Sometimes a book of short stories is a slightly destructive emotional experience, albeit in the best way possible. The stories in this book were mostly grouped by their concerns, rather than chronology, which did make the last few feel particularly gut-wrenching. Liu writes about loss-from the individual scale to the grandest-in a way that makes nearly all the stories in this book feel both like a reworking of a larger concept and also a new experience. If it were a symphony, you would think of it as 15 variations on mourning and return.
There are a few standout stories: Good Hunting, All the Flavors, and The Man Who Ended History were my favorites. The eponymous story nearly made me cry and it was brilliant, but it did not stick with me the way those three did. Each one was a perfect example of its genre. The space ships stories were intriguing and the questions they asked fruitful, although the way they are strong together makes them feel almost like some ideas for novels that will never be. The only story I had to force myself through was "the Regular" and it was a content issue rather than a sudden failure of form - I'm not usually into police procedurals, though I make exceptions, and it felt very...women-in-refrigerator-y. It's a narrative I have no interest in (re)visiting.
I'm glad I finally read these and now I'll go back to waiting for the next book in the Dandelion Dynasty.