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Ken Liu

The Paper Menagerie: Ken Liu Paperback – 3 Nov. 2016

by Ken Liu (Author)

390 ratings

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Ken Liu has published almost 100 short stories and won nearly every genre award in existence. Here, he has selected his 15 favourite stories, including The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary (Finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Awards), Mono No Aware (Hugo Award winner), The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species (Nebula and Sturgeon award finalists), and the most awarded story in Science Fiction and Fantasy history, The Paper Menagerie the only story ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.

Print length

464 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Head of Zeus
Publication date

3 Nov. 2016
Dimensions

19.9 x 3 x 13.1 cm
ISBN-10

1784975699
ISBN-13

978-1784975692
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Product description

Review

'Each of the fifteen stories in this collection is a jewel of fantastical storytelling, written by a man who not only knows how to convey complex and fascinating scientific and philosophical ideas but who is also able to transform those ideas, and use them to highlight the beauty and fragility of the human condition. It is a genuine work of art, a complete joy to read, and very very highly recommended' Starburst Magazine.

'The Paper Menagerie is distinguished not only by its inventive imagination and emotional acuity – it has, as a whole, an impressive and cumulative coherence ... The glittering wit on the surface of these pieces belies their righteous anger and profound melancholy ... The finale is a revelation ... It is a wrenching, ethically complex and deeply uncomfortable story, with the subtle balance of testimonies and arguments never compromising its horror' TLS.

'Now and then along comes a writer who can create a mood so evocative the length of the tale has no bearing on how long you live with its cast, and linger, curled up, inside its bubble ... Ken Liu is such a writer ... By the end of this collection, you return, blinking, into the sharp light of the here and now, and mourn those few short days when you were floating in Liu, heady with the thrill of a life in which your senses were sparked up like phosphorescent antennae to the wonders of our existence on this "boat in space"' The Big Issue.

'When he's good, Liu is very very very good indeed' SFX.

'Liu's imagery never ceases to impress; he combines interesting backdrops to accentuate a whole host of intricate reactions, making him a true master of emotion and authenticity ... The Paper Menagerie will cement Liu as a once-in-a-lifetime author. Certainly his work is both stimulating and intoxicating and is the catalyst that sees contemporary Chinese fiction propelled to the forefront of sci-fi' 10/10. SciFiNow.

'Some of the stories are head-spinningly fantastic and almost surreal in their inventiveness' Irish Times.

'This captivating collection of award-winning short stories is full of wonder and magical realism' Buzzfeed.

'There is plenty of evidence here to justify Liu's status as a new writer with great potential. This is the best book I have read so far this year. Highly recommended.' Mark Bilsborough, Concatenation.

'An exquisite collection of work. More layers of meaning await its readers who can't fail to find something moving and intelligent in the writing of Ken Liu' Allen Stroud, Concatenation.

'Ken Liu isn't just an entertaining and original author – though he is certainly that – he is an important one. Here is an author using his life experience, his talent and skill as an author and every genre and literary tradition at his disposal to make the case that we are humans and individuals before we are ethnic groups or nationalities, and that multiculturalism is our future.' Shoreline of Infinity magazine.

From the Inside Flap

Ken Liu has published almost 100 short stories and won nearly every genre award in existence. Here, he has selected his 15 favourite stories, including The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary (Finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Awards), Mono No Aware (Hugo Award winner), The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species (Nebula and Sturgeon award finalists), and the most awarded story in Science Fiction and Fantasy history, The Paper Menagerie - the only story ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Head of Zeus; 1st edition (3 Nov. 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1784975699
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784975692
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.9 x 3 x 13.1 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 30,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 111 in Science Fiction Anthologies (Books)
- 1,604 in Short Stories (Books)
- 10,729 in Thrillers (Books)

Customer reviews:
390 ratings

About the author

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Ken Liu

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Ken Liu (http://kenliu.name) is an American author of speculative fiction. He has won the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards, as well as top genre honors in Japan, Spain, and France, among other places.

Ken’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings, is the first volume in a silkpunk epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty, in which engineers play the role of wizards. His debut collection, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. He also wrote the Star Wars novel, The Legends of Luke Skywalker.

He has been involved in multiple media adaptations of his work. The most recent projects include “The Message,” under development by 21 Laps and FilmNation Entertainment; “Good Hunting,” adapted as an episode of Netflix’s breakout adult animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon, which Craig Silverstein will executive produce, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories by Ken.

Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Ken worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. Ken frequently speaks at conferences and universities on a variety of topics, including futurism, cryptocurrency, history of technology, bookmaking, the mathematics of origami, and other subjects of his expertise.

Ken is also the translator for Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem, Hao Jingfang’s “Folding Beijing,” Chen Qiufan’s Waste Tide, as well as the editor of Invisible Planets and Broken Stars, anthologies of contemporary Chinese science fiction.

