Chloe Gong

Writing Style

Chloe Gong writes genre mashups that don't apologize for what they are. Her most-mentioned book, Immortal Longings, drops readers into a futuristic death game where players jump between bodies — and she uses that mechanic to ask real questions about identity and attachment rather than just as a cool gimmick. The blend is wuxia martial arts plus cyberpunk aesthetics plus romance, and readers keep recommending it in threads looking for that exact compressed, high-stakes energy. These Violent Delights works differently — a historical Shanghai retelling where the protagonist's arc curves quietly toward villainy before you've noticed it's happening.

Where to Start

I'd point most readers at Immortal Longings first. It's the book that shows up whenever someone asks for cyberpunk with genuine emotional stakes, and the body-hopping premise is distinctive enough that you'll know within a few chapters whether Gong's style clicks for you. If you're coming from historical fantasy or dark YA rather than sci-fi, These Violent Delights is the better entry — slower burn, Shanghai 1920s setting, and a morally complicated lead who earns her reputation in villain threads.

Similar Authors

Readers recommending Immortal Longings tend to cluster it with Martha Wells (Murderbot) for that action-with-interiority quality, and with authors like Richard K. Morgan, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson when the thread is explicitly cyberpunk. Pierce Brown comes up in the same death-game adjacent conversations. For the historical fantasy side, she appears alongside Brandon Sanderson in genre-spanning recommendation lists.