en-US Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:48:22 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 68022 A Fisherman of the Inland Sea range from the everyday to the outer limits of experience, where the quantum uncertainties of space and time are resolved only in the depths of the human heart. Astonishing in their diversity and power, they exhibit both the artistry of a major writer at the height of her powers and the humanity of a mature artist confronting the world with her gift of wonder still intac]]> 207 Ursula K. Le Guin 0060763515 Lydia 4 4.06 1994
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/18
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: inventory, science-fiction, short-stories
review:
Fantastic and fascinating as usual. Surprisingly I enjoyed the titular story even though I tend to get disturbed by too much time travel
]]> 33375622 Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.

A wife refuses her husband's entreaties to remove the green ribbon from around her neck. A woman recounts her sexual encounters as a plague slowly consumes humanity. A salesclerk in a mall makes a horrifying discovery within the seams of the store's prom dresses. One woman's surgery-induced weight loss results in an unwanted houseguest. And in the bravura novella Especially Heinous, Machado reimagines every episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a show we naively assumed had shown it all, generating a phantasmagoric police procedural full of doppelgangers, ghosts, and girls with bells for eyes.

Earthy and otherworldly, antic and sexy, queer and caustic, comic and deadly serious, Her Body and Other Parties swings from horrific violence to the most exquisite sentiment. In their explosive originality, these stories enlarge the possibilities of contemporary fiction.

The husband stitch --
Inventory --
Mothers --
Especially heinous --
Real women have bodies --
Eight bites --
The resident --
Difficult at parties]]> 248 Carmen Maria Machado 155597788X Lydia 4 3.85 2017
author: Carmen Maria Machado
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/07
date added: 2024/09/07
shelves: horror, inventory, science-fiction, short-stories
review:
As with all short story collections some better than others. Particularly enjoyed Especially Heinous. This specific flavour of lesbian focused body horror sci fi seems to be having a moment but sometimes they feel too same same- to me the rest of the stories apart from EH didn't feel that distinct from each other in tone. Potentially a side effect of having read our wives under the sea not so long ago. For a debut this was very good though will definitely keep an eye out
]]> 76778
The Martian Chronicles tells the story of humanity鈥檚 repeated attempts to colonize the red planet. The first men were few. Most succumbed to a disease they called the Great Loneliness when they saw their home planet dwindle to the size of a fist. They felt they had never been born. Those few that survived found no welcome on Mars. The shape-changing Martians thought they were native lunatics and duly locked them up.

But more rockets arrived from Earth, and more, piercing the hallucinations projected by the Martians. People brought their old prejudices with them 鈥� and their desires and fantasies, tainted dreams. These were soon inhabited by the strange native beings, with their caged flowers and birds of flame.

Contents:
Rocket Summer
Ylla
The Summer Night
The Earth Men
The Taxpayer
The Third Expedition
-And the Moon Be Still As Bright
The Settlers
The Green Morning
The Locusts
Night Meeting
The Shore
Interim
The Musicians
Way in the Middle of the Air
The Naming of Names
Usher II
The Old Ones
The Martian
The Luggage Store
The Off Season
The Watchers
The Silent Towns
The Long Years
There Will Come Soft Rains
The Million Year Picnic]]> 182 Ray Bradbury 0553278223 Lydia 5 Incredible 4.16 1950
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1950
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/11
date added: 2024/06/11
shelves: inventory, science-fiction, short-stories
review:
Incredible
]]> 26030742 Sharp Ends is the ultimate collection of award winning tales and exclusive new short stories from the master of grimdark fantasy, Joe Abercrombie.

Violence explodes, treachery abounds, and the words are as deadly as the weapons in this rogue's gallery of side-shows, back-stories, and sharp endings from the world of the First Law.

The Union army may be full of bastards, but there's only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta.

Curnden Craw and his dozen are out to recover a mysterious item from beyond the Crinna. Only one small problem: no one seems to know what the item is.

Shevedieh, the self-styled best thief in Styria, lurches from disaster to catastrophe alongside her best friend and greatest enemy, Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp.

