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A review by cryo_guy
Conservation of Shadows by Yoon Ha Lee
5.0
“In the peregrinations of civilizations grand and subtle, each mode of transport is an alphabet expressing their understandings of the universe's one-way knell. One assumes that the underlying universe is the same in each case.”
*
“Tamim tried to look receptive to the idea of learning something more complicated than an alphabet.”
*
I had been wanting to read some more of Lee's stuff after I read “The Combustion Hour,” which is available free to read online; please go check it out! It's a great little short story imagining a reality populated by shadow puppets where a victorious general begins to doubt the insane campaign of conquest he is sent on by his queen. The story has a magical lyrical quality to it that seamlessly blends science fiction and fantasy. I really enjoyed it and hungered for more. My thirst was unquenchable. That was probably 4 years ago. So here we are now, I finally bought one of his books (rather than delve into his space opera trilogy-tempting though it was-, I opted for this collection of short stories) and read it (displacing my foray into The Wheel of Time series). Thirst temporarily SLAKED.
First off, let me qualify that genre remark a little for this work: Lee's stories must properly be placed in the genre of sci-fi, but many of them make liberal use of fantasy and the fantastical. It's hard to ignore how magical some really are. Yet, it doesn't detract from the reading. I judge this to be one of the marks of his talent. Or maybe it just shows how well science fiction and fantasy blend together. Perhaps a little bit of both. How I described The Combustion Hour is a pretty good generalization of how Lee's stories feel. They are set in a far future, or some kind of alternate dimension where time has gotten along, and there is some tweak in how things are run. Maybe it's that spaceships work according to the folding principles of origami, maybe it's that a ruthless empire is having trouble eliminating a rebellious planet on which the storybook heroes of their myths and legends are being cut out of books and brought to life, maybe it's a universe where Death has been thwarted and some mortal has been commanding the dead. Lots of intriguing premises to explore.
Here are some other things that characterize Lee's work: He uses a lot of his own experiences to inform his stories-that means a few are based on events in Korea's history and its interaction with China and Japan (Lee draws on some of his relatives knowledge for these), lots of mentor-student relationships, lots of women in starring roles, good quality lyricality/wit/prose, robust world-building (within the restraints of a short story). While one or two of the stories didn't catch my attention, even the less compelling ones set a tone that I admired. Nothing too optimistic or pessimistic. A sort of world-weary perseverance-but nothing so individual. Something set on a longer timeline and more impartial like the passage of time itself. Lots of creativity, abounding in creativity.
The negative comments I would make is that after reading a few, you can easily catch onto Lee's formula. It goes something like:
1. You're in a magical future place and you don't know something about the protagonist.
2. Protagonist has a problem and they get help from a mentor of some kind
3. Unexpected Information is revealed that sheds light on protagonist's relationship to mentor and their problem. (Gasp)
4. Resolution based on new info!
Not a bad (nor uncommon) formula all things considered. And by the end of the collection, I had forgotten that there was so often a similar note at the end: “Wait you mean the mentor was a member of the enemy faction THE WHOLE TIME???” But really this kind of nitpicking is overshadowed by Lee's excellent writing. So this is one of those best case scenario criticisms. I think he could have done more to vary the plot structures of some of the short stories, but it's not the most necessary or interesting thing about his writing. And with short stories to there's a limit to what you can do with plot in the first place. You have to leave things out and when you pull the punches at the end, things can look formulaic. The other thing is that I wish many of the stories had more space. I was sad when they ended and felt like I had only begun to experience the worlds that Lee was building. But ah this is the price we pay for reading short stories.
