metaphorosis's review
4.0
reviews.metaphorosis.com
4 stars
A collection of stories about cyborgs.
I've been a fan of editor Neil Clarke's Clarkesworld magazine for some time now. The stories are consistently good, if with a certain similarity of tone. I was interested to see what he would do with a themed anthology.
Happily, Updated has a wide array of styles. It's true that the cyborg theme gets a little wearing - 26 stories about cyborgs is a lot of cyborgs - so there may just be too much of a good thing. But within that parameter, there's variation in theme, concept, impact, and tone.
Clarke has attracted a lot of today's newish writers for this anthology - there are few of the old guard here; in fact, maybe only middle guard. With few exceptions, though, the writers are good. The ones that do get off track tend to be aiming for a poetic or avant garde approach that ends up choppy, and, in one case, almost incomprehensible.
The best stories in the anthology:
Always the Harvest by Yoon Ha Lee
The opener for the anthology is also one of its strongest stories, with an interesting and affecting look at alien contact. I believe I've only read one of Lee's stories before (surprising, given how much she's published), but I'll definitely be looking for more.
The Sarcophagus, by Robert Reed
This one takes its time to get going, and leaves out quite a bit of useful information, but eventually wends its way to a satisfying end.
Oil of Angels, by Chen Qiufan
A study of memory, this has one of the best, most interesting, concepts in the book. The writing is a bit stilted, and ordinarily I'd put that down to translation. When you've got Ken Liu translating, though, who not only is a highly talented writer, but seems to have a second job translating Chinese authors, it's hard to complain. The style makes it a bit hard to get beneath the surface of the character, but the story works well overall.
Honeycomb Girls, by Erin Cashier
As with much SF, about the effects of technology on culture. The story is burdened with an awkward vocal style meant to emphasize the distance between two groups, but the bulk of the story is well told, with an interesting perspective on a possible future.
The Regular, by Ken Liu
A mystery story clad in SF, but also genuine SF as a look at how humans are regardless of technology. What can I say? I try to be critical, but Liu seems to go from strength to strength as an excellent writer, plus near single-handed purveyor of new Chinese SF voices (and what a good thing that turns out to be).
Tongtong's Summer, by Xia Jia
Quite a few of the stories in this anthology are about family, and this is one of the best. Relatively simple construction and concept, but a moving story about love.- Memories and Wire, by Mari Ness
Ness is another one of those writers who (for me) seems to have come out of nowhere to be everywhere. It's a happy result. As with Ken Liu, Ness seems incapable of writing anything that's not good. This story is a creepy, even disturbing, story about relationships. Frankly, I don't know quite what to make of it, but it worked. - Small Medicine, by Genevieve Valentine
Grandparents seem to figure quite a lot in this anthology. This story, about a young girl's relationship with her grandmother, does a great job of presenting a child's view of change.
If you want stories about cyborgs, this is the place to go. The stories here get at the idea from all sorts of angles, and most of them do it very well. In fact, there's so much variation and skill here that this may be the definitive collection of cyborg stories. If you like cyborgs, get this. If you don't like cyborgs, you should probably get it anyway (just read it in more, shorter sittings).
NB: Received free copy from Net Galley.
NB: Received free copy from Net Galley.
brizreading's review
2.0
Short novella about a quasi-robocop private eye lady, full of damaged parts and cybernetic parts (cool), hunting for a serial killer who kills fancy prostitutes. Some stuff about blackmailing high-level Chinese politicians. Some stuff about Boston's Chinatown.
Meh. This didn't connect with me at all. I found Liu's writing full of telling, telling, telling, and very little showing. I'm also not a huge fan of serial killer/dead prostitute stories, so that was a barrier.
Meh. This didn't connect with me at all. I found Liu's writing full of telling, telling, telling, and very little showing. I'm also not a huge fan of serial killer/dead prostitute stories, so that was a barrier.
alexanderpaez's review
3.0
Reseña completa en el blog
No la he leído completa.
He leído:
- No Place to Dream, but a Place to Die by Elizabeth Bear
- Tongtong’s Summer by Xia Jia
- Always the Harvest by Yoon Ha Lee
- The Regular by Ken Liu
- Musée de l’Âme Seule by E. Lily Yu
- Come From Away by Madeline Ashby
- Oil of Angles by Chen Qiufan
Aproximadamente un 50% de los relatos.
No la he leído completa.
