"Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation" edited by Ken Liu (BR)

[Silvana]

Come and join Kaa, Gabi, and yours truly for this BR. Starts October 20.

Chinese SF seems to be trendy nowadays. I (and many others) read of course The Three-Body Problem and a handful of short stories shortlisted by Locus this year. They were rather enjoyable and I am curious for more.

Who else will join?

[Silvana]

Stories:
“The Year of the Rat” by Chen Qiufan
“The Fist of Lijian” by Chen Qiufan
“The Flower of Shazui” by Chen Qiufan
“A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight” by Xia Jia
“Tongtong’s Summer” by Xia Jia
“Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse” by Xia jia
“The City of Silence” by Ma Boyong
“Invisible Planets” by Hao Jingfang
“Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang
“Call Girl” by Tang Fei
“Grave of the Fireflies” by Cheng Jingbo
“The Circle” by Liu Cixin
“Taking Care of God” by Liu Cixin

Essays (ooh I did not know there are essays! Nice ^^)
“The Worst of All Possible Universes and the Best of All Possible Earths: Three-Body and Chinese Science Fiction” by Liu Cixin and Ken Liu
“The Torn Generation” Chinese Science Fiction in a Culture in Transition” by Chen Qiufan and Ken Liu
“What Makes Chinese Science Fiction Chinese?” by Xia Jia and Ken Liu

[Gabi]

I'm so excited for this one!

[Quantum]

I'll pick up my copy from the library tomorrow. I got it through interlibrary loan.

[Silvana]

Glad you can join us, Alex!

[Quantum]

Read the first one, “Year of the Rat”. Has a great horror vibe.

[Leanne]

Bought this months ago and is still on my massive 'to read' pile. I shall have to move it up a bit now!

[Quantum]

Read the second one!

[Silvana]

Alex wrote: "Read the second one!"

Wow you're early. Second story, how was it? You can use the spoiler tags too.

Hmm I will start on time, which is four days from now. Walking to Aldebaran first!

[Silvana]

Well, reading Walking to Aldebaran was quicker than I thought so I'll be starting this one day earlier.

[Silvana]

Alex wrote: "Read the first one, “Year of the Rat”. Has a great horror vibe."

It's thrilling, alright. It's my favorite of the three stories from Chen Qiufan. (view spoiler)[rats = ubiquitous knockoff Chinese tech products? Also, it reminded me of Sandkings (hide spoiler)]

The second story confused me a bit (view spoiler)[How did people and dogs got affected by this time dilation thing exactly? Just by proximity, seriously? (hide spoiler)] I liked the story.

The third story had an (view spoiler)[abrupt ending (hide spoiler)]. Apparently it's set in the same world as Waste Tide which I've been looking forward to read.

[Kaa]

"Year of the Rat" was so creepy and excellent. It seems very layered, with a lot of possible messages and meanings.

[Gabi]

I'm starting now. And after having read the insightful introduction I decided to start with the essays to perhaps get a bit of context feeling first.

[Silvana]

Gabi wrote: "I'm starting now. And after having read the insightful introduction I decided to start with the essays to perhaps get a bit of context feeling first."

Cool! looking forward to know your thoughts

[Gabi]

"Year of the Rat" (view spoiler)[ I liked it how the story started rather normally and then became positively Kafkaesque. I read before sleeping, so I'm not sure I got everything. (hide spoiler)]

[Gabi]

"The Fish of Lijiang" (view spoiler)[ Wow! That one moved me. This slow revelation that everything in the protagonist's life was manipulated really got me. I don't think one shouldn't marvel too hard about the physical possibility of those time compressions and dilations or how they are able to effect one another just by proximity. I take it more as a metapher than an actual possibility. (hide spoiler)]

[Gabi]

"The Flower of Shazui" (view spoiler)[ I'm not sure I got this one. It left me rather unmoved and the ending indeed is very abrupt. (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight” by Xia Jia
It felt a bit jarring since it had (view spoiler)[ghosts in it, but at the end it did feel like an SF. I liked the feel of abandonment that actually permeates in all Xia Jia stories. (hide spoiler)]

“Tongtong’s Summer” by Xia Jia
(view spoiler)[This is a beauty. I can totally see it happening in our society. Oh especially the author's end note almost made me cry in an airplane today. (hide spoiler)]

“Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse” by Xia jia
(view spoiler)[again, the abandonment, decay, but it's posthiman period. Kind of Wall-E? I did not get how the dragon horse could cross the ocean all the way to Europe but whatever. Cute friendshipi with the bat. (hide spoiler)]

Gabi wrote: ""The Flower of Shazui" [spoilers removed]"

Yeah... It feels like it needs more. I like the tech, with our mood rings and all it also could happen.

