To Hold Up the Sky
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- Create Date：2021-09-14 09:53:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Liu Cixin
- ISBN：1250306086
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Reviews
Scott Diamond
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Certainly creative but many of the stories were just OK。
Carol Mola
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Cixin Liu escribe fábulas modernas mientras explica física teórica de forma muy loca。 Sus relatos me han hecho pensar y recrearme como nunca con la magnificencia del cosmos y de nuestra sociedad。
Drew
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The first half is 4 stars， the second half 3， and the last one is maybe a 5。
Timo
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As it goes with most short story collections， some of the stories contained within this collection are great and some just ok。
Kian
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This is an enjoyable and thought-provoking collection of sci-fi short stories that echo the themes and styles of the author's longer works。 This is an enjoyable and thought-provoking collection of sci-fi short stories that echo the themes and styles of the author's longer works。 。。。more
Leili V。
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I think I didn’t love it because I am ignorant of Chinese culture and all the nuances that might affect the sci fi genre， sadly。 This style of writing doesn’t appeal to me at all， but I’m sure it’s just my brain being picky and not because it actually sucks。
Sarahtar
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Eh。
Nick
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This is a strong collection that pales when compared to Cixin Liu’s other collection of short fiction， The Wandering Earth。 I loved every story of that collection and this one is spottier。 That being said， this is still a Liu book， so it is full of things he’s known for: big ideas， breathtaking scale， an interplay between the local and the grand。 I particularly liked that several stories in the back half of this book reckon with the relationship between art （music， poetry， sculpture） and science This is a strong collection that pales when compared to Cixin Liu’s other collection of short fiction， The Wandering Earth。 I loved every story of that collection and this one is spottier。 That being said， this is still a Liu book， so it is full of things he’s known for: big ideas， breathtaking scale， an interplay between the local and the grand。 I particularly liked that several stories in the back half of this book reckon with the relationship between art （music， poetry， sculpture） and science。 Each of them was very good。 Notable stories include: The Time Migration， Contraction， Mirror， Ode to Joy， Sea of Dreams， Cloud of Poems， and The Thinker。 。。。more
Nomentions
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I hadn't really read the cover and at first didn't realise that these were a collection of old old stories over a period of 20 years or more。 No matter， I enjoyed these brilliant tales from the Chinese Sci Fi visionary Cixin Liu。 His cosmic sociology is deeply steeped in Chinese history， philosophy and culture， were the individual relates to society and how human society relates to alien civilisations。 Aliens that can play with our sun and the stars to make war or art。 He has a unique way of ask I hadn't really read the cover and at first didn't realise that these were a collection of old old stories over a period of 20 years or more。 No matter， I enjoyed these brilliant tales from the Chinese Sci Fi visionary Cixin Liu。 His cosmic sociology is deeply steeped in Chinese history， philosophy and culture， were the individual relates to society and how human society relates to alien civilisations。 Aliens that can play with our sun and the stars to make war or art。 He has a unique way of asking big moral questions in series of dystopic worlds warped by bending the rules of physics。 Worlds turned inside out， the life of billions hanging on the thread of an individuals choice。 Worlds were the gods are capricious， playful， and narcissistic。 。。。more
WittysLagoon
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A series of vaguely connected short stories， showing Liu's imaginative tour de force in bringing the dilemmas of modern physics and phenomena into situational stories， in a variety of outlandish settings。 Suspension of belief is required。 A series of vaguely connected short stories， showing Liu's imaginative tour de force in bringing the dilemmas of modern physics and phenomena into situational stories， in a variety of outlandish settings。 Suspension of belief is required。 。。。more
Compass
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Some good stories here （and ends on a particularly high note）， but these are clearly B-sides to the smash hits of The Wandering Earth。 Of course， a second rate collection of Cixin Liu tales is nothing to scoff at。
Jasmine Wang
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I loved the village teacher
Amanda Bastien