He leído:
- No Place to Dream, but a Place to Die by Elizabeth Bear
- Tongtong’s Summer by Xia Jia
- Always the Harvest by Yoon Ha Lee
- The Regular by Ken Liu
- Musée de l’Âme Seule by E. Lily Yu
- Come From Away by Madeline Ashby
- Oil of Angles by Chen Qiufan
Aproximadamente un 50% de los relatos.
arkron's review
4.0
Full review at my blog.
Female cyborg Ruth is engaged in a noir style murder case of a prostitute. The story follows murderer and
private detective in their struggle to stay in control.
Female cyborg Ruth is engaged in a noir style murder case of a prostitute. The story follows murderer and
private detective in their struggle to stay in control.
pearseanderson's review
4.0
Neil Clarke is magical. This is a great collection, and although there are some problems with a good eighth of the stories, each is powerful, unique, and very engaging. Perhaps after reading fifteen stories about cyborgs I wanted something a bit different, but hey, I knew what I was getting into. Glad I was able to finish this after my Kindle broke in the boy's locker room and I didn't find out how a story ended for months. Now I know.
dr_matthew_lloyd's review
3.0
As with any short-story collection, the quality and interest of stories in Upgraded was variable. There was nothing here that I thought was terrible, but there were a couple I just plain couldn't follow. The ones which interested me the least were those which just told stories about people who happened to live in worlds where there were cyborgs, rather than reflecting on the personal/social effects of such a radical change to the human body. These far outnumbered those which had genuine solid SF premices about the impact of "upgrading" human beings with machinery. Indeed, a few too many of these stories focused less on the upgrading than on the permutation of mechanical additions - they focused on able-bodied people getting additions rather than the medical function of most cyborg additions.
Stand-out stories, for me, were: "What I've Seen With Your Eyes" by Jason K. Chapman; "Married" by Helena Bell; "Tender" by Rachel Swirsky (particularly for its appraoch to questions of bodily automony); "Tongtong's Summer" by Xia Jia; "Musée de L’Âme Seule" by E. Lily Yu (for a second-person narrative which works, a triumph in itself); "Memories and Wire" by Mari Ness; "God Decay" by Rich Larson; "Small Medicine" by Genevive Valentine; "Collateral" by Peter Watts (although I'm not sure I agree with some of the assertions made in this story, it certainly leaves a lot to think about); and "Seventh Sight" by Greg Egan. Most of these are in the latter half of the volume, which I suppose should encourage you to keep going if you're reading it! I flagged a little as I went on, I must say. Ken Liu's "The Regular" also deserves a mention as a solid story, although it was enjoyable to read while those above tend more towards the "left me with interesting questions" branch of SF.
I would recommend this volume. The good is worth it.
Stand-out stories, for me, were: "What I've Seen With Your Eyes" by Jason K. Chapman; "Married" by Helena Bell; "Tender" by Rachel Swirsky (particularly for its appraoch to questions of bodily automony); "Tongtong's Summer" by Xia Jia; "Musée de L’Âme Seule" by E. Lily Yu (for a second-person narrative which works, a triumph in itself); "Memories and Wire" by Mari Ness; "God Decay" by Rich Larson; "Small Medicine" by Genevive Valentine; "Collateral" by Peter Watts (although I'm not sure I agree with some of the assertions made in this story, it certainly leaves a lot to think about); and "Seventh Sight" by Greg Egan. Most of these are in the latter half of the volume, which I suppose should encourage you to keep going if you're reading it! I flagged a little as I went on, I must say. Ken Liu's "The Regular" also deserves a mention as a solid story, although it was enjoyable to read while those above tend more towards the "left me with interesting questions" branch of SF.
I would recommend this volume. The good is worth it.
macthekat's review
3.0
a hunting story about humans... and how it isn't machine parts that take away their humanity but their actions. beautiful imagery and bizarre word pictures. a bit confusing because of the compressed form but that is part of the charm of reading short fiction
Merged review:
A captivating story about a miner with no hope in a situation where she has no hope of getting out until she do.
It's quite a short story but it manages to build a world that you feel you know how it is working. You understand the protagonist and care for her. I just realised that I am not sure of the protagonist's gender - she felt female to me, but what do I know?
I do however think the Uncanny Magazine has spoiled me - I expect more emotional punch from the short stories I read.
Merged review:
Not a fan of second person, but dark and hunting. I ended up caring, not about the protagonist but about the plot and the world. Neat trick in that short a story
Merged review:
Interesting story of memory and identity. If I had to rate it I think I would land on 3 stars. It kept me interested, but not terribly emotionally invested
Merged review:
Blah, that ended before it really got interesting. more like the start of a story, than a story.
