A good read. As always with anthologies and short story collections, not every story hits the mark but I really liked the editors notes explaining why each story was picked. A nice touch that I wish was standard practice.

Still keep an eye out for longer works by both the editor and some of the writers

Finally, something good I’ve read from Netgalley and it’s a science fiction written by Chinese authors from a Chinese perspective which is really interesting and thought provoking. I love how after each story, there is a short introduction about the author and why he/she wrote their story.

The editor, Xue Ning, pointed out in her prologue that Chinese fiction doesn’t tend to have happy endings and she was right for this one. Most of the short stories here doesn’t have one. I enjoyed reading about the science and how humans are portrayed here, with all their flaws and emotions. Here are some of my favourite stories:

- The Last Save by Gu Shi, where a technology allows us to erase all our bad memories, imperfections and flaws. In that way, we will only see what we want to see: Our perfect life.

- Qiankun and Alex by Hao JIngfang, where the story shows sweet interactions between a little boy and an intelligent AI. Kinda reminds me of Wall-E, this was a very heartwarming one!

- Rendezvous: 1937 by Zhao Haihong, where a young woman time travelled back to the events of the Nanjing Massacre confronting the horrors and devastation. This was quite painful to read because of how important it is to remember this part of history and hoping that history will not repeat itself.

- The Great Migration by Ma Boyoung, where it reflects the annual travel that Chinese people will go through to reach home before the Lunar New Year so they can be with their loved ones. What if there was a similar rush to go home from Mars to Earth in the future? The scramble to get a ticket, to get a seat, paying high fees in order to get home.

- Flower of the Other Shore by A Que, where a virus had caused a pandemic of zombies which affected humanity. This one really reminded me of Warm Bodies. It is filled with hope and love!

- The Tide of Moon City by Regina Wanyu Kang, where the story is inspired by The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Wanyu explores this with two characters from two different planets who can’t be together because of politics. I love this one even though it made me very sad.

If you enjoy reading science fiction and short stories, I would encourage you to pick this up! I don’t normally read sci-fi but I really enjoyed this one. Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for the arc.

Contrary to what the editor-translator said in the introduction, I feel that the use of common sci-fi tropes (such as space travel, extended human lifespan, or the ability of artificial intelligence to feel and to love) in many of these stories does lack novelty and originality.

However, I do appreciate the editor’s conscious attempt to include a significant number of stories written by female authors. I found their stories poignant and dynamic, while those written by male authors tend to be tedious and pretentious.

The translation is interesting. I really appreciate the use of footnotes to explain cultural specific aspects and specific Chinese characters. I have mixed feelings towards the literal translation of certain Chinese idioms. Sometimes it’s refreshing, but other times it makes the expressions more bizarre than it would sound to a Chinese reader.

Overall I found this collection not the most interesting, but it could be because I am not a science fiction fan. Readers who like this genre might find it much more appealing than I did.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this!

This was a really interesting collection of short stories! I don’t often care for science fiction, but in small, well crafted, doses like these it works!

An anthology is only as good as an editor's eye and the eye here couldn't be better. The stories range from explorations of life working like a video game (which dovetails with simulation theory) to utterly original and heartbreaking (yet also humorous) zombie tales and futuristic takes on ancestral worship and tomb rituals, as well as very cool Black Mirroresque twists on Taoist immortality tales. On this note, I really like how the stories are some of the best examples of global science fiction today yet also speak to older mythologies. Not surprising given the editor since she is very good about this with all her work. This is an indispensable addition to anyone's si science fiction collection. I know I'll be having my students order it.

I was very eager to try Sinopticon after enjoying some previous anthologies of translated Chinese SFF. A new-to-me editor and translator, and a mix of author names (some I'd read before, some I hadn't heard of), and more female authors as well. And this definitely lived up to my expectations for more variety! Xueting Christine Ni's selections cover a range of SF topics and types of SF. Her notes after each story also provided a lot of great context. I don't always want to know "more" after a short story, but the afterwords were well placed to understand why particular stories were chosen, what made them stand out to the editor, and particular Chinese concepts and ideas being used.

I have to place a huge caveat here that I know little about Chinese history, culture, and storytelling. But the stories that stuck out the most to me in Sinopticon were the ones exploring ideas that are definitely Chinese - such as "Tombs of the Universe" by Han Song, "The Great Migration" by Ma Boyong, and "The Tide of Moon City" by Regina Kanyu Wang. These stories made me pause and think how I'd never seen these premises in SF before! More of this, please!