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Overall 3。5 / 5 stars （rounded up to 4） The Village Teacher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Half historical fiction， half sci-fi。 They seem worlds apart at the beginning but tie into each other nicely。 Very clever and imaginative。 The Time Migration ⭐️⭐️⭐️Seemed wildly unrealistic。 Cryogenically traveling into the future in hopes of a better world。 What they hoped to find is nothing like what they found。 Yet everything is cyclical。 2018-04-01 ⭐️⭐️⭐️Gene extension。 “The union of body， memory， and consciousness is always Overall 3。5 / 5 stars （rounded up to 4） The Village Teacher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Half historical fiction， half sci-fi。 They seem worlds apart at the beginning but tie into each other nicely。 Very clever and imaginative。 The Time Migration ⭐️⭐️⭐️Seemed wildly unrealistic。 Cryogenically traveling into the future in hopes of a better world。 What they hoped to find is nothing like what they found。 Yet everything is cyclical。 2018-04-01 ⭐️⭐️⭐️Gene extension。 “The union of body， memory， and consciousness is always changing。” By extending your life for over 2 more centuries， who knows what other technologies may be available then。 “Our consciousnesses will drift on the network like gods， passing through countless sensors to experience the world and the universe。” Fire and the Earth ⭐️⭐️⭐️Not very much sci-fi， only at the very end。 “We don’t have to be nostalgic for the so-called good old days。 Life in those days was dangerous and confusing。 But we shouldn’t be depressed about today， either。 Because today will one day be referred to as the good old days。 People really were stupid in the past， and they really had a tough time。”Contraction ⭐️⭐️⭐️The universe has reached the point where it has expanded as far as it can and will now start contracting instead。 The twist is that this means time will now flow backward。 The ending was really fun to listen to on audiobook。 Mirror ⭐️⭐️⭐️A superstring computer able to model the entire universe at the atomic level。 Interesting if not entirely believable。 The comparison of different types of universes based on the different starting parameters was intriguing。 Ode to Joy ⭐️⭐️⭐️A giant sentient space mirror arrives in space， talks to humanity， and plays a symphony using the sun as an instrument。 Music is a universal language。 But who really knows all the words to Ode to Joy， let’s be real。 Full Spectrum Barrage Scanning ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Probably the most exciting story。 Electronic warfare。 In the dark only the blind can see。 Sea of Dreams ⭐️⭐️⭐️An interstellar low temperature artist steals all of the oceans’ water and dooms humanity just to create a work of art。 The story tries to make a point about art’s importance to a civilization， but fails to take into account the full implication of the loss of the whole world’s oceans and ice caps。 The oceans are more than just water。 They provide food and a means of transportation。 Humanity does manage to survive at the end but I don’t think it really took into account the full devastation that would have been。 Cloud of Poems ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Very preposterous but in a good way。 The beginning has you going WTF haha。 Talking dinosaurs and geometric gods。 Yet it does a better job than Sea of Dreams to convey the relationship between art and technology。 In this universe， the standard level of any race’s civilizations is the number of dimensions it can access。 The God’s race can access 11， real civilization starts at 6， the dinosaur Devourers are primitive at only 4， while humans are mere bug-bugs。 The Thinker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️The best for last。 Sweet and poignant。 “He’d waited so long， why not finally chase a dream just this once。” “People’s lives are bitter and short。” I love seeing comparisons between the brain and the universe。 Star twinkling， signal propagation， consciousness。 。。。more
Claudia Piña
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Me encanta como Liu Cixin es capaz de plasmar escenarios que realmente son inusuales y exploran ideas interesantes acerca de lo que la humanidad busca de la vida en su relación con la tecnología y muestro espacio en el universo; me recuerda a la sensación de leer a Olaf Stapledon， aunque el contenido sea tan distinto y con décadas de distancia。 También a veces incluye temas como la poesía dentro de historias acerca de tecnología revolucionaria y otras aparentes yuxtaposiciones。 Aunque los concep Me encanta como Liu Cixin es capaz de plasmar escenarios que realmente son inusuales y exploran ideas interesantes acerca de lo que la humanidad busca de la vida en su relación con la tecnología y muestro espacio en el universo; me recuerda a la sensación de leer a Olaf Stapledon， aunque el contenido sea tan distinto y con décadas de distancia。 También a veces incluye temas como la poesía dentro de historias acerca de tecnología revolucionaria y otras aparentes yuxtaposiciones。 Aunque los conceptos que abarca en sus historias tienden más hacia el lado técnico que social， el hecho de que sus personajes tengan una caracterización tan humana y que la cultura sea parte importante de la historia permite que los conceptos más complejos realmente aterricen。 。。。more
Alik Tam
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To Hold Up the Sky really does hold up very well with Liu's other works。 I enjoyed going through them and diving into stories which were quintessentially Liu。 I also liked how some of the stories were connected to some of his other books and stories he has published in the past。 Like ever， the stories dive deep into his sci-fi well and offer a very different way of seeing the world and the expanding universe。 Really great stuff。 Cannot say enough of how interesting this man's works are and how t To Hold Up the Sky really does hold up very well with Liu's other works。 I enjoyed going through them and diving into stories which were quintessentially Liu。 I also liked how some of the stories were connected to some of his other books and stories he has published in the past。 Like ever， the stories dive deep into his sci-fi well and offer a very different way of seeing the world and the expanding universe。 Really great stuff。 Cannot say enough of how interesting this man's works are and how they have so much of a different perspective。 Reading the hard cover version of this was a great experience and probably made it an even better one。 。。。more
John Schroeder
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Cixin always presents an interesting point of view。 This collection of stories does as well。
Remy Sharp
