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trin's review against another edition
4.0
Intellectually fascinating if somewhat emotionally cold short stories. Chiang has amazing, unique ideas—and clearly, the intense intelligence to back them up. Almost all of these stories will make you tilt your head and look at the world a little differently. I will say that I never felt a particular connection with any of the characters, or a desperate desire to see how so-and-so’s life turned out. Instead, each tale was like an intricate puzzle that I felt a curious compulsion to continue to put together or pull apart. That’s a different sort of reading experience for me—but ultimately an enjoyable and rewarding one.
ewmessina's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
fullhouse4658's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
valent1ne's review against another edition
chiang’s stories are really interesting but they arent enjoyable. got halfway thru & decided it wasnt worth it
dikshya's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
titannineteen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Story of Your Life is really really good. Arrival is one of my all time favorite movies. The rest of the stories are decent but many of them are religious in nature so I did not enjoy them.
jennkei's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't know the story that the movie Arrival was ("Story of your Life") based on was in this collection until I started it, and wow. Ted Chiang has this amazing ability to pull you into his worlds and almost make you doubt your reality. It took me a while to finish this collection because I was distracted reading something else that took a while but it's short stories so it doesn't matter. Fantastic stuff.
rosiec's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0