Merged review:
A captivating story about a miner with no hope in a situation where she has no hope of getting out until she do.
It's quite a short story but it manages to build a world that you feel you know how it is working. You understand the protagonist and care for her. I just realised that I am not sure of the protagonist's gender - she felt female to me, but what do I know?
I do however think the Uncanny Magazine has spoiled me - I expect more emotional punch from the short stories I read.
Merged review:
Not a fan of second person, but dark and hunting. I ended up caring, not about the protagonist but about the plot and the world. Neat trick in that short a story
Merged review:
Interesting story of memory and identity. If I had to rate it I think I would land on 3 stars. It kept me interested, but not terribly emotionally invested
Merged review:
Blah, that ended before it really got interesting. more like the start of a story, than a story.
competencefantasy's review
5.0
Turns out I like Neil Clarke's editing style just as much in anthologies as in Clarkesworld. I was one of the kickstarter backers for this book, and I am so delighted with the result.
The theme works smoothly, and the stories feel both coherent and full of variety. Some of my personal highlights were
Married by Helena Bell
Tender by Rachel Swirsky (content warning for self harm on this one)
Small Medicine by Genevieve Valentine
Tongtong’s Summer by Xia Jia
The theme works smoothly, and the stories feel both coherent and full of variety. Some of my personal highlights were
Married by Helena Bell
Tender by Rachel Swirsky (content warning for self harm on this one)
Small Medicine by Genevieve Valentine
Tongtong’s Summer by Xia Jia
mercwolfmoor's review against another edition
3.0
A mixed bag. Overall, I was not impressed with a good chunk of it. There were a handful of stories I liked and that stood out; the rest ranged from dull to infuriating to forgettable. I was hoping to like this, because the unifying theme--cyborgs--is one I’m always interested in. Mostly I ended up disappointed.
“Always the Harvest” by Yoon Ha Lee
A fairly strong start to the anthology; the story ends up being something of a love song between a cyborg and a planet, and it’s very sweet.
“A Cold Heart” by Tobias S. Buckell
A mercenary named Pepper tries to retrieve stolen memories and finds new things to live for. Another fairly solid story; it didn’t really pull me in how I’d hoped but had some cool moments.
“The Sarcophagus” by Robert Reed
I got utterly bored two pages in, skimmed the rest, then got thoroughly fed up with the immature, infantilized beings of the worldship. (I have very little patience with characters who are noted to be hundreds and thousands of years old and act like spoilt adolescents. And everyone seemed to be a total jerk in this story, so I didn’t bother.)
“Oil of Angels” by Chen Quiufan, translated by Ken Liu
Another about memory loss, genetic memory, and relationships between mothers and daughters. Pretty good.
“What I’ve Seen With Your Eyes” by Jason K. Chapman
A brother modifies his sister’s optics. She acts as a Watson to his Sherlock, and mostly relays past events while theoretically helping a detective with her brother’s murder. So-so. A bit of problematic language the way Lisa refers to herself, though.
“No Place to Dream, But a Place to Die” by Elizabeth Bear
Miners get trapped during an explosion/cave-in and work to get free while becoming sorta-friends. Nothing really stood out for me in this one. It felt more bland and less punchy than some of Bear’s other short work.
“Married” by Helena Bell
There seems to be a subset of recent SF in which the narrator is distant, detached and never really has a feeling. This is one; a woman cannot cope with her husband’s change into a fully metallic person (due to tech that saved him from cancer). Mostly depressing.
“Come Away From” by Madeline Ashby
Started interesting (if on a sensitive topic of school shootings) and then falls apart 3/4ths of the way through. I didn’t care that it was a set-up, it just all seemed utterly pointless and I have no idea what the ending is trying to say.
“Negative Space” by Amanda Forrest
Forced/forcible memory loss is apparently a theme, because this is the third one in the anthology. A girl tries to get away from people who want her memories because they think she’s a savant, so she self-lobotomizes herself in the end. I found it unengaging and rather tedious.
“Fusion” by Greg Mellor
Got completely lost and absolutely bored two pages in, didn’t finish.
“Taking the Ghost” by A.C. Wise
I liked the idea of this one (ghosts power metallic prosthetics in a semi-post-apocalyptic world) but got irritated that literally all the women mentioned are dead or killed off. I had no emotional engagement with this one.
