I seem to be having a bit of an Asian theme this year - Chinese sci-fi and Japan historical fiction. I don't usually read many short stories but these were mostly excellent. The final story in particular "The man who ended history" will stay with me. ( )

3.5 Stars - for the short The Bookmaking Secrets of Select Species

I wouldn’t necessarily say this is an actual story, but the way Liu describes these species and how they communicate and pass on their culture is impressive. Such detailed originality needs to be acknowledged and appreciated. It’s a testament to sentience, where one wants to leave their indelible mark to forever remember and be remembered. ( )

My favourite was Good Hunting. I loved how Liu infused the romance of Chinese mythology with the shiny sleekness of steampunk future. The themes were done so well, even if the plot itself felt too intentionally geared towards specifically exploring these themes. I think it's just my own bias against science fiction and the extra unnaturalness I feel about having to learn the rules of a new world. Anyway, I haven't been able to stop thinking about 狐狸精 which funnily enough is the point! Paper Menagerie was obviously also a stand out, and great for anyone who regrets being a sullen teen mistreating their mother and wants to have a good cry! ( )

Ken Liu writes beautifully, angrily, tenderly, piercingly about China, Japan, the West, racism, moral choices, history and its making, re-making, telling, and denial, ordinary heroes and monsters, post-humanity and interstellar travel. It’s brilliant.

The Bookmaking Habits of Selected Species
Everyone makes books.” Would you like to read a black hole? ;) I loved the idea of books that speak with the voice of the author, but decay with every read.

State Change
What a beautiful story… What if your soul was an object outside of your body? What if the object was a finite one? A pack of cigarettes, an ice cube, a tin of coffee? What if you had the power to measure out your life and have a superpower while doing so?

The Perfect Match
I had read this one before, in some other anthology (can’t remember which one it was). Anyway, it was an interesting dystopian take on social media algorithms and a mega corporation controlling everyone and everything.

Good Hunting
Another familiar tale, I had read it and loved it in Beyond the Woods: Fairy Tales Retold. Here is wonderful blend of shape-changing foxes, Chinese mythology and steampunk. I enjoyed it immensely, even more than the first time.

The Literomancer
Too heartbreaking for words.

Simulacrum
The idea is very interesting, but the story is really about the distances (sometimes insurmountable) between people.

The Regular
This one was a page-turner, a scary murder mystery with a bitterly ironic twist. The implant regulating your emotional state was intriguing and frightening. What kind of decisions would we make without emotions?

The Paper Menagerie
A story that made me cry. There was so much love and sadness in just a few pages. I loved the origami animals.

An Advanced Reader’s Picture Book of Comparative Cognition
There was a lot of cool ideas, but it did not leave much impression. I was probably still reeling after having read The Paper Menagerie.

Waves
At first it felt like I was reading a “regular” generation ship sci-fi, but then it moved into post-humanity territory. Enjoyable.

Mono no Aware
Beautiful and tragic. After reading this one, I wanted to hug everyone I know. Strangers, too.

All the Flavors
This is a slice of life novella mixing historical events, Wild West, meetings between different cultures, and Chinese legends. Very satisfying.

A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel
Alternative history dealing with sins of the past and the possibility of redemption.

The Litigator and the Monkey King
This one begins as a picaresque tale. It ends up being a story about the nature of history, memory, and who the true heroes are.

The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary
Continues the themes of the previous story. For me, it was a very emotional read. The use and abuse of history for ideological, existential, and moral reasons goes on and on and on. I also want to shake the author’s hand for writing (Ken Liu is not the first, of course) that monsters are ordinary people. ( )

A really great collection of stories, often grim and frequently gruesome but full of rich insight and gentle, brave, ordinary people. Must-read for LeGuin fans. ( )