Uncanny Magazine Issue 2: January/February 2015 by Lynne M. Thomas

Uncanny Magazine Issue 2: January/February 2015 Reviews

• 
  Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽

  4.5 stars for "Folding Beijing," a gem of a SF novelette, and the 2016 Hugo winner. It's free online at
  here at Uncanny Magazine. Review first posted on
  Fantasy Literature:
  
  Lao Dao, a humble man who works in a waste processing plant in “Third Space” Beijing, sorting recyclable trash, finds a bottle with a message offering what for Lao Dao is a fortune, to take a message from a man in Second Space to a woman he loves who lives in First Space. Travel between the three areas is dangerous and illegal, but Lao Dao, desperate to earn enough money to pay for his young daughter’s education at a decent school, is determined to make the trip.
  
  As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that Beijing literally folds and unfolds as well: the city has been completely rebuilt, with huge sections of ground that turn upside down every 24 hours. The inhabitants of each space are put into a drugged sleep while their part of the city folds up and disappears underground. This increases Beijing’s ability to support a large population … and, disturbingly, also increases the physical and emotional separation between the haves, have-nots, and “have-somes.” First Space has by far the lowest population and most of the wealth; it also gets the largest amount of time above ground (24 hours in every 48), while Second Space, filled with white collar workers, gets 16 hours and the underclass in Third Space only gets 8 hours.
  
  The setting is the real jewel of this science fiction novelette, a clear symbol of the economic and social differences between the classes and the lack of fairness in the way economic benefits and even life itself have been parceled out. With such a dramatic setting, the story itself is far more understated than one might expect — even the exciting scenes have a quietness to them, and every time the tension ramps up it soon ramps right back down again. Rather than pursue a more dramatic story, Hao Jingfan chose to focus on the domestic details of life. As she mentions in
  her interview with Uncanny Magazine, “The characters themselves care more about things that touch their daily lives: family, love, power, and wealth, but a reader can see the fundamental inequity of their world.”
  
  It’s a thought-provoking story that melds well with the unique setting, and illustrates human nature in action, as well as some larger truths. A highly recommended read. It's translated from Chinese by Ken Liu.
• 
  Althea Ann

  Visually, the shifting skyscrapers of ‘Folding Beijing’ brought to mind the film ‘Dark City,’ but the mechanics of this scenario are all-too-human, and underlaid with a cynical observation that “they would do this if they could.” Europe has taken one approach to the ‘problem’ of automation advances making menial jobs practically obsolescent. Here, Hao Jingfang theorizes what China might do. This future city, a technological marvel, has a strict caste system, which the reader sees through the eyes of one waste worker, who’s willing to flout the law in order to try to earn some money to better his adopted daughter’s future. As we gain insight into the perspectives of people in each of three very different Beijings, the parallels with our real-life society become clear. And oh, it’s also a heart-wrenching tale, vividly illustrating how the scale of people’s dreams can differ exponentially, and how the few at the top sit comfortably on a throne crafted from the misery of the many.
  
  The one thing, though, that made me feel positive about this story is that I couldn’t help seeing it as a sequel to Kelly Robson’s “Two-Year Man” (
  http://kellyrobson.com/two-year-man/). I know, none of the details match, but it does have the lowly worker adopting a foundling, and well, the outcome here is undoubtedly better that it is bound to have been in Robson’s story!
  
  I also think that any fans of Paolo Bacigalupi’s short fiction, especially, perhaps, “Yellow Card Man” will particularly enjoy Hao Jingfang’s offering.
• 
  Alex ☣ Deranged KittyCat ☣

  Read as part of
  Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation.
  
  The title says it all, as the city of Beijing is actually folding (think Inception or Doctor Strange). There are three spaces (inhabited by three social classes) that get to take turns to be above ground. Needless to say, First Space gets to enjoy the fresh air the most, as they are the privileged class. Second Space consists of white collars, while Third Space literally takes care of the trash.
  
  The main character comes from the Third Space, and the story is pretty uncomfortable. It's sad and frustrating to see such discrimination, and it's even sadder when you think it's all around us, too.
• 
  Tatiana

  
  http://uncannymagazine.com/article/fo...
  
  Some interesting ideas, lifeless and dull execution.
• 
  Laura Noggle

  🇨🇳Contemporary Dystopian Chinese Sci-Fi🇨🇳
  
  This short story was referenced several times in Kai-fu Lee’s
  AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order which spurred my interest.
  
