Reviews

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by

ftyler's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

mikkelmiguelon's review against another edition

5.0

For Ken Liu, the future is clear! We all will be uploaded onto the cloud :) Even though it's a much recurring theme (and probably even the truth) the book is full of wonderful and fantastical stories. It takes some time every now and then to emerge yourself fully in the worlds he created, but it always leaves you wanting more.

ohwriting's review against another edition

I adored the Paper Menagerie and whilst their were maybe one or two stories that were on the weaker side, the entire reading experience was great and I always wanted to come back for more. That cannot be said for this one. A lot of the stories are a bit a slog to get through and ultimately Is at it down and justd id not feel the urge to pick it back up. And I didn't find Ken Liu's short stories this time around to be as interesting. But that may just be me. 

zsabella's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Grief

Moderate: Xenophobia, War, Gun violence, and Death

benghan's review against another edition

5.0

I will not revisit every story in this collection, but the 8 stories or so dealing with humanities slow ascension into a digital consciousness will stay in my thoughts for years to come, to say nothing of the magic and wonder in the other unrelated stories.

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories is a gift to the world.

jauboyjr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.25

31_camillagoh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

tonyleachsf's review against another edition

5.0

I love Ken Liu’s short story collections. They’re haunting and full of terror - but also of love.

Many of these could be made into great video games. Others should be left as they are, untouched.

o_oliviarose_o's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

lauralhart's review against another edition

2.0

I’d heard good things about The Paper Menagerie, so I decided to try The Hidden Girl as an intro to Ken Liu. This is a collection of speculative and scifi short stories, most of which were extremely disappointing. When these stories were best (ex. the trilogy of stories about Maddie), they painted clear pictures of different worlds and followed the arc of active protagonists facing wild challenges. At their worst (The Message, Thoughts and Prayers), the stories were hard to visualize, relied too heavily on clichés, and ended before the real excitement began. It was also often difficult for me to reconcile whether the stories were all supposed to be connected; some of the threads were obvious, but others left me scratching my head. I’ve already forgotten most of the stories here, but may eventually return to the few I connected with. Overall, I don’t recommend this title.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.