« Elle plaque la feuille sur la table, face vierge exposée, et la plie. Intrigué, j’arrête de pleurer pour l’observer. Ma mère retourne le papier et le plie de nouveau, avant de le border, de le plisser, de le rouler et de le tordre jusqu’à ce qu’il disparaisse entre ses mains en coupe. Puis elle porte ce petit paquet à sa bouche et y souffle comme dans un ballon.

“Kan, dit-elle. Laohu.” Elle pose les mains sur la table, puis elle les écarte.

Un tigre se dresse là, gros comme deux poings réunis. Son pelage arbore le motif du papier, sucres d’orge rouges et sapins de Noël sur fond blanc.

J’effleure ce qu’a créé Maman. Sa queue bat et il se jette, joueur, sur mon doigt… »

Ken Liu est né en 1976 à Lanzhou, en Chine, avant d’émigrer aux états-Unis à l’âge de onze ans. Titulaire d’un doctorat en droit (université de Harvard), programmeur, traducteur du chinois, il dynamite les littératures de genre américaines, science-fiction aussi bien que fantasy, depuis une dizaine d’années, collectionnant distinctions et prix littéraires, dont le Hugo, le Nebula et le World Fantasy pour la seule « Ménagerie de papier », ce qui demeure unique à ce jour. Le présent recueil, élaboré au sein d’un corpus considérable, et sans équivalant en langue anglaise, consacre l’éclosion du plus brillant des talents, protéiforme et singulier — l’avènement d’un phénomène.

The second book in The Dandelion Dynasty, the epic fantasy trilogy by Ken Liu.

Dara is united under the Emperor Ragin, once known as Kuni Garu, the bandit king. There has been peace for six years, but the Dandelion Throne rests on bloody foundations – Kuni's betrayal of his friend, Mata Zyndu, the Hegemon. The Hegemon's rule was brutal and unbending – but he died well, creating a legend that haunts the new emperor, no matter what good he strives to do.

Where war once forged unbreakable bonds between Kuni's inner circle, peace now gnaws at their loyalties. Where ancient wisdoms once held sway, a brilliant scholar promises a philosophical revolution. And from the far north, over the horizon, comes a terrible new threat... The scent of blood is in the water.

A TIME MAGAZINE BEST FANTASY BOOK OF ALL TIME

Emperor Mapidéré was the first to unite the island kingdoms of Dara under a single banner. But now the emperor is on his deathbed, his people are exhausted by his vast, conscriptive engineering projects and his counsellors conspire only for their own gain.

Even the gods themselves are restless.

A wily, charismatic bandit and the vengeance-sworn son of a deposed duke cross paths as they each lead their own rebellion against the emperor's brutal regime. Together, they will journey to the heart of the empire; witnessing the clash of armies, fleets of silk-draped airships, magical books and shapeshifting gods. Their unlikely friendship will drastically change the balance of power in Dara... but at what price?

The Grace of Kings is the first novel by Hugo-, Nebula- and World Fantasy Award-winner Ken Liu and the first in a monumental epic fantasy series.

From the winner of the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards, the epic third volume of the Dandelion Dynasties series, named by Time as one of the Greatest Fantasy Books of All Time, continues.

Princess Théra, once known as Empress Üna of Dara, yielded the throne to her younger brother in order to journey to Ukyu-Gondé to war with the Lyucu, and has crossed the impenetrable Wall of Storms with a fleet of ships and ten thousand people. Constantly facing adversity, she faces new challenges by doing the most interesting thing and not letting the past dictate the present.

In Dara, the Lyucu leadership bristles with rivalries, as power and perspectives change between the remains of the Dandelion courts. Here, mothers and daughters, Empress and Pékyu alike, nurture the seeds of plans that will take years to bloom. As the conquerors and the conquered jockey for position in these new regimes, tradition gives way to new justifications for power.

Ken Liu returns to the series that has helped bridge the great epics of our history from the Aeneid to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms into a series that is unsurpassed in its depth of scope and adventure.

'Beyond ambitious in scope... You are swept into a world of political intrigue, hopeless sieges and compelling characters. Liu seamlessly blends philosophy and politics with tense battles and compelling action... Sad, funny, poignant and addictive, this book will leave a lasting impression on the genre' SFX

Here are thirteen short stories from the new frontiers of Chinese science fiction, selected and translated by Hugo, Nebula, Locus and World Fantasy Award-winner Ken Liu.

Hao Jingfang's Hugo-Award-Winning 'Folding Beijing' takes place in a near-future dystopia where the title city's buildings fold into and out of the earth, allowing three different strata of society to spend part of the day above ground. Xia Jia's 'Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse' describes a post-apocalyptic world where machines have outlived the humans who engineered them. In 'Taking Care of God' by Liu Cixin – author of The Three-Body Problem, the first translated novel to win the Hugo Award – a race of white-haired, white-robed beings arrive on Earth, claiming they are God, creators of everything who now want to spend their retirement years with us...

Including an introduction by Ken Liu and three essays exploring Chinese science fiction, this is a phenomenal collection of strange worlds, hypnotic landscapes and unbridled imagination.

Touch the past or wash it away? Two sisters have a choice in this unforgettable short story of everyday magic and the power of memory by the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Ken Liu.

Gui is a professional cleaner at A Fresh Start, scrubbing away the unpleasant layers of memory that build up on the personal objects of his customers. Memory-blind himself, he can’t feel those wounds. Clara can, and she prefers them irretrievable. Until her sister, Beatrice, ultrasensitive to memory, raises one that could change Clara’s mind. For Gui, the past is gone. For Clara and Beatrice, deciding what to remember reaches to the heart of their shared history.

The Cleaners is part of Faraway, a collection of retold fairy tales that take the happily-ever-after in daring new directions. Whether read or listened to in one sitting, prepare to be charmed, moved, enlightened, and frightened all over again.

Ken Liu is one of the most original, thought-provoking and award-winning short-story writers of his generation. This is the first collection of his work – sixteen stories that invoke the magical within the mundane, by turns profound, beguiling and heartbreaking.

Included here are: The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary (Finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Awards), Mono No Aware (Hugo Award winner), The Waves (Nebula Award finalist), The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species (Nebula and Sturgeon award finalists), All the Flavors (Nebula Award finalist), The Litigation Master and the Monkey King (Nebula Award finalist) ,and the most awarded story in the genre's history, The Paper Menagerie (the only story ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy awards).