  Although I’m not usually a big short story fan this novelette is unique and provides an interesting look inside a futuristic Beijing divided into a distinct class system.
  
  Written by a highly educated Chinese woman, Folding Beijing explores the consequences of technology on society, specifically the lives of the rich vs poor.
  
  Beijing is divided into First, Second, and Third Space, rotating according to allocated time in a 48 hour cycle. Third space is the most crowded with 50 million people (First Space has only 5 million), and is only allocated 8 hours of awake/living time. After their time is up, everyone goes into a gassed sleep and is folded underground.
  
  Biopolitics, oppression, and easily controlled masses are addressed alongside fundamental inequity. Social divisions as a result of techno innovation is a very real threat, especially for the Chinese and the recent social credit system—reminding us that the future remains an unsolved challenge.
  
  Favorite Quotes:
  
  The noisy, quotidian chaos around him assured him with its familiarity.
  
  The ground then began to turn. Square by square, pieces of the earth flipped 180 degrees around an axis, revealing the buildings on the other side. The buildings unfolded and stood up, awakening like a herd of beasts under the gray–blue sky. The island that was the city settled in the orange sunlight, spread open, and stood still as misty gray clouds roiled around it.
  
  Strong–willed, Lao Dao’s father had held fast onto the thin reed of opportunity as the tide of humanity surged and then receded around him, until he found himself a survivor on the dry beach.
  
  But after so many years, you grow a bit numb. There are many things in life we can’t change, and all we can do is to accept and endure.
• 
  Ritika

  So the one good thing about being an economist and a reader is that you can usually tell when a story is being written by another economist. The story grappled with some very interesting notions of class, the issues of overpopulation, and perhaps even gender. The premise is fascinating, the execution interesting. Perhaps the conclusion falters a bit in its tameness, as all the built up tension merely dissipates anti-climatically. But overall, the story is good enough to be the best novelette entry for me this year.
• 
  Cathy

  „Nalendar“ by Ann Leckie
  
  

  “Umri searched her memory for advise on being rid of a persistent god.“

  
  Those pesky gods, not keeping their promises and dragging people into their business. Umri has enough problems (one, specifically) on her own...
  
  What a fun read! If I wasn‘t a big fan of Ann Leckie already, this might have done it.
  
  Can be found here at Uncanny Magazine:
  
  https://uncannymagazine.com/article/n...
  
  And the interview going with it:
  
  http://uncannymagazine.com/article/in...
• 
  DivaDiane

  I listened to Folding Beijing on StarShipSofa (podcast) as part of their brief Hugo Award showcase series. It's brilliant. The world building is really imaginative and well thought out. The story is interesting and really told well. The narration by Katherine Inskip is stellar also. Go listen right now. Or read it in Uncanny.
• 
  Tim Pendry

  
  Essentially to be read as a commentary on class and Chinese society (indeed, class and global society), this reads quite formalistically (although this may be a matter of translation). Interesting but not quite as startling as proponents of the new Chinese science fiction might like us to think.
  
  For another (and I think better) Chinese science fiction story, you might try Xia Jia's 'A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight', also translated by Ken Liu and available on Clarkesworld online. Jia's story is embedded in traditional story-telling, retaining some sense of mystery about what is happening.
  
  Both stories are reserved but humane in characterisation which may be a Sinic characteristic. The main characters are essentially victims of technology-based social structures in which they have no voice but which clearly have their logic. It is the powerlessness that comes across most strongly.
  
  And both stories are written by young highly educated women so something is going on here ... a carefully calibrated criticism from within the elite of the consequences for ordinary humans of techno-innovation without actual criticism of the techno-systems themselves.
  
  There are other common East Asian characteristics - food plays a constant role in driving forward the narrative - and, while 'Folding Beijing' is a very bourgeois critique in its way, both main protagonists have a child-like caring aspect.
  
  It is as if these stories by relatively privileged elite women have been directed to speak for others less privileged but in a way that re-invents worker and 'ghost' as powerless victims requiring an indirect maternal protection. This is not revolutionary stuff.
  
  
• 
  Tim

  The Nalendar by Ann Leckie. A short Fantasy story (free online at
  uncannymagazine.com) about a girl, Umri, who seeks to escape the advances of a certain slave broker called Rilhat Imk. Rilhat has a crush on Umri, wants to make her his princess. But it's also a story in which gods have decisive roles to play.
  
