I was not trying to write some sort of serious meditation on war and peace. 'The Grace of Kings' is meant to be a fun book. It's meant to be an epic fantasy. — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
I don't have a specific message for 'The Grace of Kings' and the sequels in mind other than wanting to challenge some of the source material I was working from as well as some of the assumptions of epic fantasy. — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
I don't believe in reducing a style and a voice down to a set of descriptions, so I've never done that. — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that… — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
“My goal is to act as a faithful interpreter, preserving as much of the original's nuances of meaning as possible without embellishment or omission.… — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
“It’s hard to hear the music behind the words when their meanings get in the way,” she told me once.” — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
The 'silk' in silkpunk refers not to a source of power, but to an entirely different, expressive technology language. — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
“A memory is a re-creation, precious because it is both more and less than the original.” — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
Almost all of my stories can be understood to be elaborations on our drive to remake the world and our adjustments to the result. — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
“I can only wish that someday you’ll also be pestered by a student as persistent to learn what you do not wish to teach.” — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
I think male authors who want to try to tackle these issues of representation of women can generally do a better job if they… — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
“Surveillance is surveillance. I can never understand why some people think it matters whether it's the government doing it to you or a company.” — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
Whenever you talk about Chinese dragons, emperors, palaces, concubines - they conjure up a whole colonial argle-bargle that has nothing to do with historical… — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
We have never had a society that was truly just. Some groups have always benefited at the expense of others. — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
“By custom, we wield the sword and wear the armor, but who among you does not know a mother, sister, daughter, friend, who exceeds… — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
My wife, Lisa, and I both grew up on wuxia - Chinese historical romances. They're kind of analogous to Western epics. They're based on… — Ken Liu Copy Share Image