“Honeycomb Girls” by Erin Cashier
This one basically left me infuriated. In a post-apoc world, the only thing (ONLY) women, who are very few in number, are good for is being used for sex by multiple men in strictly ordered segregations. And then once they get pregnant, they disappear and are replaced by female sex-bots.
“The Regular” by Ken Liu
Like Criminal Minds, with a cyborg ex-cop PI. So yeah, murdered sex workers are the central conflict here. I did like the protagonist, Ruth, but the Watcher’s scenes didn’t work for me. Ending was solid, at least.
“Tender” by Rachel Swirsky
Rage-bait. A woman wants to commit suicide and her husband continually modifies her body to make her invulnerable, without her consent. That’s it. There’s no plot other than her thinking of killing herself, and him changing her body without permission. Hated it.
“Tongtong’s Summer” by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu
I apparently missed this one while skipping around with the reading. About the titular Tongtong and robot grandparents. Sweet in places.
“Musee De L’Ame Seule” by E. Lily Yu
A story about disability and adapting. Sweet and upbeat by the end.
“Wizard, Cabalist, Ascendant” by Seth Dickinson
A lot of the context and discussion of this went over my head, and I had no real interest or attachment to the characters. Did not leave much impact, like some of Dickinson’s work has.
“Memories and Wire” by Mari Ness
Yet another one where a woman (appears to) commit suicide. This one has more of a plot than “Tender” and an attempt at characterization. Still did not like it.
“God Decay” by Rich Larson
A super-athlete finds out his mods are going to kill him in about two years. Decent, although abelist in the backstory (because of course you can’t be an olympian if you’re in a wheelchair? UGH).
“Small Medicine” By Genevieve Valentine
Girl and her robot-replaced grandmother do stuff. Apparently. Mostly the girl misses her real grandma and then there is some kind of museum opening. It really did nothing for me.
“Mercury in Retrograde” by Erin Hoffman
Mercury is trying to escape her mother, gets hacked and has adventures trying to rebuild her life. Fun in places. I liked Digit, but nothing in particular stood out to me.
“Coastlines of the Stars” by Alex Dally MacFarlane
Some very shiny ideas and nice prose in here; I mostly liked it.
“The Cumulative Effects of Light Over Time” by E. Catherine Tobler
Tedious, confusing in places, and did absolutely nothing for me. The narrator is a chimera (modified human, apparently) making her way down a ship. There’s endless, repetitive descriptions of mud. So much mud. Because you can’t forget mud, right? Mud. Something something mud and then the narrator finds out that her former friend (lover?) was turned into an alien host or something. The end. I did not like this one.
“Synecdoche Oracles” by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
I liked this one a lot--the prose is gorgeous and there are so many shiny ideas and it also has Luhna (genderfluid space general). I did not quite grok the entire meaning of the plot between Charina and Luhna, but it was fun to read. Actual space opera.
“Collateral” by Peter Watts
I got only a few pages in before losing interest completely and skipping the rest.
“Seventh Sight” by Greg Egan
This is another one I liked quite a lot--people can modify their eye implants to see far more colors on the spectrum. The story follows a guy and his eventual wife as they explore the possibilities of enhanced eyesight, until computers are able to mimic it and they have to rethink their priorities. It’s engaging and fun and has a nice ending. Good close-out to the anthology.
“Always the Harvest” by Yoon Ha Lee
A fairly strong start to the anthology; the story ends up being something of a love song between a cyborg and a planet, and it’s very sweet.
“A Cold Heart” by Tobias S. Buckell
A mercenary named Pepper tries to retrieve stolen memories and finds new things to live for. Another fairly solid story; it didn’t really pull me in how I’d hoped but had some cool moments.
“The Sarcophagus” by Robert Reed
I got utterly bored two pages in, skimmed the rest, then got thoroughly fed up with the immature, infantilized beings of the worldship. (I have very little patience with characters who are noted to be hundreds and thousands of years old and act like spoilt adolescents. And everyone seemed to be a total jerk in this story, so I didn’t bother.)
“Oil of Angels” by Chen Quiufan, translated by Ken Liu
Another about memory loss, genetic memory, and relationships between mothers and daughters. Pretty good.
“What I’ve Seen With Your Eyes” by Jason K. Chapman
A brother modifies his sister’s optics. She acts as a Watson to his Sherlock, and mostly relays past events while theoretically helping a detective with her brother’s murder. So-so. A bit of problematic language the way Lisa refers to herself, though.
“No Place to Dream, But a Place to Die” by Elizabeth Bear
Miners get trapped during an explosion/cave-in and work to get free while becoming sorta-friends. Nothing really stood out for me in this one. It felt more bland and less punchy than some of Bear’s other short work.
