27 ratings | 17 reviews | avg rating:5.00

Ken Liu’s Followers (22,236)

Ken’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (0)
read (46)
did-not-finish (0)

Ken’s Friends (482)

L.S. Popovich

13,809 books | 1,392 friends

Andrew

425 books | 200 friends

Renjith Rajan

1,285 books | 558 friends

Nathan McDonald

723 books | 99 friends

Donna Foster

2,457 books | 5,000 friends

Le Gongdong Blur

1,740 books | 56 friends

Emily Duncan

238 books | 8 friends

Bibliotecario De Arbelon

859 books | 835 friends

More friends…

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

edit data

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

179 posts
Ken Liu's Blog

The Passing of the Dragon and Other Stories

The snow is finally melting away; spring is right around the corner.

And in a season of beginnings, I’m pleased to announce a new collection of short stories, The Passing of the Dragon and Other Stories, which will be released on September 8, 2026, in the US.

Here’s the cover.

Cover design credit: Ella Laytham

If the theme of The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories is “what does it mean to live in

Combine Editions
Ken Liu’s books

Average rating: 4.12 · 811,025 ratings · 87,541 reviews · 468 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories 4.35 avg rating — 39,468 ratings — published 2016	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 — 30,238 ratings — published 2015 — 49 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 — 10,327 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 — 8,285 ratings — published 2020 — 31 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 — 5,529 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 — 6,788 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 — 5,526 ratings — published 2016 — 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
	The Veiled Throne (The Dandelion Dynasty, #3) 4.13 avg rating — 5,179 ratings — published 2021 — 2 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 — 4,349 ratings — published 2022 — 2 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 — 3,387 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 — 50,148 ratings

Julia Z (1 book)
by

Ken Liu (Goodreads Author)

3.54 avg rating — 2,317 ratings

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

rss
Ken’s Recent Updates

Ken Liu is now friends with Shreya Ray
Apr 15, 2026 07:24AM · 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

115 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

87 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 23.5%

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 18.9%

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 15.2%

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

And I Darken by Kiersten White

18 votes 13.6%

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

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

16 votes 12.1%

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 6.8%

Shadow Over Avalon by C.N. Lesley

3 votes 2.3%

132 total votes

8 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
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
The Sword and Laser: Hugo Award Finalists	69	486	Sep 07, 2013 11:54PM
Chaos Reading: Bookshelf Nominations: OBSCURE SHORT STORIES [now online]	27	168	Nov 26, 2013 01:34AM