  Umri encounters a skink - it later turns out he's a god himself, though one who has lost much of his power -, who convinces her to take him with her to the north. However, he doesn't tell the whole story. It's only after a bit of talking while on the boat Reasonable Expectations (which, when you think about it, says something about the characters and their experiences) that Umri decides to follow the skink to wherever he wants to go.
  
  There she unexpectedly encounters Rilhat again, who apparently is after a treasure, which involves an agreement with a certain god, Sursurra, and the lad's former, royal ancestors. Or, Rilhat wants to claim the throne of that area. But the skink, who is Sursurra, wants Umri to stop Rilhat from acquiring the treasure. All this doesn't occur without incidents or the god(s) themselves intervening: the river Nalendar hides a goddess, is a goddess. She appears in the form of a big, dangerous fish. But as you can imagine, all's well that ends well.
  
  All in all, a very entertaining read with good world-building (for a short story) and an interesting plot. It was almost like a mythological tale, but then set in India or similar, for example. Recommended!
• 
  Soorya

  Very imaginative story about a city that literally folds and rotates every day. The city is divided into 3 parts, but only one of them stays above the surface at any point; the other 2 fold up and go underground. I really enjoyed most of the story, but the climax was a bit info-dumpy and its 'message' wasn't to my taste. Still, it was a very striking and effective metaphor, and stayed in my mind for quite a while after I finished it.
  
  I have a bit more to say but can't do so without spoilers:The people we meet are all well sketched, but ultimately insignificant, and this really enhances the 'cogs in the machine' metaphor. The fact that none of them are admirable makes it quite depressing, but that's exactly the mood the author wants to convey. It isn't quite to my taste - I don't like the bleak aimlessness of the story - but I can't deny it was an effective portrayal.
  
  It's free to read at
  http://uncannymagazine.com/article/fo....
• 
  Casey

  The Nalendar refers to the name of the river in this story. Umri, the main character agrees to take a particular skink with her on a ship. This is a fantasy world full of gods, and the skink is some type of god. Umri is attempting to travel away from an undesirable suitor.
  
  The skink is most likely devious, but Umri decides to help him anyway. A tale of an ancient king that offended the Nalendar is told on board, and this tale has implications for the plot.
  
  A very enjoyable fantasy short story. If you like Ann Leckie, then you will like this. There's action and an intriguing world setting.
• 
  Margaret

  I read a lot of speculative short fiction, so I decided to support the market by purchasing a subscription to Uncanny Magazine year 2, and Issue 2 from their first year came as part of the purchase. It was a great issue, and I’m looking forward to more. This issue contains 1 novelette, 5 short stories, 3 poems, 5 essays, and 2 interviews.
  
  An overall theme in the issue would be finding the things that are important to us. Of the short stories, my favorites are “The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History” by Sam J. Miller and “Pockets” by Amal El-Mohtar. “The Heat of Us” records an alternate history of the Stonewall Riots as a reporter tries to make sense of what happened. What’s lost in the riot will never be found again. In “Pockets,” the protagonist starts pulling objects out of her pockets, objects she couldn’t possibly have placed there herself—a tube of lipstick, a map of Syria, a smoking gun.
  
  While these two are my favorites, there are no misses in the collection. “Folding Beijing” is a translated Chinese novelette about a waste worker who lives in the third world taking a deal to travel with a message between the second and first world—with each world sleeping while another world folds atop it—to earn money to put his daughter in a good kindergarten program. In “The Nalendar” by Ann Leckie, Umri must deal with the gods to put her own problems at rest and find her way in the process. The last two short stories—“Love Letters to Things Lost” and “Anyone with a Care for their Image”—have AI. Love Letters looks at how a woman struggles with her replacement parts after an automobile accident, and Anyone with a Care at an android and her maker escaping during a riot.
  
  All three poems are lovely. “After the Dance” by Mari Ness struck a chord with me since I just finished reading The Girls at the Kingfisher Club—a retelling of the twelve dancing sisters written by Genevieve Valentine. I enjoy the repetition in this poem. “After the Moon Princess Leaves” and “archival testimony” are also equally good, though very different. “After the Moon Princess Leaves” is mournful and focused, while “archival testimony” complex and ambitious.
  
