Most Popular Books by Charles Yu

NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • “A shattering and darkly comic send-up of racial stereotyping in Hollywood” (Vanity Fair) and a deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play. Willis Wu doesn’t perceive himself as the protagonist in his own life: he’s merely Generic Asian Man. Sometimes he gets to be Background Oriental Making a Weird Face or even Disgraced Son, but always he is relegated to a prop. Yet every day, he leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO and enters the Golden Palace restaurant, where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He’s a bit player here, too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy—the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. Or is it? After stumbling into the spotlight, Willis finds himself launched into a wider world than he’s ever known, discovering not only the secret history of Chinatown, but the buried legacy of his own family. Infinitely inventive and deeply personal, exploring the themes of pop culture, assimilation, and immigration—Interior Chinatown is Charles Yu’s most moving, daring, and masterful novel yet.

“A compulsively readable collection” of short fiction from the author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (Publishers Weekly). With deadpan humor and originality, Charles Yu spins Kafkaesque tales of modern identity and insecurity in this whip-smart debut. In 401(k), a couple living in the Luxury Car Commercial subdivision are disappointed when their exotic vacation turns into a Life Insurance/Asset Management pitch. The author struggles to write the definitive biography of his mother in Autobiographical Raw Material Unsuitable for the Mining of Fiction. And would-be superhero Moisture Man must come to terms with the darkness in his heart. Throughout the collection, Yu’s characters run up against the limitations of their artificial story lines while tackling the terrifying aspects of existence: mothers, jobs, spouses, and perhaps most terrifying of all, the need to express feelings. Heartbreaking and hilarious, Third Class Superhero marked the debut of an author who has been a PEN award finalist, and whose novel How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe was named one of Time’s best books of the year. “The post-collegiate braininess of many of Yu’s stories is like the music of the Talking Heads, making the familiar seem off-kilter. . . . Takes a Kafkaesque turn in its comic examination of the essence of identity.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the genre-defying, critically beloved author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and Interior Chinatown and one of the creative minds behind HBO’s Westworld comes a sweet and searing, unexpected and delightfully absurd vision of life on Earth a thousand years in the future. Jane is the only person left on the planet, minding the only business left: a gift shop. She wasn’t born on Earth, but her ancestors were; they lived there before the AI in charge of geoengineering failed and the oceans got too hot to sustain the terrestrial food web and before humans took off to colonize other planets. She’s heading to college on Jupiter in the fall of 3020, so her days on the home planet—selling “American Epoch” postcards, “History: The Poster!” and “War: The Soundtrack” to tourists from the suburbs of Europa—are numbered. But as the looping promotional ad for Earth details, in the planet’s more recent past there was an amusement park, a museum, and even a model American town to draw visitors: all shuttered now, abandoned. When a man and his son crash-land their rocket and need assistance, as well as some diversion, Jane learns that the other attractions on Earth are not so defunct after all and may have taken on a life of their own. Told, fittingly, in interconnected fragments, The Only Living Girl on Earth captures a place where only fragments of its landscape remain. At once dead serious and playful, recognizable and as otherworldly and unsettling as Yu’s other sci-fi reinventions, it is a cautionary tale about all that we could lose—are losing—by failing to live sustainably and about what we hope to leave behind for future generations. It is also a love letter to what it means to be human, how connected we are to a place and one another, and how we must fight to preserve these gifts. In this, Yu expresses his unique brand of cosmic humanism, that even in the face of dire circumstances, when we feel the most estranged from who and what we are, there is still hope.

Presents a collection of stories featuring a retail employee who is confronted by a zombie, a computer warrior who leads his fighter band across a virtual landscape, and a company that outsources grief.

From the National Book Award–u2060winning author of Interior Chinatown, comes a razor-sharp, hilarious, and touching story of a son searching for his father ... through quantum space-time. Every day in Minor Universe 31 people get into time machines and try to change the past. That''s where Charles Yu, time travel technician, steps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When he''s not taking client calls, Yu visits his mother and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. The key to locating his father may be found in a book. It''s called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and somewhere inside it is information that will help him. It may even save his life.

