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> The series is likely to be a change of pace for science-fiction fans in the United States, where many leading contemporary writers in the genre are rejecting classic alien-invasion plots in favor of those that take on real-world issues like climate change or shifting gender roles. Does anyone know what books the author is referring to?
I began reading this last night, and was struck by how the analogies and metaphors the author uses make the book feel much different than the American/European science fiction that I'm use to reading. I'm enjoying it a lot.
You may be interested in the work of R.A. Lafferty ( http://ralafferty.org ) who has a Japanese following ( http://hayakawa-online.co.jp/product/books/721412.html ).
In any case he looks interesting, thanks!
I'm reading through the sample on my Kindle now. His similes are a little forced ("battles like this one raged across Beijing like a multitude of CPUs working in parallel, their combined output, the Cultural Revolution"), but he does know how to tell a story. By the end of the second chapter I was sold.
I grew up reading SciFi in both Mandarin and English. In my impression, though not flawless, this series is the only long-form novel produced in China that can stand among the best SciFi literature in the west. It deserves to reach a larger audience :)
I grew up reading SciFi in both Mandarin and English. In my impression, though not flawless, this series is the only long-form novel produced in China that can stand among the best SciFi literature in the west. It deserves to reach a larger audience :)
Wang Jinkang (王晋康, quite productive), Chen Qiufan (陈楸帆, just started to publish books recent years), Han Song (韩松)
To my surprise, when I wrote this list, I suddenly realized how few names I could think of, even after I looked up in a Chinese website Douban ( http://book.douban.com/tag/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E7%A7%91%E5%B9... ). The truth is: there are quite a few good Sci-Fi writers with a whole bunch of brilliant Sci-Fi short stories in China, but few of them ever writes full-length novels, not to mention "good" or "famous" ones.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You may be interested in the work of R.A. Lafferty ( http://ralafferty.org ) who has a Japanese following ( http://hayakawa-online.co.jp/product/books/721412.html ).
Are you saying that he writes in a style that fits Japanese culture? I looked at his wikipedia page and it looks like his influences are irish/catholic/native american tall tales. Do you know how he got popular in Japan? In any case he looks interesting, thanks!
No idea, I've wondered about that as well. He read/spoke about a dozen languages and sort of blazed his own trail. For some reason, his stories received Japanese translations and awards, http://hc2.seikyou.ne.jp/home/DrBr/index.html
His work was difficult to find for the last 20 years, but last week all of his short stories became available as an ebook.
Do you know that? Liu Cixin is a computer engineer at a power plant in bleak mountain place of Shanxi, China(not far from my hometown). He once wrote a program to write poems!
I began reading this last night, and was struck by how the analogies and metaphors the author uses make the book feel much different than the American/European science fiction that I'm use to reading. I'm enjoying it a lot.
You may be interested in the work of R.A. Lafferty ( http://ralafferty.org ) who has a Japanese following ( http://hayakawa-online.co.jp/product/books/721412.html ).