Search results
Oct 1, 2012 · “The Waves” follows waves of humanity as they spread out from Earth, each succeeding wave overtaking the one before it. And so the biologically immortal are taken over by cyborgs, and mechanical post-humans are, in turn, taken over by beings of light and energy.
By Ken Liu, first published in Asimov's Science Fiction. A woman on a generation ship is offered the chance of immortality, and ultimately lives long enough to become part of subsequent 'waves' of human evolution - from man, to immortal, to machine, to pure energy - over countless millennia.
Liu’s story The Waves begins with the premise that human extended longevity is going to make people effectively immortal, the waves of humanity spreading out from Earth and reaching into the whole galaxy.
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
The novel begins at sunrise and is narrated by six children over the course of a day. The children live together in a boarding school in the country. Snatches of their inner monologues reveal their feelings and impressions about the world, events, and people around them. All the characters seem to have excitable natures and to be at the edge of pub...
The sun from the early morning rises even higher, marking midmorning. The heavy blow of the waves produces "muffled thuds" on the shore. The children are preparing to leave school and be separated into boys' and girls' boarding schools. Bernard feels scared, but as he works to appear composed, he decides to copy others and then learns they are copy...
The sun has risen with the glorious colors of the seemingly eternal day. The dawn is represented as a girl who makes jewels in the colors of the waters. As she watches, the waves darken and splash the beach. They leave debris as if from the wreck of a small boat. In the garden, the smell of decay prevails. As the wind rises, the waves are driven "l...
The sun has completely risen in the sky above the waves. Now the waves are moving steadily in and out from the sea to the shore. From its position at this point in the day, the sun illuminates cornfields, hills, and bodies of water in magnificent color, and birds in the garden sing in the hot sunshine. Indoors, the afternoon light casts sharp shado...
The sun is at its highest point. In its relentless glare and heat, it illuminates every detail on the landscape and causes the rocks to become hot. The waves fall heavily and release torrents of spray. Neville announces that Percival is dead, having fallen from his horse. Neville is leveled by the news, while Bernard faces an ultimate ambivalence. ...
The sun is no longer high in the sky, and there is a curious instability in the elements of the landscape. The dragonflies hang motionless, then shoot across the line of sight. The reeds that do not stir in the glass-like calm of the river begin to bend as the water ripples. The dripping tap stops and then drips some drops again. The waves crash an...
The sun is low in the sky and the tide has receded, leaving the pearl-white sand even and shining. Birdscircle and settle to roost. Only one bird flies off to the marsh and sits alone, opening and closing its wings. The sun warms the fields and casts golden auras around everything that moves. Each character speaks, but they are not together. Bernar...
It is windy and raining as the sun sets, although there is a "single darting spear of sunshine" still visible. It is autumn, and the mood is one of loneliness. There is to be a reunion of the group of six at Hampton Court, the lavish home of British royalty built in 1530 for King Henry VIII (1491–1547; reigned 1509–47) and currently a tourist desti...
The sun has set, and the sea and sky are indistinguishable once again. Dark shadows are everywhere. The world and its inhabitants far and wide were in darkness: streets and people, the turf, the trees, the snail shells, upland slopes, pinnacles of the mountain, valleys, and girls sitting on porches. Bernard finds a new audience, a stranger whom he ...
The Waves Full Book Summary. The Waves is a portrait of the intertwined lives of six friends: Bernard, Neville, Louis, Jinny, Susan, and Rhonda. THe novel is divided into nine sections, each of which corresponds to a time fo day, and, symbolically, to a period in the lives of the characters.
- Virginia Woolf
- 1931
The Waves feels to me like the creme de la creme of short story sci-fi writing. Packed with intriguing concepts, expertly paced, juxtaposed with metaphor that eludes filler the deeper one reads, and imbues the writing with a sense of spirituality that few pieces attain.
People also ask
What is Liu's story 'the waves' about?
What does Ken Liu say about Genesis?
How does Liu explore genesis myths and technological immortality?
Why are the myths and gods called the waves?
Ken Liu (born 1976) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Liu has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards for his novel translations and original short fiction, which has appeared in F&SF, Asimov's, Analog, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and multiple "Year's Best" anthologies.
