Gifted by the publisher

Tensions run high in a future where the world is divided into two factions, the Pacific League of Nations and the Atlantic Division of Nations. But when the realization comes that a powerful third party has been an influential presence on Earth for millennia, three rising scientists form an uneasy alliance to secure first contact with this extraterrestrial life.

JUMPNAUTS is an inventive and entertaining read that seamlessly blends Chinese classic vibes (Hao's original words are 中式古典美學) and science fiction. When I think about Chinese classics, they often have a melancholic and romantic undertone that evokes deep contemplations—going in, I couldn't fathom how quantum entanglement and Daoism could coexist in a book.

Hao beautifully fuses Chinese philosophy, civilization, and physics into a page-turner. I was mindblown by Hao's originality in connecting blockchain to Ruism (儒家), Daoism (道家), and Mosim (墨家); I was also mesmerized by the character's conversations about implementing various ancient Chinese belief systems in how one designs technology.

Due to the frequent citations of these ancient texts, I read most of JUMPNAUTS in Mandarin and referenced Liu's translations & footnotes to compare. It's worth mentioning that Liu's translations stay true to the meanings while giving it a more modern feel, and I didn't quite get the "Chinese classic aesthetics" from the English translation.

Consider this phrase from Confucius, 明知不可為而為之, translated as "the belief that one should do what is right even if they know failure is certain." There's just something about Ancient Chinese that conveys so much with so little that maybe only Latin could do it justice—but nobody wants to read that