Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation

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Broken Stars is valuable in the scope of Chinese genre fiction. Literature in China – its publication, regulation, and its very creation – has had a difficult ride. During Mao’s Cultural Revolution, the only book legally allowed to be owned by citizens was his own Little Red Book. Your mind is filled with such strange notions: submarines, the crystal sky, distant stars… are these the concerns of a dutiful child?’ What is clear to me is that all of Han Song’s stories are intensely political, but they’re couched in layers of allegory such that what message one takes away from them depends largely on what baggage one brings to them.” Style and Substance

While all these stories can be classified as “science fiction,” they successfully push the boundaries of that category, with some leaning more toward the fantastic and mystical, and others taking the historical or hard sf route. We even learn about subgenres within science fiction that have developed in China, such as chuanyue, which is a species of story that merges time-travel fiction and science fiction (as in Zhang Ran’s “The Snow of Jinyang”). Right, well I managed to endure 35 minutes of this meaningless and equally pointless endeavor that is known as "Broken Star". Wow, just wow. This movie totally failed to enthrall me and provided no form of entertainment in any possible way. Great collection of stories, more in the speculative fiction range than sci-fi, all of them with original ideas and fine writing. Fast-forward only a handful of decades and we have in our hands a collection of electric, imaginative, sweeping-in-scope science fiction stories by several of China’s most ambitious writers. This book is valuable because it is allowed to exist. And it is good because its writers care about the genre. Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. "StarClan will do nothing to stop me, old cat. I have made their Clan glorious! Let them try!"

Dovewing • Ivypool • Lionblaze • Jayfeather • Cinderheart • Hawkfrost • Tigerstar • Firestar • Flametail • Brokenstar

The indie drama “Broken Star” features Analeigh Tipton as Markey Marlowe, a scandal-plagued actress hiding out from the press in a low-rent duplex owned by a loner named Daryl (Tyler Labine), who’s obsessed with her. Over the course of several days, Markey and Daryl take turns manipulating each other, in ways so densely intertwined that it’s hard to know who has the upper hand. An awesome read that reminded me of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" due to Ah Chen's obsession with the vision of becoming a successful author and his willingness to do anything to get there. Another fascinating but hopeless and sad story towards the end. I’m not sure exactly what the author’s intention was but my takeaway from it was that human beings have innate survival instincts that will help them live even in excruciating circumstances, but sometimes no one can escape their fate. It also foretells the the perils of extreme modernization as well as how people will become numb to their fellow humans suffering. The characters in the movie were one-dimensional cardboard cut outs and had little or no function when they milled about doing pointless things on the screen. And it didn't really help that the actors and actresses had next to nothing to work with in terms of being able to bring the characters to life on the screen. I can’t stop thinking about them. A voice is always in my head, telling me, Hey Giana, why not go visit the stars?’”The denial of full social welfare benefits to migrant workers from rural China, in large measure responsible for the prosperity of the country’s cities, has been a record of shame and the source of many social problems, many of them sure to worsen over time. In this story, the image of rural workers and their families living in submarines, literally sealed off from the urban residents and treated as exotic animals or aliens, is at once haunting and ambivalent. While submarines endow the inhabitants with autonomy and power, they also deny them any possibility of integration with the urban residents. Like much of Han Song’s writing, there is no simple “message” to take out of these multivalent metaphorical vehicles. The sense of deep unease, guilt, and unsettling anxiety that prevailed upon me afterward is one of the core characteristics of Han Song’s fiction. StarClan will do nothing to stop me, old cat. I have made their Clan glorious! Let them try! You certainly won't stop me. Another fascinating concept but the beauty of this story is in how the author exposes our constant need to present an image about ourselves to everyone around us, trying to convince ourselves that it’s our true self, hiding our innermost thoughts - but at the same time also exposing another deep side of ourselves on the internet for the whole world to see. Our passion has led us to exclusive interviews with notable figures, early access, and active participation in the industry.

Tras "Planetas Invisibles", esta nueva colección de relatos de cf china no defrauda. La temática, los subgéneros y el tono y estilo de los relatos son variados y ofrecen una buena muestra de lo que están haciendo autores y autoras chinos hoy día. Además, los tres ensayos recogidos al final son muy ilustrativos de la historia de la ciencia ficción en China, tanto desde un punto de vista más académico como más "fandomita" (este último, especialmente recomendable para fandomitas de todos los países, y muy divertido). Written by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, “These Broken Stars” catapulted the reader’s attention to another dimension in time and space. Not your typical science fiction trilogy, Starbound’s “These Broken Stars” introduces its audience to an unlikely duo who must set aside their differences to survive a catastrophic crash that leaves them alone on a seemingly deserted, unfamiliar planet where they encounter more than they bargained for in their search for escape. Si tengo que destacar alguno, me quedaría con "Luz de luna" de Cixin Liu, "Bajo una luz más halagüena lo que ha pasado verás" de Baoshu, "Reflejo" de Gu Shi y "Los juegos del primer emperador" de Ma Boyong, que me ha sacado unas cuantas carcajadas. This was very well written but damn, so hopeless and scary. The author writes in 9 chapters about 9 diseases that will come to afflict our world in the future due to our overindulgence of technology and going to extremes. Especially one chapter about how we are completely dependent on devices and wouldn’t know what to do of cut off from them, really petrified me because it is in some ways, our current reality and I’ve no idea of what the author imagined might come true one day.In addition, three essays explore the history and rise of Chinese science fiction publishing, contemporary Chinese fandom, and how the growing interest in Chinese SF has impacted writers who had long laboured in obscurity. In addition, three essays explore the history and rise of Chinese SFF publishing, contemporary Chinese fandom, and how the growing interest in Chinese SFF has impacted writers who had long laboured in obscurity. Yellowfang: I know you care for nothing, Brokentail. Not your Clan, nor your honor, nor your own kin. I give you a life for judgement. ShadowClan stands at a place where the path ahead divides. choose to follow the right path, for the good of your Clan. Just read 'Goodbye, Melancholy' by Xia Jia which was a fascinating story of two people woven together and AI and humans. The story plays on the real life of Alan Turing, and the fictionalised life of Lindy and AIs. The blend between history and fiction is blurry and yet fascinating, and I loved the ideas which were explored in a semi and fully fictionalised way. Definitely recommend, 4*s."

As is my experience with most short story collections, I rarely love a everything the whole way through. If there's going to be ups and downs in a collection from a single author, you can bet that most anthologies are going to take an even more tumultuous ride. Indeed, that's the case with Broken Stars which was a little disappointing when held next to Invisible Planets. As you can tell by the almost five months it took me to get through the collection, I was never compelled to return to the stories for more than half of the read. vinsentient on It’s No Fun To Be Alone: Communicating With Cryptids in The Shape of Water 2 hours ago Alderheart • Needletail • Twigbranch • Violetshine • Darktail • Tree • Rowanclaw • Tigerstar • Leafstar • Finleap Here's one thing: "the first text in the science fiction genre can be found [in China] as early as 450 BC to 375 BC". Who would have thought that someone from that age had been thinking about automatons...Gray Wing • Clear Sky • Thunder • Tall Shadow • Wind Runner • River Ripple • Turtle Tail • Jagged Peak • Storm • Bright Stream • One Eye • Slash