Wow! It is true that there is an element of sci-fi/fantasy to most of these stories, but don't let this fool you. The high calibre of these stories make them so realistic in terms of psychology/human nature. I don't want to spoil the plot of any of them, but let me tell you, topics like death, torture, war, migration, poverty, politics, manipulation, innocence squashed, language, ethics, history, truth, literacy, exploitation, economy, relationships, cultural differences, racism, reality and its perception, memories, melancholy and depression... are treated at different moments in one or more of these tales. The first one, a compendion of different reading habits across the universe, is inventive, but in a way it's misleading. It doesn't have a proper plot, and it's cute and nice. But oh my god, some of the other tales... I had to stop reading and take a deep breath before going on. Liu doesn't shy away from difficult themes, something which I congratulate him for.

Released today at the public bookshelf.