And after years of bloodshed, the idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There's only one obstacle left -- his own lunatic champion, the most feared man in the North: the Bloody-Nine . . .]]> 304 Joe Abercrombie 031639081X Lydia 4 4.12 2016
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/06
date added: 2024/06/06
shelves: fantasy, inventory, short-stories
review:
Reminded me of how much fun abercrombies books are! I should do some rereads/ get to the next trilogy!
]]> 1665710 The House with the Mezzanine
A Visit to Friends
Ionych
The Lady with the Little Dog]]> 128 Anton Chekhov 0141032855 Lydia 4 Tasty 3.87 1896
author: Anton Chekhov
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1896
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/27
date added: 2024/05/27
shelves: classics, fiction, inventory, romance-and-erotica, short-stories
review:
Tasty
]]> 129131 188 Iain M. Banks 1597800740 Lydia 4
Funnily enough The State of the Art was one of my least favourite from this anthology. I was not a massive fan of Diziert in Use of Weapons either. Best story is the one where the guy is in the sentient suit.]]> 3.84 1991
author: Iain M. Banks
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/31
date added: 2024/03/31
shelves: inventory, science-fiction, short-stories
review:
3.75 stars

Funnily enough The State of the Art was one of my least favourite from this anthology. I was not a massive fan of Diziert in Use of Weapons either. Best story is the one where the guy is in the sentient suit.
]]> 225400 146 Angela Carter 0099133717 Lydia 3 inventory, short-stories
Love her style, the actual stories not so much.]]> 3.73 1993
author: Angela Carter
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/03
date added: 2024/03/03
shelves: inventory, short-stories
review:
3.5 stars

Love her style, the actual stories not so much.
]]> 25956281 The Wind's Twelve Quarters was her first collection and it brings together some of finest short fiction, including the Hugo Award-winning The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, the Nebula Award-winning The Day Before the Revolution, and the Hugo-nominated Winter's King, which gave readers their first glimpse of the world later made famous in her Hugo- and Nebula-winning masterpiece The Left Hand of Darkness.

Contents:

The Wind's Twelve Quarters 鈥� (1975) 鈥� collection by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Compass Rose 鈥� (1982) 鈥� collection by Ursula K. Le Guin
A Trip to the Head 鈥� (1970) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
April in Paris 鈥� (1962) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Darkness Box 鈥� (1963) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Direction of the Road 鈥� (1973) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Foreword (The Wind's Twelve Quarters) 鈥� (1975) 鈥� essay by Ursula K. Le Guin
Nine Lives 鈥� (1969) 鈥� novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
Semley's Necklace 鈥� [Hainish] 鈥� (1964) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin (variant of The Dowry of Angyar)
The Day Before the Revolution 鈥� [Hainish] 鈥� (1974) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Field of Vision 鈥� (1973) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Good Trip 鈥� (1970) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Masters 鈥� (1963) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas 鈥� (1973) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Rule of Names 鈥� [Earthsea Cycle] 鈥� (1964) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Stars Below 鈥� (1974) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Word of Unbinding 鈥� [Earthsea Cycle] 鈥� (1964) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Things 鈥� (1970) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Vaster Than Empires and More Slow 鈥� (1971) 鈥� novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
Winter's King 鈥� (1969) 鈥� novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
Gwilan's Harp 鈥� (1977) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Intracom 鈥� (1974) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Malheur County 鈥� (1979) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Mazes 鈥� (1975) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Preface (The Compass Rose) 鈥� (1982) 鈥� essay by Ursula K. Le Guin
Schr枚dinger's Cat 鈥� (1974) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Small Change 鈥� (1981) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Some Approaches to the Problem of the Shortage of Time 鈥� (1979) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
SQ 鈥� (1978) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Sur 鈥� (1982) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Author of the Acacia Seeds and Other Extracts from the Journal of the Association of Therolinguistics 鈥� (1974) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Diary of the Rose 鈥� [Orsinia] 鈥� (1976) 鈥� novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Eye Altering 鈥� (1976) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The First Report of the Shipwrecked Foreigner to the Kadanh of Derb 鈥� (1978) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The New Atlantis 鈥� (1975) 鈥� novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Pathways of Desire 鈥� (1979) 鈥� novelette by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Phoenix 鈥� (1982) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Water Is Wide 鈥� (1976) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The White Donkey 鈥� (1980) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Wife's Story 鈥� (1982) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin
Two Delays on the Northern Line 鈥� [Orsinia] 鈥� (1979) 鈥� shortstory by Ursula K. Le Guin]]> 561 Ursula K. Le Guin 147320576X Lydia 5 4.02 1982
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/01/01
shelves: fiction, inventory, science-fiction, short-stories
review:
I am so in love with Ursula K. Le Guin. I wish I could have met her... :(
]]> 759 Eyes of a Blue Dog, Big Mama's Funeral, and The Incredible and Sad Tale of lnnocent Er茅ndira and Her Heartless Grandmother.

