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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
Much like Chiang’s [b:Stories of Your Life and Others|223380|Stories of Your Life and Others|Ted Chiang|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356138316l/223380._SY75_.jpg|216334], this is just a really solid short fiction anthology of nine stories that wander across themes of language & linguistics, meaning, purpose, determinism & fate, and artificial intelligence. I’ve made the comparison before to Black Mirror, but it remains apt: Chiang often takes a technological concept or idea and extends it to its utmost, and examines the ripple effects it might have on the actual people and actual feelings at the heart of it.
I often struggle with short fiction as a medium so it’s astounding that I blew through this book so quickly, but his stories really work for me: they’re so rooted in actual science, but in a way which doesn’t turn it into hard SF, because character and emotion remain at the forefront. Really puts the “science” into “science fiction”, but in an engrossing way, as an entirely absorbing examination of what these technologies might do to us, which also feels grounded and realistic.
A few standout faves:
• "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate": Time travel, fate, determinism, all tangled in a near-mythic frame narrative with Middle Eastern and Arabian Nights influence. Great stuff and a strong opener.
• "The Lifecycle of Software Objects": I could have read this one forever. I was so on board for this years-long tale of a team working on developing artificial intelligence, starting off with something as simple as a marketable virtual pet like Catz/Dogz/Creatures/etc, but then becoming more and more sophisticated — in a way which wasn’t the usual stereotypical trope of AI suddenly becoming self-aware overnight. The enthralling idea at the heart of it is positing that AI can exist, but you still need to train and raise it for as many years as a human child, in order to imbue it with enough experience and context and wisdom to make its own decisions.
• "Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny": Short but sweet (and a little funny and a little disturbing), a contribution for the Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities anthology. Reminded me a lot of intimacy studies with Harry Harlow's experiments in maternal-separation and dependency needs (horrifying, but).
• "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling": The technology Remem recording everyone’s firsthand experiences & memories means this story feels very similar to Black Mirror’s The Entire History of You, but it goes to some neat and more thoughtful places, particularly in peeling back the layers of the narrator plus the narrator’s own musings on the importance of ambiguity in memory.
• "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom": Alternate and parallel universes! Grief and altruism and ethics! But also just a really cool depiction of a world where people have developed a device where you can peer into an alternate universe and speak to your parallel self, and all the repercussions that might have! Another one I could have read forever and almost wanted to go on for longer, just because I was so drawn in.
As a collection as a whole, Exhalation is possibly not quite as good as his previous — probably mostly because it doesn’t have “The Story of Your Life” to wreck me, thanks Arrival — but it’s still just so darn good. 4.5, barely rounded down a little for “Omphalos” (which I read as a standalone for the Hugos last year and just was not a fan, it’s the only story in the anthology which is entirely lost on me).
I often struggle with short fiction as a medium so it’s astounding that I blew through this book so quickly, but his stories really work for me: they’re so rooted in actual science, but in a way which doesn’t turn it into hard SF, because character and emotion remain at the forefront. Really puts the “science” into “science fiction”, but in an engrossing way, as an entirely absorbing examination of what these technologies might do to us, which also feels grounded and realistic.
A few standout faves:
• "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate": Time travel, fate, determinism, all tangled in a near-mythic frame narrative with Middle Eastern and Arabian Nights influence. Great stuff and a strong opener.
• "The Lifecycle of Software Objects": I could have read this one forever. I was so on board for this years-long tale of a team working on developing artificial intelligence, starting off with something as simple as a marketable virtual pet like Catz/Dogz/Creatures/etc, but then becoming more and more sophisticated — in a way which wasn’t the usual stereotypical trope of AI suddenly becoming self-aware overnight. The enthralling idea at the heart of it is positing that AI can exist, but you still need to train and raise it for as many years as a human child, in order to imbue it with enough experience and context and wisdom to make its own decisions.
• "Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny": Short but sweet (and a little funny and a little disturbing), a contribution for the Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities anthology. Reminded me a lot of intimacy studies with Harry Harlow's experiments in maternal-separation and dependency needs (horrifying, but).
• "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling": The technology Remem recording everyone’s firsthand experiences & memories means this story feels very similar to Black Mirror’s The Entire History of You, but it goes to some neat and more thoughtful places, particularly in peeling back the layers of the narrator plus the narrator’s own musings on the importance of ambiguity in memory.
• "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom": Alternate and parallel universes! Grief and altruism and ethics! But also just a really cool depiction of a world where people have developed a device where you can peer into an alternate universe and speak to your parallel self, and all the repercussions that might have! Another one I could have read forever and almost wanted to go on for longer, just because I was so drawn in.
As a collection as a whole, Exhalation is possibly not quite as good as his previous — probably mostly because it doesn’t have “The Story of Your Life” to wreck me, thanks Arrival — but it’s still just so darn good. 4.5, barely rounded down a little for “Omphalos” (which I read as a standalone for the Hugos last year and just was not a fan, it’s the only story in the anthology which is entirely lost on me).