My overall rating is lowered somewhat because as with most collections or anthologies, there are always a few stories that aren't to one's taste. In my case, some of the longer stories - such as the one about zombies - were not interesting. However, I was still impressed with the variety of the selections and the care taken in the translation.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars

Sci-fi is not one of my favorite genres, but I really enjoyed experiencing these stories, getting in contact with Chinese culture and writing was an amazing experience.
I read this book faster than I thought I would.
I felt like seeing Black Mirror, because the stories gave me this vibe, and as we have short stories for me, each story felt like an episode.

THE LAST SAVE 最终档案 GU SHI
⭐⭐⭐
I like this story, it was easy to read, fast, interesting, and well constructed.

TOMBS OF THE UNIVERSE 宇宙墓碑 HAN SONG
⭐
I didn't like it, the first part doesn't have a plot and the second part is boring, long, uninteresting and tiring to read.
I didn't see the reason for this stupid story being told, for me there's no reason to read it.

QIANKUN AND ALEX 乾坤和亚力 HAO JINGFANG
⭐⭐⭐⭐
This story was so cute, quick, and enjoyable to read.
I loved it, I left it with a smile on my face, wanting more interactions between the characters.

CAT’S CHANCE IN HELL 九死一生 NIAN YU
⭐⭐⭐.5
This story had many scientific terms that I didn't understand, but I liked it a lot, I thought the plot twist was very well done, I wasn't expecting it.
I think it was a very well done short story.

THE RETURN OF ADAM 亚当回归 WANG JINKANG
⭐⭐⭐
I really liked the concept of this story, it was a little difficult to understand but when I understood I found it fascinating.

RENDEVOUS: 1937 相聚在一九三七 ZHAO HAIHONG
⭐⭐.5
I liked this story, for me, it had a good mix of historical fiction and sci-fi.
I found it a bit confusing, and for me, it could have been better structured and written in some parts.
But I can't deny the importance of this story, it taught me things I didn't know about the history of China.

THE HEART OF THE MUSEUM 博物馆之心 TANG FE
⭐⭐⭐.5
This story has such a nice vibe to read.
I liked how it was written and how quick it was to read.

THE GREAT MIGRATION 大冲运 MA BOYONG
⭐⭐
I don't know if I liked this story, it's not bad and there's nothing wrong with it, it just didn't captivate me.

MEISJE MET DE PAREL 戴珍珠耳环的少女 ANNA WU
⭐⭐⭐
I liked how this story mixed art and technology.
I liked the story it was quick to read and well done.

FLOWER OF THE OTHER SHORE 彼岸花 A QUE
⭐⭐⭐
This is a pretty complete story, I even liked it, it has a Warm Bodies movie vibe.

THE ABSOLUTION EXPERIMENT 特赦实验 BAO SHU
⭐⭐.5
This story was very fast and different, I don't know if I liked it but I didn't dislike it either.

THE TIDE OF MOON CITY 月见潮 REGINA KANYU WANG
⭐⭐⭐.5
This was the story that moved me the most in terms of emotion, I was angry and sad with the end of this story.
I liked that it was a love story in some ways.

STARSHIP: LIBRARY 宇宙尽头的书店 JIANG BO
⭐⭐⭐
I liked how this story is about books and knowledge and how important libraries are, I think it was a great choice to be the last story in this book.

I'm not a fan of short stories, I find that in a collection, the quality varies too wildly for me to truly enjoy the book. This collection is absolutely wonderful, with absolutely no misses at all. What's amazing is that the stories don't feel derivative and use their specific milieus to weave a wholly original story. There are stories set in the future, in the present, and one particularly heart-wrenching story that travels to the past to seek a form of reparation. The translations are very well-done, with an explanatory note after every story that further contextualises them for you. One of my favourite stores was a send-up of zombie movies and all their tropes, that seemed inspired by 'Warm Bodies', but ended in a completely unexpected, and delightful way. I can't recommend this enough, and I hope this anthology's a yearly publication!

Science fiction is a genre that has been used to explore the possible futures of humanity, normally using the fears and culture of the time and place it was written to do so. From what is widely considered to be the first science fiction story, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which explored the fears around advancing medical technology and teachings, to something like 1984, which examined the dangers of authoritarian regimes in response of fascism in the 1940s, and All The Birds in the Sky, which focuses on epidemics, climate change, and mass starvation.

However, as much as science fiction has been used to explore themes relevant to our times, it has often done so through the lens of western creators and western cultures. Xueting Christine Ni, who compiled the stories collected together in Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction talks about this in the book’s introduction, and how looking at the literature of a country can give an insight into the everyday concerns and considerations of a people. But she also notes that when exploring books shops in China she noted a lack of genre fiction, and the fact that science fiction is more often than not filed away alongside science text books.