  The essays explore diversity within the speculative fiction community—from politics being an integral part of storytelling, to women cosplayers, to racism within the community, and nerd rock—these were all fun, fast reads.
  
  Great collection overall. You can read it free here:
  http://uncannymagazine.com/issues/unc...
  
• 
  Mary

  With an undaunted view of class issues and the inequitable distribution of wealth, Jingfang builds a moving tale of honor and family love. Folding Beijing offers excellent and truly fascinating world building. This is the story of Lao Dao, a middle-aged waste worker's story, and his desperate risk-taking to earn enough money to send his adopted child to Kindergarten. I'm looking forward to reading more by Hao Jingfang who has degrees in physics, ecomonics, and management. This story is the winner of the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.
  
  Excerpt: "The folding city was divided into three spaces. One side of the earth was First Space, population five million. Their allotted time lasted from six o’clock in the morning to six o’clock the next morning. Then the space went to sleep, and the earth flipped.
  
  The other side was shared by Second Space and Third Space. Twenty–five million people lived in Second Space, and their allotted time lasted from six o’clock on that second day to ten o’clock at night. Fifty million people lived in Third Space, allotted the time from ten o’clock at night to six o’clock in the morning, at which point First Space returned. Time had been carefully divided and parceled out to separate the populations: Five million enjoyed the use of twenty–four hours, and seventy–five million enjoyed the next twenty–four hours.
  
  The structures on two sides of the ground were not even in weight. To remedy the imbalance, the earth was made thicker in First Space, and extra ballast buried in the soil to make up for the missing people and buildings. The residents of First Space considered the extra soil a natural emblem of their possession of a richer, deeper heritage."
  
  Link to this short-story:
  http://uncannymagazine.com/article/fo...
  
• 
  E.

  I liked this issue more than the last one. My favourite stories were:
  Pockets - I loved the idea and the message it carried! A girl finds things in her pockets
  The Nalendar - A girl and a small god travel together - I liked how the story unfolded and the fairy-taley feel
  Folding Beijing - Beijing is divided into 3 districts that don't interact with each other.
  & Love Letters to Things Lost and Gained - I love all things connected to biology but I also enjoyed character's journey.
  in that order I know it's 4 out of 6 shhh...
  
  I didn't really feel the poems *shrug* I'm not really a big poetry reader so I'll just skip that
  
  I loved all the essays. In short, their subjects were: all fiction is political; discrimination in nerd/geek culture; geek rock; women and cosplay.
  
  The interviews were with people whose stories I've enjoyed so of course I liked more info on the subject and wanted to get to know the authors better.
  
  

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• 
  Ethan

  I really liked this. Like many others I read it as part of my Hugo packet. This is my favorite for novelette. The plot itself is subtle and subdued compared to most science fiction. In that regard it's more like literary fiction, although the writing itself isn't fancy (not that I'm criticizing Liu's smooth translation). Of course, the idea of the folding city is pure science fiction that serves primarily to interrogate class issues and economics. The main character, Lao Dao, seems flat at first but he has a touching tenderness as he unfolds (pun intended) and you get to know him.
• 
  Iain

  Found the central metaphor a little too on-point, if anything, and some later passages have the air of a lecture, but overall, this is a good story: grappling with some weighty issues but humanising them with an engaging lead character and some beautiful prose (always hard to know, in those instances, whether to credit the writer or translator; a bit of both, I hope!).
  
  Very much enjoyed and recommended.
• 
  Katherine

  The translation by Ken Liu deserves an extra star. I DON'T LIKE THE STORY AT ALL. The characters are flat and boring. The only interesting thing about this story is the folding of Beijing, but the author did not write much about how this kind of "folding" is achieved. Seriously, at the very moment when I finished reading this story, it made me doubt the Hugo Award.
• 
  Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈

  I am so happy that the wonderful Tadiana helps me find awesome free online shorts to read!
  
