This is a beautiful and touching novel and, despite being written nearly thirty years ago, it … The book also contains persecution of sexual minorities. The author has the knack of writing characters you care about. The novel is made up of several stories loosely intertwined. First off, this book is how I like my sci-fi. A character-driven story without complicated technical descriptions of future tech (or, heaven forbid, some of those mystifying scientific theories that make my head spin). China Mountain Zhang takes place about a hundred years from now, after America’s socialist civil war, after China came to our rescue and became the promised land, after Martian colonies were established. The book is divided into 9(ish?) Part of my admiration is for the richness of the language. The book gives you a refreshing and highly readable perspective on a near-future society that in many ways is similar to our own, but has a completely different political structure. Thus, "China Mountain" is an alternate reading of his Chinese given name. Maureen F. McHugh (born 1959) is a science fiction and fantasy writer. Orbit pb, 314pp, £5.99. In McHugh's vision of the future, China has taken over the world, not by domination per se, but by culture. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading China Mountain Zhang. For a 300 pager, the language was dense enough to make me feel I was reading something epic (i.e. The backdrop is a 22nd-century in which the Chinese Communist regime dominates the world. (That CD-ROM is a great toy for SF-loving geeks. This is getting a little too close to the dreaded bildungsroman for my taste, but McHu. I also enjoyed the ways in which the characters lives touch and sometimes influence each other, even if it is only in small ways. I didn't quite know what to expect with this book, but I really liked it. [ extreme homophobia, rather explicit rape, suicide, loss of a loved one, racism, vehicle crashes, pretty extensive medical scenes. Welcome back. It did feel like it ended rather abruptly,but for the life of me, I cannot imagine a better ending. China Mountain Zhang has one major arch and then four minor arches that comprise the story. Usually when I read non sci-fi literature relating to the human condition and pieces of everyday life, is either too much like what I see all the time and I am bored or I can't actually relate at all. It felt so current and eerily plausible in many ways. His personal evolution is paralleled by four side stories in his narrative, following characters progressing from arrogant outsiders to finding a place in society. Adrian of Spectology joins us to talk about China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh. April 15th 1997 The author describes its genre as anti-SF, meaning that it lacks the usual trope of a protagonist trying to change/affect their world. China Mountain Zhang is a 1992 science fiction novel by American writer Maureen F. McHugh. China Takes Over the World: The entire premise.China is the dominant power in the world and controls North America outright. The author has the knack of writing characters you care about. An American Born Chinese (ABC), his Latino mother and Chinese father, on top of giving him the patriotic name, paid to have his genes altered so that he would appear full-blood Chinese, thus giving him a leg up on other Americans in the Chinese-dominated US. [Rafael Zhang is your average Joe. I feel pretty confident in saying that this is the best book you've never read. China Mountain is a nickname because his it is a rough approximation for translation of his name. Zhang grew on me - his aimlessness and general insecurity felt very familiar, and the ending felt real. The novel is made up of several stories loosely intertwined. China Mountain Zhang is set in a 22 nd century where the People’s Republic of China is the dominant global power, the United States has undergone a socialist revolution, climate change has rendered large sections of the US uninhabitable, and communes farm on Mars. Trigger warning: The book I’m reviewing contains depictions of sex, rape, suicide, racism, and homophobia. You find that you care deeply about what happens to each of them, and the story of their struggles, their loves, and their accomplishments makes really good reading. Martine and Alexi were the most interesting to me, as well as a minor character (Haitao). The overlapping lives of cyber-kite fliers, lonely colonists, illicit neural-pressball players, and organic engineers blend into a powerful, taut story of a young man's journey of discovery. Similar books by other authors. At first, I felt that this was rather aimless, and that I didn't like Zhang very much. Everything about it sounds like I would absolutely love it. I found it a mesmerizing read. United States Bookshop US. Thoughtful, precise writing and Zhang’s fully developed characterization make this a stand-out read, with only overall structure and the subject of one point of view preventing me from awarding a full five stars. Today I’ll be looking at the book China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh, published in… We have another incredible podcast crossover event. He works as a construction tech, someone trained to operate heavy equipment at job sites. Part of my admiration is for the richness of the language. This new Tor Essentials edition of China Mountain Zhang includes an introduction by the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning Jo … And