At first this might seem like someone’s making something of a mistake in their stocking of books, or that science fiction itself might not be recognised as works of fiction and given the respect it deserves. But it’s very quickly clear through the kinds of stories being told in this book, as well as the people telling them, that science fiction isn’t necessarily seen simply as fiction. Chinese science fiction seems to take a very different approach to the genre, and it’s a shame that it’s not more widely circulated around the rest of the world. Luckily, this is is something being rectified by Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction.

All of the stories collected for this book, all from the late 20th Century and onward, have been specifically picked out by Xueting Christine Ni not just because they’re decent stories, but because that all have something uniquely and intrinsically Chinese about them; something that you don’t normally find in western science fiction. The stories focus on themes such as identity, history, culture, and legacy in ways that normally get overlooked in this genre, and as such, for someone who doesn’t get to read much Chinese fiction, it all felt so different and new.

There are a lot of stories in this collection, and I simply don’t have the space to cover all of them, but there are some that immediately stand out to me when I think back to reading this book, that speak well to why this is such as good read. ‘Flowers of the Other Shore’ by A Que comes about midway through the book, and is one of the longest stories in this collection. It also stands out from the others on offer here because its a story about the zombie apocalypse. But rather than being focused on the horror side of things, or following human protagonists, the story is told from the point of view of a zombie, someone who has becomes infected and lost themselves, only to reacquire their memories and fight against their urge to hurt people.

‘The Last Save’ by Gu Shi looks at a future where people are able to record moments in time, to save a specific event that they might want to go back to one day. These people have the ability to give up on the timeline they’re currently living through and return to their saved point, allowing them to make other choices and live life another way. The problem with this is that it doesn’t erase the time you’re living in now, simply removes you from it as you essentially create a new reality based upon your saved state. The story raises questions about choice, about the consequences of your actions, as well as the fear of suddenly losing someone forever as they abandon you to try and make a new life.

Zhao Haihong’s ‘Rendevous: 1937’ is one of the darker stories in the book, focusing on a cat-and-mouse chase through time as one person travels back in time to the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, whilst another travels back to stop her. This is easily one of the most hard hitting and impactful stories in the collection, as it sheds some light on the events that happened in Nanjing, and the thousands who lost their lives in the atrocities there. The story challenges the idea of thinking you’d be strong enough and brave enough to stand up for yourself and others when faced with something so repugnant, yet that when faced with that reality even the hardiest of people can become overwhelmed by the sheer scale of human evil.

‘Qiankun and Alex’ by Hao Jingfang is a complete opposite in tone, and explores a future where an AI is tasked with learning from a young boy as he acts as guardian, carer, and teacher for the child whilst his parents are away all the time. The story looks at the changing usage of AIs, and how they’re evolving and changing in their integration into society, as well as how much technology and people can learn and grow from each other.

There are a lot of stories on offer in Sinopticon: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction, and they range is scope and style; some are light and fun, whilst others are darker, but all of them bring something new an interesting to readers, especially those who don’t often get to read Chinese fiction.

An interesting read - some stories in this anthology were better than others, but on the whole an enjoyable collection.

Trying to say at any moment in time this is what a genre looks like is a very difficult task. Science fiction carries a huge range from tales of hard-core physics to tales exploring our humanity and beyond. A key factor we are increasingly aware of is every country has its own take on science fiction and they too are evolving – every story is not just having a dream of the future but is in conversation with the issue of today. This became even more clearer after reading he excellent Sinopticon – A Celebration of Chinese Fiction brilliantly translated and edited by Xueting Christine Ni which provides a myriad of modern Chinese SF authors providing a great range of stories and demonstrating a genre in very good health.

Amongst the stories I enjoyed were

The Last Save by Gu Shi – Humanity has managed to create the ability to rewind your life, so you don’t make mistakes. Primarily to help people pass exams and progress in their careers but also their relationships. This impressive opener though looks at the human impact and how our desire to live perfect lives can often leave to unfulfilled ones. I loved the science fiction concept of people finding they’d created their perfect life and then their loved ones vanish because they have decided to seek theirs. It’s a tale of love and loss but ultimately one with hope combined with some smart ideas over how this time travel idea would work and impact the mindsets of people.

Tombs of the Universe by Han Song – this is another remarkable tale and one I really enjoyed as it looks explores how we honour the past and the dead. It’s a tale of two halves linked to one strange grave. A young man becomes fascinated by the concept of graves left to mark those who died in the early years of space exploration and then we hear the tale of someone who made the graves. I loved the eeriness of this story but also the point it makes about our need for symbols to inspire us to carry on (something so many countries do). This tale adds in the danger and drama of space exploration and the cost it has for those who pushed the frontiers, but it also talks about obsession and a strange growing sense of mystery that something else is going on around these graves. The one sour note is the use of the male gaze when two female characters appear but that’s not central to the story’s theme happily.

