Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

To hold up the sky /

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: Chinese Publisher: New York : Tor, 2020Edition: First editionDescription: 334 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250306081
  • 1250306086
Uniform titles:
  • Short stories. Selections. English
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 895.13/52 23
LOC classification:
  • PL2947.C59 A6 2020
Contents:
The village teacher / translated by Adam Lanphier -- The time migration / translated by Joel Martinsen -- 2018-04-01 / translated by John Chu -- Fire in the earth / translated by Joel Martinsen -- Contraction / translated by John Chu -- Mirror / translated by Carmen Yiling Yan -- Ode to joy / translated by Joel Martinsen -- Full-spectrum barrage jamming / translated by Carmen Yiling Yan -- Sea of dreams / translated by John Chu -- Cloud of poems / translated by Carmen Yiling Yan -- The thinker / translated by John Chu.
Summary: Presents a collection of speculative science fiction tales that envision the future and reimagine the past in settings ranging from the coal mines of China to the edges of frontier space.
Tags from this library: No tags from this library for this title. Log in to add tags.
Star ratings
    Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
Holdings
Item type Current library Home library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Standard Loan Coeur d'Alene Library Adult Fiction Coeur d'Alene Library Book LIU (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 50610022724681
Standard Loan Harrison Library Adult Science Fiction Harrison Library Book LIU (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 50610022864164
Standard Loan Ione Library Adult Science Fiction Hayden Library Book LIU (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 On hold 50610022864222 1
Total holds: 1

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From New York Times bestselling author Cixin Liu comes a short story collection of captivating visions of the future and incredible re-imaginings of the past.

In To Hold Up the Sky , Cixin Liu takes us across time and space, from a rural mountain community where elementary students must use physicas to prevent an alien invasion; to coal mines in northern China where new technology will either save lives of unleash a fire that will burn for centuries; to a time very much like our own, when superstring computers predict our every move; to 10,000 years in the future, when humanity is finally able to begin anew; to the very collapse of the universe itself.

Written between 1999 and 2017 and never before published in English, these stories came into being during decades of major change in China and will take you across time and space through the eyes of one of science fiction's most visionary writers.

Experience the limitless and pure joy of Cixin Liu's writing and imagination in this stunning collection.

Stories included are:
Contraction
Full Spectrum Barrage Jamming
The Village Teacher
Fire in the Earth
Time Migration
Ode to joy
Cloud of Poems
Mirror
Sea of Dreams
Cloud of Poems
The Thinker

"A Tom Doherty Associates book."

The village teacher / translated by Adam Lanphier -- The time migration / translated by Joel Martinsen -- 2018-04-01 / translated by John Chu -- Fire in the earth / translated by Joel Martinsen -- Contraction / translated by John Chu -- Mirror / translated by Carmen Yiling Yan -- Ode to joy / translated by Joel Martinsen -- Full-spectrum barrage jamming / translated by Carmen Yiling Yan -- Sea of dreams / translated by John Chu -- Cloud of poems / translated by Carmen Yiling Yan -- The thinker / translated by John Chu.

Presents a collection of speculative science fiction tales that envision the future and reimagine the past in settings ranging from the coal mines of China to the edges of frontier space.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

New York Times best-selling, Hugo Award-winning Liu, one of China's preeminent sf writers, reenvisions the past even as he reconfigures the future in this collection of short fiction. With a 75,000-copy first printing.

Publishers Weekly Review

These 11 stories, taken from the beginning of Liu's career in the early 2000s when, per his introduction, "sci-fi was still a very marginal pursuit in China," offer an innovative and compassionate look at how knowledge shapes and changes humanity. Liu (The Three Body Problem) grounds his tales in contemporary Chinese life and society, using the sci-fi genre to tackle questions about humanity's place in the universe. "The Village Teacher" (trans. by Adam Lanphier) starts off the collection on a strong humanistic note, as one teacher's dying lesson to his students saves the galaxy. Other standouts include "Ode to Joy" (trans. by Joel Martinsen), in which a space mirror uses the sun as an instrument to play a symphonic history of the universe; "Contraction" (trans. by John Chu), which brilliantly plays with form to create the effect of time flowing backward; and "The Thinker" (also translated by Chu), which convincingly links neuroscience and astrophysics. Though the science will be too technical for some casual readers, Liu's gift for juxtaposing long passages of exposition with emotional moments and beautiful imagery makes this a must have for readers of hard science fiction. (Oct.)

Booklist Review

This collection presents readers with an assortment of short fiction by the most prominent voice in Chinese science fiction. Most of the stories collected reflect Liu's interest in large-scale, high-concept sf stories featuring ideas such as a digital duplicate of the universe that can eliminate crime, a vast mirror-like entity that plays a concert on the sun, or the complete reversal of space-time by the contraction of the universe. Two stories that stand out are "Full-Spectrum Barrage Jamming," a near future story where a resurgent Communist Russia must use EMP technology to repel an American invasion, and "Cloud of Poems", where humanity has become the livestock population for a society of sentient dinosaurs but may be freed when a god-like alien becomes fascinated with classical Chinese poetry. With a writer as prolific and varied as Liu, it is hard to say whether or not this collection is completely representative; however it does provide a well-rounded view of Liu's work, showing him both in the mode familiar to readers of The Three-Body Problem trilogy as well as in other, perhaps more unexpected, styles. Highly recommended for fans of Liu's work or for those interested in Chinese sf in general.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Cixin Liu is the author of The Three Body Problem, which won Best Novel at the Hugo Awards 2015.

(Bowker Author Biography)

There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.