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erikwmj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Genocide
rlgreen91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
In response to another reader's question, I'd have to say that "The Tower of Babylon", "Story of Your Life", and "Seventy-Two Letters" are tied for my favorite. As a fairly devout Christian, I loved the idea of an alternate version of the Tower of Babylon Bible story. I enjoyed the twists that emerged from the narrative structure of "Story of Your Life," as well as the linguistic and anthropological aspects of it - it reminded me a bit of "Speech Sounds" by Octavia E. Butler, another short story I really enjoyed. Finally, I loved "Seventy-Two Letters" because it also invoked linguistic and anthropological concepts - how do you create an epithet that reflects the essence of something? But Stratton's work is so similar at its core to what I do as a software developer. And the way Chiang captured Stratton's final idea was perfect - it was exquisite prose that managed to capture not just how revolutionary the discovery of DNA must have been, but also that moment when you've been puzzling over a difficult problem in programming and you finally figure out a simple, elegant solution. Well, maybe I do have a singular favorite after all, haha.
But really, these short stories are great. I believe Chiang has another collection so I'll have to pick it up soon. 5 stars.
Moderate: Death, Suicide attempt, and Classism
Minor: Misogyny
jessthanthree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Death and Grief
stargirlmolly's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Terminal illness and Suicidal thoughts
erissa_lestrange's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Minor: Death
laurareads87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Sexism, and Racism
rileyeffective's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Infertility, Medical content, Cancer, and Grief
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying
homewithyou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death
bwwilhelm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Child death, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
mar's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, and Grief