So what did I enjoy the most? Well, luxuriating in alternating worlds of scifi/fantasy with interesting characters that didn't fit the same tropey bullshit archetypes one encounters so often. I can't emphasize enough the creativity of Lee's premises either. Helpfully, he provides a short paragraph for each story that explains the genesis of the story and what things he drew on to write it. On the one hand they ruin the mystique of the magic and fiction (a little), but on the other hand they enrich your understanding of the stories. Many start with a simple principle, e.g. a language is the source of magic, an ancient artificer has created guns that deal massive destruction but in very specific ways and people are seeking out the lost artefacts, a conquered planet possesses the ability to bind the spirits of the dead to their children, replicate this famous Japanese-Korean battle but in space, and then go from there. This book is really just a smorgasbord of worthy, enjoyable, and readable scifi/fantasy.
Stray thoughts:
Lee is a mathematician of some variety and clearly has feelings about sciencey things. He does a great job incorporating that into his work without it ever becoming an issue. I never felt out of my depth, although I also happen know some of the linguistic principles used in one of the stories (those may have been the most esoteric things referred to in the collection). My point is that all of the ideas he utilizes are understandable if not in the story, by the end of it.
Linguistics! The longest story is about a woman who is furiously making a magical dictionary to combat an ancient aristocratic ruling class of aliens who are also making a magical dictionary to destroy the languages of those they wish to conquer all while concealed within an empire threatening the nation of the main character. One of the crucial moments comes when the protagonist realizes her dictionary won't work because the aliens' language is so ancient it has changed over time and so she has to modify her dictionary appropriately in order for the magic to be completely effective. Linguistics!
One of the earlier stories he says got its inspiration from imagining what a mech-suit anime would be if the mechs were giant skeletons. I like that Lee drew on various media like manga and anime in inspiration from his stories.
Young adult. Some of these stories fit in the YA genre. I know that Lee has another book that's more explicitly YA (Dragon Pearl) so he has some experience. A few of the stories feature young people having coming of age moments. But I wouldn't say that that theme dominates the collection. Lee, like Le Guin, writes YA stories that are not so easily contained within the genre.
One of the stories has a musical inspiration-there's a great variety of resources Lee draws on making for a very tasty collection of short stories.
Another of the stories hearkens to Italo Calvino's very specific style in Invisible Cities. I love Calvino (for If On a Winter's Night a Traveler and Cosmicomics) and I like the comparison to Lee (or at least that Lee has drawn inspiration from him). They both playfully incorporate elements of science into their works and stories. And more than just a throwaway window dressing, they are fundamental elements in the world of the story and the plot. Calvino is also very witty without being pretentious and Lee is getting there. I think Calvino was doing a little more literary exercise, stretching the bounds of whether parody (or more generally imposed limitations [thanks Oulipo!]) can undermine the substance of a work, while Lee is writing very creative scifi/fantasy to enjoy without the expressed intent of subverting essential criteria for what a book or a story is. However, having said that, it's not as if Lee is completely uncritical. He does undermine other norms for scifi/fantasy (fiction) relating to the role of the protagonist and cultures drawn upon. But I might argue that it is less expressly about that and more about engaging worlds and characters and such. Anyway, there's a similarity of blending science into one's narrative shared by the two authors.
Themes! Yes there is the committed and subtle contemplation of such themes as are popularly manifested in the forms of moral/ethical dilemmas and dealing with webs of intrigue and the complexities of sociopolitical machination.
I could go over each story individually and talk about how I liked its inspiration and how it plays out, but I think I've given a thorough enough description of the sort of thing you'll find.
Alrighty as far as recommendations go, if any of that sounds good to you, you might check out the short story collection. It feels contemporary which is nice. I love the scifi classics, but even if they are well-written or timeless, they don't have the same contemporary vibes that this collection does. And the other advantage Lee has is the effortless blending of scifi and fantasy, which I've already commented on. Comparing it to other contemporary scifi, you know, I might recommend this over say some hyperpopular garbage trash work like Ready Player One if you want to whet your appetite on some real scifi.
My favorite story was probably Iseul's Lexicon (linguistics!) but I also really liked Ghostweight, The Bones of Giants, Effigy Nights, Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain, and The Battle of Candle Arc.