while I was reading it, I was pretty enamoured of it—that kind of disconnected-but-maybe-connected-oh-how-does-it-fit-together-what-does-it-mean structure really really tickles my pickles. The main story involves a man's maturation in a future dominated by China, where the United States has undergone a Communist revolution (the "Cleansing Winds Campaign") after a period of economic crisis. The communist system permeates people’s everyday lives. Over time, yeah, this book never really solidified much of a plot, but regardless I was hooked. I appreciated the glimpse into other characters' lives on Mars and in the world of the flyers, and I do wish that they had been explored more due to how fascinating these glimpses were, but the dives away from Zhang's life were so welcome in how it expanded the wold that McHugh envisioned. No_Favorite. BOOK AWARDS Hugo Award Nebula Award BSFA Award Mythopoeic Award Locus SF Award August Derleth Award It didn't give me the feeling of a construction with a certain target audience in mind, which I get with so many books. There's no grand struggle or epic adventure, just people trying to live their lives in the best way possible. We earn commission on any purchases made. Sadly no, though according to the novel's Wikipedia page, one of McHugh's short stories, "Protection", takes place in the same fictional universe. China Mountain Zhang is the story of Zhang Zhongshan—the Chinese equivalent of naming your son Abraham Lincoln Smith. He is also gay which is problematic in this future world where being gay will destroy career and life aspirations. These are people on the margins. It’s something I’ve meaning to read for a while so, um, thank you pandemic? It’s almost a series of related stories rather than one coherent novel. Also, spoilers. There are a number of notable mosaic novels—my favourite other examples are Hyperion, Tales of … There's no padding . No alternate cover images currently exist for this novel. This was a fun element and made the characters come alive for me. This is a macroscopic world of microscopic intensity, one of the most brilliant visions of modern SF. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published Over time, yeah, this book never really solidified much of a plot, but regardless I was hooked. Poor people living in very small, seedy apartments barely affordable. For me the great strength of this novel is the creation of the characters, especially the main character. The mundane becomes fascinating in this novel where nothing much happens. Set in the 22nd century where Communist China now sets the political and social agenda, we follow the slightly unsympathetic titular character Zhang Zhong Shan through a series of interconnected events involving him and the people whose lives he somehow touches. by Orb Books. It is world-building, it is philosophy, it is character development and interaction. [1], The New York Times said of the book when it first appeared: "A first novel this good gives every reader a chance to share in the pleasure of discovery; to my mind, Ms. McHugh's achievement recalls the best work of Samuel R. Delany and Kim Stanley Robinson without being in the least derivative."[2]. I find it challenging to pinpoint exactly why this book is so remarkable, especially because the plot is not its strength, and I find that's what most people are looking for in a book (I see that many of the lukewarm reviews point to this). “Get he over here. There's no padding . Looking for some out-of-this-world reading this summer? Although not spoken of directly (except perhaps at the end of the book) politics is a pervasive element in this book. This is getting a little too close to the dreaded bildungsroman for my taste, but McHugh manages to reign that in to an acceptable degree by using this book as a subversion of the usual dystopic bildungsroman in that Zhang, although he grows as a person, is never anything more than a pretty typical guy - he never overthrows or even challenges the system (outside of his participation in the outlawed gay community), or does anything much outstanding or extraordinary. America had a civil rebellion that enabled the Chinese to pick up the pieces and spread their culture and way of life. The poor can never get ahead. I thought the. But even the most stubbornly passive can’t maintain status quo forever. 5 POVs- title character China Mountain Zhang/Rafael, flier Angel, Alexi Dormov, Martine, San-xiang. Parts of the USA have become inhabitable f. Loved it, I think I’m even going to have put this in my top-10 list of favourite sci-fi novels. EMBED. In this loss that he did not plan and never envisioned, he finds a way to survive and thrive in this system. The book is written in the first person, present tense, which at first was a near deal breaker for the reading of this book, but I gave it a chance and was well rewarded. His POV chapters I thoroughly enjoyed. It was less of the queer sci-fi adventure that I was hoping for, and more of a general exploration of queer life on an alternate earth that just so happened to be mildly futuristic, but I really came around to it. Brad Templeton: ClariNet Communications Corp. 1-56941-012-7: $29.95: 0 other? And while I was reading it, I was pretty enamoured of it—that kind of disconnected-but-maybe-connected-oh-how-does-it-fit-together-what-does-it-mean structure really really tickles my pickles. Used for all hardbacks of any size. 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