Combining mysticism, history, and humor, the stories in this collection span more than two decades, illuminating the development of Marquez's prose and exhibiting the themes of family, poverty, and death that resound throughout his fiction.]]> 352 Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez 0060932686 Lydia 4
I really enjoyed this anthology, it feels like you have a little Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez in a petri dish and you get to watch him grow from his unclear yet still striking early work to the beautiful stories from the last collection. The sea of lost time was probably my favourite :)]]> 4.20 1983
author: Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/27
date added: 2023/11/27
shelves: classics, fiction, inventory, short-stories
review:
4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this anthology, it feels like you have a little Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez in a petri dish and you get to watch him grow from his unclear yet still striking early work to the beautiful stories from the last collection. The sea of lost time was probably my favourite :)
]]> 74586 336 Ray Bradbury 0380789620 Lydia 5 4.07 1969
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1969
rating: 5
read at: 2023/09/24
date added: 2023/09/24
shelves: absolute-favourites, science-fiction, short-stories, to-buy
review:
If a short story collection can make me tear up I know it was a good one 鉂�
]]> 863234 160 Dambudzo Marechera 043590986X Lydia 5 Visceral 3.98 1978
author: Dambudzo Marechera
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1978
rating: 5
read at: 2023/06/28
date added: 2023/06/28
shelves: fiction, inventory, short-stories
review:
Visceral
]]> 24830 The Illustrated Man has remained in print since being published in 1951 is fair testimony to the universal appeal of Ray Bradbury's work. Only his second collection (the first was Dark Carnival, later reworked into The October Country), it is a marvelous, if mostly dark, quilt of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In an ingenious framework to open and close the book, Bradbury presents himself as a nameless narrator who meets the Illustrated Man--a wanderer whose entire body is a living canvas of exotic tattoos. What's even more remarkable, and increasingly disturbing, is that the illustrations are themselves magically alive, and each proceeds to unfold its own story, such as "The Veldt," wherein rowdy children take a game of virtual reality way over the edge. Or "Kaleidoscope," a heartbreaking portrait of stranded astronauts about to reenter our atmosphere--without the benefit of a spaceship. Or "Zero Hour," in which invading aliens have discovered a most logical ally--our own children. Even though most were written in the 1940s and 1950s, these 18 classic stories will be just as chillingly effective 50 years from now. --Stanley Wiater

Contents:

