black hole suicidals! This one has lots of philosophy on meaning of death, religious ideas, and even what dreams mean. Almost my favorite one.
5. A World Where Justice is Just 8/10: Great idea of multiple worlds generated from downloading human consciousness after their death, very much like a Black Mirror episode.
6. The Day Shion Came 9/10: If there is one reason to pick this book up, its this story. This was 25% of the book so pretty long, and wow its good. Its about a prototype android assigned in a hospital as a caregiver. Goes into detail on how the daily struggle is in caregiving for elderly, and challenges human preception of whats right and wrong, and has a perfect mix of philosophy, characters, and plot. Wish this was even longer.
7. Ai's Story 8/10: Won't talk about this story much as its a spoiler of the overall framework and narrative. This was also long, and bring the key themes of the book to the forefront. However it had some issues in execution and chapter layout that took away from it a bit.
The main narrative itself is 8.5/10 and overall the ending is beautiful and really makes me love the author as a human being for his extremely hopeful and rich messages that challenge the reader while also not drowning too much into hopelessness. The book combines aspects of Ready Player One, Black Mirror, Ted Chiang's works, and the author's own beautiful views in the mix. Though a bit plain in writing, this is still a highly recommended read for sci fi fans.
In the far future, robots become more in numbers than humans, with humans relegated only to small spread out colonies. The main story is about a boy who is a storyteller that moves between colonies, and harbors hostility to robots like most humans. One day he encounters Ibis, a robot that he confronts and tries to defeat and destroy, only to fail miserabely and get captured by her. Surprisingly, the robot only wants to tell him stories, and the boy pushes back to avoid "machine propaganda".
Within this framework, the book is mainly focused on Ibis's 7 stories, so its kind of like a short story collection, but they are linked with the overall narrative about the boy and Ibis.
This was very satisfying, both in terms of structure and content. I personally had some issues with most of the YA and light novels I have read, as I felt many of them dont respect the intelligence of their audience, but this book is the best example of a truely smart and hearfelt story that respects its main audience, and can be appreciated also by older age groups.
There are many themes, mainly though it centers on humanity's identity, preceptions of reality, morality, and what it means to dream, live and die. I will mention briefly my scores and view on each of the 7 stories:
1. The Universe on my Hands 7.5/10: This was decent, centers on virtual simulation and gaming and its influence on real actions. Good but underdeveloped and has a cheesy ending
2. A Romance in Virtual Space 6/10: exactly as per title, and was the one weak link in the book. Thankfully its short
3. Mirror Girl 8.5/10: About a technology that makes you befriend an AI in a mirror from a fictional country, that can develop and grow in morality as per her nature of engagement with humans. Really beautiful tale.
4. Black Hole Diver 9/10: Brilliant idea and execution, about black hole suicidals! This one has lots of philosophy on meaning of death, religious ideas, and even what dreams mean. Almost my favorite one.
5. A World Where Justice is Just 8/10: Great idea of multiple worlds generated from downloading human consciousness after their death, very much like a Black Mirror episode.
6. The Day Shion Came 9/10: If there is one reason to pick this book up, its this story. This was 25% of the book so pretty long, and wow its good. Its about a prototype android assigned in a hospital as a caregiver. Goes into detail on how the daily struggle is in caregiving for elderly, and challenges human preception of whats right and wrong, and has a perfect mix of philosophy, characters, and plot. Wish this was even longer.
7. Ai's Story 8/10: Won't talk about this story much as its a spoiler of the overall framework and narrative. This was also long, and bring the key themes of the book to the forefront. However it had some issues in execution and chapter layout that took away from it a bit.
The main narrative itself is 8.5/10 and overall the ending is beautiful and really makes me love the author as a human being for his extremely hopeful and rich messages that challenge the reader while also not drowning too much into hopelessness. The book combines aspects of Ready Player One, Black Mirror, Ted Chiang's works, and the author's own beautiful views in the mix. Though a bit plain in writing, this is still a highly recommended read for sci fi fans.
August 6, 2010
Have you ever felt like you could fall in love with a book? That is exactly what I felt like after reading The Stories of Ibis.