This enhanced eBook includes video, audio, photographic, and linked content, as well as a bonus short story. Hear TAMMY talk. Learn the origins of Minor Universe 31. See the TM-31. Take a trip in it. Photos and illustrations appear as hyperlinked endnotes. Video and audio are embedded directly in text. *Video and audio may not play on all readers. Check your user manual for details. National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Award winner Charles Yu delivers his debut novel, a razor-sharp, ridiculously funny, and utterly touching story of a son searching for his father . . . through quantum space–time. Minor Universe 31 is a vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where paradox fluctuates like the stock market, lonely sexbots beckon failed protagonists, and time travel is serious business. Every day, people get into time machines and try to do the one thing they should never do: change the past. That’s where Charles Yu, time travel technician—part counselor, part gadget repair man—steps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When he’s not taking client calls or consoling his boss, Phil, who could really use an upgrade, Yu visits his mother (stuck in a one-hour cycle of time, she makes dinner over and over and over) and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. Accompanied by TAMMY, an operating system with low self-esteem, and Ed, a nonexistent but ontologically valid dog, Yu sets out, and back, and beyond, in order to find the one day where he and his father can meet in memory. He learns that the key may be found in a book he got from his future self. It’s called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and he’s the author. And somewhere inside it is the information that could help him—in fact it may even save his life. Wildly new and adventurous, Yu’s debut is certain to send shock waves of wonder through literary space–time.

A Vintage Shorts “Short Story Month” Selection Who explores the final frontier? The ship has reached the last world. Beamed down from the transporter bay is the captain, the XO, the medic, the security chief, the ethnographer, and finally an unnamed yeoman, the narrator of Charles Yu’s mind-bending journey into the science fiction unknown. And the yeoman knows one thing, if he knows anything at all: the yeoman always dies. In the tradition of Jonathan Lethem and Douglas Adams, National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 award winner Charles Yu presents a story of searching (not wandering) and the galactic limits of home, from the utterly original collection Sorry Please Thank You. An eBook short.

A glittering landscape of twenty-five speculative stories that challenge oppression and envision new futures for America—from N. K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, G. Willow Wilson, Charlie Jane Anders, Hugh Howey, and more. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY In these tumultuous times, in our deeply divided country, many people are angry, frightened, and hurting. Knowing that imagining a brighter tomorrow has always been an act of resistance, editors Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams invited an extraordinarily talented group of writers to share stories that explore new forms of freedom, love, and justice. They asked for narratives that would challenge oppressive American myths, release us from the chokehold of our history, and give us new futures to believe in. They also asked that the stories be badass. The result is this spectacular collection of twenty-five tales that blend the dark and the light, the dystopian and the utopian. These tales are vivid with struggle and hardship—whether it’s the othered and the terrorized, or dragonriders and covert commandos—but these characters don’t flee, they fight. Thrilling, inspiring, and a sheer joy to read, A People’s Future of the United States is a gift for anyone who believes in our power to dream a just world. Featuring stories by Violet Allen • Charlie Jane Anders • Lesley Nneka Arimah • Ashok K. Banker • Tobias S. Buckell • Tananarive Due • Omar El Akkad • Jamie Ford • Maria Dahvana Headley • Hugh Howey • Lizz Huerta • Justina Ireland • N. K. Jemisin • Alice Sola Kim • Seanan McGuire • Sam J. Miller • Daniel José Older • Malka Older • Gabby Rivera • A. Merc Rustad • Kai Cheng Thom • Catherynne M. Valente • Daniel H. Wilson • G. Willow Wilson • Charles Yu

Presents a collection of short fiction for the year 2010 featuring the work of such authors as Elizabeth Bear, Peter Watts, Rachel Swirsky, Steve Gould, and Jay Lake.

"Originally published as Shadow show: stories in celebration of Ray Bradbury issues #1-5."--Title page verso.

Jane est la dernière personne sur Terre et elle y tient le seul commerce restant : un magasin de souvenirs. Elle n''est pas née sur cette planète, mais ses ancêtres y habitaient avant que l''IA chargée de la géo-ingénierie ne tombe en panne ; avant que les océans ne soient trop chauds pour entretenir le réseau alimentaire mondial ; avant que les humains n''entreprennent la colonisation d''autres planètes... Elle rejoindra la fac de Jupiter en automne 3020 et les jours qu''il lui reste à vendre des babioles aux touristes des banlieues d''Europa sont comptés. Les publicités encore diffusées à propos de La Terre évoquent des sites touristiques qui sont aujourd''hui abandonnés : un musée, un parc d''attractions, et même la reproduction à taille réelle d''une ville américaine idéale. Mais après avoir aidé un homme et son fils dont le vaisseau s''est échoué sur la planète, Jane découvre que ces espaces de loisir sont moins délaissés qu''elle ne le pensait. Traductions de l''anglais (États-Unis) par Thibaud Eliroff et Aurélie Thiria-Meulemans.

