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isalime's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I enjoyed this collection of sci-fi/speculative fiction short stories. This was my first time reading Ted Chiang. While the concepts and tech weren't new to me, I like the way Ted explored them in each of the short stories. The stories had overlapping themes and commentary on agency and free will. I enjoyed reading the Story Notes after each story. It gave me a little peek at how or why the story was written
My favorites and the ones I'll likely keep thinking about are
My favorites and the ones I'll likely keep thinking about are
- The Merchant and Alchemist's Gate
- The Lifecycle of Software Objects
- The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling
- Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom
I look forward to reading more of his work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Abandonment
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
Docked a half star for acephobia in one of the stories (that also happened to be one of my favorites). Ted Chiang is an undeniable genius.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Addiction, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Grief, Murder, and Death
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, and Car accident
arayo's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Child abuse
Minor: Colonisation, Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization
guivx5's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Here's the fun of getting into reading a book without knowing much about it: you never know when you're about to stumble on one of your favorite reads of all time.
This book is made of short stories, mainly with aspects of speculative fiction, that dive into the complexity of what it means to be human. With a hint of Black Mirror attached to its lines, Ted Chiang's ideas are mind-bobbling futuristic "what ifs?" that don't stop at just the fun of speculating whether it'd be cool to have giant robots living amongst society or if it would be nice to be able to see your past through a toilet's reflection. It takes everything a step further, making a run for it directly into the human's psyche. To me, there were two fundamental aspects of this collection.
The first one is lined by Chiang's amazing ability to submerge himself into the ocean of possibilities that could've been our past (and could be our future), a sea widely explored by previous authors and Twitter conspirators, and be able to bring us original visions. Even when there's clear reference to old tropes, they're explored in refreshing and unique ways. We're talking about alien robot races that can dissect their own brains, devices that can prove the inevitability of actions, future days where we can communicate to and impact alternate versions of our lives, the list goes on. You'd have to read these stories to understand that none of them are simply recycled sci-fi ideas, but actually quite unique spins with creative details that showcases the amount of thought put into them. They are mainly tales about possible future technologies and the many ways they integrate into society, and this brings me to the second fundamental aspect of them.
Chiang's universes are capable of, in a short amount of pages, exploring many sideways and alleys of the human experience. In other words, it's a very human book. He brilliantly narrates the dilemmas and complex chains of feelings of his characters, navigating through different points of view and times during all stories. There' so much to uncover here, I'd hardly be able to mention all of the insights these dramas are able to give you: thoughts on what it is to be human, on the possibilities of free will and inevitable fatalism, on the ways we consider ourselves the center of, well, everything. These dilemmas are of times that never existed, yet they are incredibly real and plausible. It really comes to show that, while we've had major changes in the ways we live as humans in the past, the human experience is an ever-present factor, and its doubts are as ever-present as its dubious answers.
Chiang brings our old needs to new times. We can see a part of ourselves in a world where religion and science are intrinsically mixed, in a world where digital forms of life walk among us, in a world where prisms can give us access to ourselves in a different timeline. Chiang's translation of our major doubts and questions into future times prepares us for the inevitable change, and it does it with a somewhat soothing writing style. If anything, I felt more human while connecting with these stories.
There's a phrase said in the last short story I think encapsulates well what this is all about: "I want to know whether my decisions matter!". While you may think that many of the plots here brings the characters onto dead-ends, this collection is, ironically, a clear message that life is anything but a dead-end.
This book is made of short stories, mainly with aspects of speculative fiction, that dive into the complexity of what it means to be human. With a hint of Black Mirror attached to its lines, Ted Chiang's ideas are mind-bobbling futuristic "what ifs?" that don't stop at just the fun of speculating whether it'd be cool to have giant robots living amongst society or if it would be nice to be able to see your past through a toilet's reflection. It takes everything a step further, making a run for it directly into the human's psyche. To me, there were two fundamental aspects of this collection.
The first one is lined by Chiang's amazing ability to submerge himself into the ocean of possibilities that could've been our past (and could be our future), a sea widely explored by previous authors and Twitter conspirators, and be able to bring us original visions. Even when there's clear reference to old tropes, they're explored in refreshing and unique ways. We're talking about alien robot races that can dissect their own brains, devices that can prove the inevitability of actions, future days where we can communicate to and impact alternate versions of our lives, the list goes on. You'd have to read these stories to understand that none of them are simply recycled sci-fi ideas, but actually quite unique spins with creative details that showcases the amount of thought put into them. They are mainly tales about possible future technologies and the many ways they integrate into society, and this brings me to the second fundamental aspect of them.
Chiang's universes are capable of, in a short amount of pages, exploring many sideways and alleys of the human experience. In other words, it's a very human book. He brilliantly narrates the dilemmas and complex chains of feelings of his characters, navigating through different points of view and times during all stories. There' so much to uncover here, I'd hardly be able to mention all of the insights these dramas are able to give you: thoughts on what it is to be human, on the possibilities of free will and inevitable fatalism, on the ways we consider ourselves the center of, well, everything. These dilemmas are of times that never existed, yet they are incredibly real and plausible. It really comes to show that, while we've had major changes in the ways we live as humans in the past, the human experience is an ever-present factor, and its doubts are as ever-present as its dubious answers.