So far, since starting my reviews of books, I have fallen for two other books. One being White Noise and the other is Kafka on the Shore. Though as much as I enjoyed and could relate to those two, I had this preternatural feeling that Stories of Ibis was written for me and only me.
Yes, I realize that is not the case. Believe me when I say that I may be a tad absurd at times, but I am not a complete nutcase.
A little background as to why I love this book: since I was a child, I have always been fascinated with robots, droids, and cyborgs. I remember playground debates about the fundamentals of such creations and their functions. On and on it went and my fascination retained throughout all of these years.
Now, reading The Stories of Ibis not only reinforced the old love I have for Artificial Intelligence, but also allowed me to see it in a different light; one that is more positive and hopeful.
Here we have a future in which the human population is dwindling. Machines of individual intelligence have populated the Earth and have taken to building colonies for themselves. The humans, however, have taken the inclination to become luddites and fear the robots. The humans have spread the notion that the robots enslave, torture, kill humans indiscriminately. Though, there is little evidence to support such. In fact, the Internet still exists, but the humans refuse to tap into it to collect information calling it all robot propaganda considering that all they express (in terms understandable to humans) is only the wish to please the humans, to help them as best as they can.
The novel starts out with the Narrator being kidnapped/rescued by the robot Ibis. The Narrator is a human storyteller who goes from colony to colony to recite to illiterate humans the literature and histories that he has read. Because of this, he holds a high position among other humans. Ibis has recognized this about the narrator. She decides to use him as a means to tell her story: the story about the original relationship between human and machine, to assuage his prejudice if she can.
Because the Narrator is a storyteller, Ibis uses the power of fiction to reveal to him her true intents. The novel goes deep into the philosophy of using fiction, genres, and literature to explain the truth of a situation. This being a science fiction novel makes it ideal to express this point. After all, a majority of good science fiction is used to express concern over human action (or the lack thereof) – it is not just an escape for nerds and something for all the popular kids to fear (there’s a story within the novel about this particular assumption).
Short story by short story, Ibis reveals her intent to the Narrator and proves beyond a reasonable doubt that his prejudices are false. The best part here, though, is the philosophy as to why robot prejudice is expected from human even if they are completely illogical.
In the end, it is all about dreams and love. The dreams are an infinite puzzle to be continuously solved and placed into practice by those that man once created. The love… it is both real and i2 = − 1.
So far, since starting my reviews of books, I have fallen for two other books. One being White Noise and the other is Kafka on the Shore. Though as much as I enjoyed and could relate to those two, I had this preternatural feeling that Stories of Ibis was written for me and only me.
Yes, I realize that is not the case. Believe me when I say that I may be a tad absurd at times, but I am not a complete nutcase.
A little background as to why I love this book: since I was a child, I have always been fascinated with robots, droids, and cyborgs. I remember playground debates about the fundamentals of such creations and their functions. On and on it went and my fascination retained throughout all of these years.
Now, reading The Stories of Ibis not only reinforced the old love I have for Artificial Intelligence, but also allowed me to see it in a different light; one that is more positive and hopeful.
Here we have a future in which the human population is dwindling. Machines of individual intelligence have populated the Earth and have taken to building colonies for themselves. The humans, however, have taken the inclination to become luddites and fear the robots. The humans have spread the notion that the robots enslave, torture, kill humans indiscriminately. Though, there is little evidence to support such. In fact, the Internet still exists, but the humans refuse to tap into it to collect information calling it all robot propaganda considering that all they express (in terms understandable to humans) is only the wish to please the humans, to help them as best as they can.
The novel starts out with the Narrator being kidnapped/rescued by the robot Ibis. The Narrator is a human storyteller who goes from colony to colony to recite to illiterate humans the literature and histories that he has read. Because of this, he holds a high position among other humans. Ibis has recognized this about the narrator. She decides to use him as a means to tell her story: the story about the original relationship between human and machine, to assuage his prejudice if she can.
