Sick Souls
17 hrs. 20 min.
A new era in dystopian fiction.
Combine elements of Liu Cixin, Philip K. Dick, and Franz Kafka with Buddhism and artificial intelligence, and you’ll get Han Sun—the Chinese counterpart to Viktor Pelevin.
A winner of six awards from China’s “Milky Way” prize and a multiple-time laureate of the “Nebula” prize, Han Sun is recognized alongside Liu Cixin as one of the leaders and masters of Chinese science fiction.
When Yang Wei, an official, travels to City K for work, he expects a routine business trip: a break from everyday life, per diem, and a decent hotel—no excessive luxury, but with comfort and calm.
But from that moment, his troubles begin. A complimentary bottle of mineral water from the hotel mini-bar causes sharp stomach pain and a fainting spell. After waking three days later, Yang Wei discovers that he has been hospitalized for examinations without any explanation. However, time passes and he receives neither a diagnosis nor information about the discharge date… only a guide to a complex medical system in which he is now thoroughly lost.
Relying only on his sound judgment, Yang Wei sets out to investigate the hospital’s tangled corridors, searching for the truth and meaning that, it seems, are slipping away not only from patients, but also from the medical staff.
An engrossing story about a mysterious illness and a journey through a one-man dystopian hospital system.
Combine elements of Liu Cixin, Philip K. Dick, and Franz Kafka with Buddhism and artificial intelligence, and you’ll get Han Sun—the Chinese counterpart to Viktor Pelevin.
A winner of six awards from China’s “Milky Way” prize and a multiple-time laureate of the “Nebula” prize, Han Sun is recognized alongside Liu Cixin as one of the leaders and masters of Chinese science fiction.
When Yang Wei, an official, travels to City K for work, he expects a routine business trip: a break from everyday life, per diem, and a decent hotel—no excessive luxury, but with comfort and calm.
But from that moment, his troubles begin. A complimentary bottle of mineral water from the hotel mini-bar causes sharp stomach pain and a fainting spell. After waking three days later, Yang Wei discovers that he has been hospitalized for examinations without any explanation. However, time passes and he receives neither a diagnosis nor information about the discharge date… only a guide to a complex medical system in which he is now thoroughly lost.
Relying only on his sound judgment, Yang Wei sets out to investigate the hospital’s tangled corridors, searching for the truth and meaning that, it seems, are slipping away not only from patients, but also from the medical staff.
An engrossing story about a mysterious illness and a journey through a one-man dystopian hospital system.