Qianku and Alex by Hao Jingfang - a huge planet sized AI is told to look after a child. A fascinating short tale that explores human and machine learning. How curiosity can lead to us pushing our boundaries and also may be essential to learning to be more human. I loved how such a huge theme is delivered in just a few pages.

Cat’s Chance in Hell by Nian Yu – I loved this story for completely wrong footing my expectations. It starts off a classic hard as nails space marine on a huge mission against robots. Nian YU really captures the golden age SF style of man versus technology but then makes the reader suddenly feel the floor drop away from them as the wider plot emerges. It is a clever tale exploring human and machine intelligence and what makes us human and the emotional intensity of our simple soldier’s journey really makes the tale stay in the memory. Rather brilliant.

The Heart of the Museum by Tang Fei – Another of my favourites a small group of aliens have arrived on Earth and one is acting as a baby sitter fr a young human. However, her race allows her to see past present and future together and so we see a young child playing in the sand who their sitter also sees becomes a brilliant architect who create sa museum that itself will last for eons. I loved the voice of the alien and their very different perspective to humans that is crested here and how in miniature a huge examination of the growth and end and rebirth of humanity all come together around a message that children are the future. Very smartly delivered.

The Great Migration by Ma Boyong – Another of my favourites combing a slice of life about three people all desperate to go to earth for the holidays and the perils of interplanetary travel. This tale is brilliant at creating the feel of a huge bustling space port familiar to any heavy traveller and yet we see the impact of Martian terraforming; solar flares and technology. A brilliant mix of the new and old worlds and the low stakes goal for the characters doesn’t overpower the story in fact we really want to see if they can succeed. It captures how humanity is very much always going to act human whatever the setting. One that really stuck in my mind after reading it.

Flower of the Other Shore by A Que – a marvellous tale of zombies that is not necessarily a horror story told to be us largely by one of the undead. Its witty, emotional and carries us through various adventures as our unnamed zombie starts to weirdly feel more human. Fans of the movie Warm Bodies will really enjoy this slightly different take and the exploration of zombie culture and a surprisingly powerful final scene. Excellent storytelling

The Absolution Experiment by Bao Shu - a terrorist is offered a choice between death and being experimented on. A short dark powerful SF tale that would easily fit into the spaces between Black Mirror and the Twilight Zone.

Starship Library by Jiang Bo – the tale of the last library of Earth and what happened to it next. A love letter to the power of the book and science fiction crossing future versions of humanity, aliens and artificial intelligence. I loved the way that learning, and the power of books is at the heart of improvement (well what else would I think!).

This is an expertly blended collection, and I particularly liked that Xueting Christine Ni makes it very clear they were looking to collect a range of voices in the collection both male and female so while there are some definite male gazes in some tales (something I still see in many western male authors too lest we forget), we also get plenty of tales exploring the role of women in science fiction. Very helpfully for each story we also get a few notes on the author; their approach to storytelling and the element of culture/humanity the tale is discussing. The range of tales from epic to the very human is brilliant and I think all lovers of SF will find many tales in here that speaks to them. I cannot wait to see more anthologies like this in the future! Strongly recommended!

I'm always excited to see more Chinese literature make its way into Western canon and Sinopticon, a sci-fi short story collection from a whole host of Chinese authors curated by Xueting Christine Ni, makes an excellent addition. What I love about this collection that I've yet to encounter in single-author short story anthologies is the sheer breadth of story and topic. Chinese science fiction, or Kēhuàn, has tended to lean more into the hard science as this collection shows, but Ni has found some extremely interesting "softer" stories as well. Perhaps my favorite component of this collection is not actually the stories themselves (which are excellent) but the author bios Ni adds at the end of each short, briefly explaining the author's background, their plethora of awards and recognitions, as well as the cultural ties of each story and why she picked that particular story in a collection representing Chinese science fiction to the West. For me, the absolute standout in this collection was 'Flower of the Other Short', by A Que: a surprisingly humorous post-apocalyptic zombie story about zombie sign language, deep philosophical discussions of art, and Brad Pitt. Other favorites included 'Starship: Library' by Jiang Bo, about an intergalactic librarian, her starfleet of books, and the nightmare of every zoning agent, and 'Qiankun and Alex' by Hao Jingfang, about an AI and a young boy who learn life lessons from each other. Overall, I rate this book a 4/5

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

knew nothing about this book before I read it save it had a beautifully designed cover. This collection of sci-fi tales new and old by a selection of classic Chinese authors makes a very interesting bathtime read. thirteen stories of admittedly varying quality but more good than bad collected by Xeuting Christine Ni are a must for any sci fi fan. My favorites have to be Tombs of the Universe [Han Song] and Flowers of the Other Shore [A Que.] though the best concept has to be Jiang Bo's Starship: Library!.