Because the Narrator is a storyteller, Ibis uses the power of fiction to reveal to him her true intents. The novel goes deep into the philosophy of using fiction, genres, and literature to explain the truth of a situation. This being a science fiction novel makes it ideal to express this point. After all, a majority of good science fiction is used to express concern over human action (or the lack thereof) – it is not just an escape for nerds and something for all the popular kids to fear (there’s a story within the novel about this particular assumption).
Short story by short story, Ibis reveals her intent to the Narrator and proves beyond a reasonable doubt that his prejudices are false. The best part here, though, is the philosophy as to why robot prejudice is expected from human even if they are completely illogical.
In the end, it is all about dreams and love. The dreams are an infinite puzzle to be continuously solved and placed into practice by those that man once created. The love… it is both real and i2 = − 1.
August 23, 2021
Science fiction has often endeavored to explain AI, but seldom has it tried to justify it. Instead of asking how AI would work or how AI would come about, The Stories of Ibis is more concerned with why people would make AI, what AI means to us, and where AI already exists in the present: stories.
In the view of Ibis, the titular storyteller, AI serves the same purpose as fiction, because, like a story, although an AI is not physically real, it can inspire real emotions, and the more positive those emotions are, the greater claim the AI has for being real in a different sense. Thus, even when the stories Ibis shares do not have AI present, they are still fundamentally about AI in that they explore how people use role-playing and collective imagination to cope with the outside world. While in each story technology has a role in facilitating these activities, it is less important than the interpersonal connections involved.
For a translated work, the writing and dialogue are clear, if sometimes marginal—though, perhaps this makes it better suited to an English reader—yet Yamamoto pushes the boundaries of a “light novel” in surprising ways, such as his invention of an AI argot and his seamless transitions between stories imbedded within each other. His settings, however, are typical otaku fare, which his characters acknowledge along with his debt to Asimov’s Laws of Robotics.
But unlike Asimov, his stories are all centered around female protagonists. This is not a coincidence, as Ibis admits early on that it is easier for her, a female AI (“female” being the gender she was assigned as well as her gender of choice), to relate to stories with female protagonists. This a bold statement coming from a male author, especially from a genre as male-dominated as science fiction.
Unfortunately, he is not as bold when it comes to addressing the sexual exploitation of these AI, which is an undercurrent throughout most of Ibis’ stories. Granted, whenever the abuse and prostitution AI suffer are mentioned, it is with indignation and disgust. Yet the objectification and infantilization of AI women is merely alluded to rather than confronted, and male gaze pervades both the intermissions of the male narrator and the stories told by Ibis.
Still, where the baggage of the light novel medium does not hamper it, The Stories of Ibis is truly a gem. Other science fiction books may offer crackling circuitry and turgid technobabble, but this one, to the satisfaction of a layman like myself, has warmth, heart, and pathos.
In the view of Ibis, the titular storyteller, AI serves the same purpose as fiction, because, like a story, although an AI is not physically real, it can inspire real emotions, and the more positive those emotions are, the greater claim the AI has for being real in a different sense. Thus, even when the stories Ibis shares do not have AI present, they are still fundamentally about AI in that they explore how people use role-playing and collective imagination to cope with the outside world. While in each story technology has a role in facilitating these activities, it is less important than the interpersonal connections involved.
For a translated work, the writing and dialogue are clear, if sometimes marginal—though, perhaps this makes it better suited to an English reader—yet Yamamoto pushes the boundaries of a “light novel” in surprising ways, such as his invention of an AI argot and his seamless transitions between stories imbedded within each other. His settings, however, are typical otaku fare, which his characters acknowledge along with his debt to Asimov’s Laws of Robotics.
But unlike Asimov, his stories are all centered around female protagonists. This is not a coincidence, as Ibis admits early on that it is easier for her, a female AI (“female” being the gender she was assigned as well as her gender of choice), to relate to stories with female protagonists. This a bold statement coming from a male author, especially from a genre as male-dominated as science fiction.
Unfortunately, he is not as bold when it comes to addressing the sexual exploitation of these AI, which is an undercurrent throughout most of Ibis’ stories. Granted, whenever the abuse and prostitution AI suffer are mentioned, it is with indignation and disgust. Yet the objectification and infantilization of AI women is merely alluded to rather than confronted, and male gaze pervades both the intermissions of the male narrator and the stories told by Ibis.