[Gabi]

Read the Xia Jia stories and I sooooo loved the mood she is able to evoke with her prose. So beautiful.

I didn't mind the point you mentioned in "A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight", Silvana. I rather like it when stories cross the bounderies of genre.

And at the end of "Tongtong's Summer" I DID cry … ^^'

In the author's introduction I liked the fact that she in turn is the translator of one of Ken Liu's story.

[Silvana]

I am totally going to put Xia Jia in my watch list.

Finished with 'The City of Silence” by Ma Boyong
This is fantastic. (view spoiler)[Technology is definitely a double edged sword, my goodness. I was thinking about 1984, thought police and all, and then story started to talk about it lol (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Gabi wrote: "

I didn't mind the point you mentioned in "A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight", Silvana. I rathe..."

Agree.
It gave me the creep as well (view spoiler)[when the lady ghost climbed from the bucket and she didn't have any lower body and had to crawl. Totally typical Asian horror story.... 😆 (hide spoiler)]

[Jemppu]

'The City of Silence' was indeed wonderful! My favorite thus far. Made me curious to find more Ma Boyong translated. (view spoiler)[(Had the same experience with 1984 too :D Guess they wanted to make obvious the influences ^^') (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Jemppu wrote: "'The City of Silence' was indeed wonderful! My favorite thus far. Made me curious to find more Ma Boyong translated."

Same! Argh only four authors left.

[Leanne]

3 stories down! I think The Year of the Rat was my favourite Chen Qiufan story. I enjoy a bit of the meta commentary on the real world: (view spoiler)["university students don't have any real world skills, blah, blah". The realisation at the end that everyone on both sides are just pawns in a game played by more powerful people isn't far from the truth in society as we know it. Depressing. (hide spoiler)].

[Leanne]

The Fish of Lijiang describes something close to my worst nightmare: (view spoiler)[Realising that I have no free will. That you realise your whole life has been manipulated to preserve the interests of a few. *Shudder*. (hide spoiler)] I can't say I enjoyed it that much as it just made me a little anxious.

[Gabi]

Leanne wrote: "The Fish of Lijiang describes something close to my worst nightmare: [spoilers removed] I can't say I enjoyed it that much as it just made me a little anxious."

Oh yes, I can see how this is difficult to experience!

[Gabi]

I finished the anthology and I immensely enjoyed the variety of the stories, the different feels, the crossing of genre borders and the overall high quality of the writing.
When I started I wasn't expecting such a top level collection of stories.

I've seen that the next collection Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation is rather high priced for my usual ebook budget, but I think, I'm getting it in hope of discovering even more treasures.

[Silvana]

Leanne wrote: "3 stories down! I think The Year of the Rat was my favourite Chen Qiufan story. I enjoy a bit of the meta commentary on the real world: [spoilers removed]."

Good point.

Gabi wrote: "I finished the anthology and I immensely enjoyed the variety of the stories, the different feels, the crossing of genre borders and the overall high quality of the writing.
When I started I wasn't ..."

I think it is because Broken Stars has just been released in February so we could hope it would be on sale next year.

[Leanne]

Gabi wrote: "Leanne wrote: "The Fish of Lijiang describes something close to my worst nightmare: [spoilers removed] I can't say I enjoyed it that much as it just made me a little anxious."

Oh yes, I can see ho..."

Actual horror doesn't scare me that much. Dystopian stories about the breakdown of societies = scary as hell! Probably because it feels like it can actually happen or might even be on it's way to happening right now.

[Leanne]

Just finished Tongtong's Summer. (view spoiler)[Faith restored! What a sweet story about how technology can be a force for good. I have enjoyed Xia Jia's storytelling through the eyes of children. I haven't really seen this method much, but it's quite effective at making you think about what the author isn't telling you since children won't be picking up every single detail of what's happening around them. Might be fave so far. (hide spoiler)]

[Leanne]

Gabi wrote: "I finished the anthology and I immensely enjoyed the variety of the stories, the different feels, the crossing of genre borders and the overall high quality of the writing.
When I started I wasn't ..."

