Over at Marginal Revolution Tyler Cowen positively mentioned an anthology of Chinese science fiction, Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation. I got a copy and I have to say it really is good (on reading only a few stories). #Recommended and #Seconded.
It is often said, correctly, that science fiction is mostly a window upon the sensibilities of the society in which it is written. In the American context this matters in relation to time. Though Isaac Asimov was a liberal on sexual matters (and frankly, a sexual harasser at conferences by even the most lax modern standards) he admitted that the fact that he came up in the “Golden Age” period when there were many taboos in regards to sex had a lifelong impact on the depiction of those matters in his fiction. In contrast writers who came up in the 70s or later didn’t have these restrictions and so did not have the same hang-ups in their fiction.
And I’ll also admit I have Amish Tripathi’s work in part because I’m curious at an Indian take on fantasy (and also because too much Western fantasy is pretty derivative).