Ironically, the only story I didn't care for was the eponymous one.
Well, I might just have to check out the Machineries of Empire trilogy now!
*
“Tamim tried to look receptive to the idea of learning something more complicated than an alphabet.”
*
I had been wanting to read some more of Lee's stuff after I read “The Combustion Hour,” which is available free to read online; please go check it out! It's a great little short story imagining a reality populated by shadow puppets where a victorious general begins to doubt the insane campaign of conquest he is sent on by his queen. The story has a magical lyrical quality to it that seamlessly blends science fiction and fantasy. I really enjoyed it and hungered for more. My thirst was unquenchable. That was probably 4 years ago. So here we are now, I finally bought one of his books (rather than delve into his space opera trilogy-tempting though it was-, I opted for this collection of short stories) and read it (displacing my foray into The Wheel of Time series). Thirst temporarily SLAKED.
First off, let me qualify that genre remark a little for this work: Lee's stories must properly be placed in the genre of sci-fi, but many of them make liberal use of fantasy and the fantastical. It's hard to ignore how magical some really are. Yet, it doesn't detract from the reading. I judge this to be one of the marks of his talent. Or maybe it just shows how well science fiction and fantasy blend together. Perhaps a little bit of both. How I described The Combustion Hour is a pretty good generalization of how Lee's stories feel. They are set in a far future, or some kind of alternate dimension where time has gotten along, and there is some tweak in how things are run. Maybe it's that spaceships work according to the folding principles of origami, maybe it's that a ruthless empire is having trouble eliminating a rebellious planet on which the storybook heroes of their myths and legends are being cut out of books and brought to life, maybe it's a universe where Death has been thwarted and some mortal has been commanding the dead. Lots of intriguing premises to explore.
Here are some other things that characterize Lee's work: He uses a lot of his own experiences to inform his stories-that means a few are based on events in Korea's history and its interaction with China and Japan (Lee draws on some of his relatives knowledge for these), lots of mentor-student relationships, lots of women in starring roles, good quality lyricality/wit/prose, robust world-building (within the restraints of a short story). While one or two of the stories didn't catch my attention, even the less compelling ones set a tone that I admired. Nothing too optimistic or pessimistic. A sort of world-weary perseverance-but nothing so individual. Something set on a longer timeline and more impartial like the passage of time itself. Lots of creativity, abounding in creativity.
The negative comments I would make is that after reading a few, you can easily catch onto Lee's formula. It goes something like:
1. You're in a magical future place and you don't know something about the protagonist.
2. Protagonist has a problem and they get help from a mentor of some kind
3. Unexpected Information is revealed that sheds light on protagonist's relationship to mentor and their problem. (Gasp)
4. Resolution based on new info!
Not a bad (nor uncommon) formula all things considered. And by the end of the collection, I had forgotten that there was so often a similar note at the end: “Wait you mean the mentor was a member of the enemy faction THE WHOLE TIME???” But really this kind of nitpicking is overshadowed by Lee's excellent writing. So this is one of those best case scenario criticisms. I think he could have done more to vary the plot structures of some of the short stories, but it's not the most necessary or interesting thing about his writing. And with short stories to there's a limit to what you can do with plot in the first place. You have to leave things out and when you pull the punches at the end, things can look formulaic. The other thing is that I wish many of the stories had more space. I was sad when they ended and felt like I had only begun to experience the worlds that Lee was building. But ah this is the price we pay for reading short stories.
So what did I enjoy the most? Well, luxuriating in alternating worlds of scifi/fantasy with interesting characters that didn't fit the same tropey bullshit archetypes one encounters so often. I can't emphasize enough the creativity of Lee's premises either. Helpfully, he provides a short paragraph for each story that explains the genesis of the story and what things he drew on to write it. On the one hand they ruin the mystique of the magic and fiction (a little), but on the other hand they enrich your understanding of the stories. Many start with a simple principle, e.g. a language is the source of magic, an ancient artificer has created guns that deal massive destruction but in very specific ways and people are seeking out the lost artefacts, a conquered planet possesses the ability to bind the spirits of the dead to their children, replicate this famous Japanese-Korean battle but in space, and then go from there. This book is really just a smorgasbord of worthy, enjoyable, and readable scifi/fantasy.
