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angelgrrl's review against another edition
4.0
Another great short story collection.
I hadn’t realized how many of them were intertwined until I’d gotten pretty far in and had to flip back some pages to see if the character names really were the same. Some really good stomach-dropping OMG moments.
I hadn’t realized how many of them were intertwined until I’d gotten pretty far in and had to flip back some pages to see if the character names really were the same. Some really good stomach-dropping OMG moments.
failedfocus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved the paper menagerie collection by ken liu, which I read several years ago. I enjoyed this short story collection as well, but there where some stories which I liked much better than others.
tubbinsmcgee's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rubiscoreviews's review against another edition
4.0
It's fine but a little too into tech for my personal tastes
myliteraryseaside's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
natyosch's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alanjbach's review against another edition
3.0
To start, I didn't find The Hidden Girl's stories exploring Asian American identity as compelling as the ones in The Paper Menagerie. The ones here explore more the heritage of Asian American immigrants or people whose parents were immigrants, which might strike more of a chord with others, but I much preferred The Paper Menagerie feeling more personal to the here anf now rather than the past.
Luckily, The Hidden Girl then followed it up with exploration of a lot of moral dilemnas related to current technology advancements. Even with a few being too literally a debate, I found the questions brought up to be fascinating, and there aren't easy answers to thr dilemnas.
Unfortunately, the last third of the book including the titular Hidden Girl story fell flat. I felt the messages were cliche rather than novel or thought provoking. That dragged my rating back down.
Given that the only stories with continuity are some of the middle stories, I'd still recommend this book, but maybe skip the last third.
Luckily, The Hidden Girl then followed it up with exploration of a lot of moral dilemnas related to current technology advancements. Even with a few being too literally a debate, I found the questions brought up to be fascinating, and there aren't easy answers to thr dilemnas.
Unfortunately, the last third of the book including the titular Hidden Girl story fell flat. I felt the messages were cliche rather than novel or thought provoking. That dragged my rating back down.
Given that the only stories with continuity are some of the middle stories, I'd still recommend this book, but maybe skip the last third.
linde99's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shruish's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been a fan of Ken Liu for quite sometime now and I went into this book with high expectations. It’s touted as a genre-bending collection of short stories which only piqued my interest more.
The Hidden Girl… is primarily science fiction/fantasy but with a healthy dose of spillage from other genres too. There’s silkpunk, but there’s also old Chinese folklore and poetic short stories about retaining identity in a chaotic, dystopian world.
This book was going really strong until the last few stories became a blur. This was where fantasy stories came in, after a string of sci-fi ones about consciousness and identity. I’ve never been able to like fantasy as much as I like sci-fi and these stories were very difficult to read (and re-read because the words just weren’t piercing my brain).
But overall, this is a solid collection I’ll definitely be re-reading!
The Hidden Girl… is primarily science fiction/fantasy but with a healthy dose of spillage from other genres too. There’s silkpunk, but there’s also old Chinese folklore and poetic short stories about retaining identity in a chaotic, dystopian world.
This book was going really strong until the last few stories became a blur. This was where fantasy stories came in, after a string of sci-fi ones about consciousness and identity. I’ve never been able to like fantasy as much as I like sci-fi and these stories were very difficult to read (and re-read because the words just weren’t piercing my brain).
But overall, this is a solid collection I’ll definitely be re-reading!