The Hidden Girl and Other Stories

Mind-bending stories that push the envelope of metaphysics and existentialism. Also, everyone should watch the animated series "Pantheon" which is an excellent excellent adaptation of these short stories.

Summary: The Hidden Girl and Other Stories is Ken Liu’s second short story collection, assembling speculative, often genre-blending tales across sci-fi, fantasy, folklore, and speculative realism. Many of the stories explore memory, identity, familial bonds, technology, and the boundary between the real and the uncanny. The collection also includes an excerpt from The Veiled Throne, part of Liu’s Dandelion Dynasty series. Thoughts: For me, The Hidden Girl and Other Stories showed off Ken Liu’s elegant, thoughtful prose and his ability to balance big ideas with emotional moments. I loved how themes of memory, family, and legacy tied the collection together, and when the stories hit—like The Hidden Girl, The Gods Will Not Be Chained, and Thoughts and Prayers—they were powerful and haunting. The variety of sci-fi, folklore, and speculative pieces kept things fresh. That said, some stories felt more like idea-driven thought experiments than fully realized tales, with overexposition or thin characters making them less engaging. I loved how Liu asks big “what ifs” — about memory, mortality, technology, and morality — while anchoring them in human longing and regret. Some stories soared; others lagged a bit. But overall, the collection left me thinking and unsettled in good ways. If you enjoy science fiction and fantasy that leans toward the thoughtful, weird, and introspective, this is a collection I’d absolutely recommend! I received an advanced review digital copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Ken's stories in this book really get at the heart of a lot of philosophy and moral questions in today's tech environment and the meaning of humanity. Reading this when it came out it seems like sci-fi, now half the stories are taking place in the modern day; a lot just as bleak as Ken predicted.

What stands out to me in this collection is the idea of humanity and civilization. What are the ways in which we can progress? What are the consequences of this progression? What are the points of view for each new dimension that splits people into for and nots? It’s an interesting collection. There are some stories that are definitely tied to each other, and then others in which you could see a continuation of the same universe but you are not quite sure. As is Ken Liu’s style, a lot of the focus is on people, their relationships, their humanity. In some ways we even see a continuation from The Paper Menagerie, of this exploration of what is a life? What is a living thing? Additionally this collection also leans into the negative impacts that we as human beings have on our planet. So it is a collection for the time that we live in. Everything feels very current, very relevant. I enjoyed it cover to cover. Possibly the only story I didn’t like was the extract from his epic fantasy. But now I know that the Grace of Kings can wait a few years before I get to it.

Ahoy there me mateys! One of the best short stories I have ever read was Ken Liu's the paper menagerie which in 2012 was the first work to win the Hugo, the Nebula and the World Fantasy Award. This lovely cover for his second short story collection caught me eye and I was excited to read more of his work. This book has 16 stories from the past five years and a brand new novelette. There were 19 all together. All short story collections are kinda hard to review. I usually try to give thoughts about each story individually but I am not able to do that for this book. This stems from the fact that the stories, as the author's preface states, have been arranged by the editor into a "meta-narrative." The stories at the beginning seem to standalone but later stories have many characters and plots reappear. I think the beginning of the collection was the strongest but much of the middle blurred together and felt very slow for reasons I will get to. Here are the stories that I loved: "Ghost Days" - The first story was cool and the historical fiction aspects excellent. I didn't particularly love the ending but I did learn about bubi which are awesome Chinese coins. After the story I went looking to find out more about them and found this cool page. "Maxwell's Demon"- This was the second story and the best for me. It deals with the Japanese internment in 1943 and ghosts. Poignant and beautiful. "Thoughts and Prayers" - A thought-provoking tale about the consequences of a mass shooting on one family and how the digital world impacts how each member deals with grief. "Real Artists" - A weird but fascinating look at how films could be made. "Grey Rabbit, Crimson Mare, Coal Leopard" - Cool magic. Super fun characters. I wouldn't mind this one being expanded into a longer form. "The Hidden Girl"- Assassins and magic. Arrrr! "The Message"- Lovely story about familial bonds, alien archaeology, and tough choices. Bittersweet. About 30% of the way through is where the tone switched. Much of the middle of this book deals with the unforeseen impact of technology advancing. One story dealt with what happens when ye crowdfund charity and the non-profits have to compete. Multiple stories dealt with uploading the human consciousness to computers. Two repeating ones were 1) a girl, Maddie, who talks to her dead AI father and 2) the Singularity which is where people gave up their physical bodies. Many of the stories with Maddie used emoji which I couldn't see very well on me Kindle and couldn't enlarge. It irked me and I missed a lot of the meaning. I enjoyed the Singularity ones better. But the switching back and forth did lead to some whiplash. And some of the tech made no sense to me so I was just confused about what was going on. At 65% it switched to fantasy second with the "Grey Rabbit" story. I loved that one. Next from 76 - 81% there was an excerpt from the third Dandelion Dynasty book. Horrible, horrible choice. It didn't fit and should have been put at the end of the book if they wanted to promote it. Blech. "The Hidden Girl" was next. Fantastic story whose theme and tone matched the "Grey Rabbit" story. The remainder of the stories were good. Out of the 19 stories, I loved 7, enjoyed 7, and didn't like 5. That is pretty darn good for me and a collection. So while there were quibbles, I am very glad to have read this collection. I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for me honest musings.

