Land of Hope

Name: Land of Hope
ISBN: 9787536494848

陈楸帆 / Jiang Bo / 伊恩·麦克劳德Sichuan Science and Technology Press · ChinaDec 2021

3.9

Word count: 165K words
Chapters: 64
ISBN: 9787536494848

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Summary

When "Singles' Day" becomes a nightmare for couples, when a chip implanted in your brain makes you willing to abandon everything and leave Earth for hard labor, when we can find comfort only in virtual worlds, when technology can perfectly simulate our faces to commit crimes everywhere... Will this speeding train of technology plunge us into the abyss, or carry us toward a bright future? Hope Land is a hard science fiction collection jointly presented by seven emerging writers—Chen Qiufan, Jiang Bo, Ian R. MacLeod, and others—who have been shortlisted for the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and other prestigious honors. It tells of seven futures steered by this speeding train of technology—futures governed by cutting-edge technologies such as algorithms, facial recognition, virtual reality, VR games, and artificial intelligence, in which humanity's fate drifts, struggles, and fights back within these complex, thrilling, and thought-provoking technological worlds. Standing at that point, surely no one can remain calm. Liu Cixin asks: "If the future is a car speeding along, and artificial intelligence is its accelerator, then what technology can serve as this car's brake?" Now, such technology is laid before your eyes. Through seven scenarios, Hope Land shows the shock and transformation technology brings to society, leading you to a deeper understanding of and reflection on technology, society, human nature, and your own situation. Whether you are a believer in technology, a pessimist about the future, or a science fiction fan, you will find revelations about the future in this book.

Editor's review

Land of Hope is a short-story anthology jointly created by Chinese and international science fiction writers, collecting works by seven notable authors including Chen Qiufan, Jiang Bo, and Ian R. MacLeod. Rather than a continuous novel, the book is a multidimensional narrative exploration centered on the core theme of "hope." Each writer constructs, with a distinctive perspective and voice, different visions ranging from the near future to distant interstellar space, from real-world anxiety to philosophical speculation. Chen Qiufan's works often carry strong real-world concern and technological metaphor, Jiang Bo excels at grand space-opera scenarios, while the participation of international writers such as Ian R. MacLeod brings differentiated interpretations of "hope" from other cultural backgrounds. The overall quality of the collection is fairly even, showcasing the diversity of contemporary science fiction in subject matter and style. Its reading value lies in acting as a prism that refracts the complex and resilient mentality of "hope" with which humanity faces shared propositions such as the technological singularity, environmental crisis, and social change—not blind optimism, but rational choice amid adversity, the courage to explore the unknown, or the warmth of connection between small individuals. For science fiction readers, this is an efficient opportunity to experience a variety of narrative styles and depths of thought.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in diverse science fiction narrative styles
Literature lovers eager to understand the different creative perspectives of Chinese and international science fiction writers
Readers who enjoy reflecting on technology and human nature through short stories
Readers looking for books with profound themes but a brisk reading pace

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a long, continuous science fiction epic
Readers with little interest in purely technical setups or hard science fiction

Reading tips

The stories may be read in any order to appreciate how different authors interpret the same theme
After each story, pause briefly to reflect on the specific form and source of "hope" within it
Read Chinese and international authors' works in comparison to sense the influence of cultural background on science fiction imagination

About the publisher

Sichuan Science and Technology Press China · Founded in 1982

Sichuan Science and Technology Press features science and technology, popular science, and science fiction publishing, while also covering agricultural technology and medical and health books. In science fiction, the press has continued to release works by Liu Cixin, including The Wandering Earth: Selected Short Stories of Liu Cixin, boxed sets of Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction classics, and masterworks such as Ringworld, Snow Crash, and Minus Zero, organized into series including the Chinese Science Fiction Cornerstone Series and the World Science Fiction Masters Series. In popular science, classics such as George Gamow's One Two Three... Infinity reflect its orientation toward public science communication. Its author resources in the library include Liu Cixin, Yao Haijun, and Cheng Xi, among other science fiction and popular science editors and translators; the library contains 190 titles, classified mainly as popular science, science fiction, quality fiction, and foreign literature. Public information is limited, and the above is summarized only from the library's titles and existing profile.

