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

Most Ancipated Books of 2026Esquire
Best New Science Fiction of 2026 New Scientist
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Look Forward To In 2026Literary Hub
Most Anticipated Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of 2026Book Riot
3 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of AprilPolygon

Ellies universeand this oneis 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 its supposed to.

Daniel, Ellie’s cousin, has found an illicit device in the skunkworksone 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 mothers legacy and overcome her familys generational trauma, she just might find a way to preserve the skunkworks and reconcile with her sisterbut digging into her familys past is thornier than it seems, and the secrets she uncovers will force Ellie to choose between her family and the universe itself.