From the title story's fantastical inter-dimensional assassins to the steampunk dystopia of "Grey Rabbit, Crimson Mare, Coal Leopard" burrowing through the ruins of a civilisation destroyed by a plague, from Black Mirror-esque tales of blockchain cryptography ("Byzantine Empathy") and Internet trolling ("Thoughts and Prayers") to a three-story hard-SF arc about artificial intelligence and the singularity ("The Gods Will Not Be Chained", "The Gods Will Not Be Slain" and "The Gods Have Not Died In Vain"), here are 17 interlinking visions that explore what it is to be human, and what it is like to abandon or transcend that. This collection confirms Ken Liu, author of the astonishing and multi-award winning The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, as one of speculative fiction's greatest short story writers. Contents include: Ghost Days, Maxwell's Demon,The Reborn, Thoughts and Prayers, Byzantine Empathy, The Gods Will Not Be Chained, Staying Behind, Real Artists, The Gods Will Not Be Slain, Altogether Elsewhere Vast Herds of Reindeer, The Gods Have Not Died in Vain, Memories of My Mother, Dispatches from the Cradle: The Hermit - Forty-Eight Hours in the Sea of Massachusetts, Grey Rabbit, Crimson Mare, Coal Leopard, A Chase Beyond the Storms (an excerpt from The Veiled Throne, Book 3 of the Dandelion Dynasty), The Hidden Girl, Seven Birthdays, The Message, Cutting.

An award-winning author's much-anticipated second collection of speculative fiction bestrides worlds real and ethereal.

About the Author
Ken Liu is an award-winning American author of speculative fiction. His collection, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. Liu's other works include The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms, and Star Wars tie-in The Legends of Luke Skywalker, and a second collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories. He has been involved in multiple media adaptations of his work including the short story 'Good Hunting', adapted as an episode in Netflix's animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC's Pantheon, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories. 'The Hidden Girl', 'The Message', and The Grace of Kings have also been optioned for development. Liu previously worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on topics including futurism, cryptocurrency, the mathematics of origami, and others. Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

Reviews
The king of speculative short stories delivers his most exquisite miniatures and a brand new novella * Waterstones Weekly *
In his cyberpunk-tinged visions, our homes are so often on fire - but the flames illuminate our difficult present in unexpected ways. A hugely accomplished collection * SFX *
Ken Liu's latest twist-filled sci-fi and fantasy anthology emphasises family and shared humanity... The 17 stories of The Hidden Girl come out amid high expectations. Liu not only meets these with equanimity, but also sends his stories jetting off into new dimensions' * Straits Times *
With its themes of assimilation and breaking free, of colonial and other yokes, the immigrant experience feels familiar, yet strange, in the hands of Lanzhou-born, US-based Liu, a master also at translating Chinese science fiction. His ideas about different worlds will transport you * South China Morning Post *


Awards
Winner of Locus Award 2021 (United States).



Book Information
ISBN 9781838932060
Author Ken Liu
Format Paperback
Page Count 480
Imprint Head of Zeus -- an AdAstra Book
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC