Longlisted for the 2015 Folio Prize, Bald New World is a dark exploration of human vanity in a hairless world. From the author of the bestselling United States of Japan.
Longlisted for the 2015 Folio Prize, Bald New World is a dark exploration of human vanity in a hairless world. From the author of the bestselling United States of Japan.
What if you woke up one morning and everyone in the world lost their hair? In Bald New World, that very event happens and overnight, religion, politics, and fashion undergo dramatic shifts. Nick Guan and his friend Larry Chao are a pair of eccentric filmmakers who choose to explore the existential angst of their balding world through cinema. Larry is heir to one of the most lucrative wig companies in the world. Nick is a man who’s trying to make sense of the tatters of his American Dream. Taking place throughout China and America, the pair set off on a series of misadventures involving North Korean spies, veterans of an African War, and digital cricket fighters. Their journey leads them to discover some of the darkest secrets behind wig-making and hair in a hairless world.
BEST SUMMER BOOKS 2014~Publishers Weekly
FOLIO PRIZE 2015 longlist.
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"If you took the world building of Philip K. Dick, and added in the gritty reality and humor of Haruki Murakami, with a touch of Aldous Huxley (of course), you would get Bald New World." ~ 15 Highly Anticipated Books of 2014, Buzzfeed
"Gorgeous language choices combine with Nick’s philosophical journey of personal discovery to create a deceptively deep story." ~ Best Summer Books 2014, Publishers Weekly
"Bald New World is an entertaining read and a book you definitely want to add to your wish list if you like your science fiction tales believable." ~ Stefan Blitz, Forces of Geek
Bald New World is Peter Tieryas Liu’s first novel (he has published a short story collection, Watering Heaven). Aside from writing, he works as a VFX artist for films and a technical writer for LucasArts, the video game division of LucasFilm. Also, as an Asian American writing science fiction, he is a voice that is severely underrepresented in the genre. Delving into a project like Bald New World, with its off-the-wall premise and its non-mainstream cast of characters, is certainly a commercial risk, but Liu has proceeded with confidence, humor, and prescience. The world of books is richer with his inclusion. ~ Simon Han, http://heavyfeatherreview.com/2014/10/15/bald-new-world-by-peter-tieryas-liu/
"After my heart gives out and I'm on the operating table for emergency surgery, I will have told my physicians and surgeons to replace my heart with Peter Tieryas Liu's Bald New World, or any of his books really, because that's what I think of when I think of Liu's writing--heart. Similar to the work of Philip K. Dick, this parodic dystopia is steeped in futuristic technology that further bridges the gap between man and machine. Still, whether watching the latest episode of the immensely popular reality show Jesus the General or sparring against an opponent in the blood-sport known as cricket fighting, the humanity of our narrator shines through. Although we humans are capable of doing and creating sad, funny, glorious, devious things, we also persevere and adapt, survive. I wonder what Huxley would think of this, but he's dead. You're not, so read this book, feel alive." ~ Jason Jordan, author of Pestilence, editor of decomP
"The boldly imaginative Bald New World follows Nicholas Guan, a military type tasked to digitally touch up scenes of carnage, in his misadventures from Korea to a futuristic California and in his frenzied dash from Gamble Town to China . The novel tells of beautifully flawed characters, the blurring distinction between reality and virtual environments, the comical yet chilling wave of religious fanaticism, and a world battling a strange malady called the Great Baldification, an ingenious symbol of human vanity. Peter Tieryas Liu’s Bald New World is vivid, exhilarating, and wildly entertaining." ~ Kristine Ong Muslim, author of We Bury the Landscape and Grim Series
"A recommended read for fans of Blade Runner and Quentin Tarantino, or anyone looking for an original, incisive piece of science fiction." ~ Arielle Yarwood, Masters Review
Bald New World is a hypnotic, surreal, and insightful novel, blending Blade Runner and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle to create a dark, funny, and captivating story. One of the best books I've read this year. ~ Richard Thomas, Staring Into the Abyss