路 Prologue: The Illustrated Man 路 ss *
路 The Veldt [鈥淭he World the Children Made鈥漖 路 ss The Saturday Evening Post Sep 23 鈥�50
路 Kaleidoscope 路 ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Oct 鈥�49
路 The Other Foot 路 ss New Story Magazine Mar 鈥�51
路 The Highway [as by Leonard Spalding] 路 ss Copy Spr 鈥�50
路 The Man 路 ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Feb 鈥�49
路 The Long Rain [鈥淒eath-by-Rain鈥漖 路 ss Planet Stories Sum 鈥�50
路 The Rocket Man 路 ss Maclean鈥檚 Mar 1 鈥�51
路 The Fire Balloons [鈥溾�業n This Sign...鈥欌�漖 路 ss Imagination Apr 鈥�51
路 The Last Night of the World 路 ss Esquire Feb 鈥�51
路 The Exiles [鈥淭he Mad Wizards of Mars鈥漖 路 ss Maclean鈥檚 Sep 15 鈥�49; F&SF Win 鈥�50
路 No Particular Night or Morning 路 ss *
路 The Fox and the Forest [鈥淭o the Future鈥漖 路 ss Colliers May 13 鈥�50
路 The Visitor 路 ss Startling Stories Nov 鈥�48
路 The Concrete Mixer 路 ss Thrilling Wonder Stories Apr 鈥�49
路 Marionettes, Inc. [Marionettes, Inc.] 路 ss Startling Stories Mar 鈥�49
路 The City [鈥淧urpose鈥漖 路 ss Startling Stories Jul 鈥�50
路 Zero Hour 路 ss Planet Stories Fll 鈥�47
路 The Rocket [鈥淥utcast of the Stars鈥漖 路 ss Super Science Stories Mar 鈥�50
路 Epilogue 路 aw *]]> 186 Ray Bradbury 000712774X Lydia 4 4.25 stars <br /><br /> 4.14 1951
author: Ray Bradbury
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1951
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/29
date added: 2023/04/29
shelves: science-fiction, short-stories, to-buy
review:
4.25 stars


]]> 828698 320 Rohinton Mistry 0571230563 Lydia 4
An excellent short story selection, based around the Parsi inhabitants of the Firozsha Baag apartment building. The author expertly intertwined the lives of his characters to give the sense of them being neighbours (neither friends nor merely acquaintances). Some of the story's explore the immigrant experience, as sons and daughters of the block move to abroad with an interesting focus on how those who remain in their country of origin feel about the experience.]]> 3.88 1987
author: Rohinton Mistry
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2022/12/25
date added: 2022/12/25
shelves: fiction, inventory, short-stories
review:
4.25 stars

An excellent short story selection, based around the Parsi inhabitants of the Firozsha Baag apartment building. The author expertly intertwined the lives of his characters to give the sense of them being neighbours (neither friends nor merely acquaintances). Some of the story's explore the immigrant experience, as sons and daughters of the block move to abroad with an interesting focus on how those who remain in their country of origin feel about the experience.
]]> 604208
Based on clues in the story, it takes place in northwestern Kyrgyzstan, presumably Talas Province. The story is backdropped against the collective farming culture which was early in its peak in that period.

Chingiz A茂tmatov was born in Kyrgyzstan in 1928. His work appeared in over one hundred languages, and received numerous awards, including the Lenin Prize. He was the Kyrgyz ambassador to the European Union, NATO, UNESCO and the Benelux countries.

Translated by James Riordan.]]> 96 Chingiz Aitmatov 1846590329 Lydia 3
The translation had some very poor and clunky dialogue in it, to the point that the merit of the original was obscured (I'm assuming it sounded better in Russian). A short little romance, from the perspective of the 15 year old brother-in-law of Jamilia, who watches as she falls in love with a returned soldier. Interesting to read something from a Kyrgyz author this was a first for me.]]> 3.95 1958
author: Chingiz Aitmatov
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1958
rating: 3
read at: 2022/11/09
date added: 2022/11/09
shelves: fiction, romance-and-erotica, short-stories
review:
2.5 stars

The translation had some very poor and clunky dialogue in it, to the point that the merit of the original was obscured (I'm assuming it sounded better in Russian). A short little romance, from the perspective of the 15 year old brother-in-law of Jamilia, who watches as she falls in love with a returned soldier. Interesting to read something from a Kyrgyz author this was a first for me.
]]> 5308
A story of classic simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale, The Pearl explores the secrets of man鈥檚 nature, greed, the darkest depths of evil, and the luminous possibilities of love.]]> 96 John Steinbeck 0142000698 Lydia 4 My first foray into John Steinbeck after Year 8 english class Of Mice and Men. Short and simple plot, but every line has impact and the natural beauty in his description is superb.]]> 3.52 1947
author: John Steinbeck
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1947
rating: 4
read at: 2022/10/03
date added: 2022/10/03
shelves: classics, fiction, inventory, short-stories
review:
3.75 stars
My first foray into John Steinbeck after Year 8 english class Of Mice and Men. Short and simple plot, but every line has impact and the natural beauty in his description is superb.
]]> 13597854
In these witty, sharp, often disquieting stories, Tove Jansson reveals the fault-lines in our relationship with art, both as artists and as consumers. Obsession, ambition, and the discouragement of critics are all brought into focus in these wise and cautionary tales.]]> 169 Tove Jansson 0956308694 Lydia 3
As usual with a short story collection there are some hits (yay!) and misses (boo!)

