(Drivebycuriosity) - Liu Cixin belongs to the brightest stars on the firmament of science fiction. His novel "The Three-Body Problem" won 2015 the Hugo Award for best novel, the Oscar in the sci-fi world. The book is the start of the trilogy "The Remembrance Of Earth`s Past" (my review ). The Chinese author wove a huge space opera - a scifi epic on a grand scale comparable to Homer´s Odyssey and Richard Wagner´s Ring cycle.
I just finished the anthology "To Hold up the Sky" which collects 11 short stories by Liu Cixin ( amazon). The compilation shows the bandwidth of his talents & interests, but also his writing skills. The stories - most are written decades ago - are mostly hard science fiction, based on physics, cosmology and other sciences. The stories also "have a strong Chinese flavor, imbued with the culture, history, and present reality of China". Liu Cixin tried to imagine "the direct, tangible relationship between people and the universe".
What will happen when the universe stops expanding and starts to shrink? What will happen when some activists shut down the complete global electronic networks? What will happen when engineers set a coal mine on fire to provide cheap energy? What will happen when Russia is getting invaded by NATO troops? What will happen when an alien super power intends to destroy the earth?
"To hold up" is cutting edge science fiction, entertaining with a lot of food for thoughts.
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