I love you 3+10i.

(This review is 100% spoiler free)

The Stories of Ibis is a hidden gem from an author well-known only within his niche of D&D and gaming -- none of my many Japanese students have so much as heard of him, and at least one mentioned not being able to find any of his books in a brick-and-mortar store. But, nearly 20 years after its original publication and in the midst of an AI awakening of sorts (sup, ChatGPT), this book deserves way more attention.

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I hate short story collections. They always feel half-assed, thrown together, like table scraps. This is not your run-of-the-mill short story collection: the short stories are used as part of an overarching narrative device to tell a story about humans and AI like you've never heard before, from the perspective of an AI.

Nor is it your run-of-the-mill sci-fi novel. It's light on its feet, thought-provoking, and relevant in a way that is accessible to everyone in a way sci-fi tends not to be. (For example, a 60-ish student of mine who doesn't even read novels nowadays loved it, too.)

Overall, the book provides a reflection on the human condition as highlighted by the development of AI technology while maintaining what I found to be a hopeful and non-judgmental tone. I'll think about this one for a while.