The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

What Hacker News says

1. agarvDec 2025
   The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu

   The Bug by Ellen Ullman

   Radicalized by Corey Doctrow

   Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories by qntm

   thread
2. ashtavakraDec 2025
   I consolidated the comments for my reference later. Someone else might also find it useful:

   # Fiction Books Recommended for Programmers (HN Thread 46128404)

   ## Adrian Tchaikovsky - *Children of Time* — Science Fiction (Evolution, Space Opera) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-tim...

   ## Rick Cook — Wizardry Series - *Wizard’s Bane* — Fantasy, Programming/Magic Mashup https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112616.Wizard_s_Bane - *Wizardry Series (overview)* https://www.goodreads.com/series/43084-wiz

   ## James P. Hogan - *Inherit the Stars* — Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/743568.Inherit_the_Stars - *Code of the Lifemaker* — Sci-Fi, Artificial Life https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/296722.Code_of_the_Lifem... - *The Two Faces of Tomorrow* — AI, Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218017.The_Two_Faces_of_...

   ## D. F. Jones — Colossus Trilogy - *Colossus* — AI, Classic Sci-Fi Thriller https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/806105.Colossus - *The Fall of Colossus* — AI, Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/806106.The_Fall_of_Colos... - *Colossus and the Crab* — AI, Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/806107.Colossus_and_the_...

   ## Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner) - *A Logic Named Joe* — Golden-Age Sci-Fi, AI Precursor https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16179042-a-logic-named-j...

   ## David Gerrold - *When H.A.R.L.I.E. Was One* — AI, Classic Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/865672.When_H_A_R_L_I_E_...

   ## William Gibson / Bruce Sterling - *Neuromancer* — Cyberpunk https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6088007-neuromancer - *The Difference Engine* — Steampunk https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16781.The_Difference_Eng...

   ## Neal Stephenson - *Snow Crash* — Cyberpunk https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/830.Snow_Crash - *Cryptonomicon* — Techno-thriller, Cyber-history https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/816.Cryptonomicon - *Anathem* — Philosophical Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2845024-anathem - *The Diamond Age* — Nanopunk https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/827.The_Diamond_Age

   ## Fred Saberhagen - *Octagon* — AI, Techno-thriller https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1891958.Octagon

   ## Lois McMaster Bujold — Vorkosigan Saga - *Series Overview* — Space Opera https://www.goodreads.com/series/40946-vorkosigan-saga

   ## Richard Powers - *Galatea 2.2* — Literary Fiction, AI https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45104.Galatea_2_2

   ## Scott Meyer - *Off to Be the Wizard* — Comic Fantasy with Computing Themes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18616975-off-to-be-the-w...

   ## Daniel Suarez - *Daemon* — Cyber-thriller, AI https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6665844-daemon

   ## Thomas J. Ryan - *The Adolescence of P-1* — AI, Classic Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218059.The_Adolescence_o...

   ## Ernest Cline - *Ready Player One* — Sci-Fi, Gaming, Pop-Culture Adventure https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9969571-ready-player-one

   ## Dennis E. Taylor - *We Are Legion (We Are Bob)* — Humorous Sci-Fi, AI, Space Opera https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29475817-we-are-legion-w...

   ## Ted Chiang - *Stories of Your Life and Others* — Speculative Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223380.Stories_of_Your_L... - *Exhalation* — Speculative Fiction, Philosophy, AI https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41160292-exhalation - *The Lifecycle of Software Objects* — AI, Digital Consciousness https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9166173-the-lifecycle-of...

   ## Charles Stross - *Laundry Files Series* — Math-based Magic, Techno-Fantasy https://www.goodreads.com/series/50764-laundry-files

   ## Ken Liu - *The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories* — Speculative Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11289614-the-paper-menag... - *The Hidden Girl and Other Stories* — Speculative Fiction, AI, VR https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51008178-the-hidden-girl...

   ## Ellen Ullman - *The Bug* — Tech Industry Literary Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/703.The_Bug

   ## Cory Doctorow - *Radicalized* — Techno-sociopolitical Speculative Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40604122-radicalized

   ## qntm (Sam Hughes) - *Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories* — Speculative Fiction, Computing Themes https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56516939-valuable-humans...

   ## Roger Williams - *The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect* — AI, Post-Singularity SF https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/258140.The_Metamorphosis...

   ## Greg Bear - *Eon* — Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/924843.Eon

   ## Vernor Vinge - *A Deepness in the Sky* — Hard Sci-Fi, Space Opera https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/175303.A_Deepness_in_the...

   ## Terry Pratchett - *Going Postal* — Comic Fantasy, Satire of Bureaucracy & Tech https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64222.Going_Postal

   ## Bruce Bethke - *Headcrash* — Cyber-satire https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213465.Headcrash

   ## Mary Shelley - *Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus* — Classic Gothic Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein

   ## Douglas Adams - *The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* — Comic Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11.The_Hitchhiker_s_Guid...

