didn’t feel as invested in the plot as much as I wanted to be, but if this is pratchett at his most messy and tangential, it’s still a breezy read brimming with fun references to ancient civilizations. it was a little disappointing to see ptraci’s true role be treated as a bit of an afterthought at the very end of the story, but I did like teppic more as a teenage protagonist than what mort had going on in his own introductory book.

I expected more based on the jacket blurb and praise attached to this. idol, burning’s “white-hot spotlight” on fandom feels inaccurate--it gives off the intensity of a flickering flashlight instead. while the author gives an unflinching, interior look into the main character, I feel like the clunky translation hinders the story’s full impact. if you’re a veteran tumblr and twitter fandom user, the plot is only vaguely interesting and won't likely do enough to keep you thinking about parasocial relationships, cancel culture, stan obsession, etc. for more than a couple hours after reading.

sadly I’ve re-rated this book twice in one sitting now, and it’s dipped lower each time. misplaced expectations led me to think this would be a risky romance set against an epic sci-fi war, when this is clearly just two sapphic agents (who can time travel) mustering all the charisma they have in their letter-writing skills, within an obscure plot.

I came for WLW romance and a high-stakes story, but then begrudgingly stayed. it just wasn’t compelling enough for me, unfortunately!

this is a wonderfully crafted collection of short stories from one of my new favorite authors. like many others, I got acquainted with ken liu's writing from his excellent translations of cixin liu’s the three body problem and death’s end. there was a lasting empathetic, emotional quality to those translations that I adored and drove me to check out liu's own work. I'm happy to say that the paper menagerie didn’t let me down! 

liu’s prose is lush and flows naturally. from the first story, you can tell he’s well-read and can easily flex his brilliance when it suits the story. I can’t remember the last time I saved this many passages or looked up words I didn’t know. I’ve also never read so many stories where reading a few sentences felt like being gripped and shook by the collar and devastated me, so thanks for that! 

though the majority of the stories have well realized “lo-fi” and “hard” sci-fi elements, liu fearlessly dips into other genres including cyberpunk action (the regulator), western (all the flavors), retrofuturism (good hunting), and literary magic realism (paper menagerie). in doing so, he interweaves SO many concepts to emphasize the significance of storytelling and storytellers, parenthood, identity, assimilation, and cultural exchange, and fighting against historical denialism and suppression. on top of these recurring themes, liu mixes in hearty doses of east asian history and chinese mythology, though your enjoyment could vary by how much you like learning about these. 

big oof... not as mannequin-focused, gory, or tightly paced as the title and majority of reviews have made it out to be. makes me wonder what the average words-per-sentence numbers look like for most of stephen graham jones' work.