Chiang brings our old needs to new times. We can see a part of ourselves in a world where religion and science are intrinsically mixed, in a world where digital forms of life walk among us, in a world where prisms can give us access to ourselves in a different timeline. Chiang's translation of our major doubts and questions into future times prepares us for the inevitable change, and it does it with a somewhat soothing writing style. If anything, I felt more human while connecting with these stories.
There's a phrase said in the last short story I think encapsulates well what this is all about: "I want to know whether my decisions matter!". While you may think that many of the plots here brings the characters onto dead-ends, this collection is, ironically, a clear message that life is anything but a dead-end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Murder and Gun violence
Minor: Animal cruelty
miak2's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“Science is not just the search for the truth,” he said. “It’s the search for purpose.”
This story collection might be one of my favorite things ever written. Seriously. I don't think there was a single 'miss' in this anthology. Ted Chiang is clearly scientifically knowledgeable and an expert storyteller. Each of these was unique and thought provoking. The message was frequently different than what I expected, or at least more nuanced. Take Black Mirror but make it optimistic. Read on for my spoiler-free thoughts on each of the stories. (Apologies in advance for the longer-than-usual review)
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate: A GREAT first story with a unique take on time travel. I'm always a sucker for the 'stories-within-a-story' format.'
Exhalation: I love it when authors write intelligent, science-y things in a way that I can understand. It makes me feel intelligent and science-y. Loved the worldbuilding in this one, and loved the takeaway.
What's Expected of Us: What in the Black Mirror hell is this? Fuck.
The Lifecycle of Software Objects: What a unique perspective on the development of sentient manmade beings. We so often think about AIs as something to fear, but what if they were something we could grow to love. Chiang has been consistently breaking the sci-fi mold and this story was definitely no exception.
Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny: Probably my least favorite of the stories, but still really interesting. And, again, went a completely different direction than I expected it to.
The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling: This might have been my favorite of the collection. The dual stories were both engaging and effective at conveying the message. Definitely a good story for fans of Black Mirror - The Entire History of You. It takes a similar concept, being able to record and rewatch your memories, and explores both the drawbacks and the benefits. And the parallel that's drawn to the switch from oral history to written history was a fascinating one.
The Great Silence: The perspective of parrots, ha! When you've thought you've read it all. Really great, quick story.
Omphalos: As someone who isn't religious, this one was an especially interesting read. What if there being a God were a scientific fact? What does it mean, then, when your understanding of creation is forced to dramatically shift?
Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom: Ok, no, this one was my favorite. Chiang doesn't approach any concepts half-heartedly. There's so much to consider when it comes to parallel universes, something that's so frequently used as a gimmick in other media. Chiang considered not only the practical applications of being able to communicate with alternate versions of ourselves, but also the moral and emotional implications. Would I want technology like this to exist? Would I be able to resist using it? So good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Addiction
fox_at_the_circus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This is one of the few short story collections where I enjoyed every single story. A big reason for this is that the stories are all so diverse in both themes and writing style and length, so reading them always feels fresh.
The stories cover all the big sci-fi themes: time travel, free will, AI, etc. and they add interesting new nuances or takes to them. The stories range from newspaper article like to fable to general prose, it is really amazing seeing one author nail all of them.
It's really hard to pick my favourite story, I think it comes down to either the Parrot's story or the Archeologist's story.
The book also comes with some explanations/notes on the stories by the author. It's interesting to see, where he got his inspiration from and his reasoning for some of his choices.
The stories cover all the big sci-fi themes: time travel, free will, AI, etc. and they add interesting new nuances or takes to them. The stories range from newspaper article like to fable to general prose, it is really amazing seeing one author nail all of them.
It's really hard to pick my favourite story, I think it comes down to either the Parrot's story or the Archeologist's story.
The book also comes with some explanations/notes on the stories by the author. It's interesting to see, where he got his inspiration from and his reasoning for some of his choices.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Addiction, Gun violence, and Colonisation
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Colonisation, Addiction, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Classism, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, Sexism, Ableism, Child abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Extinction and apocalyptic events in multiple stories. Dissection, though with visuals of machinery rather than flesh ("Exhalation"). Mentions of bestiality, discussion of sentient sex dolls, cruelty to and dehumanization of AIs/robots, emotional infidelity ("The Lifecycle of Software Objects"). Mentions of natural disasters, manipulation/extortion ("Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom").rnbhargava's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
The short stories across this book are mostly sci-fi tinged, character based, moral dilemma narratives. Of course there will always be subjective mileage on subject matter for different readers but I was always quite engaged, feeling all sorts of emotions and reactions while reading through all the different stories. It’s a pretty good collection, some stories might be too slight or too bloated to some readers but they’re all pretty worthwhile for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Body horror, Grief, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Slavery, and Terminal illness
The triggers above are all treated as extremes, they’re not confined, those showing preference for those are all ultimately less than savoury even if they’re our point of view character. Most of the tales have a good amount of intellectual curiosity and whimsy in at least a portion of thememilyplun's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
Minor: Addiction and Torture
a_reader_of_book's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Ted Chiang's collection of short stories in "Exhalation" was a really enjoyable read for me. I haven't always been the biggest fan of short stories collections, but I'm trying to broaden my tastes. Thankfully, I liked this science-fiction collection, and the story notes at the end of the collection were so cool to read and get an insight into Chiang's head! As I've done before, I'll provide brief reviews and ratings for each story, and then average them for my overall rating.