“Married” by Helena Bell
There seems to be a subset of recent SF in which the narrator is distant, detached and never really has a feeling. This is one; a woman cannot cope with her husband’s change into a fully metallic person (due to tech that saved him from cancer). Mostly depressing.
“Come Away From” by Madeline Ashby
Started interesting (if on a sensitive topic of school shootings) and then falls apart 3/4ths of the way through. I didn’t care that it was a set-up, it just all seemed utterly pointless and I have no idea what the ending is trying to say.
“Negative Space” by Amanda Forrest
Forced/forcible memory loss is apparently a theme, because this is the third one in the anthology. A girl tries to get away from people who want her memories because they think she’s a savant, so she self-lobotomizes herself in the end. I found it unengaging and rather tedious.
“Fusion” by Greg Mellor
Got completely lost and absolutely bored two pages in, didn’t finish.
“Taking the Ghost” by A.C. Wise
I liked the idea of this one (ghosts power metallic prosthetics in a semi-post-apocalyptic world) but got irritated that literally all the women mentioned are dead or killed off. I had no emotional engagement with this one.
“Honeycomb Girls” by Erin Cashier
This one basically left me infuriated. In a post-apoc world, the only thing (ONLY) women, who are very few in number, are good for is being used for sex by multiple men in strictly ordered segregations. And then once they get pregnant, they disappear and are replaced by female sex-bots.
“The Regular” by Ken Liu
Like Criminal Minds, with a cyborg ex-cop PI. So yeah, murdered sex workers are the central conflict here. I did like the protagonist, Ruth, but the Watcher’s scenes didn’t work for me. Ending was solid, at least.
“Tender” by Rachel Swirsky
Rage-bait. A woman wants to commit suicide and her husband continually modifies her body to make her invulnerable, without her consent. That’s it. There’s no plot other than her thinking of killing herself, and him changing her body without permission. Hated it.
“Tongtong’s Summer” by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu
I apparently missed this one while skipping around with the reading. About the titular Tongtong and robot grandparents. Sweet in places.
“Musee De L’Ame Seule” by E. Lily Yu
A story about disability and adapting. Sweet and upbeat by the end.
“Wizard, Cabalist, Ascendant” by Seth Dickinson
A lot of the context and discussion of this went over my head, and I had no real interest or attachment to the characters. Did not leave much impact, like some of Dickinson’s work has.
“Memories and Wire” by Mari Ness
Yet another one where a woman (appears to) commit suicide. This one has more of a plot than “Tender” and an attempt at characterization. Still did not like it.
“God Decay” by Rich Larson
A super-athlete finds out his mods are going to kill him in about two years. Decent, although abelist in the backstory (because of course you can’t be an olympian if you’re in a wheelchair? UGH).
“Small Medicine” By Genevieve Valentine
Girl and her robot-replaced grandmother do stuff. Apparently. Mostly the girl misses her real grandma and then there is some kind of museum opening. It really did nothing for me.
“Mercury in Retrograde” by Erin Hoffman
Mercury is trying to escape her mother, gets hacked and has adventures trying to rebuild her life. Fun in places. I liked Digit, but nothing in particular stood out to me.
“Coastlines of the Stars” by Alex Dally MacFarlane
Some very shiny ideas and nice prose in here; I mostly liked it.
“The Cumulative Effects of Light Over Time” by E. Catherine Tobler
Tedious, confusing in places, and did absolutely nothing for me. The narrator is a chimera (modified human, apparently) making her way down a ship. There’s endless, repetitive descriptions of mud. So much mud. Because you can’t forget mud, right? Mud. Something something mud and then the narrator finds out that her former friend (lover?) was turned into an alien host or something. The end. I did not like this one.
“Synecdoche Oracles” by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
I liked this one a lot--the prose is gorgeous and there are so many shiny ideas and it also has Luhna (genderfluid space general). I did not quite grok the entire meaning of the plot between Charina and Luhna, but it was fun to read. Actual space opera.
“Collateral” by Peter Watts
I got only a few pages in before losing interest completely and skipping the rest.
“Seventh Sight” by Greg Egan
This is another one I liked quite a lot--people can modify their eye implants to see far more colors on the spectrum. The story follows a guy and his eventual wife as they explore the possibilities of enhanced eyesight, until computers are able to mimic it and they have to rethink their priorities. It’s engaging and fun and has a nice ending. Good close-out to the anthology.
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