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The Hidden Girl and Other Stories is a collection of nineteen science fiction short stories and novelettes by Chinese-American author Ken Liu.

Context
Chinese-American author Ken Liu started publishing short-form fiction stories in 2002 and rose in popularity when his short story "The Paper Menagerie" became the first work of fiction to win a Hugo Award, a Nebula Award and a World Fantasy Award. He also became an acclaimed translator of Chinese science fiction after translating The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. In 2016, he published his first collection of short stories, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, which won the Locus Award for Best Collection. He has established himself as one of the most prolific short story writers in American science fiction. The collection was published on February 25, 2020, by Saga Press with a 50,000-copy first printing. An audiobook version, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo, Cindy Kay, Michael Kramer, Emily Woo Zeller and Nancy Wu, was published by Simon & Schuster Audio.

Stories
The collection includes nineteen stories and a preface written by Liu. It features stories previously published in different science fiction magazines and anthologies since 2011, except for "Grey Rabbit, Crimson Mare, Coal Leopard", the only story original to the collection, and "A Chase Beyond the Storms", an excerpt from The Veiled Throne (2021), the third volume in Liu's novel series The Dandelion Dynasty.

Themes
In the collection, Liu presents a variety of themes. Artificial intelligence and the concept of digital singularity are topics discussed in multiple stories, including "The Gods Will Not Be Chained", "The Gods Will Not Be Slain", "The Gods Have Not Died in Vain", "Staying Behind" and "Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer". Liu writes about a version of Earth in which humans have developed a process to upload their consciousness to the cyberspace, becoming "gods", and have quickly abandoned the planet to survive a post-apocalyptic world. David J. Morris commented that Liu offers "insight into the spiritual challenges of our time" through his depiction of the singularity, while Gary K. Wolfe noted the similarity between Liu's development and description of the uploading process and some religious beliefs and terminology. Liu details also adjacent topics such as humanity's conflict with technology and the impact of virtual reality ("Thoughts and Prayers"), the lives of digital natives ("Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer" and "Seven Days"), the possible use or misuse of blockchain technology ("Byzantine Empathy") and the concept of ghost in the machine ("The Gods Will Not Be Chained", "The Gods Will Not Be Slain", "The Gods Have Not Died in Vain"). Morris appreciated Liu's approach to technology, writing that he "seems intent on using his fiction both as exploration and as a technically informed cautionary tale".

In Liu's stories, technology is often used as a background for central themes, identity and human relationships.

parent-child relationship, balancing dual identities, climate change, narrative packets (time jumps) memory, history, struggle against authority, legacy, prejudice, and colonialism While in The Paper Menagerie humanity struggled against each other, in Other themes Liu also explores themes of identity and parent-child relationship

Style
The collection contains mostly science fiction but some of the stories (such as "Grey Rabbit, Crimson Mare, Coal Leopard" and the titular story) have been described as silkpunk, a genre first defined by Liu himself, while only one story ("Dispatches From The Cradle: The Hermit—Forty-Eight Hours In The Sea Of Massachusetts") has been categorized as travelogue. Martin Cahill also noted "flashes of historical fiction" across the whole collection. However, Liu has said that he does not usually write in a specific genre but likes to "literalize a metaphor", which can often lead to speculative fiction.

Reception
Reception for the collection was generally positive, although some critics lamented. Paul Di Filippo praised Liu's protagonists. Booklist recommended the collection to both new readers and admirers of Liu's previous science fiction works. Library Journal recommended the collection to fans of Liu's work. The reviewer for Publishers Weekly described the collection as "inconsistent", stating that some of the stories were "emotionally flat" and criticizing the often cliché female protagonists, overly detailed scientific explanations and "static" story structure. However, they appreciated Liu's "dexterous prose" and "intelligent what-ifs", recommending the stories to fans of Asimov. Writing for Tor.com, Martin Cahill commented that Liu is a "master at crafting short stories that pack a punch, and linger in your mind long after they’re over". Western-style democracy and civil society can survive the internet is a central question of our time

Adaptations
Several of the collection's stories have been adapted or optioned for film and television. A short film adaptation of "Memories of My Mother" titled Beautiful Dreamer and directed by David Gaddie was released on June 5, 2016. Beautiful Dreamer was subsequently featured as a film-within-a-film in the 2019 film The Truth directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. "Real Artists" has been adapted as a film of the same name directed by Cameo Wood and starring Tamlyn Tomita and Tiffany Hines. AMC produced the 2022 television series Pantheon animated by Titmouse and based on Liu's short stories "The Gods Will Not Be Chained", "The Gods Will Not Be Slain", "The Gods Have Not Died In Vain", "Staying Behind" and "Altogether Elsewhere, Vast Herds of Reindeer". Studio 8 acquired the rights to adapt "The Hidden Girls" for film in 2016, while FilmNation optioned the rights to adapt the story for television in 2020.