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Interesting mix of ideas。I'd read the Three Body Problem trilogy so I know that Cixin Liu's style was massive ideas of the cosmic scale and showing me how small we really are - and these short stories continue the theme。What I didn't anticipate in these short stories was the total mix of stories （though that's entirely on me）。I didn't personally find any one story punching above the rest。 I did， oddly， enjoy the story of the poet challenging the energy being and thusly breaking reality on a gala Interesting mix of ideas。I'd read the Three Body Problem trilogy so I know that Cixin Liu's style was massive ideas of the cosmic scale and showing me how small we really are - and these short stories continue the theme。What I didn't anticipate in these short stories was the total mix of stories （though that's entirely on me）。I didn't personally find any one story punching above the rest。 I did， oddly， enjoy the story of the poet challenging the energy being and thusly breaking reality on a galactic scale。Overall， well written， cosmic ideas， but not quite my kind of mind bending。 。。。more
Joe Stack
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A NPR review called this collection of sci-fi stories "stunning。" No hyperbole here。 This is a marvelous set of creative， well-thought out， challenging， and profound stories about the wonder of humanity。 These are exquisite stories are an uplifting vision of humankind's place in the universe。 I only grasped a partial understanding of the science the author uses in each story。 Nonetheless， the beauty of Liu's imagination and vision was appealing and never lost。 I surprised myself with how fast th A NPR review called this collection of sci-fi stories "stunning。" No hyperbole here。 This is a marvelous set of creative， well-thought out， challenging， and profound stories about the wonder of humanity。 These are exquisite stories are an uplifting vision of humankind's place in the universe。 I only grasped a partial understanding of the science the author uses in each story。 Nonetheless， the beauty of Liu's imagination and vision was appealing and never lost。 I surprised myself with how fast this collection read。 Liu had me so involved in the scenarios he created that I didn't realize how quickly time passed with these stories。The first story， "The Village Teacher，" is a poignant tale that sets a high bar for imaginative storytelling。 The stories that follow meet and sometimes exceed this bar。 。。。more
Goof Reeds
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Cixin you magnificent bastard。 Not one but two and a half stories where a massive， superintelligent interdimensional object descends upon Earth and immediately proclaims "I am an artist！" Cixin on his wacko shit。 Damn bastard Cixin you magnificent bastard。 Not one but two and a half stories where a massive， superintelligent interdimensional object descends upon Earth and immediately proclaims "I am an artist！" Cixin on his wacko shit。 Damn bastard 。。。more
Jeremy
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I wish I could have rated the short stories separately。 All were good and interesting。 But some were better than others。 Ode to Joy was my favorite and one of the best things I have read in months。 Solid five stars from me。 On paper it’s ok， but I checked out the audio book。 Fantastic。 If you are having a rough day and need a simple pick me up， listen to Ode to Joy。 Yes it’s a bit sappy and overly optimistic， but sometimes sappy and overly optimistic is just what you need。 The world can be good。 I wish I could have rated the short stories separately。 All were good and interesting。 But some were better than others。 Ode to Joy was my favorite and one of the best things I have read in months。 Solid five stars from me。 On paper it’s ok， but I checked out the audio book。 Fantastic。 If you are having a rough day and need a simple pick me up， listen to Ode to Joy。 Yes it’s a bit sappy and overly optimistic， but sometimes sappy and overly optimistic is just what you need。 The world can be good。 。。。more
Bernarducho
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Nice little short stories written pre-the three body problem trilogy。 They feel not-as-polished as the novels， clearly they were where he experimented and let the ideas flow free。 If you're into literary forensic analysis of your favorite authors， go for it。 It's good。 Nice little short stories written pre-the three body problem trilogy。 They feel not-as-polished as the novels， clearly they were where he experimented and let the ideas flow free。 If you're into literary forensic analysis of your favorite authors， go for it。 It's good。 。。。more
MÉYO
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Two really good stories and a bunch boring stories。
Kate Steinheimer
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Not as good as The Three Body Problem trilogy， but much less of a commitment。 A fun and mind-bending group of stories。
Crusader
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A fascinating short story collection featuring science fiction viewed via a different cultural lens。 Really enjoyable read， with some fantastic ideas。 3。5 stars。
Prasanna
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When I found that Liu Cixin had a collection of short stories out， I had to read it。 As a collection it oscillates between "oh my god， that just expands everything I thought about" to "meh。" I don't think I could expect every single story to be amazing at the same levelThe Village Teacher = Great， ending felt slightly too obvious but really poeticThe Time Migration = pretty good2018-04-01 = GreatFire In The Earth = Hard to followContraction = Really goodMirror = Really goodOde To Joy = I feel li When I found that Liu Cixin had a collection of short stories out， I had to read it。 As a collection it oscillates between "oh my god， that just expands everything I thought about" to "meh。" I don't think I could expect every single story to be amazing at the same levelThe Village Teacher = Great， ending felt slightly too obvious but really poeticThe Time Migration = pretty good2018-04-01 = GreatFire In The Earth = Hard to followContraction = Really goodMirror = Really goodOde To Joy = I feel like this would work really well as a short movie or something， hard to follow in storyFull Spectrum Barrage Jamming = Really amazingSea of Dreams = Hard to followCloud of Poems = Really goodThe Thinker = I thought this one was amazing 。。。more