Qué maravilla leer a Ted Chiang, qué mente clara y hábil para escribir estos relatos de ciencia ficción hace quince años y pronosticar tan hábilmente no los avances científicos (que, algunos también), sino los comportamientos humanos que mostramos ante ellos. Colección de relatos muy variada y disfrutable.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Каждый рассказ по-своему волшебен. Великое безмолвие и Омфал мои фавориты.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse, Car accident
- the merchant and the alchemist's gate 5*
- exhalation 5*
- what's expected of us 4*
- the lifecycle of software objects 4.5*
- dacey's patent automatic nanny 5*
- the truth of fact, the truth of feeling 5*
- the great silence 5*
- omphalos 5*
- anxiety is the dizziness of freedom 5*
challenging
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
okay, when i started reading this i thought i wanted something challenging/ profound, and then that turned out to not be what i needed after finishing exams. with that in mind, i feel like i'd enjoy this more on a re-read when i'm more in the mood for that kind of thing.
aside from that, this was incredibly written. the premise & way the scenarios/ questions were dealt with was so clever- and the concepts used to do so were utilised so well. my favourites were 'Exhalation' (the tie of a species to the universe & meaning of life) & 'What's Expected Of Us' (free will). i have so many notes on my kindle tearing different quotes and symbolism apart because i was so immersed in the messages and stories of those- it was all incredibly clever.
i wasn't a huge fan on the rest of the stories though. i struggled to get through 'The Lifecyles of Software Objects'- i found that it dragged and seemed almost childish? i didn't find it as rich and entertaining as the other stories, however i entirely agree with the messages about consciousness. i think it's down to a difference in personal views- i'd explore consciousness in a different format- but that doesn't devalue it at all, and it was still very well done.
i really did love the writing style though. despite attempting to answer such complex questions/ ideals/ theories, the medium of these stories and the way they were written meant it was a very easy read- which is always a plus for me. if i don't have to push too hard to get through something, i'm already more hooked. plus, i think that's especially great because it makes these stories more accessible, enabling more discussions to be sparked about these complex ideas. this is why i love human creativity!
all in all, this book was fascinating, and has made me think a lot about different things in life- while making me feel more inherently tied to humanity & the universe as a whole (something that will always remain very important to me). i'd have to re-read when i want something profound to be able to give a better view, but i did enjoy this, and know it's the sort of thing i'd adore when in the mood.
aside from that, this was incredibly written. the premise & way the scenarios/ questions were dealt with was so clever- and the concepts used to do so were utilised so well. my favourites were 'Exhalation' (the tie of a species to the universe & meaning of life) & 'What's Expected Of Us' (free will). i have so many notes on my kindle tearing different quotes and symbolism apart because i was so immersed in the messages and stories of those- it was all incredibly clever.
i wasn't a huge fan on the rest of the stories though. i struggled to get through 'The Lifecyles of Software Objects'- i found that it dragged and seemed almost childish? i didn't find it as rich and entertaining as the other stories, however i entirely agree with the messages about consciousness. i think it's down to a difference in personal views- i'd explore consciousness in a different format- but that doesn't devalue it at all, and it was still very well done.
i really did love the writing style though. despite attempting to answer such complex questions/ ideals/ theories, the medium of these stories and the way they were written meant it was a very easy read- which is always a plus for me. if i don't have to push too hard to get through something, i'm already more hooked. plus, i think that's especially great because it makes these stories more accessible, enabling more discussions to be sparked about these complex ideas. this is why i love human creativity!
all in all, this book was fascinating, and has made me think a lot about different things in life- while making me feel more inherently tied to humanity & the universe as a whole (something that will always remain very important to me). i'd have to re-read when i want something profound to be able to give a better view, but i did enjoy this, and know it's the sort of thing i'd adore when in the mood.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An incredible anthology that felt like it was written for me. It reminded a lot me of one of my favourite TV shows, black mirror. Collating deeply fascinating technologies, scenarios and thought experiments to create a thought provoking, powerful collection reminiscent of that show. The result is an amazing achievement packing dozens of abstract philosophical quandaries into fairly easily accessible, but still deep narratives. With a real range of writing styles, settings and genres, I would encourage anyone to try it!
The merchant and the alchemists gate - 7.5/10
Exhalation - 7.5/10
What's expected of us - 9/10
The lifecycle of software objects - 8.5/10
Dacey's patent automatic nanny - 9/10
The truth of fact, the truth of feeling - 9.5/10
The great silence - 8.5/10
Omphalos - 7/10
Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom - 9.5/10
The merchant and the alchemists gate - 7.5/10
Exhalation - 7.5/10
What's expected of us - 9/10
The lifecycle of software objects - 8.5/10
Dacey's patent automatic nanny - 9/10
The truth of fact, the truth of feeling - 9.5/10
The great silence - 8.5/10
Omphalos - 7/10
Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom - 9.5/10