I was not especially taken with Ken Liu's fantasy novel [b:The Grace of Kings|18952341|The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty, #1)|Ken Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403024981l/18952341._SY75_.jpg|26965646], but loved his translations of [b:The Three-Body Problem|20518872|The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)|Liu Cixin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415428227l/20518872._SY75_.jpg|25696480] and sequels. After seeing [b:The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories|24885533|The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories|Ken Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511290092l/24885533._SY75_.jpg|44534169] on this list of the 50 best sci-fi & fantasy of the past decade, I decided to give it a try. I was deeply impressed by his beautiful, thought-provoking, elegant, and powerful writing. There are no weak stories in this collection, although some are more striking and original than others. The modes range from hard sci-fi to magical realism via steampunk and alternate history, all executed beautifully. Recurring themes include colonialism, reinterpretation of mythology, imperialism, linguistics, diaspora experiences, and historiography. I enjoyed both the longer tales that explored a world in more depth and shorter snapshots.

My favourite stories were 'The Literomancer', a tragedy with subtle fantastical elements, 'The Regular', a sci-fi noir mystery, 'A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel', a short and sharp alternate history, and the final story, 'The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary'. This last has the same format as my favourite story from [a:Ted Chiang|130698|Ted Chiang|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1399023404p2/130698.jpg]'s collection [b:Arrival|31625351|Arrival|Ted Chiang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478010711l/31625351._SY75_.jpg|216334], 'Liking What You See: A Documentary'. Liu comments in the endnotes that he got the idea from Chiang's story and his application of it is every bit as effective. I really like this polyphonic documentary format, as it allows a fantastical concept to be examined from many angles. In this case, the concept is a unique form of time travel that calls into question how to deal with the legacy of atrocity, specifically horrific experiments conducted during WWII by the occupying Japanese on Chinese subjects. Liu treats this with care and sensitivity. As with the other stories, I appreciated the inclusion of endnotes and references. [b:The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories|24885533|The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories|Ken Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511290092l/24885533._SY75_.jpg|44534169] is an excellent collection of stories that combine historical and fantastical elements especially cleverly. It's unusual for me to prefer an author's short stories over longer novels like this. I'm now eager to read Liu's second collection, [b:The Hidden Girl and Other Stories|52163147|The Hidden Girl and Other Stories|Ken Liu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565279404l/52163147._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71431737]. ( )

In general, I enjoyed more of these stories than not. There were a few that didn't make as much sense to me, but I think that is partly because they were using a vignette storytelling style instead of following a plot arc in the way I'm used to. My favorites from the compilation were the two I'd read before ("The Paper Menagerie" and "Mono no aware") as well as the new-to-me story "State Change."

CONTENTS

"The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species" ~ This story is fun and innovative. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure it's one that will stick with me long (unlike some of the others in this collection).

"State Change" ~ I loved this story! The idea of having your soul in a physical object which you could then use for inspiration is really neat, and the resolution to the MC's dilemma was perfect. One of my favorites in the collection.

"The Perfect Match" ~ I resonated a lot with the start of the story: I wouldn't want a "perfect" date if I had to rely on an AI assistant to get it, either. But then it started going in more of a conspiracy theory direction, and while I still enjoyed reading it, it no longer connected with me in quite the same way.

"Good Hunting" ~ This was a really cool concept! It was neat seeing creatures of myth trying to survive in a more technical society. I am glad, though, that it didn't go into much detail. It had the potential to become body horror, but that part was glossed over a bit and so it didn't gross me out the way some body modification stories do.

"The Literomancer" ~ Well written, but incredibly sad. (And a bit gory at times, too.) This story is not for the faint of heart. I didn't care for it much, mostly due to the real world political aspect, but it was a very powerful read.

"Simulacrum" ~ This was, to me, more depressing than sad. At its core is a relationship between a father and a daughter, and how/if trust is recovered after a perceived betrayal. I didn't really like it, though I did think the science fiction aspect of the story was neat, though. (That aspect, the titular simulacrum, was not the point of the story, but rather a tool to tell the story).

"The Regular" ~ This was effectively a SF crime thriller. It got gory at times, and would probably be a SF Summer Movie Blockbuster hit. It wasn't my cup of tea, though.

"The Paper Menagerie" ~ Beautiful and heartbreaking. This is a very touching story about family and communication and belonging, and it's easy to see why it won multiple awards.

"An Advanced Reader’s Picture Book of Comparative Cognition" ~ Neat idea, and neat little glimpses at other (fictional) life forms. However, even though there's a definite sadness to this story, the way it's told downplays the emotion. (On purpose, I think.)

"The Waves" ~ Very neat idea about immortality and what makes us human. I enjoyed the thought experiment, though it was rather ambiguous in terms of plot and ending. I greatly appreciated that there were so many origin myths included in this piece, and I think that they tied in with Liu's story more than I realized at first.

"Mono no aware" ~ This is a beautiful story. I had read it before, but it was still a lovely experience the second time around. I found the difference between the solution in the story and the solution that I would expect from an American SF Movie version of this plot striking. I love the way the game of Go was used throughout the story to tie everything together.

These final four stories are ones that, based on reviews I've seen, go a bit deeper into topics I'm not interested in reading at the moment, and have more content warnings than I feel like just now. I would much rather end my read-through at the moment on "Mono no aware," a story that I loved, so while I will probably come back to finish these last 4 stories later, I'm not reading them now.

"All the Flavors"
"A Brief History of the Trans-Pacific Tunnel"
"The Litigation Master and the Monkey King"
"The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary" ( )

Listened on audio. An excellent collection of sci-fi and near scifi stories. Many award winning and award nominated. Including the title story; which won the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. Good Hunting, a story that mixes Chinese mythology with modern times was adapted in Netflix's Love, Death and Robots animated series. ( )

Ken Lie has a brilliant approach to weaving together history and realism with fantastical/speculative fiction elements, drawing it all into poignant and deeply emotional relief.

It took me a long time to read this anthology, largely because the stories are very good . . . and sometimes, so painful and heavy and immediate that upon finishing I needed to set the book aside and take some time. Both to process the story and to give myself a little emotional space to breathe. ( )

I seem to be having a bit of an Asian theme this year - Chinese sci-fi and Japan historical fiction. I don't usually read many short stories but these were mostly excellent. The final story in particular "The man who ended history" will stay with me. ( )