Ratings13
Average rating3.2
From New York Times bestselling author Cixin Liu comes a short story collection of captivating visions of the future and incredible re-imaginings of the past. In To Hold Up the Sky, Cixin Liu takes us across time and space, from a rural mountain community where elementary students must use physicas to prevent an alien invasion; to coal mines in northern China where new technology will either save lives of unleash a fire that will burn for centuries; to a time very much like our own, when superstring computers predict our every move; to 10,000 years in the future, when humanity is finally able to begin anew; to the very collapse of the universe itself. Written between 1999 and 2017 and never before published in English, these stories came into being during decades of major change in China and will take you across time and space through the eyes of one of science fiction's most visionary writers. Experience the limitless and pure joy of Cixin Liu's writing and imagination in this stunning collection. Stories included are: Contraction Full Spectrum Barrage Jamming The Village Teacher Fire in the Earth Time Migration Ode to joy Cloud of Poems Mirror Sea of Dreams Cloud of Poems The Thinker At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Reviews with the most likes.
3.25 Liu was able to hold back on overt sexist commentary until the last story. Detailed dives into narrow points of imagination. He can't conceive of worlds where leaders aren't men, where justice and art thrive together, where god-like entities have more emotional intelligence than insecure, petulant babies.
“The Village Teacher” ★★★½
“The Time Migration” ★★★
“2018-04-01” ★★★
“Fire In The Earth” ★★★
“Contraction” ★★★
“Mirror” ★★★
“Ode To Joy” ★★★
“Full Spectrum Barrage Jamming” ★★½
“Sea of Dreams” ★★★
“Cloud of Poems” ★★★
“The Thinker” ★★½
Some of the short stories were interesting but not big and awesome like his longer series' or other big books. Some of them felt so small they didn't even need to be the 100 or so pages they were.
Interesting mix of ideas.
I'd read the Three Body Problem trilogy so I know that Cixin Liu's style was massive ideas of the cosmic scale and showing me how small we really are - and these short stories continue the theme.
What I didn't anticipate in these short stories was the total mix of stories (though that's entirely on me).
I didn't personally find any one story punching above the rest. I did, oddly, enjoy the story of the poet challenging the energy being and thusly breaking reality on a galactic scale.
Overall, well written, cosmic ideas, but not quite my kind of mind bending.
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