Wednesday Reading Meme
Feb. 28th, 2024 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowynightRecently Read:
"Upstart" by Lu Ban (Translation available on Clarkesworld) In this future society, people can exchange their life span (35 years at a minimum) for money to reduce the population crisis. They're called "upstarts". The protagonist K agrees to the deal. Then he finds someone he wants to fight for. The pacing is tense. I really feel for K and the ending is very surprising.
"Hummingbird, Resting on Honeysuckles" by Yan Wanqing (Translation available on Clarkesworld) : The title comes from the poem, "the Gift" by Czesław Miłosz.
It's a story about grief, death, mother/daughter relationship and consciousness. I really like the use of the second person narrator because It feels intimate when the narrator addresses her dead daughter, who she only begins to understand. The discussion of the AI art industry feels very relevant.
Lu & Yang are both Chinese sci-fi writers who won sci-fi awards in China. Both stories were removed from the 2023 Hugo ballots and robbed of their deserved chance for wider recognition. I feel bad for Chinese sci-fi writers and fans who anticipated the Chengdu Worldcon.
"Upstart" by Lu Ban (Translation available on Clarkesworld) In this future society, people can exchange their life span (35 years at a minimum) for money to reduce the population crisis. They're called "upstarts". The protagonist K agrees to the deal. Then he finds someone he wants to fight for. The pacing is tense. I really feel for K and the ending is very surprising.
"Hummingbird, Resting on Honeysuckles" by Yan Wanqing (Translation available on Clarkesworld) : The title comes from the poem, "the Gift" by Czesław Miłosz.
It's a story about grief, death, mother/daughter relationship and consciousness. I really like the use of the second person narrator because It feels intimate when the narrator addresses her dead daughter, who she only begins to understand. The discussion of the AI art industry feels very relevant.
Lu & Yang are both Chinese sci-fi writers who won sci-fi awards in China. Both stories were removed from the 2023 Hugo ballots and robbed of their deserved chance for wider recognition. I feel bad for Chinese sci-fi writers and fans who anticipated the Chengdu Worldcon.
no subject
Date: 2024-02-29 01:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-29 01:35 pm (UTC)The writers deserve better.