One of the best anthologies I've read. I wish we have this kind of science-fiction story compilation for every country or language.

I cannot applaud the editor of the book, Xueting Christine Ni enough. Stories in this anthology are very successfully curated. Representation is quite wide. All thirteen stories were translated into English for the first time and they are from the late 20th century onwards.

The book achieves its purpose in bringing the Chinese science fiction heritage to us. But beyond this, we also learn that Kehuan (科幻, the Chinese term for science fiction), still gets lumped in with educational literature in China. We are told that Kehuan is going through a renaissance because of some social and economical factors nowadays. And authors have given more room to think and imagine.

The other positive aspect of the book for me is that besides science-fiction scenery I also learn different elements of Chinese culture, language, history that I've never heard of before. The editor explains this wanting to give us an insight into China as a whole which I think they succeeded.

Some of my favorite stories were QIANKUN AND ALEX and Cat in Hell’s Chance. I also want to mention the story called FLOWER OF THE OTHER SHORE (彼岸花) by A QUE. This is kind of a take on zombie tales. It was quite dark and sad yet cleverly humorous at the same time. All the references in this story are beautifully thought in my opinion.

My only issue would be the editor's choice of including a short piece on the author and their story after the end of each story. I appreciate cultural context and information about writers but I don't like stories explained to me in the afterword or any other forms within the books.

I recommend this anthology to every sci-fan and/or everyone who wants to learn more about China.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion, Solaris for providing an Advance Reader Copy of this book for reviewers.

I generally prefer novels to short stories, but was intrigued by the possibility of reading works by authors whose work I have not heard of before. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed most of the stories in here:

The Last Save -by Gu Shi
-3.5 stars. An interesting take on opting out of a commonly used technology which has effects on people's relationships and to the wider society. The main character chooses not to constantly reset his life when he discovers his wife, who up till now has opted out, had signed them up for the "family" account.

Tombs of the Universe -by Han Song
-4 stars. The images of countless gravestones on different planets and moons from the first wave of spacefaring by humans into the solar system had such a melancholic and lonely feel. Coupled with the account within the story of someone dealing with the dead, as well as the changing attitudes of people as humans travelled in space, made this a thought-provoking story.

Qiankun and Alex -by Hao Jingfang
-4.5 stars. I really liked this story about AI, and how one very powerful AI managing many systems must also learn how to interact with people, and the person it does interact with is a curious three-year old. There’s learning and attachment on both sides.

Cat’s Chance in Hell -by Nian Yu
-4 stars. Great action and ethical questions raised by a soldier returned to active duty because of a new war.

The Return of Adam -by Wang Jinkang
-2 stars. My least favourite in this collection. An astronaut is awakened back on Earth after his cryosleep of many years.

Rendevous: 1937 -by Zhao Haihong
-4 stars. The author shows how a person from the future is anxious to capture part of the horrific history in Nanjing, but not the atrocities. Rather, the strength of the people in the city, and their will to oppose the Japanese soldiers’ horrific behaviour.

The Heart of the Museum -by Tang Fei
-3.5 stars. Interesting, in how an alien might view time and the endeavours of one individual’s efforts to create a revolutionary structure for a museum with an unusual approach for displaying its objects. I had a little trouble understanding the end of this story.

The Great Migration -by Ma Boyong
-4 stars. A bit male-gazey, but otherwise quite enjoyable. In China thousands of people currently travel from their work locations home for family and festivals. The idea that this would continue into the far future if people worked off planet makes sense. I liked how the author portrayed the crushing difficulties of procuring a prized ticket on a ship back home to Earth—I could really get the sense of desperation and frustration the characters experienced.

Meisje met de Parel -by Anna Wu
-3 stars.I had a hard time understanding this one; there were individual moments of startling beauty (the descriptions of food prep, and the ocean), but I only sort of got the point the author was making about Art and its lasting impact through time.

Flowers of the Other Shore - by A Que
-4 stars. A sensitive and quietly funny take on the zombie story, with the main zombie character, a “Stiff”, and his zombie pal discussing the mundane and philosophical while wandering around looking for their next human snack. Then, a flower and a relationship with a still human woman offer a possibility of hope for the remaining humans.

The Absolution Experiment -by Bao Shu
-3.5 stars. Talk about getting one’s revenge! A chilling option to a question about appropriate punishment for heinous actions.