Hits: Art in Nature, The Monkey, The Doll's House, A Leading Role, The Great Journey
Misses: The Cartoonist, White Lady, A Sense of Time, The Locomotive, Flower Child, A Memory from the New World

I'm feeling inspired to check out some of Tove Jansson's novels now. I'm guessing The Summer Book is the best place to start?]]> 3.87 1978
author: Tove Jansson
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1978
rating: 3
read at: 2022/08/23
date added: 2022/08/23
shelves: fiction, inventory, short-stories
review:
Averaging three stars :)

As usual with a short story collection there are some hits (yay!) and misses (boo!)

Hits: Art in Nature, The Monkey, The Doll's House, A Leading Role, The Great Journey
Misses: The Cartoonist, White Lady, A Sense of Time, The Locomotive, Flower Child, A Memory from the New World

I'm feeling inspired to check out some of Tove Jansson's novels now. I'm guessing The Summer Book is the best place to start?
]]> 337805 576 Mervyn Peake 0140046291 Lydia 4
A mixed bag, reaffirmed my love for mervyn peake, but also how I don't enjoy nonsense poetry most of the time or the written forms of plays.]]> 4.26 1978
author: Mervyn Peake
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1978
rating: 4
read at: 2022/03/26
date added: 2022/03/26
shelves: art, inventory, plays, poetry, short-stories
review:
3.75

A mixed bag, reaffirmed my love for mervyn peake, but also how I don't enjoy nonsense poetry most of the time or the written forms of plays.
]]> 7224729 Ajudante de uma lanchonete proxima a estacao de trem, o pequeno Ziauddim se ve diante de um dilema quando alguem finalmente resolve trata-lo com um pouquinho de dignidade. George D`Souza, o homem dos mosquitos, e promovido a jardineiro e depois a motorista da jovem e encantadora sra. Gomes, ate que poe tudo a perder quando tenta dar um passo maior do que a perna. Uma garotinha tem de provar seu amor ao pai pedindo esmolas na rua para sustentar o seu vicio em drogas. O dono de uma fabrica deve escolher entre mergulhar no submundo da corrupcao e deixar suas operarias cegas ou fechar as portas. Usando seus contratos no submundo de Kittur, um estudante da familia abastada detona uma bomba no colegio em protesto contra o sistema de castas.]]> 355 Aravind Adiga 1848871236 Lydia 3
Not quite as enjoyable as the white tiger for me- I think because of the short story format- but good nonetheless. The portrayal of caste and class tensions in a fairly modern India is very interesting to me, as it adds a whole other facet to how people are viewed and therefore behave in society. Most of the stories were quick, but a few felt too aimless, like the meal hosting couples one near the end. I like the concept that these are events happening in the years between the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi- a little interweaving of fiction and fact to ground the fictional city of Kittur in the tangible Indian backdrop it occupies.

]]> 3.37 2008
author: Aravind Adiga
name: Lydia
average rating: 3.37
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2021/10/04
date added: 2021/10/04
shelves: fiction, inventory, short-stories
review:
3.5 stars

Not quite as enjoyable as the white tiger for me- I think because of the short story format- but good nonetheless. The portrayal of caste and class tensions in a fairly modern India is very interesting to me, as it adds a whole other facet to how people are viewed and therefore behave in society. Most of the stories were quick, but a few felt too aimless, like the meal hosting couples one near the end. I like the concept that these are events happening in the years between the assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi- a little interweaving of fiction and fact to ground the fictional city of Kittur in the tangible Indian backdrop it occupies.