初試啼聲一鳴驚人之作！ ——???—— 全球獨家收錄新版作者序言 ——???—— 11篇奇幻迷離的實驗小說，11場穿越多重宇宙的夢境啟動！ 解離、後設、憂傷、詩意蔓延，太空漫遊時代的卡夫卡 早在二?二?年以《內景唐人街》榮獲美國國家書卷獎前，游朝凱便在二??六年出版《三流超級英雄》翌年獲得了美國國家圖書基金會青年作家獎。做為游朝凱的首部短篇小說集，書中故事可見作家創作初心，讓人驚艷。 《三流超級英雄》收錄共十一篇充滿幻想、奇趣、卻又略帶傷感的實驗性質作品，篇篇直指生活裡的虛無，帶著解離且後設的趣味。像是同名小說﹤三流超級英雄﹥中想要成為英雄最終卻得面對真實自我的主角、想要打造完美人生的﹤401（k）﹥、唯有在夢裡才感覺到自己真實活著的﹤變成自己的男人﹥、瀰漫浪漫詩意彷彿科幻寓言的﹤佛羅倫絲﹥，每篇故事都存在於架空的時間背景裡，看似充滿奇想，實則突顯人物心中無所不在的自我詰問及自我追尋。 這些故事在敘事形式上有多種實驗，例如劇本形式的﹤我最後扮演我的日子﹥，故事透過戲劇裡的演員與自我對話交替，主人翁不停自我剖析：我該如何表達（演出）憂傷的情緒？這個女人「不適合」演出我的母親。種種抽離自我，以第三視角看待演員╱自我的描述，讓游朝凱筆下的角色都有一種荒漠似的疏離及異化。 我們在不同的故事裡能看見一些有趣的共同性：解離、荒謬，所有的主人翁都在尋找一個遙遠、看似不存在的生命核心。如同進入一個又一個夢境，不斷探索另一個平行時空中的自我。透過多重的敘事形式實驗，不斷探究及扣問的是人性核心：我是否真的存在？會否有另一個更好的我？無盡探索讓人彷彿身處太空失重狀態，更令故事瀰漫末日般的荒涼及孤寂。誠如美國書評媒體所言，游朝凱彷彿透過創作化身成為太空時代的卡夫卡。這些故事對世界拋出的是永恆而古老的叩問，值得一讀再讀。 本書特色 ●全球獨家收錄作家游朝凱新版序言。 ●作家首本個人短篇小說集，可窺出其創作初衷及脈絡。 ●作品內容涵蓋科幻及奇想，餘韻無窮。 ●創作形式有多種實驗，充滿想像力及閱讀樂趣。

Antológiánk u200blapjain korunk angolszász spekulatív irodalmának legnagyobb alakjai tisztelegnek a közelmúltban elhunyt Mester előtt történeteikkel, melyek hol felemelőek, hol borongósak, hol szentimentálisak, hol hátborzongatóak, de valamennyi új és új kaland a képzelet határtalan birodalmában. NEIL GAIMAN (Sandman; Amerikai istenek) • MARGARET ATWOOD (Guvat és Gazella; A szolgálólány meséje) • JAY BONANSINGA (Száguldás a halálba; Agyrém) • SAM WELLER • DAVID MORRELL (Rambo; Settenkedők) • THOMAS F. MONTELEONE • LEE MARTIN • JOE HILL (A szív alakú doboz; Szarvak) • DAN CHAON • JOHN MCNALLY • JOE MENO • ROBERT MCCAMMON (Csak az enyém) • RAMSEY CAMPBELL • MORT CASTLE • ALICE HOFFMAN (Hetedik mennyország; Átkozott boszorkák) • JOHN MACLAY • JACQUELYN MITCHARD (Az óceán mélye) • GARY BRAUNBECK • BONNIE JO CAMPBELL • AUDREY NIFFENEGGER (Az időutazó felesége) • CHARLES YU • JULIA KELLER • DAVE EGGERS (Ahol a vadak várnak; Az árvízi csónakos) • BAYO OJIKUTU • KELLY LINK (Különb dolgok is) • HARLAN ELLISON

