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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

180 posts
Ken Liu's Blog

Spring Spring Spring!

Hello!

Spring is finally here, and the sun makes everything feel better. I feel energized and excited. Three updates for you today.

All That We See or Seem is a Locus Award Finalist

The first Julia Z book is a finalist for the Locus Award for Best SF Novel!

I’m beyond pleased to see the other finalists: excellent company. I’m very grateful to the readers who understood and resonated with Julia’s str

Combine Editions
Ken Liu’s books

Average rating: 4.12 · 824,905 ratings · 89,124 reviews · 467 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories 4.35 avg rating — 39,910 ratings — published 2016 — 39 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 — 30,885 ratings — published 2015 — 5 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 — 10,554 ratings — published 2016 — 35 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 — 8,370 ratings — published 2020 — 9 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 — 5,636 ratings — published 2011 — 12 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 Cleaners 3.42 avg rating — 6,852 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 — 5,566 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) 4.13 avg rating — 5,359 ratings — published 2021 — 20 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) 4.53 avg rating — 4,491 ratings — published 2022 — 16 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 — 3,401 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 — 51,368 ratings

Julia Z (1 book)
by

Ken Liu (Goodreads Author)

3.54 avg rating — 2,707 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 is now friends with Yen Lian
Jun 06, 2026 10:49PM · 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 · 11 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

163 likes

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

tags: communication, miracle, translation

114 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

86 likes

See all Ken Liu's quotes »

Polls

Which Epic Fantasy Should We Read?

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

31 votes 23.7%

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

25 votes 19.1%

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1) by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

20 votes 15.3%

And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1) by Kiersten White

And I Darken by Kiersten White

17 votes 13.0%

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) by Stephen King

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

16 votes 12.2%

The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty, #1) by Ken Liu

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

10 votes 7.6%

The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

9 votes 6.9%

Shadow Over Avalon by C.N. Lesley

3 votes 2.3%

131 total votes

8 comments

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