Do you see how much power you have when you act without fear?

— Ken Liu

Emperor, king, general, duke,” he whispered to himself. “These are just labels. Climb up the family tree of them high enough, and you’ll find a commoner who dared to take a chance.

— Ken Liu

Every act of communication is a miracle of translation.

— Ken Liu

He intrigued her. Powerful men, in her experience, were usually not so full of doubt. Zuni was consumed by the desire to do good for others, but uncertain what "good" might be and whether he was the right man for the job. Kuni was the sort of man, Rosana realized, who, rather than deceive himself, was so full of self-doubt that he could no longer see himself

— Ken Liu

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. We spend our entire lives trying to tell stories about ourselves–they’re the essence of memory. It is how we make living in this unfeeling accidental universe tolerable. That we call such a tendency “the narrative fallacy” doesn’t mean it doesn’t also touch upon some aspect of the truth. Some stories simply liberalize their metaphors a bit more explicitly.

— Ken Liu

If I end up having a novel that sells really well and that allows me to pay for health insurance and mortgage without having to work at a day job, that would be great.

— Ken Liu

I have seen the poor suffer when nobles seek the purity of ideals. I have seen the powerless die when princes believe in the nostalgia of their dreams. Furthermore, I have seen the common people torn from peace and thrown into war when kings yearn to test the clarity of their vision.

— Ken Liu

I think writing novels has taught me more about the value of patience and being organized. I've learned to use timelines and wikis to track decisions and make sure everything still fits together. It's both easier and harder than writing short fiction.

— Ken Liu

I thought my duty was to restore Han, but Han is not King Cough or the burned-down palace or the ruins of the great estates or the dead nobles and their descendants pining for glory-these are but parts of an experiment at a way of life for the people of Han, her true essence. When the experiment has proven to be a failure, one must be willing to try new paths, new ways of doing things.

— Ken Liu

It is as if the Car'EE were able to perceive an echo of the past, and unconsciously, as they built upon a palimpsest of books written long ago and long forgotten, chanced to stumble upon an essence of meaning that could not be lost, no matter how much time had passed.

— Ken Liu