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Ken Liu

Goodreads Author

Website

http://kenliu.name

Twitter

kyliu99

Genre

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller

Member Since

March 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/kenliu

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Ken Liu (http://kenliu.name) is an American author of speculative fiction. A winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards for his fiction, he has also won top genre honors abroad in Japan, Spain, and France.

Liu’s most characteristic work is the four-volume epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty, in which engineers, not wizards, are the heroes of a silkpunk world on the verge of modernity. His debut collection of short fiction, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. A second collection, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, followed. He also penned the Star Wars novel, The Legends of Luke Skywalker. His latest book is All That We See or Seem, a techno-thriller starring an AI-whisper ...more

178 posts
Ken Liu's Blog

Why Science Fiction Never Gets the Future Right

Hello!

I hope your 2026 is going well. For my part, I’m taking a few weeks off from writing to focus on reading for pleasure, playing video games, and watching TV. I even repaired the broken speaker in my old DSi XL so that I could finally finish The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks properly (I love the relationship between Zelda and Link in this one. They’re such a good team).

I also attended the in

Combine Editions
Ken Liu’s books

Average rating: 4.12 · 787,831 ratings · 85,057 reviews · 467 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories 4.35 avg rating — 38,718 ratings — published 2016 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty, #1) 3.80 avg rating — 29,179 ratings — published 2015 — 47 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wall of Storms (The Dandelion Dynasty, #2) 4.34 avg rating — 9,916 ratings — published 2016 — 33 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hidden Girl and Other Stories 3.94 avg rating — 8,085 ratings — published 2020 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Paper Menagerie 4.56 avg rating — 5,330 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Cleaners 3.43 avg rating — 6,664 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation 4.04 avg rating — 5,397 ratings — published 2016 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Veiled Throne (The Dandelion Dynasty, #3) 4.14 avg rating — 4,899 ratings — published 2021 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Speaking Bones (The Dandelion Dynasty, #4) 4.54 avg rating — 4,086 ratings — published 2022 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker by Ken Liu (Goodreads Author), J.G. Jones (Illustrator) 3.43 avg rating — 3,370 ratings — published 2017 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ken Liu…

Series by Ken Liu

The Dandelion Dynasty (4 books)
by

Ken Liu (Goodreads Author)

4.01 avg rating — 48,126 ratings

Julia Z (1 book)
by

Ken Liu (Goodreads Author)

3.54 avg rating — 1,623 ratings

Bouncing off our collection of Readers’ Most Anticipated Fall Books, we’re taking a peek into the very near future to spotlight upcoming...

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Ken’s Recent Updates

Ken Liu wrote a new blog post Turning the Page This will be my last update for the year as December winds down. I’m trying to take it easy for the next few weeks and just focus on reading for pleas Read more of this blog post »
Jan 23, 2026 10:56AM · like
Ken Liu has read Laozi's Dao De Jing: A New Interpretation for a Transformative Time by Ken Liu (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 12, 2024 09:10PM · 10 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Laozi's Dao De Jing by Ken Liu. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Laozi's Dao De Jing by Ken Liu <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Ken's books…

Quotes by Ken Liu (?)

“Who can say if the thoughts you have in your mind as you read these words are the same thoughts I had in my mind as I typed them? We are different, you and I, and the qualia of our consciousnesses are as divergent as two stars at the ends of the universe.

And yet, whatever has been lost in translation in the long journey of my thoughts through the maze of civilization to your mind, I think you do understand me, and you think you do understand me. Our minds managed to touch, if but briefly and imperfectly.

Does that thought not make the universe seem just a bit kinder, a bit brighter, a bit warmer and more human?

We live for such miracles.”
― Ken Liu, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

tags: consciousness, mind, miracle, thoughts, translation, universe

162 likes

“Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.”
― Ken Liu, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

tags: communication, miracle, translation

113 likes

“We are defined by the places we hold in the web of others’ lives.”
― Ken Liu, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

tags: defined, life, web

84 likes

See all Ken Liu's quotes »

Polls

Final Poll for Series to Start April 1, 2024

Shades of Magic, 3 books by V.E. Schwab, starting with A Darker Shade of Magic

20 votes, 52.6%

The Dandelion Dynasty, 4 books by Ken Liu, starting with The Grace of Kings

18 votes, 47.4%

38 total votes

3 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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75 Books...More o...: Candiss's 2012 Challenge	21	33	Apr 01, 2012 06:47PM
The Sword and Laser: 2011 Nebula Award Nomonee Short Story Discussion - "The Paper Menagerie"	6	46	Apr 29, 2012 06:55AM
Chaos Reading: Asian Lit Original Thread [closed]	66	138	Jul 03, 2012 07:24AM
Bookworm Bitches : Books Read in June 2012	37	176	Jul 05, 2012 04:24AM
Beyond Reality: Nebula Nom: The Paper Menagerie, by Ken Liu	19	81	Aug 22, 2012 11:34AM
2026 Reading Chal...: Candiss - 60 Books	17	49	Nov 28, 2012 07:33PM
The Sword and Laser: Nominees for 2012 Nebula Awards	15	144	Feb 21, 2013 11:54AM
Sci-fi and Heroic...: 2012 Nebula Awards Winners announced	19	83	May 20, 2013 04:28PM
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