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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
A ranking of the stories from worst to best:
Understand - I know I'm ranking this worst but I really did enjoy this one! It was a bit slow to start and I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, but I liked the room for interpretation as well as the story/concept itself, even if the concept felt a bit familiar at times.
The Evolution of Human Science - I actually really loved this one as well, but it feels like a cop out to put it any higher since its only three pages. The concepts were super cool and easy to understand while still being engaging/interesting.
Liking What You See - I really like the concept of this one, and its theming is probably the most accessible of the collection. I found myself questioning my own stance on calli throughout the story and felt that multiple POV's provided perspectives I had hoped would be present.
Seventy Two Letters - This one was a bit harder to get into, but I found myself super immersed in the world and concepts as I came to better understand them. I found the rising action a bit more entertaining than the resolution itself, but still found its contents super interesting! Had a bit of a hard time figuring out which words I was supposed to know or not lol.
Tower of Babylon - I also loved the world building of this one! Loved the descriptions of the tower and interesting take on the structure of the universe. Also a great tone-setter for the collection.
Division By Zero - I absolutely loved this one! I connected with both sides of the narrative, but loved the main conflict/concept explored. It reminded me a bit of The Three Body Problem with its focus on 'fundamental concepts' losing their meaning/application.
Story of Your Life - This one definitely lived up to the hype, and I feel that I would have enjoyed it more if I had not seen Arrival before reading. Small changes make a huge difference to the aura of heptapods and the exploration of time and language are much better translated (lol) through text than the film, though both are great.
Hell Is The Absence of God - I was floored by this one, honestly! I have been searching for a story of this aesthetic and topic for a while and was surprised to find one in this collection. It left me wanting waaaay more in the department of descriptions and detail, but in the way where the lack of detail made the reading experience all the better. Definitely my top pick!
Understand - I know I'm ranking this worst but I really did enjoy this one! It was a bit slow to start and I'm not sure how I feel about the ending, but I liked the room for interpretation as well as the story/concept itself, even if the concept felt a bit familiar at times.
The Evolution of Human Science - I actually really loved this one as well, but it feels like a cop out to put it any higher since its only three pages. The concepts were super cool and easy to understand while still being engaging/interesting.
Liking What You See - I really like the concept of this one, and its theming is probably the most accessible of the collection. I found myself questioning my own stance on calli throughout the story and felt that multiple POV's provided perspectives I had hoped would be present.
Seventy Two Letters - This one was a bit harder to get into, but I found myself super immersed in the world and concepts as I came to better understand them. I found the rising action a bit more entertaining than the resolution itself, but still found its contents super interesting! Had a bit of a hard time figuring out which words I was supposed to know or not lol.
Tower of Babylon - I also loved the world building of this one! Loved the descriptions of the tower and interesting take on the structure of the universe. Also a great tone-setter for the collection.
Division By Zero - I absolutely loved this one! I connected with both sides of the narrative, but loved the main conflict/concept explored. It reminded me a bit of The Three Body Problem with its focus on 'fundamental concepts' losing their meaning/application.
Story of Your Life - This one definitely lived up to the hype, and I feel that I would have enjoyed it more if I had not seen Arrival before reading. Small changes make a huge difference to the aura of heptapods and the exploration of time and language are much better translated (lol) through text than the film, though both are great.
Hell Is The Absence of God - I was floored by this one, honestly! I have been searching for a story of this aesthetic and topic for a while and was surprised to find one in this collection. It left me wanting waaaay more in the department of descriptions and detail, but in the way where the lack of detail made the reading experience all the better. Definitely my top pick!
Incredibly thought provoking. I initially picked this out to read for the Arrival story. But, that was not my favorite of the collection. Hell is the Absence of God and Tower of Babylon are probably my favorite works of the collection. Some of the stories felt like they were a bit too sci-fi for my personal tastes.
All in all, good read. And I definitely recommend reading them with a friend. It was really entertaining to talk about each one.
All in all, good read. And I definitely recommend reading them with a friend. It was really entertaining to talk about each one.
Treściwie, lecz krótko
Doskonałe pomysły, wręcz genialne, rozwijające motywy nauki przemieszanej z mitologią i wrzucające w to wszystko człowieka wraz z jego emocjami i uczuciami. Niektóre opowiadania cierpią jednak na tym, że są... opowiadaniami – aż się prosi, żeby rozwinąć niektóre wątki, albo dowiedzieć się, co będzie dalej, bo czasem cała historia bywa podsumowana zaledwie jednym zdaniem.
Ja też więc zakończę już moją recenzję. A masz, Tedzie Chiangu!
