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A Financial Times Book of the Year

'An innovative and compassionate look at how knowledge shapes and changes humanity. Liu grounds his tales in contemporary Chinese life and society, using he sci-fi genre to tackle questions about humanity's place in the universe . . . a must have for readers of hard science fiction.'

―Publishers Weekly

'A well rounded view of Liu's work, showing him both in the mode familiar to readers of The Three-Body Problem trilogy as well as in other, perhaps more unexpected, styles. Highly recommended for fans of Liu's work or for those interested in Chinese sf in general.'

―Booklist, starred review

'These stories excel at linking hard science fiction with global humanism and quiet moments of emotion. Liu's writing maintains a calm, matter-of-fact demeanor, even as it conveys inventive cruelty and beautiful imagery . . . [This collection] will appeal to readers of literary fiction and classic science fiction alike.'

―Shelf Awareness

'It is magic, this collection of short stories Liu wrote and published ten, 20, 30 years ago. It is a time machine; a split-vision tunnel that lets you go back in time while staring forward, to see what 2003's or 1985's version of 2010 or 2020 or 3000 looked like from China... To Hold Up The Sky gives us a window that looks out over a different sci-fi landscape than we've seen in decades. Because science fiction was like this once upon a time: strange and alien, liberated, trope-less, exuberant, young. It operated without maps or guiding principles, got lost, found its way, moved on. Before genre factionalism and the days of grim-dark apocalyptica, before Federations and Empires, before the calcification of semiotics, there was the simplest of questions: What would happen if...?'

―NPR

Table of Contents

The Village Teacher

Time Migration

2018-04-01

Fire in the Earth

Contraction

Mirror

Ode to Joy

Full Spectrum Barrage Jamming

Sea of Dreams

Cloud of Poems

The Thinker