Paper Menagerie was and is my favorite modern sci fi short story collection so Ken had some big shoes to fill. It is sometimes hard to believe they are from the same author. I plan on rereading Paper Menagerie to see exactly what made it so much more appealing to me. On one last note I feel like the author was pushing some ideologies in a ham fisted sorta way, which was either non existent or much better done in Paper Menagerie. If you come in with ZERO expectations then your enjoyment may vary widely from mine. Do yourself a favor. If you plan on reading both of Ken's short story collections start with The Hidden Girl and then Paper Menagerie. You'll thank me later.

I opened up this book for the first time on a rainy day, on a bus ride through a dense forest, listening to Graham Kartna quietly over my headphones. "It's just short stories," I remember musing to myself. "It'll be some nice light reading." I spent the next week of my life questioning reality, what it means to be human, and if the future is all that we're promised. Will this digital age last? Or will we inevitably crawl back to relearning the ways of those who came millennia before us, forced to give up everything after it all comes crashing down upon our heads? Five stars.

I always enjoy collections, especially when the author is new to me. This was very good with a nice range of variety.

Top wie beschrieben.

A wonderful book of surprises. I thoroughly enjoyed dipping in and out of this one. Lovely read.

idem

El libro es excelente en cuanto a historias, pero le doy 4 estrellas porque llegó sin plástico protector y como venía en el empaque de bolsa de cartón se le dobló la portada

This is a collection of 19 short stories that span genres and centuries – from ancient China to distant, post-human futures. Like The Paper Menagerie, the first thing that strikes you about Ken Liu’s work is the audacity and range of his imagination. But compared to that earlier collection, this one leans more toward science fiction, with many stories exploring uploading, artificial intelligence, and digital consciousness. There are still glimmers of Chinese myth and fantasy, but the speculative here feels more tech-driven than a collection of myths. Among the standout stories for me was The Reborn, a tightly woven tale of alien colonization, memory manipulation, and rebellion. Another highlight was The Hidden Girl, which blends Tang dynasty history with speculative action. On the more emotional side, Memories of My Mother and The Message were moving stories about the fraught dynamics between parents and children – especially when that relationship is strained. Not all stories landed equally well for me. Like most short story collections, this one has its weaker links. Some stories feel too abstract, or conceptually interesting but emotionally flat. Thoughts and Prayers, while powerful, was deeply disturbing. The three-part series beginning with The Gods Will Not Be Chained and concluding with The Gods Have Not Died in Vain didn’t resonate with me as much as the others. Though rich in worldbuilding, I found these stories emotionally disengaging. Overall, this book is worth a read for its highs and its continued testament to Liu’s unique ability to humanize the speculative. It’s always difficult to rank stories in a collection like this, where each piece might resonate differently with each reader. Still, if I had to pick a few that stood out: (1) The Reborn for its imaginative exploration of identity and colonialism, (2) The Hidden Girl for its unique blend of historical fantasy and moral growth, (3) Memories of My Mother for its elegant and affecting time-bending portrait of maternal love, and (4) The Message for its quiet and redemptive take on estrangement and reconciliation. Pros: Inventive ideas, emotional depth in select stories, and a range of tones – from action to meditation. Cons: Several stories, particularly in the uploading/digital consciousness arc, felt repetitive or slow.