Doskonałe pomysły, wręcz genialne, rozwijające motywy nauki przemieszanej z mitologią i wrzucające w to wszystko człowieka wraz z jego emocjami i uczuciami. Niektóre opowiadania cierpią jednak na tym, że są... opowiadaniami – aż się prosi, żeby rozwinąć niektóre wątki, albo dowiedzieć się, co będzie dalej, bo czasem cała historia bywa podsumowana zaledwie jednym zdaniem.
Ja też więc zakończę już moją recenzję. A masz, Tedzie Chiangu!
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ted Chiang is a writer of ideas and one who has never sought fame and fortune. There is something admirable about the fact that he works as a technical writer throughout the year to make ends meet. I've read a few interviews of Chiang, who seems to be a reserved, thoughtful person. He says he would write more if he was struck by more ideas, and that he's content writing short stories. Chiang's focus is on ideas, concepts. Sometimes this crosses over with the humanity aspect of what-ifs, but not always. Writing style and characters are not his focus, so the characters are more like chess pieces playing roles. But that's all right for me -- his ideas are nuanced, sculpted, and diverse.
I especially liked "Tower of Babylon", "Story of Your Life", "Seventy-Two Letters", and "Liking What You See: A Documentary."
"Tower of Babylon" is a parable, and inspired by a piece of art by Magrite -- "The Castle of the Pyrenees, 1959." I was entranced by the idea of a tower into the heavens and people who live their entire lives in the skies. And well, that ending -- you'll have to read it to get at it.
"Story of Your Life" is perhaps the softest of the stories, despite its basis in alien communication and language forms. It very nearly made me cry.
"Seventy-Two Letters" I liked more for concept than content. It reminded me of Le Guin's focus on "the true name" in her Earthsea series. I had serious doubts about the scientific method though that led to humanity freaking out about dying out in 5 generations. So many confounding variables?!
"Liking What You See: A Documentary" is a more modern piece. It jabs at quite a lot of things. The main premise is a neurological device that prevents facial judgment. You don't recognize the aesthetically pretty people, and so you don't treat them better for it. I could see this being picked up by the film industry, like "Story of Your Life" was. The main characters are college students too.
I especially liked "Tower of Babylon", "Story of Your Life", "Seventy-Two Letters", and "Liking What You See: A Documentary."
"Tower of Babylon" is a parable, and inspired by a piece of art by Magrite -- "The Castle of the Pyrenees, 1959." I was entranced by the idea of a tower into the heavens and people who live their entire lives in the skies. And well, that ending -- you'll have to read it to get at it.
"Story of Your Life" is perhaps the softest of the stories, despite its basis in alien communication and language forms. It very nearly made me cry.
Spoiler
The main theme is determinism AS free will, which Chiang has discussed in interviews and which I'm still grasping at. The speaker, a renowned linguist, knew, saw in bursts, everything that would happen -- she would have a baby with the physicist she is working on the alien communication project with. It would be a beautiful baby. She and the father would eventually separate, and her beloved daughter would die at age 25. Still, at the end, the speaker goes on with this narrative and chooses to conceive the child with the physicist. There is this lovely line: "Eventually, many years from now, I'll be without your father, and without you. All I will have left from this moment is the heptapod language."Spoiler
"Seventy-Two Letters" I liked more for concept than content. It reminded me of Le Guin's focus on "the true name" in her Earthsea series. I had serious doubts about the scientific method though that led to humanity freaking out about dying out in 5 generations. So many confounding variables?!
"Liking What You See: A Documentary" is a more modern piece. It jabs at quite a lot of things. The main premise is a neurological device that prevents facial judgment. You don't recognize the aesthetically pretty people, and so you don't treat them better for it. I could see this being picked up by the film industry, like "Story of Your Life" was. The main characters are college students too.
"tower of babylon": ☆☆☆
"understand": ☆☆½
"division by zero": ☆☆☆☆☆
"stories of our life": ☆☆☆☆☆
"seventy-two letters": ☆☆
"the evolution of human science": ☆☆☆
"hell is the absence of god": ☆☆☆☆☆
"liking what you see: a documentary": ☆☆☆☆½
final rating: ☆☆☆☆
i was very pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed this, given that i don't really tend to like short fiction as much!
"understand": ☆☆½
"division by zero": ☆☆☆☆☆
"stories of our life": ☆☆☆☆☆
"seventy-two letters": ☆☆
"the evolution of human science": ☆☆☆
"hell is the absence of god": ☆☆☆☆☆
"liking what you see: a documentary": ☆☆☆☆½
final rating: ☆☆☆☆
i was very pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed this, given that i don't really tend to like short fiction as much!
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Incredible. An absolute must-read for everyone that appreciates books. The concepts are original, interesting, and thought-provoking. The implications are immense. These stories possess such rich depth. Even if you didn’t care about the depth of content, the stories are still fascinating - like Black Mirror in a way.
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A