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A review by maxsebastian
The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Wandering Earth is a solid addition to Cixin Liu's body of short stories. After my experience with A View from the Stars, I'm prepared to say that Liu may write better short stories than his already incredible longford science fiction.
While most of the stories in this collection resonated with me, I was particularly struck by the first three, "The Wandering Earth," "Mountain," and "The Sun of China." In The Wandering Earth, Liu imagines a future where humans have to survive the death of the Sun, and instead of leaving Earth choose to move the planet with them. "Mountain" tells the story about a world disrupted by the arrival of aliens and an ambitious mountain climber who wants to reach them. Finally, "The Sun of China" imagines the life of who works as a cleaner of the panels of a massive space-born solar array.
As with his other stories, those contained in The Wandering Earth appeal primarily to the ultimate goals and aspirations of humanity. By focusing on curiosity and hope, Liu crafts narratives that are appealing and thought provoking. The one downside of this technique is that Liu often assumes a baseline of scientific knowledge (particularly in astronomy) that may be above the average reader. While he employs nuanced concepts like redshift and future aspirations like neutrino communication to great effect in The Wandering Earth, I do think his stories are generally approachable if you're willing to be taken for the ride.
Liu is often critiqued for his lack of detailed characterization. While these stories (understandably given their length) focus more on plot than on the characters, I do think there are some highlights in these works. Particularly, the persistence of the viewpoint characters of "Mountain" and "The Sun of China" has stuck with me.
Whether or not you liked The Remembrance of the Earth's Past trilogy, I think The Wandering Earth is well worth a read. While I like the composition style of A View from the Stars better, this collection may well have Liu's best stories contained within its pages.
While most of the stories in this collection resonated with me, I was particularly struck by the first three, "The Wandering Earth," "Mountain," and "The Sun of China." In The Wandering Earth, Liu imagines a future where humans have to survive the death of the Sun, and instead of leaving Earth choose to move the planet with them. "Mountain" tells the story about a world disrupted by the arrival of aliens and an ambitious mountain climber who wants to reach them. Finally, "The Sun of China" imagines the life of who works as a cleaner of the panels of a massive space-born solar array.
As with his other stories, those contained in The Wandering Earth appeal primarily to the ultimate goals and aspirations of humanity. By focusing on curiosity and hope, Liu crafts narratives that are appealing and thought provoking. The one downside of this technique is that Liu often assumes a baseline of scientific knowledge (particularly in astronomy) that may be above the average reader. While he employs nuanced concepts like redshift and future aspirations like neutrino communication to great effect in The Wandering Earth, I do think his stories are generally approachable if you're willing to be taken for the ride.
Liu is often critiqued for his lack of detailed characterization. While these stories (understandably given their length) focus more on plot than on the characters, I do think there are some highlights in these works. Particularly, the persistence of the viewpoint characters of "Mountain" and "The Sun of China" has stuck with me.
Whether or not you liked The Remembrance of the Earth's Past trilogy, I think The Wandering Earth is well worth a read. While I like the composition style of A View from the Stars better, this collection may well have Liu's best stories contained within its pages.