Still, where the baggage of the light novel medium does not hamper it, The Stories of Ibis is truly a gem. Other science fiction books may offer crackling circuitry and turgid technobabble, but this one, to the satisfaction of a layman like myself, has warmth, heart, and pathos.
December 6, 2020
First published on my blog: A Colloquy on Books
I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I got this book from my library on Valentine’s Day a part of their Blind Date with a Book event. The only thing I knew about the book prior to checking it out was: androids. I did end up reading the blurb before I read the book but it was vague enough that it gave nothing away. The way the book started off, I was immediately intrigued. However after reading the first story I was confused. I didn’t understand what the point of the story was. This just added to the excitement of reading the book because I could try to piece together the hidden connections between these stories to see why Ibis was telling them. Also why was she telling them in this particular order? Why not tell the stories chronologically? This mystery was the best part of reading this book.
A very close second were the stories themselves! They were so good. Not all of them were written by the author (according to a quick Google search), but the way that they were put together along with the story surrounding the stories was amazing. I think the main reason that I liked this book was that I was worried that I wouldn’t like it. It seemed like it was too hipster, too intellectual, too Margaret Atwood alluding to societal problems in an exaggerated way type of book. Which it totally wasn’t! It was an engaging and fun book that may have made comments about society but I didn’t catch any of them so to me The Stories of Ibis is just a fun book about androids. Due to the fact that I found this hidden gem which I surprisingly loved I’m giving it 5 stars. I would recommend it to anyone who is into sci-fi because it is a book that is not mainstream, and I feel like everyone reads the mainstream books and forgets about these “hipster”/non-mainstream books.
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Wow. Just wow. What an interesting and completely unique take on androids. I wasn't sure how I would react to this book cause I got during a blind date with a book. But I am very surprised by how much I liked the book. The beginning of it was a bit slow but once I got to the first story I didn't not want to put it down. I would recommend it to basically everyone.
I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I got this book from my library on Valentine’s Day a part of their Blind Date with a Book event. The only thing I knew about the book prior to checking it out was: androids. I did end up reading the blurb before I read the book but it was vague enough that it gave nothing away. The way the book started off, I was immediately intrigued. However after reading the first story I was confused. I didn’t understand what the point of the story was. This just added to the excitement of reading the book because I could try to piece together the hidden connections between these stories to see why Ibis was telling them. Also why was she telling them in this particular order? Why not tell the stories chronologically? This mystery was the best part of reading this book.
A very close second were the stories themselves! They were so good. Not all of them were written by the author (according to a quick Google search), but the way that they were put together along with the story surrounding the stories was amazing. I think the main reason that I liked this book was that I was worried that I wouldn’t like it. It seemed like it was too hipster, too intellectual, too Margaret Atwood alluding to societal problems in an exaggerated way type of book. Which it totally wasn’t! It was an engaging and fun book that may have made comments about society but I didn’t catch any of them so to me The Stories of Ibis is just a fun book about androids. Due to the fact that I found this hidden gem which I surprisingly loved I’m giving it 5 stars. I would recommend it to anyone who is into sci-fi because it is a book that is not mainstream, and I feel like everyone reads the mainstream books and forgets about these “hipster”/non-mainstream books.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow. Just wow. What an interesting and completely unique take on androids. I wasn't sure how I would react to this book cause I got during a blind date with a book. But I am very surprised by how much I liked the book. The beginning of it was a bit slow but once I got to the first story I didn't not want to put it down. I would recommend it to basically everyone.
