To Hold Up the Sky

In "To Hold Up the Sky," Cixin Liu, the celebrated author behind "The Three-Body Problem," delivers a mesmerizing collection of twelve short stories that traverse the extraordinary breadth of his imagination. Written between 1999 and 2017, these tales offer captivating visions of both the future and the past, transporting readers from a remote mountain community where young students battle an alien invasion with physics, to the deep coal mines of northern China where advanced tech could unleash an eternal fire. Liu explores a near future dominated by superstring computers predicting every human action, and projects humanity 10,000 years forward to a new beginning, ultimately culminating in a cosmic journey to the very collapse of the universe itself. This anthology, appearing in English for the first time, showcases Liu's unparalleled ability to blend scientific rigor with profound philosophical inquiry, reflecting decades of significant change in China through a truly global lens. It is a testament to his pure creative genius and a must-read for any fan of visionary science fiction.