Sinopticon 2021

Average Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.4

After having read Ken Liu's short stories as well as his translated works, I have been very excited to read more stories from Chinese SFF authors. So, when I saw this collection being reviewed by one of my mutuals, I knew I had to read it. And what an experience this turned out to be. I am always scared of reading sci-fi because I am not much into hard core scientific concepts, but I loved that this collection is a lot about ideas and humanity and just humans in general, with all their flaws and emotions. There were many moments here where I was moved and I just couldn't put the book down. I almost loved all stories here and definitely appreciated the rest which is rarely the case when reading so many authors, so I am very glad that this book exists. And I hope I will be able to read more stories by these authors in the future.

The Last Save by Gu Shi

This story poses a very important question - what if in our quest for perfect happiness, we develop a technology that lets us erase every small moment that we consider bad or imperfect, and ultimately forget that humanity is what it is because of it's imperfections and flaws. Great opening to the collection.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tombs of the Universe by Han Song

This was an engaging story about what death means to a technologically advanced civilization which has moved much farther from earth, and how the customs and rituals surrounding the celebration of the end of life evolve in mysterious ways when humanity starts living longer. It also has some interesting commentary on the necessity of studying various aspects of history and the importance of remembering it.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Qiankun and Alex by Hao Jingfang

This was an extremely fascinating and sweet story about the interactions between a little boy and the world's most super intelligent AI. I loved the idea that even the most technologically advanced artificial intelligence might have something to learn from children.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cat's Chance in Hell by Nian Yu

A kind of a commentary on the ethical aspects of human cloning, this action packed thrilling short story explores a world where humans don't participate in wars anymore but clones and robots do; but the age old habit of exploiting love and affection and patriotism to wage war and create destruction still persists, probably in a more perverse manner.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

The Return of Adam by Wang Jinkang

The story of a man out of time, and the conflict between adapting a neural implant that provides a higher level of intelligence and the founding principles of Confucius; this was interesting to begin with but I can't say I liked the way it ended. But as the oldest story in this collection, it does stand as an example of the evolution of the Kehuan genre.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Rendezvous: 1937 by Zhao Haihong

This was undoubtedly a painful story to read but definitely so well written that it moved me deeply. A tale of a young woman time travelling to the events of the Nanjiang massacre and confronting the horrors of the time while hoping that there existed someone who resisted, this was very emotional and enumerated the fact that this is a part of history that needs to be remembered in the hope that humanity will learn something from it and probably not resort to that depravity again.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Heart of the Museum by Tang Fei

I was fascinated that this story was told through the POV of a non human entity living on Earth among humans while concealing their identity. And I loved how through their timeless eyes - who can see all past, present and future at the same time - we get to explore the idea of how much our actions determine our future or if everything is predestined. It was also interesting to see a non human entity explore a museum full of past artifacts and try to understand their significance to us, because the past doesn't really have any nostalgia effect for them.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Great Migration by Ma Boyong

The overwhelming feeling I had while reading this was despair. As the editor mentions, this story is a parallel to the annual travel that Chinese people across the world undertake to reach home before the Lunar New Year; and what would happen if there was a similar scramble to go home to Earth from Mars in a future Space Age. I think the author wanted to show that however far away from Earth we might go, some basic troubles and tribulations will never change - trying to get the cheapest tickets, cutting queues to be first, trying to buy on the black market, and ultimately the desire to go home under any circumstances - we will essentially remain the same.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Meisje Met De Parel by Anna Wu

This is another time travel and AI story but what I loved was it's appreciation for Art in all forms - especially painting, classical music and the culinary arts. I loved the way the author describes the melodies of Bach, the turmoil in the paintings of Van Gogh as well as the meticulous way food can be prepared. I don't wanna give away too much because this sweetly haunting tale deserves not to be spoiled at all but what I will take away from it is that Art is beautiful and timeless.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Flower of the Other Shore by A Que

CW: virus and pandemic

When I started this story and I realized that it had a virus which resulted in a pandemic of zombies called Stiffs affecting a huge part of humanity, I thought of abandoning it. I don't know why I kept on but I'm glad I did because this is probably one of the best in this collection. It is pretty tropey in many ways like a Hollywood zombie film with constant fights between Breathers and Stiffs, the army trying to take control, and a mad villain scientist thinking he has the right to decide for all of humanity. But ultimately this story is full of love and hope and I can promise you that it'll leave you teary eyed.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Absolution Experiment by Bao Shu

CW: bigoted serial killer who has committed mass murders

A tale of mankind's search for immortality while also not being able to tame one of humanity's basest impulses - retribution - this very short story was interesting and makes you contemplate the blurring distinctions between punishment and justice.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

The Tide of Moon City by Regina Wanyu Kang

Wow did this make me sad. Taking some inspiration from the story of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, the author explores the tale of two binary planets in gridlock whose acrimony towards each other only hinder their progress; simultaneously touching on two characters from the planets who can't be together because of the political situation. It's a story about loss and grief and it was so touching and emotional. The melancholic tone of the writing reminded me a lot of some cdramas I have watched.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Starship: Library by Jiang Bo

This was definitely a perfect end to the collection. Set in a starship library that keeps traveling across the galaxy for millenia in hopes that someone who is in need of it will visit them, this story is an ode to the beauty of libraries and the important part they play in the process of learning. It shows that if humans continue to imprint knowledge instead of learning it through struggles, humanity will lose it's vitality and become stagnant. I really appreciated the way this story left us with lots of thoughts about the way we have been neglecting libraries in our real world, hoping that it would create a spark in us to med our ways.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5