"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few - or the one."
Ken Liu has done it again. This story should win awards this year. Here, Liu explores the Japanese cultural concept of acceptance of the transience of all things, in the face of an Earth facing imminent destruction from a rogue asteroid - and characters who make the decisions they believe to be right. I'm not usually a big proponent of self-sacrifice, but the examples in this story make a good case. Emotionally wrenching, and beautiful. ( )

I liked the story, and the gradual revelation of how the characters and world got to where they are now.

The copy I read had an anthology cover mentioning a Japanese theme. It seemed at times like the story was trying a little too hard to be "super-Japanese", with constant mentions of haiku and Go, and all the imagery being "samurai swords" and the like. ( )

A young Japanese man is sitting in the control room of a generation ship, minding the solar sail. As the story cuts between his present and his memories, the story gradually reveals how and why he came to be there, and why the choice he makes at the end of the story matters so very much. Beautifully written study of loss and survival, and made me want to read the rest of the anthology it appeared in. ( )