pauraque | Entries tagged with books: author: xia jia

This is the first part of my book club notes on The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories, an anthology of SF/F written, translated, and edited by Chinese women and nonbinary people. Now we're back to reading stories from a culture no one in the group belongs to, so lots more speculation on what things could mean and what might be going over our heads.

I am just going to name here that "women and nonbinary people" can be a problematic label when it is used to imply that nonbinary people are kinda "women lite," and especially when it is used to exclude AMAB nonbinary people. I have no idea whether either of those things are an issue here; in the absence of evidence to the contrary, I'm taking the creators' terminology in good faith. The contributor bios don't state anyone's gender identity, though they do give their English pronouns (two are she/they, all the rest are she/her).

These initial stories were all very different in style and themes, and all were well-written, well thought out, and provided plenty of material for discussion. If they're representative of the whole, this should turn out to be a strong pick.

"The Stars We Raised" by Xin Xinyu (2017), tr. Judy Yi Zhou

( Children raise baby stars, but are pressured by adults to grind them into 'useful' materials as they and their stars get older. )

"The Tale of Wude's Heavenly Tribulation" by Count E (2011), tr. Mel Lee

( A fox in his fifth century of cultivation faces a trial by lightning. )

"What Does the Fox Say?" by Xia Jia (2022)

( Flash fiction that explores collaborative storytelling between humans and AI. )

"Blackbird" by Shen Dacheng (2020), tr. Cara Healey

( An old woman in a nursing home refuses the call of death. )

July 2026

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  - rundisc [1]
  - sharedata [1]
  - sierra/on-line systems [6]
  - steven don [1]
  - stone/digital extremes [1]
  - sukeban games [1]
  - sunhead games [1]
  - synapse software [1]
  - telltale games [1]
  - terrible toybox [1]
  - terry cavanagh [2]
  - the brotherhood [1]
  - the dreamers guild [1]
  - the edge [1]
  - the game kitchen [1]
  - the learning company [2]
  - the software toolworks [2]
  - third world [1]
  - thomas colthurst [1]
  - tiago rech [2]
  - tokoronyori [1]
  - uppercut games [2]
  - videlectrix [4]
  - videocult [1]
  - wagotabi limited [1]
  - westwood studios [1]
  - wishfully studios [1]
  - za/um [1]
- genre
  - action/arcade [6]
  - adult [1]
  - adventure [45]
  - artillery [1]
  - bullet hell [1]
  - city builder [2]
  - deduction [3]
  - edutainment [13]
  - exploration [11]
  - mmorpg [2]
  - platformer [15]
  - puzzle [26]
  - racing [1]
  - roguelike [4]
  - rpg [9]
  - shooter [6]
  - simulation [3]
  - strategy [3]
  - survival crafting [2]
  - survival horror [1]
  - tower defense [1]
  - virtual tabletop [2]
  - visual novel [5]
- year
  - 1980 [2]
  - 1981 [1]
  - 1982 [1]
  - 1983 [4]
  - 1984 [7]
  - 1985 [3]
  - 1986 [2]
  - 1987 [3]
  - 1988 [3]
  - 1989 [6]
  - 1990 [10]
  - 1991 [6]
  - 1992 [4]
  - 1993 [5]
  - 1994 [1]
  - 1995 [5]
  - 1997 [1]
  - 1998 [2]
  - 1999 [2]
  - 2005 [1]
  - 2008 [3]
  - 2009 [3]
  - 2010 [2]
  - 2011 [1]
  - 2012 [3]
  - 2013 [1]
  - 2014 [3]
  - 2015 [2]
  - 2016 [4]
  - 2017 [5]
  - 2018 [5]
  - 2019 [5]
  - 2020 [8]
  - 2021 [7]
  - 2022 [10]
  - 2023 [10]
  - 2024 [8]
  - 2025 [7]
  - 2026 [1]
gaming [9]
kink [7]
language [4]
memes [33]
- ao3 [3]
- december talking [20]
- fandom a-z [6]
- femslash february [6]
- first lines [2]
- five questions [2]
- letter [1]
- love [2]
- something every day [23]
- titles [1]
movies [12]
music [33]
personal
- dreams [8]
- family [1]
- health [11]
- mental health [7]
- mishaps [5]
- neurodivergence [1]
- parenting [1]
- random [6]
- remembrance [8]
- travel [12]
- work [1]
photos [39]
- fall colors [3]
- flowers [14]
- scenery [26]
- snow [12]
- urban [11]
plays [4]
podfic [7]
poetry [4]
queerness [15]
- gender [15]
reading [4]
social media exodus [3]
three weeks for dreamwidth [1]
videos [4]
weather [11]
writing [44]
year in review [18]
youtube [19]