Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

So I'm loving Shawl's Everfair.   It's a steampunk alternate history of Belgium's colonization of the Congo, and it's a period I know nothing about.   It's also written by an African American women, which is nice: last year Readercon had a woman guest of honor and an African American woman who was a guest of honor. 

This year, it's an African American woman and an American man of Chinese descent.   (Liu was born in China, in fact, and immigrated at age eleven.)

I bring this up because it's nice to see diversity: Readercon has been fairly committed to diversifying it's guest and panelist pool, and so far I think these guests have been living up to that.   (I've also met a diverse mix of authors in general, although I think we always have to keep vigilant and work at keeping that diversity.   But it's nice to see it working a bit.)

Anyway, I've been staying away from most of Liu's stuff, because I feel like he's most well known for longer fantasies, which I'm usually not a fan of.   Novik's stuff worked for me because of the wit and the fair amount of action.   

So... have you read Liu?   Liked it?   And should I start with his Skywalker/Star Wars young adult collection?   But, then again, I never liked Luke all that much, so I've been hesitating. 

Anyone who's read him and has an opinion?   I'd love to hear it.   Or on Shawl's work, but I feel like she might be less well known.   (And I'll probably continue to love Everfair, but, yeah, I'd like to hear from you guys!)