Ken Liu

ades into bright chrysanthemums of cold light that melded martial glory with lyrical grace; dozens of elegant, stately elephants from wild, sparsely settled

I don’t pay much attention to the distinction between fantasy and science fiction—or between “genre” and “mainstream” for that matter. For me, all fiction is about prizing the logic of metaphors—which is the logic of narratives in general—over reality, which is irreducibly random and senseless.

Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.

vertices in Indra’s web.

The touch is electric

Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.

reading is literally hearing the voice of the past

ideal book uncorrupted by readers.

War was the only way to animate the ideals embedded in the static text passed down through the ages, to ensure that they remained true, and to refine them for the future. An idea was worth keeping only if it led to victory.

a book has triumphed over time