   ## Jorge Luis Borges - *The Library of Babel* — Metaphysical Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7844213-the-library-of-b...

   ## Greg Egan - *Permutation City* — Simulation Theory, Hard Sci-Fi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/156784.Permutation_City

   ## Cixin Liu - *The Three-Body Problem* — Hard Sci-Fi, First Contact https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20518872-the-three-body-...

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3. petralithicAug 2025
   You should read the story The Perfect Match from the book Paper Menagerie and other stories by Ken Liu, it goes into what you mentioned about Google.
   thread
4. aireoOct 2024
   Several immediately come to mind.

   Short stories: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories (Ken Liu); Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation (Ted Chiang); The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury)

   Novels: The Monk (Matthew Gregory Lewis); Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

   thread
5. avnigoAug 2021
   Here they are for easier reference:

   * Worlds To Get Lost In

   - The Imperial Radch Trilogy https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/ann-leckie/the-impe...

   - The Dead Djinn Universe (series) https://publishing.tor.com/amasterofdjinn-dbtmp1230658/97812...

   - The Age of Madness Trilogy https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/joe-abercrombie/a-l...

   - The Green Bone Saga https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/fonda-lee/jade-city...

   - The Expanse (series) https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/james-s-a-corey/lev...

   - The Daevabad Trilogy https://www.harpervoyagerbooks.com/book/9780062678126/the-ci...

   - Teixcalaan (series) https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250186430

   - The Thessaly Trilogy https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250811837

   - Shades of Magic Trilogy https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765376466

   - The Divine Cities Trilogy https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/228171/city-of-stai...

   - The Wormwood Trilogy https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tade-thompson/rosew...

   - Black Sun (series) https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Black-Sun/Rebecca-Roa...

   * Words To Get Lost In

   - Piranesi https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/piranesi-9781635575637

   - Circe https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/madeline-miller/circe/978...

   - Mexican Gothic https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/577068/mexican-goth...

   - The Paper Menagerie And Other Stories https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Paper-Menagerie-a...

   - Spinning Silver https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554775/spinning-sil...

   - Exhalation: Stories https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538034/exhalation-b...

   - Olondria (series) https://smallbeerpress.com/books/2013/04/30/a-stranger-in-ol...

   - Her Body And Other Parties: Stories https://graywolfpress.org/books/her-body-and-other-parties

   - The Buried Giant https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/85613/the-buried-gi...

   - Radiance https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765335302

   * Will Take You On A Journey

   - The Changeling https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/234343/the-changeli...

   - Wayfarers (series) https://www.harpervoyagerbooks.com/book/9780062444134/the-lo...

   - Binti (series) https://publishing.tor.com/binti-nnediokorafor/9781250203427...

   - Lady Astronaut (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/ladyastronaut/

   - Children of Time (duology) https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/adrian-tchaikovsky/chil...

   - Wayward Children (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/waywardchildren/

   - The Space Between Worlds https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/610612/the-space-be...

   * Will Mess With Your Head

   - Black Leopard, Red Wolf https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/561305/black-leopar...

   - Southern Reach (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/thesouthernreachtrilogy/

   - The Echo Wife https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250174666

   - The Locked Tomb (series) https://publishing.tor.com/gideontheninth-dbtmp1127517/97812...

   - Remembrance of Earth's Past (series) https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765382030

   - Machineries of Empire (series) https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Ninefox-Gambit/Yoon-H...

   * Will Mess With Your Heart

   - The Broken Earth (series) https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/n-k-jemisin/the-fif...

   - Station Eleven https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/239452/station-elev...

   - This Is How You Lose the Time War https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/This-Is-How-You-Lose-...

   - The Poppy War Trilogy https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-poppy-war-r-f-kua...

   - The Masquerade (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/themasquerade

   - An Unkindness of Ghosts http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/an-unkindness-of-ghosts/

   - The Bird King https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-bird-king/

   - American War https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/543957/american-war...

   - Riot Baby https://publishing.tor.com/riotbaby-dbtmp1144773/97812502147...

   - On Fragile Waves https://www.workman.com/products/on-fragile-waves#:~:text=On...

   * Will Make You Feel Good

   - The Goblin Emperor https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765365682

   - Murderbot (series) https://publishing.tor.com/themurderbotdiaries-marthawells/9...

   - The Interdependency (series) https://us.macmillan.com/series/theinterdependency/

   - The Martian https://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9780553418026

   - Sorcerer to the Crown/The True Queen https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/761/a-sorcerer-to-...

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6. lidavidmFeb 2021
   If you like this story, Ken Liu has two (IMO) fantastic short story collections in print, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories and The Hidden Girl and Other Stories. (This story appears in one of the two, not sure which.)

   He also has two collections of translated sci-fi, Broken Stars and Invisible Planets.

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