Ken Liu believes that all fiction is about prizing the logic of metaphors over reality. This really is the underlying theme of this book, and therefore, figuring out the metaphors in some of the stories is what I considered the most exciting part of reading this book. It is speculative fiction at its best and cuts across sub genres – science fiction, fantasy, steampunk, historical fiction and so on. Excels in imagination and narration, and is highly recommended!
The idea of “what if”, especially in historical contexts, have always fascinated me. What if Hitler had been assassinated before the World War started? What if the Americans had lost their war of independence, and India won theirs? What if Islam were the major religion in Europe instead of Christianity? The book is a massive collection of such “what ifs”, and you are bound to like at least a few of the stories.
The sequel to Daemon, this book picks up right after its predecessor and sets a scorching pace. It manages to bring up several contemporary themes like extreme capitalism, mass unemployment, neo-feudalism, cyber communities and such. The author continues to make it all seem plausible, and that’s what makes it a good read.
This book is an exhilarating ride. Can a person, after his death, infiltrate, control and micromanage the lives of people, events and corporations? Quite so, if you go by this excellent post-cyberpunk thriller.
If you have any interest at all in speculative fiction, or science fiction in general, just go ahead and buy this book. Eight fantastic stories that cover domains from language to physics and mathematics to theism and more, this is a work of sheer brilliance.