版权信息
序技术与好的未来
前言想象，期待，塑造我们的未来
01 无债之人
陈楸帆
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
02 记忆艺术家
伊恩·麦克劳德
零记忆艺术家
一轴承滚珠
二辣奶油莓种子
三游戏代币
四数据珍珠
五琥珀珠
六孩子的糖果
七盘绕之结
03 光棍节
萨曼莎·默里
余言
珍
赞瑟
卡朗
余言
珍
赞瑟
卡朗
余言
珍
赞瑟
卡朗
余言
珍
赞瑟
卡朗
余言
赞瑟
余言
04 变脸
江波
05 无形水，金刚石
德里克·昆什肯
06 丽姬亚海滨
卡罗琳·艾夫斯·吉尔曼
07 满盘皆输
七格（陆秉文）
第一章代数簇
第二章概型
第三章上同调
第四章曲线
第五章曲面
第六章局部与整体
第七章 ζ（II）
第八章类域论（II）
第九章何谓自守形式
第十章岩泽理论

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a short-story collection?

It is a short-story collection composed of independent stories by seven authors, all revolving around the theme of "hope."

Are the works in the book first publications or a collection of older pieces?

The collection includes works written specifically for this theme or selected for it by the authors; the individual pieces have varied creative backgrounds, but the whole was compiled to present the theme of "hope."

How difficult is this book to read?

The overall language style varies by author but is mostly accessible. The depth of thought is moderate, offering both easy-to-follow plots and social and philosophical reflections worth savoring; it suits science fiction fans with some reading experience.

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About the author

陈楸帆 Author

Chen Qiufan is one of the more closely watched authors in Chinese science fiction, with seven works currently held in the collection. Because public information is limited, details of his personal life, education, and awards are not discussed here; his works nonetheless show a strong inclination to approach real-world issues through technological imagination. His representative titles include The State of Trance, Twelve Tomorrows, the four-volume collection Insect: Great Fantasists—Classic Science Fiction Stories, A Place Called Hope, 2036: Brain-Net Doomsday, the nine-volume Nebula: Global Chinese Science Fiction Nebula Awards series, and AI Futures. His writing often revolves around cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and virtual reality, connecting future scenarios with present-day social experience. His subjects span both science fiction and financial themes, combining the rigor of technological extrapolation with a concern for how people live and choose amid technological change.

Jiang Bo Author · China · 1978

Jiang Bo, born in 1978, is a Chinese science fiction writer and holds a master's degree in microelectronics from Tsinghua University. He published his debut story "The Last Game" in 2003 and has continued writing since; 18 of his works are included in the library's collection. His representative works include Shiva's Dance: Selected Science Fiction by Jiang Bo, Absolute Diagnosis: A Collection of Jiang Bo's Short and Novelette Science Fiction, the Heart of the Galaxy trilogy, and The Soul of Machines, and he also contributed to the anthology Stars in Transit: Selected Chinese Science Fiction. His writing often centers on space exploration, artificial intelligence, and future technology, combining solid scientific reasoning with humanistic concern. He has won the Galaxy Award and the Chinese Science Fiction Nebula Award multiple times. His short story "Transmigration" was adapted into the film The Soul, giving his work broad influence among science fiction readers.

伊恩·麦克劳德 Author

Ian McLeod is an author included in the Chinese book database, with only one work currently held: Land of Hope, classified as science fiction. Due to limited publicly available information, basic details such as his nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name cannot be confirmed, making a fuller biographical account difficult. Based on the existing work, McLeod writes in the science fiction genre. The title Land of Hope itself carries a sense of expectation and imagination about the future, suggesting that the work may explore themes such as hope, survival, or the human condition within a science fiction framework. Science fiction often uses future technology, alien environments, or social change to reflect on reality; McLeod's specific style and narrative characteristics within this genre still require more works and materials to emerge. For Chinese readers, he remains a science fiction author whose work awaits further translation and understanding, and whose creative profile is yet to be supplemented.