There is so much current energy within the genre of speculative fiction that I was eager to attempt a first foray into the genre with I’m Waiting for You by Kim Bo-Young. With a tag-line of “two worlds, four stories, infinite possibilities” I wondered if this would read like a sort of adult “choose your own adventure” story or at the very least, leave the opportunity for me to interpret the ending that I would want, something I often wish I could do at the end of a good story!

The stories have a common thread of everlasting love and timeless hope and with a setting of the cosmos, leave a feeling of breathlessness as the concepts of space and time mingle with the current reality of life on Earth.

The innovative approach to the storyline is praised as fresh and cinematic, and many readers will enjoy the avant garde. However, I found the writing confusing and just could not settle into the story.

These stories have stuck in my head for the past week, since I finished reading them (which happened in just two days). I'd never heard of this author before, but the synopsis was interesting to me, and I was glad to get the chance to get a copy. It's so lyrical, so sad, and so fascinating. These stories (especially the first and last one) are just beautiful. I was riveted from start to finish. A sci-fi love story lasting hundreds of years, told from two different peoples' perspectives. That's as much as I can say. The ideas here are amazing. In fact, I want to go back and read them all over again now. Buy this book. You won't regret it.

"I'm Waiting for You" is a wonderful, quiet, wistful collection of speculative science fiction. The first and fourth story is a classic missed encounters, and a somewhat epic story of the enduring power and strength of love. The second and third stories will have you questioning what it means to be alive and what the "individual" actually means.

Wow. Thank you Harper Voyager for this ARC! This is the best collection of short stories I’ve read in years. The first and last stories were definitely my favorite and I can see myself reading them again when the book the is published. Together they form a very long story, complementing each other, much like the middle two stories. I almost wish they’d been grouped together though. I was so desperate for more after reading the first one, and if I’d known there was more in the last story, I probably would’ve skipped ahead to it. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t know though, because I loved ending my reading experience with “On My Way to You” and finishing with satisfaction. These two stories would be considered love stories, but in the strangest, scariest way. I was so anxious while reading them and felt so much for our characters. I just loved them so much.

The second and third stories were more difficult. I enjoyed them immensely (although not as much as the other two), but they took me a long time to read. It felt like I was reading a novella for how long I spent on “The Prophet of Corruption.” It’s just a complex story that requires your full attention. There’s also a horror element to these two connected stories, but I’d consider it more akin to existential since the feeling was similar. It’s an uncomfortable feeling that I enjoy while reading weird books. You don’t have to have a particular spiritual/religious sensibility to get something out of it, thankfully. I’d say it appeals to my pantheistic agnostic senses, but anyone could find something important in the pages.

I love the author’s notes at the end, and the translator’s notes. Really, all the extra stuff after the stories is worth reading. I’m glad I didn’t know about it until after I finished reading though. It gave me a little more to be excited about, and made the stories more powerful.

I read this collection at the right time. Being in a difficult place, I wasn’t sure if it would upset me, so I almost put off reading it. I’m glad I didn’t though. I definitely felt emotional, but I needed this in my life. I love the characters in these 4 stories, love their stories, love the worldbuilding. There’s hope and love alongside the more anxious/unsettling elements. I have this book on my list to buy when the physical copy comes out because I just have to have it on my shelf. I’m going to recommend it to a lot of people and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

This book. This Book right here.

So Bo-Young Kim wrote several short stories/novelettes into this book, but the only ones that I think matter is the first one "I'm Waiting for you" and the last one, "On My Way”. They sandwich a few stories that I’ll be honest, went way over my head. I’m a simple fellow, and Kim writes with complex thought and characterization. That’s a strength, not a deficiency. Just a little too complex for me.

This book still gets my highest rating because of the first and last story. Sweet powers of justice, you have to read this. Get. It. Now.

You’ll have your heart broken by two lovers, separated by billions of miles and years of earth time as they desperately struggle to find each other. You’ll have a lump in your throat as the first story ends and the situation looks bleak (though there is a complete story and it’s good…just heart-wrenching). You’ll have anger and sympathy and you’ll think of the other character as a hero of her own story in the second story because she finds a way to keep fighting even though all hope looks lost.

And that ending. That freaking ending. I just set my kindle down carefully on my bed, said a few choice words, and basked in the afterglow of one of the greatest stories I’ve ever read.

One of the greatest stories I’ve ever read.

I really enjoyed the first and last stories in this book, which complement each other. The second story was a lot more complicated and a little bit hard to digest, but the author's notes at the end of the book gives a lot of the missing context. I also appreciate the letters exchanged between the translators, because sometimes readers don't realize how much efforts it takes to translate stories.