  
• 
  Francesco

  Fantastico!
  Peccato però per il finale che la tira un po' per le lunghe e inserisce ulteriori elementi che avrei apprezzato approfondire.
• 
  Marco

  I read this story as part of my 2016 Hugo awards finalist reading marathon.
  Despite being a finalist because of its inclusion in a slate, the work is not only enjoyable, but also novel and interesting. I found quite interesting to read a book written by a Chinese author, to see the (current and future) world through the eyes of a different culture. The population and economic growth of modern China, its economic inequalities, and its technological and engineering marvels are central to Folding Beijing.
  In a claustrophobic overpopulated future, Beijing is rebuild to be three cities at once, each folding into each other, so that only one at a time is up and awake on the surface, while the other two are folded and sleeping. Time is divided across each section according to the "rank" of its inhabitants, so that the best gets to enjoy 12 hours of sun, while the poorest gets just a glimps of dawn.
  A dystopian vision of our future, with a very thin and feeble ray of hope mixed in.
  
• 
  Contrarius

  This story sneaks up on you. The prose is nothing to write home about -- it is, after all, a translation -- but the story itself says a lot in a short space. From the care and devotion that one good man shows to his adopted foundling daughter to a casual disregard for millions of people shown by the elite, from the question of whether one poor man can afford to buy pork on his noodles to the panorama of a huge city folding itself like origami, this story deftly weaves back and forth from the tight, intimate focus of a microscope to the wide-angle view of a hovering satellite.
  
  This is no thriller -- there is no derring do, no spaceships, no blasters. Just a lot of things to think about.
  
  It's sneaky.
• 
  Alaa

  Edit: to include the link to read the novella online yay
  http://uncannymagazine.com/article/fo...
  
  Started off the year with a (roughly) 30 page novella by Hao Jingfang.
  
  I can't count the number of dystopian novels I've read in my life, but I realize that they have all been set in the West. Reading from the perspective of Chinese wasteman Lao Dao in a futuristic Folding Beijing was refreshing.
  
  Very imaginative and creative world, and very well written.
• 
  Katie Daniels

  This is a beautiful little story about risk and privilege and love and sacrifice. It's not too dramatic and the stakes aren't too high. The SF is a little weird, but somehow believable, and the ending is just perfect.
• 
  Maryam

  Miller is killing it again. I don't think the guy is able to write something bad.
  The format was a bit unusual but it worked so well with the story.
  
  Just wow.
• 
  Amy

  Interesting ideas (a "folded" city where people live in the same space, just at different times) but came off rather dull to me.
• 
  S.M.M. Lindström

  Lao Dao lives in Third Space, the part of Beijing where the population has the least waking hours allotted to them, where money is short and the jobs are few. By chance he has found an opportunity to make an impressive amount of money, money that could help secure his adopted daughter a place at a decent kindergarten. The downside? He has to make his way to First Space.
  
  This was a very interesting premise that was told well, without too little or too much detail. It's a slice-of-future-life story that felt both believable and was engaging. I was rooting for Lao Dao to succeed in his mission. I was curious about all the different points of view on offer. All in all, an interesting short story. Recommended!
• 
  Jana Bianchi

  Muito, muito bom. É uma mistura curiosa de ficção científica com distopia com realismo mágico com drama. E, embora o conto falei de uma Beijing que literalmente dobra sobre si mesma a cada período de horas pra liberar espaço pra diferentes grupos sociais, o que mais pesa é o drama. A escrita tem aquele "quê" diferente que me agrada muito na prosa oriental, e a história é simples e precisa. A motivação do protagonista é tão pura e honesta que dá até uma vontadinha de chorar. Leitura maravilhosa.
• 
  Libby Stephenson

  Fiction:
  The Heat of Us - Sam J. Miller: 2.5
  Folding Beijing - Hao Jingfang, trans. Ken Liu: 3, great concept, lackluster execution
  Love Letters to Things Lost and Gained - Sunny Moraine: 3
  Anyone with a Care for Their Image - Richard Bowes: 2
  Pockets - Amal El-Mohtar: 3.5
  The Nalender - Ann Leckie: dnf
  
  Poetry:
  After the Moon Princess Leaves - Isabel Yap: 3
  After the Dance - Mari Ness: 2.5
  archival testimony fragments - R. B. Lemberg: 2
• 
  Ben

  I'm using this space to record my thoughts on "Pockets" by Amal El-Mohtar.
  
  I really enjoyed this story. The concept was a lot of fun. Having Nadia's friend, Tessa, attempt to solve this mystery and quantify various aspects of it made me chuckle and relate to that kind of thinking. And then the ending was great. Reminded me of This Is How You Lose the Time War, though I know this story was published first. It had that same charming kindness and passion to it.