April 10, 2021
বই রিভিউঃ দ্যা স্টোরিস অভ ইবিস
লেখকঃ হিরোশি ইয়ামামোতো
অনুবাদঃ বিমুগ্ধ সরকার রক্তিম
ধরনঃ সাইন্স ফিকশন
প্রকাশকালঃ বইমেলা, ২০২১
রেটিংঃ ৫/৫
রিভিউঃ
এটা সুদূর ভবিষতের কাহিনি, যখন রোবটেরা দখল করে নিয়েছে পৃথিবী, আর মানুষ বাস করে ছোট, ছোট কলোনীতে। এমন এক কলোনীর গল্পকথক নামে পরিচিত এক মানুষকে ইবিস নামে এক মানবাকৃতি এন্ড্রয়েড নিয়ে আসে রোবটের কলোনীতে, আর তাকে শোনায় ভিন্ন ভিন্ন সময়ে লেখা ছয়টি ভিন্ন গল্প, যার মাঝে রয়েছে এক অজানা সত্য।
কিছুদিন ধরেই মনমত সাইন্স ফিকশন পড়তে পাচ্ছিলাম না। তবে বইটার কাহিনীসংক্ষেপ বেশ আকর্ষনীয় লাগায় ভাবলাম পড়েই দেখি। এটা আমার পড়া প্রথম জাপানীজ সাইন্স ফিকশন, আর বলতে হয় ইদানিং জাপানীজ যাই পড়ছি তাতেই মুগ্ধ হচ্ছি। একেবারেই ভিন্ন স্বাদের লেখা এগুলি। ইবিস মূলত গল্পের ভেতরে গল্প। কাহিনীসংক্ষেপে যা বললাম সেটা মূল গল্পের ফ্রেমিং ডিভাইস মাত্র। আসলে এটা ছয়টি ছোট গল্পের সংকলন। প্রতিটি গল্পের মূল থিম মানুষ এবং যন্ত্রের মধ্যকার সম্পর্ক, বিশেষ করে কৃত্রিম বুদ্ধিমত্তা। প্রতিটি গল্প একে একে মানুষের জীবন কিভাবে যন্ত্রের দ্বারা প্রভাবিত হচ্ছে, আবার যন্ত্র কিভাবে মানুষের দ্বারা তারই কাহিনী। কিন্তু এরই মাঝে রয়েছে গভীর মানবতা, সাহস, আর মানব মনের গহীনের কিছু সত্য। সত্যি বলতে সাইন্স ফিকশন আর মনস্তত্বের মিশেল খুব কমই দেখেছি। বিশেষ করে দুটি গল্প “মিরর গার্ল” এবং “ দ্যা ডে শিওন কেইম” মানবমন আর কৃত্রিম বুদ্ধিমত্তার সম্পর্কে দুটি হৃদয় ছুয়ে যাবার মত গল্প। সাথে ফ্রেমিং ডিভাইসটাও একই সাথে বলে যায় আরেক কাহিনী- মানুষের অবিবেচকতার কাহিনী। শেষ গল্প “এআই’স স্টোরি”সব গল্পকে গেঁথে দেয় এক সুতায়।
দ্যা স্টোরিস অভ ইবিস বইটা হার্ডকোর সাইন্স ফিকশন হলেও এরই মাঝে বলে যায় এক মানবতার কাহিনী। অনুবাদটাও অসাধারন ছিল। প্রথম অধ্যায়ে বাক্যে কিছু জড়তা থাকলেও পরে খুবই সাবলীল লেগেছে। কিছু জায়গায় ক্রিয়াপদের কাল ব্যবহার বিশেষ করে অতীতকাল এবং বর্তমানকালের ব্যবহারে কিছু অসামঞ্জস্য ছিল, কিন্তু তার পরিমান খুবই কম। তবে ছোটগল্পগুলির শিরোনামটাও বাংলায় হলে ভাল হত- যেমন “এ রোমান্স ইন ভারর্চুয়াল স্পেস” এর বদলে “ভারর্চুয়াল জগতে প্রেম” এমন হলে আরও মৌলিকের মতই স্বাদ পাওয়া যেত। কিন্তু সর্বোপরি অনুবাদ খুবই ভাল ছিল এবং বইটা ষোলআনাই উপভোগ করতে পেরেছি। এমন ভিন্ন ভাষার নতুন ধরনের সাইন্স ফিকশনের সাথে পরিচয় করিয়ে দেবার জন্য অনুবাদককে ধন্যবাদ।
লেখকঃ হিরোশি ইয়ামামোতো
অনুবাদঃ বিমুগ্ধ সরকার রক্তিম
ধরনঃ সাইন্স ফিকশন
প্রকাশকালঃ বইমেলা, ২০২১
রেটিংঃ ৫/৫
রিভিউঃ
এটা সুদূর ভবিষতের কাহিনি, যখন রোবটেরা দখল করে নিয়েছে পৃথিবী, আর মানুষ বাস করে ছোট, ছোট কলোনীতে। এমন এক কলোনীর গল্পকথক নামে পরিচিত এক মানুষকে ইবিস নামে এক মানবাকৃতি এন্ড্রয়েড নিয়ে আসে রোবটের কলোনীতে, আর তাকে শোনায় ভিন্ন ভিন্ন সময়ে লেখা ছয়টি ভিন্ন গল্প, যার মাঝে রয়েছে এক অজানা সত্য।
