Kim Bo-young

The two parts of the book affected me in two separate ways. The first and last stories could be put together as a novella, “I’m Waiting for You” and “On My Way.” They show a separated engaged couple trying to get to each other so they can marry but faster than light travel adds years and decades to their quest. One spends their time alone and depressed and rather self-destructive, the other is surrounded by people who hate them yet works constantly to make life better. It's kind of like the problem of picking the wrong line at the supermarket but on a galactic scale. I loved these stories and would have given the book 5 stars if they were the only ones presented. Unfortunately, the other two connected stories could also have made a novella, one I would gladly ignore. “The Prophet of Corruption” and “That One Life,” are Buddhist world-building contrasting the need for oneness with individuality and wondering if pain and suffering or support offer a better environment for learning. I think they won a prize of some sort, but to me, they were senseless naval gazing. So, overall, 3 stars for the whole collection.… (lisätietoja)

The 1st story is about relativity and how people might think about time during different experiences of space travel and return to earth - starts off light-hearted but becomes somewhat melancholy as the returns to Earth show more and more devastation.
2nd story is a philosophical exploration of the nature of existence, using the Bhuddist metaphor of the bardo - a place between death and reincarnation where one can experience enlightenment or hallucination. It's interesting but goes on too long.
3rd story is the voice of the potential bride from story 1. More of a traditional tale of a disparate band of shipmates who gradually turn into a heirarchical totalitarian society.
The end notes of the author, translators, and the 2 people the bride and groom stories were originally written for give valuable insights.… (lisätietoja)

Scripter - philosophy, how do we know we are human/real, set in the milieu of an old RPG that is about to be shut down. A bit long but very good. 4/5
Between Zero and One - time travel, quantum theory, and mothers and daughters. 4/5
An Evolutionary Myth - the son of a usurped king slowly transforms into different kinds of mythical beasts. 3/5
Last of the Wolves - don't know what to make of this story. Humans are either fur-covered pets of something they call dragons, or scrawny strays living in the abandoned subway. 3/5
On the Origin of Species - robot society on Earth questions the idea that there could ever be such a thing as organic life. A bit laboured but OK. 3/5
Stars Shine in Earth's Sky - an inhabitant of a planet at the centre of the galaxy, where the sky is so densely packed with stars it is always light, tries to imagine how the sky might look from a planet at the edge of the galaxy where the sky is dark and has few stars. 4/5
On the Origin of Species and what might have happened thereafter - robots reasearch into the less regarded field of organic life eventually creates human infants, and the research team become maniacally devoted to them. 345… (lisätietoja)