Ghost Cities

‘Ghost Cities is a labyrinth of a novel that delights, terrifies, thrills and amuses in the very best of ways. An inventive and philosophical exploration of power, automation, art and love where nothing is as it seems; a decadent feast fashioned from tofu, a lush orchard carved from stone. Siang Lu’s brain at play is a thing of wonder.’ Kate Mildenhall

‘What a pleasure to follow Siang Lu into his labyrinthine Ghost Cities! An instant Australian classic that stands both on the shoulders of giants and yet is somehow completely and delightfully new. Lashings of myth, absurdity, humour and pathos come together in this paean to art in all its forms. I want to crumple this novel into a ball and swallow it, whole.’ Hayley Scrivenor

‘Ghost Cities is a stunning piece of writing. It’s quite a feat to create one labyrinth in a book in a way that’s intricate and convincing, but somehow Siang Lu creates two that are, places them centuries apart and makes them act as mirrors to each other. I don’t know what would make an author even think that was possible, and yet here it is. Amazing. I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.’ Nick Earls

Siang Lu is the author of Ghost Cities and The Whitewash, and the co-creator of The Beige Index. The Whitewash won the ABIA Audiobook of the Year in 2023 for its audio adaptation, which starred a large and diverse cast of fourteen actors. It also won the Glendower Award for an emerging writer in the Queensland Literary Awards and was shortlisted for a NSW Premier’s Literary Award. In 2023 Siang was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 Asian-Australians at the Asian-Australian Leadership Awards. He holds a Master of Letters from the University of Sydney and has written for film and television for Singapore’s Beach House Pictures and Malaysia’s Astro network. He is based in Brisbane, Australia, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.