He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

390 global ratings

5 star		64%
4 star		27%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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J. Ang

Successful Blended Fiction of Your Wildest Imagination

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 24 January 2023

Verified Purchase

This eclectic collection of short stories, a few, which are almost novellas in their own right, is an absorbing if not particularly easy read. Many of these pieces dealt with alternative histories, and there was impressive research done by Liu, who always keeps a tight focus on the cultural implications of these historical events.

However, while the stories were wonderfully composed, I flitted in and out of this collection over the past 2 months, as I plunged into other reads midway, and I am afraid my overall impression of the earlier stories are rather fragmented.

The titular story, though, stood out for me. Blending Chinese mythology with modern-day concerns about cultural assimilation, the story about a son of biracial parents explores what it means to love your parents, in the most magical and moving manner.

What is also impressive is Liu’s scientific knowledge, which makes his fictional postulations always credible and all the more fantastical at the same time.

Helpful

Alexander Farmer

A great short story collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 29 November 2022

Verified Purchase

Fantastic collection of short stories, highly recommended.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 14 October 2022

Verified Purchase

I've lent my copy to pretty much everyone I know; this the best collection of sci-fi shorts I've read in a long time. Notably, some of the stories aren't even that sci-fi-y; and those that are very humanist in a way that really elevates them.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 9 November 2016

Verified Purchase

I bought this book on the cheap during an Amazon daily deal. The small numbers of really positive reviews were enough to convince me to buy this book. I’m really happy that I did and those reviewers were right.

The book consists of 15 short stories. The stories are quite varied and are mostly in the genres science fiction, alternate reality, and fantasy. I loved that a number of them are set in Asian history, mythology, or culture – even the science fiction stories. I do not know a great deal about the author but I felt that this touch made the stories more personal and relatable. The author sometimes also takes a historic fact or scientific paper and sets loose his imagination to take these in interesting new directions. I’m really impressed with how imaginative and varied the offering of stories is. If I had to give some criticism I would say that characters in some stories might lack a bit of depth. This is mostly due to the nature of short stories I think.

So how do you rate a collection of stories? All of the stories, even the least strong ones, are at the very least an interesting read. The best ones left me with a warm glow or feeling truly sad. Read as a collection I feel that this is one of the best reads I’ve had in a while.
I bought the author’s fantasy book (The Grace of Kings) after I finished this book and gave a physical copy to a friend. If anyone asks which book to read next this one will be one of the books I’d recommend. Highly recommended!

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

RP

Extraordinary

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 15 May 2017

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This collection of short stories is at once thought-provoking and touching, without ever veering into sentimentality. The stories span the past, present and future. Some would be classed as science fiction, others historical fiction, some are family or relationship dramas, but as Liu makes clear in his introduction, for him genre is unimportant and secondary to the act of "prizing the logic of metaphors...over reality, which is irreducibly random and senseless.". His other identity as a translator is also clearly at work in many of the stories, as characters translate alien cultures, new technologies and difficult or unexpected relationships into their lives. As he notes, "Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.".

I especially enjoyed the suggestions for further reading around a theme or topic which appeared at the end of each story.

5 people found this helpful

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Writer and Reader

One of the most important books of the 21st century

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 17 January 2017

Verified Purchase

One of the most brilliant books I have ever read.

After building my list of favourite books as a teenager, I wasn't expecting to add any more to it. So when I started reading The Paper Menagerie it was with complete delight that I found myself in the midst of some of the most exceptional writing and imagination I had ever experienced.

Challenging, profound, with themes which stretch from the worldwide to the national to the personal, and most of all the most precise and delicate writing, which (now a writer myself) simply stunned me with its skill and beauty.

Ken Liu is exceptionally talented and his stories here are important and incredibly moving and beautiful.

One of the most important books of the 21st century.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alan Smewing

Brilliant! Creative and Emotional Best short story collection I've read in years!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 21 July 2017

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I superb collection of stories. The stories are Science Fiction, Fantasy and Historical Fiction but most of them are a combination of more than one. Sometimes Sci-Fi and Fantasy can often ignore emotions but most of these stories use the human experience and emotions to ground the stories. Most of the fantasy elements revolve around Chinese mythology but you don't need a great knowledge of it to understand what's going on as he explains things clearly. Some of the historical settings are disturbing, even more so when I discovered that some of these events really happened. This book made me think, it made me laugh and it made sad all in equal measure.
Best short story collection I've read in years!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

AL

Great book but variation in quality of stories

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 22 June 2020

Verified Purchase

Beautiful short stories, variations in appeal/quality but I imagine it’s partly due to taste.
His best stories are on par with Ted Chiang but the lower tiers are almost average.

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