The books of Jules Verne were also literary works that Liu frequented growing up.

To Liu, literature can appear as a self-absorbed art form, mentioning that, despite the species' brief existence in the overall span of the universe, humanity uses literature to mostly write about their own experiences. Due to this idea, and because of his belief in hard science fiction, Liu tries to place importance on science and technology instead of humanity in his own writing. However, he still acknowledges that,