Ken Liu, Writer

Author of The Grace of Kings and The Paper Menagerie

scifi

Taking Care of God

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My translation of Li Cixin (刘慈欣)’s “Taking Care of God” (《赡养上帝》) is now out in Pathlight, an English-language publication of People’s Literature Magazine (人民文学). You can download a free electronic copy of the magazine on their web site.

It’s a science fiction story with a lot of heart. I really recommend it.

Some context for readers who don’t know much about China’s literary history: Liu Cixin is among China’s most prominent science fiction authors, and People’s Literature is something like a Chinese version of Ploughshares. It’s very rare for a literary magazine like People’s Literature to go genre — but with Pathlight, edited by a Western staff, the idea is to introduce Chinese authors who’re a bit more outside the well-trodden path to English readers.

I’m really honored to have been given a chance to translate this work. Liu is a literary hero of mine and influenced me more than a little.

Hope you enjoy!

The Hugos

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I’m really honored to announce that two of my works, “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary”, a novella, and “The Paper Menagerie”, a short story, have been nominated for the Hugo Awards.

Like many SF writers, I’ve dreamed about a moment like this since I started writing. And now that it’s actually happening, I’m having trouble believing it.

Thank you to everyone who supported me over the years so that I didn’t quit writing. You’re the best, the real stars.

Congrats to all the nominees and best of luck!

Children

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Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.

— Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Arkfall

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“Arkfall,” by Carolyn Ives Gilman, was a Nebula nominee for 2009. It’s good, really good.

One thing that annoys me is a belief by some that stories are only interesting if they have “active” heroes who change the world. Passive heroes who let things happen to them and are then forced to change themselves are just as interesting to me. We have to do both in life. Why should fiction be different?

“Arkfall” takes place in the seas of an ice-covered planet. It involves a technology culture that is largely based on biology, a social culture centered on conflict-avoidance, a hero tied down with family obligations, and vehicles that follow the current and cannot be steered. It is richly imagined and realistic in the best sense of that word. And the theme of balance between active and passive modes of engagement with the world is very much at its center. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Rachel Swirsky for recommending this to me.

Some Concluding Thoughts on the Nebula Nominees

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I’ve read all the short fiction Nebula nominees this year.

The best part of the experience has been seeing how diverse the field is. These stories are widely divergent in style and voice, and they define “science fiction” and “fantasy” in very different ways.

This makes me happy.

You’re not going to like all of the stories nominated, but I think you’ll find something to appreciate in each one.

People are always worried about “trends” and how the kind of stories they like aren’t being written and read. But looking at the nominees this year, I’d say that such worries are misplaced. The field is still developing, growing lusciously in every direction.

The Axiom of Choice

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“The Axiom of Choice,” by David W. Goldman (New Haven Review, Winter 2011).

What a great way to end my Nebula reading.

I have a weakness for second-person narratives. (And I love adventure games).

This story begins as a literary version of a choose-you-own-adventure book, but soon turns into something else. I can’t tell you what. You have to go read it. Have to.

I stood on the train platform to finish this story just so I wouldn’t have to stop. It was that good.