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A review by essinink
Conservation of Shadows by Yoon Ha Lee
4.0
Short story collections are difficult to review, because I have so much to say about the individual stories, and not enough about the collection itself. But I do so enjoy them--there's an art form to short-form fiction, and Yoon is very good at it.
Recurring themes: War, humanity, that-which-is-not-seen, loss-of-innocence, language, the past informing the future, etc.
One thing I appreciate, in all the portrayals of conflict in this collection, is that war is not some glamorous thing.
Knock-me-out-Favorites:
Iseul's Lexicon
Effigy Nights
Ghostweight
The Book of Locked Doors
Even when I didn't personally connect with a given story (Blue Ink; The Black Abacus), however, I thought they were beautiful. Yoon has a unique voice, and a vivid imagination, treading the edges of sci-fi and fantasy to make his own style.
Would read again. Heck, would buy if I got the chance. XD
Recurring themes: War, humanity, that-which-is-not-seen, loss-of-innocence, language, the past informing the future, etc.
One thing I appreciate, in all the portrayals of conflict in this collection, is that war is not some glamorous thing.
Knock-me-out-Favorites:
Iseul's Lexicon
Effigy Nights
Ghostweight
The Book of Locked Doors
Even when I didn't personally connect with a given story (Blue Ink; The Black Abacus), however, I thought they were beautiful. Yoon has a unique voice, and a vivid imagination, treading the edges of sci-fi and fantasy to make his own style.
Would read again. Heck, would buy if I got the chance. XD