]]> 32295221 Ken Liu is one of the most original, thought-provoking and award-winning short-story writers of his generation. This is the first collection of his work 鈥� sixteen stories that invoke the magical within the mundane, by turns profound, beguiling and heartbreaking.

Contents:
Preface 鈥� essay
The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species 鈥� (2012) 鈥� short story
State Change 鈥� (2004) 鈥� short story
The Perfect Match 鈥� (2012) 鈥� short story
Good Hunting 鈥� (2012) 鈥� short story
The Literomancer 鈥� (2010) 鈥� novelette
Simulacrum 鈥� (2011) 鈥� short story
The Regular 鈥� (2014) 鈥� novella
The Paper Menagerie 鈥� (2011) 鈥� short story
An Advanced Readers' Picture Book of Comparative Cognition 鈥� short story
The Waves 鈥� (2012) 鈥� novelette
Mono no Aware 鈥� (2012) 鈥� short story
All the Flavors 鈥� (2012) 鈥� novella
A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel 鈥� (2012) 鈥� short story
The Litigation Master and the Monkey King 鈥� (2013) 鈥� novelette
The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary 鈥� (2011) 鈥� novella]]> 437 Ken Liu 1784975699 Lydia 4
Individual stories reviews:

The bookmaking habits of select species-4/5 stars
Little sci fi vignettes of alien species and how they record their experiences. Has a lot of the wonder and inventiveness in it that I love, as well as introspection on why we make books, and the value of inherited memory.

State change-3/5 stars
People have external souls in the form of objects. Woman with an ice cube for a soul lives her life in fear of death, decides to let the ice melt and realises it was water all along. Sweet with a pretty obvious message of don鈥檛 be afraid of who you are as a person changing.

The perfect match- 2/5 stars
Man tries to work against ubiquitous ai and surveillance in his life, fails and ends up working for the tech company who makes them instead. I could see it coming a mile off, and don鈥檛 really enjoy that sort of we鈥檒l be enslaved by our own reliance on tech type thing because it reeks of entitlement (of those in wealthy countries who have always had access to cutting edge technology in the form of consumer projects).

Good Hunting- 4/5 stars
Science fantasy about steampunk mechanical fox woman. Cool+ Yan reclaiming her body was neat.

The literomancer- 2/5 stars
Nah. The little girl was so annoying, and the old man foolish enough that it lost a lot of the emotional impact it could鈥檝e had.

Simulacrum-3/5 stars
Someone invented a way to record echoes of people and his estranged daughter is angry at him (for various reasons). Uh oh people use phone and forget how talk real other person >:(
The science was a little too nonsense for my taste.

The regular- 5/5 stars
Cyberpunk noir crime drama thing about a biologically augmented ex policewomen confronting a man extracting the robotic eyes of prostitutes. Damn that was cool and the cliffhanger... *chef鈥檚 kiss*

The paper menagerie- 5/5 stars
Conceptually very cute: magically alive origami animals!!! And also an interesting story with thoughts on generational differences, being the children of immigrants and leaving reconciliation too late. I cried.

An Advanced Reader鈥檚 picture book of comparative cognition-3/5 stars
Essentially the same as the first story. I think they would鈥檝e been better worked into one long description.

The waves- 1/5 stars
Essentially humanity becomes gods. I don鈥檛 even find this a utopian future.

Mono no aware- 3/5 stars
A classic space tragedy with a twist of Japanese ethos/philosophy.

All the flavours- 4/5 stars
Mythology of Guan Yu, Chinese God of war, interwoven with the story of a group of Chinese migrant workers in a gold rush town. The retelling was interesting as was the historical context. Jack and Lily were sweet characters, but not particularly rounded or interesting, and the same for the Chinese group apart from Logan/Lao Guan.

A brief history of the trans-pacific tunnel- 3/5 stars
Alternative history where WW2 never happens and a tunnel is built between the US and Japan. It鈥檚 fine, not standout to me, but if alternative history excites you check it out.

