Photo: VCG

Five science fiction works received 2020 Gravity Awards through voting by Chinese readers and the results were announced at the 78th World Science Fiction Convention. The books all focus on real issues.

Yu Lei, a science fiction critic with the Future Affairs Administration, said in an article that compared with last year's award-winning novels, this year's works have clearly shifted their emphasis from fantasy to social reality and matters of public concern. Related contents of the article were allowed the Global Times to use by the Future Affairs Administration.

The Gravity Awards are organized by writers of science fiction, observers and insiders and have been running for two years. The award is decided by members' votes.

The voting mechanism aims to select works that are popular with the largest number of people each year, rather than those that are favored only by a few.

This year, four Chinese novels including "The Algorithms for Life" and "Spore" and one Japanese fiction translated into Chinese, "Self-Reference ENGINE," got the Gravity Awards.

"They all put forward a heavy and grand proposition about the relationship between society and individuals, and they seek answers in detailed descriptions of life and the important choices of characters in fiction," Yu wrote.

In "The Algorithms for Life," written by Chinese writer Chen Qiufan, the lead character Han Xiaohua is reborn several times and lives in the "Great Bay Area," which covers developed cities in South China's Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administration Region.

Han's experiences, including how he deals with the family planning policy and the reform and opening-up policy, and how he survives during the financial crisis, represent the whole region and the era.

"The work provides a valuable sample for those of us who want to find peace of mind in a rapidly changing technological world through a person's exploration of many different lives in the virtual world," Yu wrote.

A fan of science fiction surnamed Wan told the Global Times on Tuesday that she prefers works with realistic themes now. "Experiencing the COVID-19 epidemic and other natural disasters this year, I want to read this type of fiction to find some answers and solutions."

She added that because of events this year, she has more interest in what happens around her than the broader universe.