An Introduction to the Works of John Chu

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It’s release day for John Chu’s debut novel, The Subtle Art of Holding Space! This story opens with protagonist Ellie being glad that no one has tried to kill her yet, today—and then jumping to the skunkworks, the pipes and plumbing that create the universe and keep it working. Something’s gone wrong in the works, and Ellie has to figure out what it is—only to discover that in order to dismantle and issue to save the universe, she has to let her ill mother die. The consequences of her actions reveal secrets about the group maintaining the universe, and that there are people among them who are willing to bed the physics of the universe for their own gain.

The Subtle Art of Folding Space

Many science-fiction readers have been waiting for Chu to write a novel length work (and they will not be disappointed by this debut!). But if you haven’t yet read his works, the novel is a great place to start—and then you can backtrack to some of his earlier, award-winning stories!

The Water that Falls on You from Nowhere

In 2013, Chu won the Hugo Award for best short story with “The Water that Falls on You from Nowhere,” originally published at Tor.com (now the Reactor). The story relies on the conceit that precipitation is caused by lies, which makes things very difficult for Matt, who has been hiding his sexuality from his traditional Chinese parents. Chu makes great use of when it rains, but greater use of when it doesn’t, when the characters are honest with each other, even when they might have expected differently. It’s a very human story about family, relationships, and love.

Hold-Time Violations

Chu’s 2015 short story “Hold-Time Violations,” also published at Tor.com (and in The Best Science Fiction of the Year) is the origin of The Subtle Art of Folding Space. A lot of the text from the story is now wrapped into Ellie’s larger story; the ending of the short story is different, and adds insight into Chu’s first vision for the people who maintain the skunkworks and keep the universe’s physics in order.

If You Find Yourself Speaking to God…

In 2022, Chu’s novelette “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You” came out in Uncanny Magazine. It’s a story about an actor, Steve, and a superhero (or, at least, the superhero’s secret identity), who meet each other at a gym and begin a will-they-won’t-they romance. It’s also a deconstruction of superhero stories (the characters in the world of the story aren’t familiar with caped crusaders, so the powered vigilante doesn’t have the feel of a comic book character), and an investigation into racial stereotyping (Steve and a fellow Asian actor are always cast in any non-white roles a stage play calls for; the vigilante, who is also Asian, is wrongly blamed for the death of a police officer). It’s also a story about the “bookkeeping of being closeted,” and how nice it is to be fully yourself with another person. This novelette won the Nebula, the Ignyte Award, and the Locus award for the year, as well as being a finalist for the Hugo.

Whose Spaceship Is It Anyway?

This short story of Chu’s didn’t win any awards, but it’s a favorite of mine because I got to work on it! When Julia Rios and I reached out to writers we wanted to work with in Bridge to Elsewhere, we were delighted when Chu said yes! He wrote a really fantastic story about inter-actor dynamics and spaceship improv that investigated power dynamics inside of an improv game, hinting at power dynamics in the world(s) beyond. Julia described it this way: “This story has it all! Sentient cake batter, bike repair, and SOMEBODY’S gonna have to get thrown out the airlock…”

And More…

Many of Chu’s short stories are available to read for free online. His full bibliography is available via his website. He’s also active on BlueSky and Mastadon, and you can follow him there. Meanwhile, go check out The Subtle Art of Folding Space, on bookstore shelves today!

Have your read stories by John Chu? If I missed your favorite, tell me in the comments!