Stories by Curtis C. Chen (陳致宇)

Once a Silicon Valley software engineer, Curtis C. Chen now writes fiction and runs puzzle games near Portland, Oregon. His debut novel Waypoint Kangaroo (a 2017 Locus Awards and Endeavour Award Finalist) is a science fiction thriller about a superpowered spy facing his toughest mission yet: vacation. The sequel, Kangaroo Too, lands our hero on the Moon to confront long-buried secrets.

In his copious spare time, Curtis serves on the boards of two public charities: he is Secretary of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and President of Puzzled Pint.

In the future, two mismatched cops must work together to solve crimes in a divided Tokyo.

Publishers Weekly ★ review

Kangaroo's back!
And this time it's personal... maybe?

2017 Locus Awards Finalist
2017 Endeavour Award Finalist

Meet Kangaroo,
a superpowered spy facing his toughest mission yet:
Vacation.

Oregon Reads Aloud - Have Spacesuit, Will Travel

includes "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel"

The 2016 Young Explorer's Adventure Guide - Laddie Come Home

includes "Laddie Come Home"

includes "Ten Days Up"

SNAFU: An Anthology of Military Horror - Making Waves

includes "Making Waves"

Leading Edge issue 65 - Somebody's Daughter

includes "Somebody's Daughter"

includes "Don't Fence Me In"

includes "At Long Last, Love"

includes "The Stories We Tell Ourselves"

Meet me at the SFWA Nebula Conference
More author events...

Novels

: KANGAROO TOO (Thomas Dunne Books, 2017)
    "as smart and sassy as its title character" - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
    "Anyone who loves science fiction is sure to love this book." - The Oregonian
    "kept me turning pages well past my bedtime" - Tina Connolly, Nebula-nominated author of Ironskin
    MORE REVIEWS...; WAYPOINT KANGAROO (Thomas Dunne Books, 2016)
    2017 Locus Awards Finalist, First Novel Category
    2017 Endeavour Award Finalist
    "an engaging character and a rich, believable world" - Kirkus Reviews
    "[a] rollicking splice of mystery and high-tech SF" - Publishers Weekly
    "a great, fun read for anyone who loves a mystery or a spy story" - Booklist
    MORE REVIEWS...

Curtis is represented by Sam Morgan at The Lotts Agency.

Short Fiction

Read selected stories on Curious Fictions 🌲

(💲 = subscribers only)

In Print: "Fire in the Pocket" (Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers, forthcoming); 🌲"Go, Space Racer!" (Playboy, 2018); "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" (Oregon Reads Aloud, 2016); "Ghost Patrol" (Andromeda Spaceways Magazine, 2016); "Laddie Come Home" (2016 Young Explorer's Adventure Guide, 2015); "Ten Days Up" (Mission: Tomorrow, 2015)
"suspenseful" - Locus Online // "often satirical, sometimes hopeful" - Publishers Weekly; "Making Waves" (SNAFU, 2014)
"a tale that's begging for [a] film version, preferably directed by Guillermo del Toro" - Horror Talk // more reviews...; 🌲"Somebody's Daughter" (Leading Edge Issue 65, 2014); 🌲💲"Don't Fence Me In" (Song Stories: Blaze of Glory, 2013); 🌲"At Long Last, Love" (From the Porch Swing, 2010); "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" (100 Stories for Haiti, 2010)
Online: 🌲"Defeated" (Curious Fictions, 2019); Ninth Step Station (series contributor, Serial Box Publishing, 2019-); "Players" (Kaleidotrope, 2018); "Like a Ghost I'm Gonna Haunt You" (Daily Science Fiction, 2016) + audio podcast (Toasted Cake, 2018); "Bounty Call" (Perihelion Science Fiction, 2015); "Godwin's Law" (The Future Fire, 2015); "It's Machine Code" (Unlikely Story #11: The Journal of Unlikely Cryptography, 2015)
"a story that gets best right at the end" - Charlotte Ashley // more reviews...; "Zugzwang" (Daily Science Fiction, 2014)
"not in the least bit groundbreaking, but still enjoyable" - Psocoptera // more reviews...; "Born to the Legion" (Sledgehammer Writing Contest, 2013); "Restart" (Strangetastic, 2009); "Love Lucy" (365 Tomorrows, 2007); "Ghosts of Earth" (365 Tomorrows, 2006); "Birthdays" (365 Tomorrows, 2006); "Antique" (365 Tomorrows, 2006); FREEFALL: an outer space adventure serial (1995-)
512 Words or Fewer: A weekly anthology of flash fiction (2008-2013), now collected in THURSDAY'S CHILDREN
"some of the tales would make great bedtime stories. Others will keep your kids up at night." - GeekDad
My Audio Narrations of Other Authors' Stories: "Silkstrand, a Minute of" by Anton Stark (Cast of Wonders, 2018); "To the Moon" by Ken Liu (cast member, PodCastle, 2018); "The Heaven-Moving Way" by Chi Hui; translated by Andy Dudak (Apex Magazine, 2018); "A Spirited Education" by Tony Pi (PodCastle, 2017); "Or Be Forever Fallen" by A. Merc Rustad (PodCastle, 2017)