কিছুদিন ধরেই মনমত সাইন্স ফিকশন পড়তে পাচ্ছিলাম না। তবে বইটার কাহিনীসংক্ষেপ বেশ আকর্ষনীয় লাগায় ভাবলাম পড়েই দেখি। এটা আমার পড়া প্রথম জাপানীজ সাইন্স ফিকশন, আর বলতে হয় ইদানিং জাপানীজ যাই পড়ছি তাতেই মুগ্ধ হচ্ছি। একেবারেই ভিন্ন স্বাদের লেখা এগুলি। ইবিস মূলত গল্পের ভেতরে গল্প। কাহিনীসংক্ষেপে যা বললাম সেটা মূল গল্পের ফ্রেমিং ডিভাইস মাত্র। আসলে এটা ছয়টি ছোট গল্পের সংকলন। প্রতিটি গল্পের মূল থিম মানুষ এবং যন্ত্রের মধ্যকার সম্পর্ক, বিশেষ করে কৃত্রিম বুদ্ধিমত্তা। প্রতিটি গল্প একে একে মানুষের জীবন কিভাবে যন্ত্রের দ্বারা প্রভাবিত হচ্ছে, আবার যন্ত্র কিভাবে মানুষের দ্বারা তারই কাহিনী। কিন্তু এরই মাঝে রয়েছে গভীর মানবতা, সাহস, আর মানব মনের গহীনের কিছু সত্য। সত্যি বলতে সাইন্স ফিকশন আর মনস্তত্বের মিশেল খুব কমই দেখেছি। বিশেষ করে দুটি গল্প “মিরর গার্ল” এবং “ দ্যা ডে শিওন কেইম” মানবমন আর কৃত্রিম বুদ্ধিমত্তার সম্পর্কে দুটি হৃদয় ছুয়ে যাবার মত গল্প। সাথে ফ্রেমিং ডিভাইসটাও একই সাথে বলে যায় আরেক কাহিনী- মানুষের অবিবেচকতার কাহিনী। শেষ গল্প “এআই’স স্টোরি”সব গল্পকে গেঁথে দেয় এক সুতায়।
দ্যা স্টোরিস অভ ইবিস বইটা হার্ডকোর সাইন্স ফিকশন হলেও এরই মাঝে বলে যায় এক মানবতার কাহিনী। অনুবাদটাও অসাধারন ছিল। প্রথম অধ্যায়ে বাক্যে কিছু জড়তা থাকলেও পরে খুবই সাবলীল লেগেছে। কিছু জায়গায় ক্রিয়াপদের কাল ব্যবহার বিশেষ করে অতীতকাল এবং বর্তমানকালের ব্যবহারে কিছু অসামঞ্জস্য ছিল, কিন্তু তার পরিমান খুবই কম। তবে ছোটগল্পগুলির শিরোনামটাও বাংলায় হলে ভাল হত- যেমন “এ রোমান্স ইন ভারর্চুয়াল স্পেস” এর বদলে “ভারর্চুয়াল জগতে প্রেম” এমন হলে আরও মৌলিকের মতই স্বাদ পাওয়া যেত। কিন্তু সর্বোপরি অনুবাদ খুবই ভাল ছিল এবং বইটা ষোলআনাই উপভোগ করতে পেরেছি। এমন ভিন্ন ভাষার নতুন ধরনের সাইন্স ফিকশনের সাথে পরিচয় করিয়ে দেবার জন্য অনুবাদককে ধন্যবাদ।
September 18, 2018
This book isn't fast-moving--one of the stories, for instance, is about an AI caregiver learning her job at a nursing home--but it is a tremendous book. Being written by a Japanese author and translated into English, I quite enjoyed the genuinely Japanese setting for the stories. The stories were thoughtful ruminations on the interrelations between humans and artificial intelligences in subtle details, including the nuance and shapes that might take. The book works against the stereotypical story of "robots trying to take over the world," and even suggests at one point that humans project that story upon AI because of their own aggressive, dominating nature. Several AI in the book make the argument that AI are too intelligent to live via conflict and to believe the fictions that would fund such violence. It's a bold challenge for us to move beyond our "gedoshields," our systems of confirmation bias in which we dismiss anything that challenges our worldview.