The Tide of Moon City -by Regina Kanyu Wang
-4 stars. A story of two planets and two scientists, each from one of the planets, and all separated by politics. I liked the use of a legend to illustrate the way the two people cannot be together.

Starship: Library -by Jiang Bo
-4 stars. As a huge fan of libraries, this story about a woman advocating for the existence of the library she managed, as she travelled through space, was satisfying. I loved how relevant all those books became….

Overall: 3.7 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rebellion for this ARC in exchange for my review.

There are so many layers of quiet genius in this collection it's hard to know where to begin.

At the prospect of tackling a collection of sci-fi short stories, I was worried I wouldn't enjoy abruptly shifting between different galaxies and timezones as I finished one story and began the next. But within a couple of lines of beginning a story I arrived into its world comfortably as if I had always known it.

There wasn't a single entry in this collection that didn't make me ponder on our endearing struggle against our own impernance, our will to survive and the secret hope we all harbour of something coming along to excuse us from our pre-booked date with death (despite the equally horrifying prospect of immortality, as one of the stories expertly illuminates).

The selection, ordering and translation work by Xueting Ni is nothing short of masterly. I highlighted so many beautifully-built passages that I often forgot I was reading translated work, making them even more delicious to consume when I did remind myself.

I have read comments by translators in the past about how difficult it is not to cave to temptation and edit while translating to the point of superimposing their own reimagining of the work. Yet each author's voice in Sinopticon was crystal clear, despite Ni being the sole translator of every single story.

Equally as much care and devotion has gone into the glossary-style notes and author backgrounds at the end of each story, varnishing each masterpiece and making its colours and forms even more vivid.

I especially loved that each author considers the globalising impact of technological advances yet retains, in varying strengths, an honouring of Chinese tradition in the fabric of their stories.

Sinopticon is my happy introduction to 科幻 (Kehuan) and Xueting Ni takes clear pride in opening that door and warmly inviting you in. It touched my heart and I greatly look forward to reading more.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Solaris and Xueting Ni for an ARC of this work.

<b><i>Average Rating: </i></b>⭐⭐⭐⭐.8

After having read Ken Liu's short stories as well as his translated works, I have been very excited to read more stories from Chinese SFF authors. So, when I saw this collection being reviewed by one of my mutuals, I knew I had to read it. And what an experience this turned out to be. I am always scared of reading sci-fi because I am not much into hard core scientific concepts, but I loved that this collection is a lot about ideas and humanity and just humans in general, with all their flaws and emotions. There were many moments here where I was moved and I just couldn't put the book down. I almost loved all stories here and definitely appreciated the rest which is rarely the case when reading so many authors, so I am very glad that this book exists. And I hope I will be able to read more stories by these authors in the future.

<b><u>The Last Save by Gu Shi</u></b>

This story poses a very important question - what if in our quest for perfect happiness, we develop a technology that lets us erase every small moment that we consider bad or imperfect, and ultimately forget that humanity is what it is because of it's imperfections and flaws. Great opening to the collection.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>Tombs of the Universe by Han Song</u></b>

This was an engaging story about what death means to a technologically advanced civilization which has moved much farther from earth, and how the customs and rituals surrounding the celebration of the end of life evolve in mysterious ways when humanity starts living longer. It also has some interesting commentary on the necessity of studying various aspects of history and the importance of remembering it.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>Qiankun and Alex by Hao Jingfang</u></b>

This was an extremely fascinating and sweet story about the interactions between a little boy and the world's most super intelligent AI. I loved the idea that even the most technologically advanced artificial intelligence might have something to learn from children.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>Cat's Chance in Hell by Nian Yu</u></b>

A kind of a commentary on the ethical aspects of human cloning, this action packed thrilling short story explores a world where humans don't participate in wars anymore but clones and robots do; but the age old habit of exploiting love and affection and patriotism to wage war and create destruction still persists, probably in a more perverse manner.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐.5

<b><u>The Return of Adam by Wang Jinkang</u></b>

The story of a man out of time, and the conflict between adapting a neural implant that provides a higher level of intelligence and the founding principles of Confucius; this was interesting to begin with but I can't say I liked the way it ended. But as the oldest story in this collection, it does stand as an example of the evolution of the Kehuan genre.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>Rendezvous: 1937 by Zhao Haihong</u></b>

This was undoubtedly a painful story to read but definitely so well written that it moved me deeply. A tale of a young woman time travelling to the events of the Nanjiang massacre and confronting the horrors of the time while hoping that there existed someone who resisted, this was very emotional and enumerated the fact that this is a part of history that needs to be remembered in the hope that humanity will learn something from it and probably not resort to that depravity again.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>The Heart of the Museum by Tang Fei</u></b>