Just checked, £15 for the paperback when it's released. That's a bit pricier than I would have expected :/

[Gabi]

Leanne wrote: "Just finished Tongtong's Summer. [spoilers removed]"

This was the one that got really near to me (view spoiler)[ since my father is nearing that condition where he needs help but refuses to acknowledge it. I had tears in my eyes at the end. (hide spoiler)]

[Leanne]

Gabi wrote: "Leanne wrote: "Just finished Tongtong's Summer. [spoilers removed]"

This was the one that got really near to me [spoilers removed]"

Same. (view spoiler)[My parents aren't exactly old, but they have a lot of health problems that will probably become debilitating soon. It hit really close to home! (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

“Invisible Planets” by Hao Jingfang
I love the micro stories. (view spoiler)[the traveller planet sounds cool (hide spoiler)] Never read Italo Calvino's stuff so I did not get the comparison.

“Folding Beijing” by Hao Jingfang
Confused on the mechanics. I kind of glazed through this one.

“Call Girl” by Tang Fei
Did not even remember what the story was even though I read it yesterday haha

“Grave of the Fireflies” by Cheng Jingbo
It's too fantasy for my taste. Also, kind of Gene Wolfe-ish.

“The Circle” by Liu Cixin
This is awesome. (view spoiler)[ I read Three Body but could not remember from which chapter this was based on. (hide spoiler)]

“Taking Care of God” by Liu Cixin
WOW. Again, I love the (view spoiler)[take on civilization, humanity's future, taking care of the elderly and so on. (hide spoiler)]

I also enjoyed the essays.

All in all, I am surprisingly very satisfied with this collection. I have some writers to look for and Ken Liu did a great job. Definitely will read Broken Stars! Added it to my ereaderiq watchlist.

[Gabi]

@Silvana:

I, too, loved the idea of "Invisible Planets". Each one of the micro stories (love your expression here) could easily have been the foundation of the worldbuilding for a novel.

"Folding Beijing" totally worked for me. I was awed by this weird concept.

:D I had the same feeling with "Call Girl" - I think, I didn't get it.

'Gene Wolfe-ish' is a nice comment for "Grave of the Fireflies". I saw it a bit as a fairytale set in SF. It had me mesmerized (but then, I am a fan of Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series …)

"The Circle" (view spoiler)[ This living computer is one of the most fascinating ideas I've ever read. I read Three-Body-Problem a short time ago, so I remembered the scene - but I had completely forgotten that it ended this way. (hide spoiler)]

And absolute agree with the "wow" for "Taking Care for God". These ideas!

I'm pondering if I should wait if "Broken Stars" goes down in its price or just go for it. Cause I definitely will read on as well. One of the essays said that Chinese SF is at the moment a bit in the spirit of the Golden Age of SF, and this seems to be exactly to my liking.

Anybody interested in a BR for Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan?

[Silvana]

Oh dear, I meant to say Jack Vance and not Gene Wolfe. He wrote The Dying Earth book, right? Though it is interesting that you said Wolfe worked too!

[Silvana]

Oh I will wait for both books' prices to be below five bucks

[Gabi]

Silvana wrote: "Oh dear, I meant to say Jack Vance and not Gene Wolfe. He wrote The Dying Earth book, right? Though it is interesting that you said Wolfe worked too!"

Cool … I don't know Jack Vance, yet (view spoiler)[ the creating something and forgetting it over the time while the world starts dying works with Gene Wolfe as well, indeed (hide spoiler)].

Give me a shout, when the price is okay, I'm in for both reads anytime!

[Silvana]

Gabi wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Oh dear, I meant to say Jack Vance and not Gene Wolfe. He wrote The Dying Earth book, right? Though it is interesting that you said Wolfe worked too!"

Cool … I don't know Jack Vanc..."

Noted, you're the first on my BR summon list for these two ;D

[Quantum]

Gabi wrote: ""The Flower of Shazui" [spoilers removed]"

Gee, that was awfully depressing. Well done! (OTOH, the narrator was pretty distant, so I can see how one might not be emotionally invested.)

You guys are way ahead of me. I need to catch up. ^_^

[Gabi]

Alex wrote: "Gabi wrote: ""The Flower of Shazui" [spoilers removed]"

Gee, that was awfully depressing. Well done! (OTOH, the narrator was pretty distant, so I can see how one might not be emotionally invested...."

No need to rush! We're here. I'm looking forward to all your impressions by and by.