Stray thoughts:
Lee is a mathematician of some variety and clearly has feelings about sciencey things. He does a great job incorporating that into his work without it ever becoming an issue. I never felt out of my depth, although I also happen know some of the linguistic principles used in one of the stories (those may have been the most esoteric things referred to in the collection). My point is that all of the ideas he utilizes are understandable if not in the story, by the end of it.
Linguistics! The longest story is about a woman who is furiously making a magical dictionary to combat an ancient aristocratic ruling class of aliens who are also making a magical dictionary to destroy the languages of those they wish to conquer all while concealed within an empire threatening the nation of the main character. One of the crucial moments comes when the protagonist realizes her dictionary won't work because the aliens' language is so ancient it has changed over time and so she has to modify her dictionary appropriately in order for the magic to be completely effective. Linguistics!
One of the earlier stories he says got its inspiration from imagining what a mech-suit anime would be if the mechs were giant skeletons. I like that Lee drew on various media like manga and anime in inspiration from his stories.
Young adult. Some of these stories fit in the YA genre. I know that Lee has another book that's more explicitly YA (Dragon Pearl) so he has some experience. A few of the stories feature young people having coming of age moments. But I wouldn't say that that theme dominates the collection. Lee, like Le Guin, writes YA stories that are not so easily contained within the genre.
One of the stories has a musical inspiration-there's a great variety of resources Lee draws on making for a very tasty collection of short stories.
Another of the stories hearkens to Italo Calvino's very specific style in Invisible Cities. I love Calvino (for If On a Winter's Night a Traveler and Cosmicomics) and I like the comparison to Lee (or at least that Lee has drawn inspiration from him). They both playfully incorporate elements of science into their works and stories. And more than just a throwaway window dressing, they are fundamental elements in the world of the story and the plot. Calvino is also very witty without being pretentious and Lee is getting there. I think Calvino was doing a little more literary exercise, stretching the bounds of whether parody (or more generally imposed limitations [thanks Oulipo!]) can undermine the substance of a work, while Lee is writing very creative scifi/fantasy to enjoy without the expressed intent of subverting essential criteria for what a book or a story is. However, having said that, it's not as if Lee is completely uncritical. He does undermine other norms for scifi/fantasy (fiction) relating to the role of the protagonist and cultures drawn upon. But I might argue that it is less expressly about that and more about engaging worlds and characters and such. Anyway, there's a similarity of blending science into one's narrative shared by the two authors.
Themes! Yes there is the committed and subtle contemplation of such themes as are popularly manifested in the forms of moral/ethical dilemmas and dealing with webs of intrigue and the complexities of sociopolitical machination.
I could go over each story individually and talk about how I liked its inspiration and how it plays out, but I think I've given a thorough enough description of the sort of thing you'll find.
Alrighty as far as recommendations go, if any of that sounds good to you, you might check out the short story collection. It feels contemporary which is nice. I love the scifi classics, but even if they are well-written or timeless, they don't have the same contemporary vibes that this collection does. And the other advantage Lee has is the effortless blending of scifi and fantasy, which I've already commented on. Comparing it to other contemporary scifi, you know, I might recommend this over say some hyperpopular garbage trash work like Ready Player One if you want to whet your appetite on some real scifi.
My favorite story was probably Iseul's Lexicon (linguistics!) but I also really liked Ghostweight, The Bones of Giants, Effigy Nights, Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain, and The Battle of Candle Arc.
Ironically, the only story I didn't care for was the eponymous one.
Well, I might just have to check out the Machineries of Empire trilogy now!