The Subtle Art of Folding Space

by John Chu

Overview

The Subtle Art of Folding Space, is the exhilarating debut science fiction novel from Nebula and Hugo-winning author John Chu channels unhinged physics, generational trauma, and the comfort of really good dim sum. This isn't your usual jaunt through quantum physics.

Ellie’s universe, and this one, is falling apart. Her ailing mother is in a coma; her sister, Chris, accuses her of being insufficiently Chinese between assassination attempts; and a shadowy cabal of engineers is trying to hijack the skunkworks, the machinery that keeps the physics of each universe working the way it’s supposed to.

Daniel, Ellie's cousin, has found an illicit device in the skunkworks—one that keeps Ellie's comatose mother alive while also creating destabilizing bugs in the physics of this universe. It's not a good day.

If she can confront her mother’s legacy and overcome her family’s generational trauma, she just might find a way to preserve the skunkworks and reconcile with her sister…but digging into her family’s past is thornier than it seems, and the secrets she uncovers will force Ellie to choose between her family and the universe itself.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250382085
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/07/2026
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240

About the Author

JOHN CHU has published short stories in the Boston Review, Reactor, Clarkesworld, and Uncanny Magazine, to name a few and many have been reprinted in multiple Year's Best anthologies. His short story “The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere” won the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, and his novelette “If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Formal You” won the 2022 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and was a finalist for the 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.
John Chu designs microprocessors by day and writes fiction by night. He is an alumnus of the Viable Paradise and Clarion workshops. His stories have been published in Boston Review, Bloody Fabulous, and Asimov's Science Fiction.

Editorial Reviews

A work of crystalline vision and meticulous humanity. John Chu folds universes into shape.”—Max Gladstone, NYT-Bestselling co-author of This is How You Lose the Time War

“Not enough SciFi contends with how hard people work to keep everything from falling out of the sky. Chu steps up to that challenge with a spirited exploration 'behind the scenes' of how fragile our world is (and the maintenance it requires). It bends physics and genres alike. It's a book we need right now.”—John Wiswell, Nebula Award winning author of Someone You Can Build a Nest In and Wearing the Lion

“A wildly imaginative ride following people who maintain the universe as they navigate conspiracies, change and profound grief. Effortless, brimming with ideas and with deep heart—not to mention mouth watering food.”—Aliette de Bodard, Nebula award-winning author of Navigational Entanglements

“A thorny, savory story about our deepest dependencies and the lies we tell to maintain them.”—Seth Dickinson, author of Exordia

“A hearty helping of dysfunctional family dynamics accompanied by a delicious side of multiverse. I'd like seconds, please.”—Cat Rambo, author of the Space Opera Disco series

From the Publisher