A new wave of Chinese science fiction is here. This golden age has not only resurrected the genre but also subverted its own conventions. Going beyond political utopianism and technological optimism, contemporary Chinese writers conjure glittering visions and subversive experiments—ranging from space opera to cyberpunk, utopianism to the posthuman, and parodies of China’s rise to deconstructions of the myth of national development. This anthology showcases the best of contemporary science fiction from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the People’s Republic of China. In fifteen short stories and novel excerpts, The Reincarnated Giant opens a doorway into imaginary realms alongside our own world and the history of the future. Authors such as Lo Yi-chin, Dung Kai-cheung, Han Song, Chen Qiufan, and the Hugo winner Liu Cixin—some alive during the Cultural Revolution, others born in the 1980s—blur the boundaries between realism and surrealism, between politics and technology. They tell tales of intergalactic war; decoding the last message sent from an extinct human race; the use of dreams as tools to differentiate cyborgs and humans; poets’ strange afterlife inside a supercomputer; cannibalism aboard an airplane; and unchecked development that leads to uncontrollable catastrophe. At a time when the Chinese government promotes the “Chinese dream,” the dark side of the new wave shows a nightmarish unconscious. The Reincarnated Giant is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of the genre.

"Hilarious ... Hall’s plot is filled with engaging twists. Vish is a wonderfully realized character ... You can dive in anywhere in this series and be rewarded with a rich experience" – Booklist Starred Review A client claiming she was murdered in a past life is a novel dilemma even for Vish Puri, India's Most Private Investigator. When a young woman comes forward claiming to be the reincarnation of Riya Kaur, a wife and mother who vanished during the bloody 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Puri is dismissive. He's busy enough dealing with an irate matrimonial client whose daughter is complaining about her groom’s thunderous snoring. Puri's indomitable Mummy-ji however is adamant the client is genuine. How else could she so accurately describe under hypnosis Riya Kaur's life and final hours? Driven by a sense of duty - the original case was his late father’s - Puri manages to acquire the police file only to find that someone powerful has orchestrated a cover-up. Forced into an alliance with his mother that tests his beliefs and high blood pressure as never before, it’s only by delving into the past the help of his reincarnated client that Puri can hope to unlock the truth.

A wildly imaginative novel about a man who is reincarnated over ten thousand lifetimes to be with his one true love: Death herself. “Tales of gods and men akin to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman as penned by a kindred spirit of Douglas Adams.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) First we live. Then we die. And then . . . we get another try? Ten thousand tries, to be exact. Ten thousand lives to “get it right.” Answer all the Big Questions. Achieve Wisdom. And Become One with Everything. Milo has had 9,995 chances so far and has just five more lives to earn a place in the cosmic soul. If he doesn’t make the cut, oblivion awaits. But all Milo really wants is to fall forever into the arms of Death. Or Suzie, as he calls her. More than just Milo’s lover throughout his countless layovers in the Afterlife, Suzie is literally his reason for living—as he dives into one new existence after another, praying for the day he’ll never have to leave her side again. But Reincarnation Blues is more than a great love story: Every journey from cradle to grave offers Milo more pieces of the great cosmic puzzle—if only he can piece them together in time to finally understand what it means to be part of something bigger than infinity. As darkly enchanting as the works of Neil Gaiman and as wisely hilarious as Kurt Vonnegut’s, Michael Poore’s Reincarnation Blues is the story of everything that makes life profound, beautiful, absurd, and heartbreaking. Because it’s more than Milo and Suzie’s story. It’s your story, too. Praise for Reincarnation Blues “The most fun you’ll have reading about a man who has been killed by both catapult and car accident.”—NPR “This book made me laugh out loud. And then a page later, it made me sob. Reminiscent of Tom Robbins and Christopher Moore, Poore finds humor in the dark absurdities of life.”—Chicago Review of Books “Charming . . . surprisingly light and uplifting . . . It reads like a writer having fun.”—New York Journal of Books

James Leininger was just two years old when he began having disturbing nightmares that would not stop. He screamed out in the night: 'Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!' While nightmares are common among children, what happened next shocked those around him... James began to reveal details of planes and war tragedies that no two-year-old boy could know. His desperate parents were at a loss to help him until he said three things: 'Corsair', 'Natoma' and 'Jack Larsen'. From these tantalising clues, James's parents travelled thousands of miles and spent many long years piecing together these facts to try and find an answer that could end his torment. Finally, despite his mother's fears and his father's staunch Christian beliefs, they found only one possibility to the endless coincidences that surrounded every detail in James's life – that their son was reliving the past life of a World War II fighter pilot. Their touching story is one that will challenge sceptics and confirm the beliefs of those who already believe in life after death.

Will the villainess hanged in her previous life marry the knight who once swore his allegiance to her? A little over a month has passed since Grey’s condemnation, and thanks to King Rizel’s leadership, life in Dirésias is slowly returning to normal. Yet one day, Albert comes to Mary with a shocking proposal. “Will you marry me?” Despite being happy, Mary can’t make up her mind—not until she comes to terms with her past. Meanwhile, Queen Tia remains missing, but her sinister plans creep ever closer to upsetting the peace Mary craves!

Prince Herscherik (previously the 35-year-old Japanese woman Ryoko Hayakawa) continues to fight against the powerful corruption in his kingdom and the puppet-master minister Barbosse. Now that he’s 5, Herscherik earned his own room and office among the other princes, his new base of operations. On the HR front, he gains a new ally in addition to Kuro, the former-spy butler, in the form of a delinquent but more-than-capable knight from a well-respected family, Octavian. As Kuro and Octavian clash, Herscherik is left to keep them in check as they further their cause to save Gracis Kingdom and its people.

Ginoford’s awake... which means I’ve tripped a duel-to-the death flag! Konoha Satou’s fantasy romance first began when she wrote the self-indulgent fic as a teen. But now that she is its most loathsome villainess, the details of her Dark History are a matter of life-and-death! To speed up Yomi’s recovery in the aftermath of Kagura’s ambush as a Knight of Schwartz, Iana and her companions bring him to Ginoford’s family manor to seek the assistance of Ginoford’s exroommate, Yatori. But his role in her original Dark History was to seduce Konoha while Ginoford was trapped in an eternal slumber—and challenge him to mortal combat should he ever awake...

Some years have passed since the otaku spinster, Ryoko Hayakawa, was reincarnated as the Seventh Prince of Gracis, Herscherik. As Herscherik approaches his seventh spring, his campaign to save his kingdom faces an unprecedented challenge—the Atrad Empire has taken advantage of the unrest in Gracis to launch an attack. At the same time, Herscherik's arch enemy, Prime Minister Barbosse, sets another one of his evil schemes in motion. Having failed at both assassinating the prince and winning him over, the minister has yet more dangerous machinations in store for Prince Herscherik and his men...

Hey, Iazo. As a Super Sub, what do you think? Although many things happened in the self-indulgent fantasy romance fic written by Konoha Satou in her teenage years, she doesn’t quite remember writing any of these scenarios... However, nothing to it but to do it! So as the villainess of her own story, she’s just gotta get through these crazy days of becoming a Super Sub, secretly rendezvousing with a bookworm, infiltrating the Yuri Academy...and who knows what else?!

In order to stop an assassination plot targeting her dear Konoha, Iana takes off with Yomi for...the land of ninjas. However, someone attacked the ninjas and made off with their list of clients! Since Iana's name was on it, it'd be disastrous if it went public. The culprit is an old friend of Sol’s--the assassin Ognis. Will old friendship with the assassin or loyalty to his new mistress win out in Sol’s heart?