I was fascinated that this story was told through the POV of a non human entity living on Earth among humans while concealing their identity. And I loved how through their timeless eyes - who can see all past, present and future at the same time - we get to explore the idea of how much our actions determine our future or if everything is predestined. It was also interesting to see a non human entity explore a museum full of past artifacts and try to understand their significance to us, because the past doesn't really have any nostalgia effect for them.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>The Great Migration by Ma Boyong</u></b>

The overwhelming feeling I had while reading this was despair. As the editor mentions, this story is a parallel to the annual travel that Chinese people across the world undertake to reach home before the Lunar New Year; and what would happen if there was a similar scramble to go home to Earth from Mars in a future Space Age. I think the author wanted to show that however far away from Earth we might go, some basic troubles and tribulations will never change - trying to get the cheapest tickets, cutting queues to be first, trying to buy on the black market, and ultimately the desire to go home under any circumstances - we will essentially remain the same.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>Meisje Met De Parel by Anna Wu</u></b>

This is another time travel and AI story but what I loved was it's appreciation for Art in all forms - especially painting, classical music and the culinary arts. I loved the way the author describes the melodies of Bach, the turmoil in the paintings of Van Gogh as well as the meticulous way food can be prepared. I don't wanna give away too much because this sweetly haunting tale deserves not to be spoiled at all but what I will take away from it is that Art is beautiful and timeless.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>Flower of the Other Shore by A Que</u></b>

CW: virus and pandemic

When I started this story and I realized that it had a virus which resulted in a pandemic of zombies called Stiffs affecting a huge part of humanity, I thought of abandoning it. I don't know why I kept on but I'm glad I did because this is probably one of the best in this collection. It is pretty tropey in many ways like a Hollywood zombie film with constant fights between Breathers and Stiffs, the army trying to take control, and a mad villain scientist thinking he has the right to decide for all of humanity. But ultimately this story is full of love and hope and I can promise you that it'll leave you teary eyed.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>The Absolution Experiment by Bao Shu</u></b>

CW: bigoted serial killer who has committed mass murders

A tale of mankind's search for immortality while also not being able to tame one of humanity's basest impulses - retribution - this very short story was interesting and makes you contemplate the blurring distinctions between punishment and justice.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐.5

<b><u>The Tide of Moon City by Regina Wanyu Kang</u></b>

Wow did this make me sad. Taking some inspiration from the story of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, the author explores the tale of two binary planets in gridlock whose acrimony towards each other only hinder their progress; simultaneously touching on two characters from the planets who can't be together because of the political situation. It's a story about loss and grief and it was so touching and emotional. The melancholic tone of the writing reminded me a lot of some cdramas I have watched.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

<b><u>Starship: Library by Jiang Bo</u></b>

This was definitely a perfect end to the collection. Set in a starship library that keeps traveling across the galaxy for millenia in hopes that someone who is in need of it will visit them, this story is an ode to the beauty of libraries and the important part they play in the process of learning. It shows that if humans continue to imprint knowledge instead of learning it through struggles, humanity will lose it's vitality and become stagnant. I really appreciated the way this story left us with lots of thoughts about the way we have been neglecting libraries in our real world, hoping that it would create a spark in us to med our ways.

<b>Rating: </b>⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Full Disclosure: This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on November 9, 2021 in exchange for a potential review. I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.


Sinopticon is an anthology of translated Science Fiction written by a number of Chinese authors, ranging from those who have been active for decades to those who are of the newer generation. The collection was curated by editor/translator Xueting Christine Ni, and features an equal mix* of female and male authors of the genre. Of the authors included, Bao Shu and Hao Jingfang may be familiar to western genre fans (Jingfang won a Hugo in 2016 and her novel Vagabonds was nominated for a few awards), but most of the authors will be basically unknown to western audiences.

*There are no Queer authors seemingly, and no queer characters/stories included, which - given the current situation in China - is hardly surprising, even if it is disappointing.

And this collection does a lot of things really well, making it an excellent pickup if you want to try something different in terms of SciFi short fiction. Each story included is accompanied by an editor's note afterwards explaining the story and author's context, which really helps the reader understand more about Chinese SciFi both in the past and present, which is a really nice touch. And the stories range in topics from space operas to zombie stories, with some being really enjoyable, and others at least being fairly interesting even if they didn't quite work for me.