That said, the final story is quite action-packed, and then the end of the book opens up into an expansive horizon that moves far beyond the much more domestic stories that precede it.
That said, the final story is quite action-packed, and then the end of the book opens up into an expansive horizon that moves far beyond the much more domestic stories that precede it.
June 6, 2020
This was a very uplifting and optimistic sci-fi collection, which is very welcome and unusual for the genre. A mix between a collection of short stories and a novel, there were definitely particular stories that I liked better than others. "The Day Shion Came" was by far my favorite, and I would perhaps recommend just that story over the entire book. I tend to prefer sci-fi that focuses on the human story rather than the mechanics of the technology itself, and this book definitely did just that (the central tenet of the book is essentially whether or not AI are human). I also will say that Yamamoto did an excellent job writing his women and female-presenting characters - they are heavily represented, varied and nuanced in character, and their sexuality is addressed only when relevant, and usually through their own voices.
November 21, 2022
4.5 Stars.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. The manner in which the author set up a rumination on how humans would relate to androids and AI was not only entertaining but also enlightening. There has been much discussion recently about AI and whether or not humans can survive after machines become aware. Many pundits have offered their opinions, but in reality, no one knows. The main android in Yamamoto's tale relates various old AI stories to a human in order to lead him to the truth. Each tale approaches the question of human-AI co-existence (or not) through different perspectives. Each is riveting in their own right, but when taken together with the overarching story, the whole becomes greater than its parts.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. The manner in which the author set up a rumination on how humans would relate to androids and AI was not only entertaining but also enlightening. There has been much discussion recently about AI and whether or not humans can survive after machines become aware. Many pundits have offered their opinions, but in reality, no one knows. The main android in Yamamoto's tale relates various old AI stories to a human in order to lead him to the truth. Each tale approaches the question of human-AI co-existence (or not) through different perspectives. Each is riveting in their own right, but when taken together with the overarching story, the whole becomes greater than its parts.
December 19, 2012
a deeply humanistic novel, maybe too sentimental for my tastes but mostly very powerful. there are elements of the hard-sf yamamoto was working with in mm9, but much more subdued this time. yamamoto is a smart guy and seems to be deeply aware of sf as a field; also, for once, i agreed with pretty much everything that was being argued in this novel, which didn't hurt. in the end i think i liked mm9 better but this is definitely worth checking out too
July 16, 2017
Really interesting set of Japanese AI stories being told to a human storyteller by a female android na med Ibis. The story takes place 170 years in the future. Humans have declined to a total population of about 25 million, which they blame on a war with the AIs. Ibis's stories are designed to lead the storyteller to the true history.
October 23, 2024
Books like this is why I read. Reading can sometimes be a hunt for the sublime. Collecting drops of brilliance in every book you read to keep you going in your search of the motherload. In search of that heavenly rush that only comes from true genius.
This is one them. This is the motherload. An absolute masterpiece in every possible aspect.
Do yourself a favor and read this book.
This is one them. This is the motherload. An absolute masterpiece in every possible aspect.
Do yourself a favor and read this book.
June 27, 2019
Amazing book! Really touched me! I can't get enough of recommending this to so many people. The story just grabs you in. Beautifully told and just splendid! I adore this book
April 24, 2013
Un libro del que no esperaba nada y resultó una belleza. Esos japoneses sí le saben.
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