Installation
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy speculative science fiction and care about the ethics of technology
- Readers sensitive to “boiling frog”–style social change
- Reading groups looking for discussion material
- Literary readers who prefer short-form, multi-threaded narratives
Not a good fit for
- Science fiction fans seeking hard tech details and engineering worldbuilding
- Readers who prefer strong plot and fast-paced adventure
- Readers hoping for clear answers and an optimistic ending
Reading tips
- Read the four stories first, then revisit the opening premise, noticing how “replacement” gradually seeps into daily life.
- After each story, write down the “devices” you have already accepted by default in your own life, and reflect on them.
- Best read in two or three sittings, with intervals in between to let the unease settle naturally.
About the publisher
Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 第一章 把它带进来
- 第二章 单行道
- 第三章 第一个，人
- 第四章 试错法
- 第五章 寻找圣杯
- 第六章 一场误会
- 第七章 最后的晚餐
- 第八章 家庭照护
- 第九章 切断
- 第十章 一条清晰的小路
- 第十一章 更远，更远些
FAQ
Is this book hard science fiction?
Are the four stories connected?
Is it a depressing read?
Comments
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About the author
J.O. Morgan is a foreign-literature author about whom public information is currently quite limited. Our database holds only one work by this author, Device. His nationality, dates of birth and death, education and writing career cannot be confirmed from the available material, so a full biographical outline is difficult to sketch. Judging from the fact that Device is classified as foreign literature, it is presumably a translated work of fiction from abroad, and its subject matter and approach carry the character of foreign literary writing; the specific plot, narrative technique and stylistic features, however, still need to be discovered by readers from the text itself. The small number of works also means that his visibility among Chinese-language readers remains limited, and the reach of his influence awaits more translation and reading. Rather than inventing biographical details, it is better to focus on Device itself: it offers the only entry point for understanding Morgan's writing, and its choice of subject and mode of expression deserve close reading. More material and more works would be welcome in future, so that his place in writing can be assessed more accurately.
Liu Wenyu is an author about whom relatively little public information is currently available. Existing information confirms only that Liu Wenyu has written a work titled Device, which is classified under foreign literature. Apart from the author's name, the title, and this broad category, no reliable records are available regarding nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, or writing career, so a complete picture of the author cannot yet be drawn. As for the visible work, the title Device suggests a strong sense of objects and structure, evoking narratives or reflections built around a concrete apparatus, yet limited information makes it impossible to determine its thematic direction or writing style with certainty. For readers interested in foreign literature, Liu Wenyu remains a name awaiting further works and commentary, and any discussion of the author's creative profile and literary influence must wait until more material becomes available.