El 21 de mayo de 1980, Star Wars se volvió una verdadera saga con el lanzamiento de El Imperio Contraataca. Para honrar el cuadragésimo aniversario, cuarenta narradores recrean una escena icónica de la película a través de los ojos de un personaje secundario, desde héroes y villanos, hasta droides y criaturas de la galaxia. Desde otro punto de vista. El Imperio Contraataca reúne las contribuciones de autores de bestsellers y artistas que han marcado tendencias y son voces de la historia literaria de Star Wars: • AUSTIN WALKER explora la improbable asociación de un cazarrecompensas dengario y un IG-88 mientras persiguen a Han Solo. • HANK GREEN describe la vida de un naturalista al cuidado de tauntauns en el planeta helado de Hoth. • TRACY DEONN trata las oscuras profundidades de la cueva de Dagobah, donde Luke se enfrenta a una visión aterradora. • MARTHA WELLS revela el mundo de los clanes ugnaught que habitan en las profundidades de la Ciudad Nube. • MARK OSHIRO cuenta de nuevo el trágico relato de dolor y supervivencia de los wampas. • SETH DICKINSON se cuestiona sobre el costo de servir a un imperio despiadado mientras se encuentra en el puente de mando de una nave imperial rumbo su perdición. Además, muchos otros relatos hilarantes, angustiosos o sorprendentes de Tom Angleberger, Sarwat Chadda, S. A. Chakraborty, Mike Chen, Adam Christopher, Katie Cook, Zoraida Córdova, Delilah S. Dawson, Alexander Freed, Jason Fry, Christie Golden, Rob Hart, Lydia Kang, Michael Kogge, R. F. Kuang, C. B. Lee, Mackenzi Lee, John Jackson Miller, Michael Moreci, Daniel José Older, Amy Ratcliffe, Beth Revis, Lilliam Rivera, Cavan Scott, Emily Skrutskie, Karen Strong, Anne Toole, Catherynne M. Valente, Django Wexler, Kiersten White, Gary Whitta, Brittany N. Williams, Charles Yu, Jim Zub.

An Adventure into Mediterranean Cultures is told in the eyes of the young author. He recounts every special moment of his trip to the Mediterranean Sea. Written when Charles Zhang is only 10 years-old, An Adventure into Mediterranean Cultures is a fabulous first work.Detailing both the plain and the beautiful, Charles Zhang recreates his trip up the northern shore of the Mediterranean. He offers insights about travel, via airplane, taxi or ship, through his descriptions. In this book, Charles started by leading us to visit the picturesque Saint Peters Square in Vatican City, to view the artwork in the famous Sistine Chapel, and to tour the famous Italian museums in Florence. Then, Charles changed his course and boarded a cruise ship on the Mediterranean Sea with frequent excursions to the coastal attractions such as the home of Cannes Film Festival and small islands offering glimpse of rich cultures in the region. Finally Charles ended his journey with an extensive exploration of Barcelona.By the end of his journey, Charles Zhang has traveled through many different cultures, Roman, Tuscan, French, Spanish and many other less-known. Through his writing, he brings to life the beauty of Mediterranean Culture, the traditions and the art. For the reader, they become part of the elaborate tapestry that Charles Zhang weaves with his deft words and beautiful descriptions.

From the legends of Atlantis, El Dorado, and Shangri-La to classic novels such as King Solomon''s Mine, The Land That Time Forgot, and The Lost World, readers have long been fascinated by the idea of lost worlds and mythical kingdoms. Read short stories featuring the discovery of such worlds or kingdoms--stories where scientists explore unknown places, stories where the discovery of such turns the world on its head, stories where we''re struck with the sense of wonder at realizing that we don''t know our world quite as well as we''d thought. Featuring new tales by today''s masters of SF&F: Tobias S. Buckell James L. Cambias Becky Chambers Kate Elliott C.C. Finlay Jeffrey Ford Theodora Goss Darcie Little Badger Jonathan Maberry Seanan McGuire An Owomoyela Dexter Palmer Cadwell Turnbull Genevieve Valentine Carrie Vaughn Charles Yu E. Lily Yu

