Han Song

An impressive joint project, this outstanding new anthology brings the best of Chinese and English-language science fiction in a mediation on the theme of Exploration in Space. New, emerging, established and much-lauded writers from both cultures are brought together to demonstrate that technology and humanity when they work together bring challenges, joy and benefits to all of humankind. From Bao Shu comes 'A Trip to the End', from Allen Stroud 'The First', from He Xi 'Never Meet Again in Life', from Amdi Silvestri 'A Minuet of Corpses' and under the guiding eye of Patrick Parrinder (President of the H.G. Wells society) and Yao Haijun (celebrated editor of Science Fiction World in China) thirteen authors create a series of worlds which will enthral and entertain.

This celebration of Chinese Science Fiction — thirteen stories, all translated for the first time into English — represents a unique exploration of the nation’s speculative fiction from the late 20th century onwards, curated and translated by critically acclaimed writer and essayist Xueting Christine Ni.From the renowned Jiang Bo’s ‘Starship: Library' to Regina Kanyu Wang’s ‘The Tide of Moon City', and Anna Wu’s ‘Meisje met de Parel', this is a collection for all fans of great fiction.Award winners, bestsellers, screenwriters, playwrights, philosophers, university lecturers and computer programmers, these thirteen writers represent the breadth of Chinese SF, from new to old: Gu Shi, Han Song, Hao Jingfang, Nian Yu, Wang Jinkang, Zhao Haihong, Tang Fei, Ma Boyong, Anna Wu, A Que, Bao Shu, Regina Kanyu Wang and Jiang Bo.

From acclaimed author Han Song comes the final installment in Yang Wei’s journey through a dystopian hospital system, touching down on the red planet, where more than Yang’s nightmare is reborn.The Hospital Ship is no more, and Yang Wei awakens to find himself at the mercy of monstrous doctors and the tumult of his own mind. Not helping matters, of course, is the Mars Hospital’s Pool of Dead Souls. A ghastly body of water, it traps people in an endless cycle of treatment, death, and resurrection.When an unruly band of patients revolts against this suffering, the Hospital descends into chaos, the likes of which have never been seen before. Strident order falls to madness, unfolding in fits and bursts of violence and carnivalesque celebration. The effect is so jarring that Yang Wei begins to question what he can trust to be real—is reality what he sees…or what he thinks?Told through an absurdist lens, Dead Souls takes sharp twists and turns ever deeper into Yang Wei’s strange world of the grotesque and ambiguous, bringing the Hospital series to its shocking conclusion.

In the follow-up to the visionary Hospital, Yang Wei discovers that there’s more to the mysterious hospital than meets the eye—and none of it is as it seems. Yang Wei wakes to find himself still a patient at the hospital. Somehow, he’s aged decades overnight and is confined to the geriatric ward on a massive Hospital ship as it floats along a bloodred sea full of unsightly things. But human remains and sea nymphs are perhaps nothing compared to the goings-on belowdecks. The doctors are nowhere to be found, replaced by a procession of medical robots from whom, of course, no information can be gleaned. So Yang Wei, along with a small group of patients—all just as aged as he is—venture out to explore the uncharted depths of the ship and the answers that are surely hidden within. As they delve deeper into both the ship and why they’re on it, every uncovered secret comes with its own questions. The only thing Yang Wei can be sure of is that the more he learns, the less he understands…and the less he truly wants to know.

From acclaimed Chinese author Han Song comes a twisted, experimental narrative of one man’s mysterious illness and his journey through a dystopian hospital system.When Yang Wei travels to C City for work, he expects nothing more than a standard business trip. A break from his day-to-day routine, a good paycheck, a nice hotel—nothing too extravagant, of course. No fuss, but all the amenities.But this is where his problems begin. A complimentary bottle of mineral water from the hotel minibar results in sudden and debilitating stomach pain, followed by unconsciousness. When he wakes three days later, things don’t improve; they get worse. With no explanation, the hotel forcibly sends him to a hospital for examination. There, he receives no diagnosis, no discharge date…just a diligent guide to the labyrinthine medical system he’s now circulating through.Armed with nothing but his own confusion, Yang Wei travels deeper into the inner workings of the hospital and the secrets it’s hiding from the patients. As he seeks escape and answers, one man’s illness takes him on a quest through a corrupt system and his own troubled mind.

From acclaimed Chinese author Han Song comes a twisted, experimental narrative of one man’s mysterious illness and his journey through a dystopian hospital system. When Yang Wei travels to C City for work, he expects nothing more than a standard business trip. A break from his day-to-day routine, a good paycheck, a nice hotel—nothing too extravagant, of course. No fuss, but all the amenities. But this is where his problems begin. A complimentary bottle of mineral water from the hotel minibar results in sudden and debilitating stomach pain, followed by unconsciousness. When he wakes three days later, things don’t improve; they get worse. With no explanation, the hotel forcibly sends him to a hospital for examination. There, he receives no diagnosis, no discharge date…just a diligent guide to the labyrinthine medical system he’s now circulating through. Armed with nothing but his own confusion, Yang Wei travels deeper into the inner workings of the hospital and the secrets it’s hiding from the patients. As he seeks escape and answers, one man’s illness takes him on a quest through a corrupt system and his own troubled mind.

"Basta aprire una finestra in Cina per vedere un'anteprima del nostro futuro." Con queste parole, lo scrittore Han Song resuscita un genere dato per moribondo in Occidente, che invece, proprio da Oriente, trova nuova linfa e vitalit grazie a una serie di storie capaci di aggiornare e arricchire la fantascienza contemporanea mondiale. Si tratta di un vero e proprio fenomeno socio-culturale che sta investendo molti settori, da quello letterario a quello accademico, da quello universitario a quello industriale, inclusi i fumetti, i videogiochi, i film e le serie TV. In tanti oggi considerano la fantascienza come l'unico genere capace di cogliere e rappresentare al meglio lo spirito dei nostri tempi accelerati, con in pi la tradizione millenaria cinese a fare da sfondo alle storie di tre generazioni di scrittori e scrittrici, dagli anni '70 fino ai nostri giorni: templi olografici per continuare a onorare i morti nella realt aumentata, linguaggio dei segni per sfuggire alla sorveglianza cibernetica, consulenti artificiali a supporto di una popolazione in rapido invecchiamento, social network per mantenere vive le festivit tradizionali e un immenso "sole cinese" che - dall'alto - illumina il futuro di un paese avviato verso uno sviluppo tecnologico inesorabile.Questa antologia rappresenta il meglio della fantascienza cinese pubblicata da Future Fiction nel corso degli ultimi cinque anni, una raccolta definitiva di diciassette racconti e ben otto storie inedite. INDICELo sviluppo della fantascienza cinese negli ultimi dieci anni di Zhang FengParadiso 28 di Han SongIl gigante reincarnato di Wang JinkangSenza ritorno di Chi HuiIl sole cinese di Liu CixinFesta di primavera di Xia JiaLa trasmigrazione dell'anima di Jiang BoEtere di Zhang RanI ricordi nascosti di Bao ShuPoesie e terre lontane di Gu ShiIl tempio ancestrale nella scatola di Chen QiufanIl robot che amava inventare storie di Fei DaoIl commutatore di Babel di Kanyu WangUn biochip per sempre di A QueL'era della post-coscienza di Su MinAmore che non pu parlare di Fan YilunSpore di Tang FeiCon quelle mani di Mu Ming