More specifics after the jump:

Sinopticon features 13 stories, some of which are very short, and some are long enough to be novelettes (one story is even long enough to maybe run to novella length, if just barely). Unlike other collections, which often just throw together a group of stories that share a similar background - like this one's background of being Chinese - Sinopticon makes clear in the editor's notes after each story why each story was picked for the collection, and what aspect of Chinese SciFi the editor was trying to display by its inclusion. The editor notes are really nice and appreciated, and really help - especially by providing the context behind the stories and the authors - explain to readers the state of Chinese SciFi in both the past and the present.

There a number of plot beats and ideas that do recur in this anthology. Stories contrasting the events of the past with those of the distant future, and how those events are re-imagined by different peoples or beings (aliens, AIs) are multiple (Tombs of the Universe, Rendevous: 1937, The Heart of the Museum). Stories dealing with the implications of improving technology on things like war, art, human culture, and more are also fairly common (The Last Save, The Absolution Experiment, Starship: Library, The Return of Adam). AI itself is a fairly common idea explored here, whether that be from the concept of what it lacks compared to humanity (Qiankun and Alex, where Hao Jingfang shows an AI learning inspiration from a child) or can't help but look with longing at the ideas of humanity from the distant future (The Heart of the Museum, Meisje met de Parel). And then you have one particularly striking story in Ma Boyong's The Great Migration that reimagines a real life event - the great migration of people from all over China for Spring Festival as a similar migration of people on Mars desperate to take advantage of an easier trip back to Earth.

Note that it is not uncommon in a bunch of these stories for characters to openly talk about the positive qualities of Chinese people outright, in a form of racial or nationalistic pride that is probably more blunt than American readers may be used to from western literature (which is absolutely not to say that a similar concept doesn't exist in Western literature, it's just a little more subtle and so ingrained we're generally used to ignoring it), which can be offputting...but as I've encountered it in other translated fiction, I barely blinked at it here. The portrayal of women, especially in the older stories, is also sometimes problematic (which sadly is also not something I'm surprised to see based on past experiences with translated Chinese SF).

Naturally, as with any anthology, there are a few stories that I thought were standouts, even though there wasn't really any story here that I thought was bad. A Que's Flower of the Other Shore is the longest story in the collection and is in fact a zombie story, of a zombie who begins to regain his humanity and falls in love with a human girl he thinks he loved pre-death is a ton of fun (and may change how you think about Brad Pitt). Bao Shu's The Absolution Experiment is very much a fascinating look at immortality as a punishment in a way that I hadn't quite seen before. Jiang Bo's Starship Library is a really great tribute to libraries and the importance of learning as a way of forming one's self, as opposed to simply being imparted knowledge without effort, that was told in a really well done Sci-Fi way. You even have an enjoyable romantic tragedy-esque story in Regina Kanyu Wang's The Tide of Moon City.*

*Oddly, the four stories I highlight are in fact the last four consecutive stories in the anthology, which is not to say the earlier stories are necessarily worse, but just that I felt the collection really did save its best for last*

In short, this is a really enjoyable and solid collection for a reader looking for an introduction to Chinese SciFi, and works just as well for veteran readers just looking for another collection of Chinese SF to devour. Worth your time.

It was a really good, thoughtfully assembled anthology perfect for those who want to get a taste of Chinese scifi beyond Liu Cixin -- as much as I am grateful to his books for opening the eyes of the Western SFF audiences to the world of Chinese kehua, I've always wanted to know what other flavours there were to be sampled. In that sense, this book was an ideal entry point, offering a balanced mix of female and male writers, works published over several decaded, and different in tone and chosen themes. I liked some of them more than others -- inevitable in an anthology, really -- but I definitely enjoyed reading all of them to get that sense of breadth and variety with takes that make the stories different from both one another and what is the Western SF tradition. I especially enjoyed the notes on the selections from the translator and editor: they were very thoughtful and gave the right amount of context and detail: something very welcome for someone like me, with a particular interest in China and female writers. Among the stories in the I especially liked Qiankun and Alex and Starship: Library (both were so adorable! and I'm definitely bookmarking Hao Jingfang for further reading), The Great Migration (infinitely relatable to anyone who had to take long, exhausting trips to homeland from a place of work or study), Flower of the Other Shore (the fourth-wall breaking full of so much affection for the zombie narrative cliches) and the Tide of the Moon City (a neat SF replay of a timeless myth).

Thanks to #NetGalley for providing the advanced copy of #Sinopticon.

What's the book about?

An impressive collection of 13 Chinese Science Fiction stories translated into English for the first time.

My thoughts:
I'm so glad I got an opportunity to read this book. I initially expected a lot of the usual sci Fi themes (robots, AI, etc) but was pleasantly surprised to see the collection had an interesting selection of all kinds of themes. I'm definitely interested in seeing more books like this enter the market.