Poetry is a window, through which one can gain a glimpse into the sentiments of the most personal nature. This book is assembled from the thoughts and emotions of Charles Yu, as he wandered through the most confusing phase of his life: adolescence. Charles Yu was influenced by several 19th century poets, especially Edgar Allan Poe. The collection of Charles Yu''s poems carries a message of peace, exhibits a profound empathy for nature and environment, evokes a sense of joy at new discoveries, and arouses an awareness of belonging to one''s loving family. The young poet speaks truth, and his expressions reveal an astonishingly informed and mature mind. All 30 poems were written in English originally. The first 28 poems were translated into Chinese, each of which is published in this book side-by-side with the original English one. The author has requested that all his portion of the proceeds goes directly to a charity organization - American Chinese Culture and Education Foundation (ACCEF).

Le héros de notre histoire se nomme Charles Yu. C''est un bras cassé qui répare les machines à voyager dans le temps. Il a pour seuls compagnons un chien et une intelligence artificielle qui a le béguin pour lui. L''essentiel de son travail consiste à aller sauver des usagers qui, partis dans le passé pour revivre ces moments de leurs existences où leur vie a pris un mauvais tournant, se retrouvent coincés dans une boucle temporelle. Un jour, il se trouve lui-même prisonnier d''une boucle et devra partir à la recherche de son père, un inventeur frustré et méconnu, qui créa la machine à remonter le temps. Inspiré d''Isaac Asimov, de Stanislas Lem, de Douglas Adams, ce premier roman fut salué à sa sortie comme un succès. Rencontre idéale et subtile entre la SF de Star Trek et la poésie d''Italo Calvino, ce roman de SF comique et littéraire se révèle être un texte émouvant et mélancolique sur la relation père-fils, sur la réussite et l''échec, sur ce que l''on transmet à nos enfants, et sur ce qu''ils gardent de nous.

China Perceptions is a collection of essays examining different elements of China. In his writing, Charles Zhang blends his knowledge with his first-hand experiences to form his unique captivating narratives and observations on issues from history and culture, to monuments and tradition, and more.Behind the backdrop of Chinas greatest cities and most beautiful locales, Charles describes how different events have contributed to the traditions and monuments in Chinese culture. He offers candid thoughts on many current topics, such as environmental protection and historical preservation. This book starts by a grand tour from Beijing, to the ancient capital, Xian, to the booming city of Shanghai. Each of these uniquely distinguishable regional cultures has been incorporated into the essays to weave together a colorful tapestry of Chinese culture. Charles also uses his own experiences write about how culture affects the way kids grow up there. Throughout the course of China Perceptions, readers are shown a wide variety of different experiences: stunning natural scenery, awe-inspiring monuments, and equally stunning modern advances.Through this collection of essays, Charles Zhang tried to untangle the complexities of Chinese culture that have both captivated and confused foreign minds for centuries.

In the pages of Lightspeed Magazine, you will find the finest science fiction: from near-future, sociological soft SF, to far-future, star-spanning hard SF-and fantasy: from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, and contemporary urban tales, to magical realism, science-fantasy, and folktales.Issue #1 was launched in June 2010, and now eight years later, we''ve reached a milestone: Issue 100. To celebrate, we decided to publish a super-sized issue, with ten original stories-more than twice the amount of original fiction than usual-plus ten reprints and some special nonfiction to boot. And to make things even more commemorative, the vast majority of our fiction in this issue, both original and reprint, comes from our most frequently published fiction contributors-the Lightspeediest writers to ever Lightspeed. It''s a distillation of what we''re made of, and we''re beyond excited to share it with all of you.Featuring work by Vylar Kaftan, Carrie Vaughn, Adam-Troy Castro, A. Merc Rustad, Ken Liu, Sofia Samatar, Charles Yu, Caroline M. Yoachim, An Owomoyela, Seanan McGuire, David Barr Kirtley, Genevieve Valentine, Cadwell Turnbull, Yoon Ha Lee, Maria Dahvana Headley, Sam J. Miller, Kat Howard, Theodora Goss, Charlie Jane Anders, Jeremiah Tolbert, and more.