Lukasz Dygon
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All stories were fascinating。 Humanity， romanticised perhaps， portrayed as ideal of what we hope to become。 Variety of topics and to me novel ideas brought up in me a sense of awe one feels when everything is brand new and interesting。 A rare feeling。
Andrea McDowell
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I'm giving it two stars for the inventiveness of some of the story concepts， but otherwise I found this audiobook （another what's-available-at-the-library-today impulse borrow） interminably dull， bloated， unrealistic， with clunky plots， one-dimensional characters functioning as stand-ins for philosophical or political concepts， and terrible dialogue。 Also？ Extremely sexist！ （Now waiting for the mansplaining trolls to descend and criticize me for not liking something they like and saying so。） The I'm giving it two stars for the inventiveness of some of the story concepts， but otherwise I found this audiobook （another what's-available-at-the-library-today impulse borrow） interminably dull， bloated， unrealistic， with clunky plots， one-dimensional characters functioning as stand-ins for philosophical or political concepts， and terrible dialogue。 Also？ Extremely sexist！ （Now waiting for the mansplaining trolls to descend and criticize me for not liking something they like and saying so。） The recording was， what， 16 hours？ Eight or ten stories？ And not one story passed even the Bechdel test。 At most a story had one female character; they never spoke to anyone but a man; and they functioned in the stories only in their relationships to the male characters， whether as wives， mothers， girlfriends or daughters。 Every so often a female character would be introduced who seemed to have potential and I'd get all excited， and then they'd be written down to size。 In the war story， there was a woman Major！ A PhD！ Aaaaaand。。。 actually she's the girlfriend of the protagonist's son and is only in the story so she can die and inspire his heroism。 In the last story， another woman PhD！ An astronomer！ Aaaand 。。。 actually she's also terribly beautiful and inspires a weird lifelong emotional affair with a doctor dude that creates a scientific advance。 The Major is ordered around by all the men around her， including subordinates， and extensively mansplained， and just goes along with it。 The astronomer gets all of her best ideas from a brain doctor。 I just can't。How good is your imagination， really， if you're capable （or think you are） of getting in the heads of intergalactic ice artists but can't be bothered to do so with women of your own species？To Hold Up The Sky is basically Golden Age science fiction; if you like Asimov et al， and are content with an author replacing the American exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny In Space of mid-twentieth century canon with Chinese/communist nationalism （basically a straightforward trade-off if you are neither American nor Chinese）， you will probably like this。I see from book reviews and interviews that his other books are sexist as well， despite Tor's running interference in the english translations， so I will be giving this author a pass from now on。 。。。more
Oliver
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Pretty good collection of short stories， but doesn’t come close to the novels of The Three-Body Problem。
Gail
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Mixed bag。 Overall， C-/D for characterization， B+ for plot， but A+ for ideas。The Village Teacher was my favorite。 It had the most characterization and was by far the most warm-hearted。The Time Migration was fascinating - hold on for the ending。 And not the suspended disbelief aspect， but the main aspect！ I also enjoyed Ode to Joy， another mind-bending idea and some off the charts musical interpretation。 :-）
Janine W。
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Like in all short story collections， there are stories you enjoy more than others。 My favorite stories are - The Village Teacher- The Time Migration- Fire in the Earth- Contraction- Ode to joy- Sea of Dreams。。。 nevertheless， at times I found it really hard to understand all the scientific aspects discussed in the stories and this collection put me right into a reading slump。 Although the stories were at times mindblowing， once I understood what was going on 。。。 I struggled so much that I did not Like in all short story collections， there are stories you enjoy more than others。 My favorite stories are - The Village Teacher- The Time Migration- Fire in the Earth- Contraction- Ode to joy- Sea of Dreams。。。 nevertheless， at times I found it really hard to understand all the scientific aspects discussed in the stories and this collection put me right into a reading slump。 Although the stories were at times mindblowing， once I understood what was going on 。。。 I struggled so much that I did not want to pick it up。 I think this is one of those books that you need to be in the mood for， as the stories are very theory-heavy - and even after finishing it， I am sure I don't understand anything 。。。 unfortunately it was too abstract for me， and I often could not connect with the characters， because the felt quite one-dimensional for me 。。。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=To Hold Up the Sky
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=To Hold Up the Sky&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,To Hold Up the Sky&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0