A review by anonymous_blobfish
Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation, by Cheng Jingbo, Gu Shi, Zhang Ran, Xia Jia, Ma Boyong, Anna Wu, Mingwei Song, Regina Kanyu Wang, Baoshu, Chen Qiufan, Han Song, Hao Jingfang, Tang Fei, Cixin Liu, Fei Dao
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
4.0
Time travel, AI, technology in all its forms, and a powerful sense of humanity - this collection had it all! Overall this was an excellent collection and I had a great time reading it! Not every story was for me but, unlike other short story collections I’ve read, they were all incredibly well written and the ratings below are subject to my specific taste rather than the actual quality of the work.
Goodnight, Melancholy by Xia Jia - 5/5 ⭐️
A stunning and heartbreaking reflection on technology and mental health that was equally despondent and hopeful. (This was my personal standout, I’m still thinking about it a week after first reading it)
Moonlight by Liu Cixin - 3.75/5 ⭐️
A bleak reflection on our inability to truly alter the future through the lens of climate science.
Broken Stars by Tang Fei - 4/5 ⭐️
I’m sorry - what?? Less sci-fi more surrealist horror, messed up and somehow poetic? Weird shit man.
Submarines by Han Song - 3.5/5 ⭐️
An interesting reflection on poverty and capitalism and on the adaptability of humans.
Salinger and the Koreans by Han Song - 4/5 ⭐️
I really liked this strange “what if” story that posed the question: what if the North Koreans loved Catcher in the Rye?
Under a Dangling Sky by Cheng Jingbo - 4/5 ⭐️
So long and thanks for all the fish!
What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear by Baoshu - 4.5/5 ⭐️
Times change but life stays the same in this beautiful reflection on humanity.
The New Year Train by Hao Jingfang - 3.5/5 ⭐️
I need this technology 😭
The Robot Who Liked to Tell Tall Tales by Fei Dao - 2/5 ⭐️
The first story in this collection that has left me feeling nothing. Not bad, just not for me!
The Snow of Jingyang by Zhang Ran - 2/5 ⭐️
I’m pretty particular about my sci-fi and apparently this was not it for me. Another one that wasn’t bad, just wasn’t for me.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Laba Porridge by Anna Wu - 4/5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this - it felt like an homage to Hitchhikers’ whilst still be an emotional, reflective and unique tale.
The First Emperor’s Games by Ma Boyong - 4/5 ⭐️
What if computers and phones existed in the time of the first Chinese emperor? This might be the funniest story yet!
Reflection by Gu Shi - 4.5/5 ⭐️
Sometimes we see the world but not ourselves.
The Brain Box by Regina Kanyu Wang - 4/5 ⭐️
The concept of an emotional black box is soooo unsettling and this story captures exactly why!
Coming of the Light by Chen Qiufen - 4/5 ⭐️
Religion and technology: the battle of the bastards.
A History of Future Illnesses by Chen Qiufen - 3/5 ⭐️
A not unrealistic examination of the health consequences of technology that should have been interesting but kinda felt like a journal article.
Note: there are also 3 essays on Chinese science fiction writing which I’m not reading this time around but I definitely plan on coming back to. This has been a really great experience and I’m excited to learn more about Chinese sci-fi as an industry (I’m also just too tired/lazy to do it right now lol).