The litigation master and the monkey king- 3/5 stars
Personally I think that Ken liu鈥檚 sci fi is vastly superior to his historical stuff. The story is fine about an old guy becoming a folk hero type who helps peasants in court then gets tortured to death, but doesn鈥檛 hold the same original spark that shows up in others of this anthology.

The man who ended history: a documentary- ?/5
I don鈥檛 rlly know enough about the historical events described to say if this is a decent short story about them. The destroying history thing was annoying, but probably accurate, with the implication that only if an event is recorded will people see it worth anything.



]]> 4.39 2016
author: Ken Liu
name: Lydia
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2021/09/10
date added: 2021/09/13
shelves: anthropological-sci-fi, fantasy, science-fiction, short-stories
review:
3.5 stars

Individual stories reviews:

The bookmaking habits of select species-4/5 stars
Little sci fi vignettes of alien species and how they record their experiences. Has a lot of the wonder and inventiveness in it that I love, as well as introspection on why we make books, and the value of inherited memory.

State change-3/5 stars
People have external souls in the form of objects. Woman with an ice cube for a soul lives her life in fear of death, decides to let the ice melt and realises it was water all along. Sweet with a pretty obvious message of don鈥檛 be afraid of who you are as a person changing.

The perfect match- 2/5 stars
Man tries to work against ubiquitous ai and surveillance in his life, fails and ends up working for the tech company who makes them instead. I could see it coming a mile off, and don鈥檛 really enjoy that sort of we鈥檒l be enslaved by our own reliance on tech type thing because it reeks of entitlement (of those in wealthy countries who have always had access to cutting edge technology in the form of consumer projects).

Good Hunting- 4/5 stars
Science fantasy about steampunk mechanical fox woman. Cool+ Yan reclaiming her body was neat.

The literomancer- 2/5 stars
Nah. The little girl was so annoying, and the old man foolish enough that it lost a lot of the emotional impact it could鈥檝e had.

Simulacrum-3/5 stars
Someone invented a way to record echoes of people and his estranged daughter is angry at him (for various reasons). Uh oh people use phone and forget how talk real other person >:(
The science was a little too nonsense for my taste.

The regular- 5/5 stars
Cyberpunk noir crime drama thing about a biologically augmented ex policewomen confronting a man extracting the robotic eyes of prostitutes. Damn that was cool and the cliffhanger... *chef鈥檚 kiss*

The paper menagerie- 5/5 stars
Conceptually very cute: magically alive origami animals!!! And also an interesting story with thoughts on generational differences, being the children of immigrants and leaving reconciliation too late. I cried.

An Advanced Reader鈥檚 picture book of comparative cognition-3/5 stars
Essentially the same as the first story. I think they would鈥檝e been better worked into one long description.

The waves- 1/5 stars
Essentially humanity becomes gods. I don鈥檛 even find this a utopian future.

Mono no aware- 3/5 stars
A classic space tragedy with a twist of Japanese ethos/philosophy.

All the flavours- 4/5 stars
Mythology of Guan Yu, Chinese God of war, interwoven with the story of a group of Chinese migrant workers in a gold rush town. The retelling was interesting as was the historical context. Jack and Lily were sweet characters, but not particularly rounded or interesting, and the same for the Chinese group apart from Logan/Lao Guan.

A brief history of the trans-pacific tunnel- 3/5 stars
Alternative history where WW2 never happens and a tunnel is built between the US and Japan. It鈥檚 fine, not standout to me, but if alternative history excites you check it out.

The litigation master and the monkey king- 3/5 stars
Personally I think that Ken liu鈥檚 sci fi is vastly superior to his historical stuff. The story is fine about an old guy becoming a folk hero type who helps peasants in court then gets tortured to death, but doesn鈥檛 hold the same original spark that shows up in others of this anthology.

The man who ended history: a documentary- ?/5
I don鈥檛 rlly know enough about the historical events described to say if this is a decent short story about them. The destroying history thing was annoying, but probably accurate, with the implication that only if an event is recorded will people see it worth anything.




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