A review by obscuredbyclouds
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
5.0
This book made me feel so many things. It made me wanna pick up my old Chinese textbooks (how excited I got to get the slang), go deeper into Marxist theory, read more Sci-Fi, and of course continue my Maureen F. McHugh marathon (which might become difficult, because I can't seem to find the rest of her books).
I know China Mountain Zhang is her most popular and best-known novel, but despite my 5 star rating, it is not my absolute favourite. It's almost 30 years old, and while (and don't get me wrong, I mean it) this is an excellent novel, I do think her writing has gotten even more refined.
Some reviews have mentioned that the story here isn't terribly exciting; that's true. It's a novel that lives on it's world-building and it's characters, and both is done excellently. I could picture both the future USA after the Chinese marxist revolution, as well as the Mars colonies. I'm not a big Sci fi reader so suspense of believe can sometimes be difficult for me, but almost all the futurist elements worked for me. I know all the characters, but especially Zhang will stay with me.
I know China Mountain Zhang is her most popular and best-known novel, but despite my 5 star rating, it is not my absolute favourite. It's almost 30 years old, and while (and don't get me wrong, I mean it) this is an excellent novel, I do think her writing has gotten even more refined.
Some reviews have mentioned that the story here isn't terribly exciting; that's true. It's a novel that lives on it's world-building and it's characters, and both is done excellently. I could picture both the future USA after the Chinese marxist revolution, as well as the Mars colonies. I'm not a big Sci fi reader so suspense of believe can sometimes be difficult for me, but almost all the futurist elements worked for me. I know all the characters, but especially Zhang will stay with me.