"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" was an interesting take on "The Arabian Nights" stories with a cool, sci-fi twist. I appreciated the character and story development, and I thought it was the perfect length for what it was. 3.75/5 stars.
"Exhalation" was such a cool examination of scientific discovery, especially related to the self. How do scientists learn about the innerworkings of their own bodies? This story had some pretty incredible visuals that sort of blew my mind (if you read it, you'll see what I did there). 4/5 stars.
"What's Expected of Us" was a very brief discussion of free will. It was interesting, but I didn't get as absorbed by this story as others. 2.75/5 stars.
"The Lifecycle of Software Objects" was one of the longest stories in this collection, and I absolutely loved it! It touched my heart, made me really think about important concepts surrounding AI, and was written so beautifully. If you only check out one story from this whole collection, please read this one! 5/5 stars.
"Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny" examined the complexities that arise when technology and childhood collide. I think it's an important topic to consider, especially given the increasing number of screens being put in front of kids. 3.25/5 stars.
"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" also focused on the impact new technology has on culture. People feared radio would ruin future generations. The same can be said of TV and now smartphones. But what opportunities do we miss out on by avoiding advancements in tech? And what unseen or unexpected consequences do we face when adopting these advancements as key parts of our lives? 4/5 stars
"The Great Silence" was another brief story told from an unexpected perspective. While humans are constantly looking out into space for signs of life, there are incredible things here on our own planet that can be overlooked. 3.75/5 stars.
"Omphalos" brought ideas about creationism and intelligent design into a discussion of science. What are discoveries worth if there isn't some grand meaning for us being here? What inspires scientists to continue to unearth the truth? What aspects of religious faith are mirrored in science? 4/5 stars.
"Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom" was my second favorite story in Chiang's collection. In this world, a device called a prism can be used to communicate with your 'paraself' who exists in a parallel universe that only branches off from your current world when you use a prism. Of course, some people abuse this opportunity. Some people become obsessed with it. But what do your actions mean when there's another you in another world potentially doing the exact opposite? And what are the consequences of creating another "branch" world for yourself, the ones you love, and even random strangers? This is another story to check out, for sure! 4.75/5 stars.
After averaging, the collection as a whole gets 3.916 (rounded to 4) out of 5 stars. If you are interested in some sci-fi stories to get you thinking, I'd say you can't go wrong with picking this up!
"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" was an interesting take on "The Arabian Nights" stories with a cool, sci-fi twist. I appreciated the character and story development, and I thought it was the perfect length for what it was. 3.75/5 stars.
"Exhalation" was such a cool examination of scientific discovery, especially related to the self. How do scientists learn about the innerworkings of their own bodies? This story had some pretty incredible visuals that sort of blew my mind (if you read it, you'll see what I did there). 4/5 stars.
"What's Expected of Us" was a very brief discussion of free will. It was interesting, but I didn't get as absorbed by this story as others. 2.75/5 stars.
"The Lifecycle of Software Objects" was one of the longest stories in this collection, and I absolutely loved it! It touched my heart, made me really think about important concepts surrounding AI, and was written so beautifully. If you only check out one story from this whole collection, please read this one! 5/5 stars.
"Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny" examined the complexities that arise when technology and childhood collide. I think it's an important topic to consider, especially given the increasing number of screens being put in front of kids. 3.25/5 stars.
"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" also focused on the impact new technology has on culture. People feared radio would ruin future generations. The same can be said of TV and now smartphones. But what opportunities do we miss out on by avoiding advancements in tech? And what unseen or unexpected consequences do we face when adopting these advancements as key parts of our lives? 4/5 stars
"The Great Silence" was another brief story told from an unexpected perspective. While humans are constantly looking out into space for signs of life, there are incredible things here on our own planet that can be overlooked. 3.75/5 stars.
"Omphalos" brought ideas about creationism and intelligent design into a discussion of science. What are discoveries worth if there isn't some grand meaning for us being here? What inspires scientists to continue to unearth the truth? What aspects of religious faith are mirrored in science? 4/5 stars.
"Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom" was my second favorite story in Chiang's collection. In this world, a device called a prism can be used to communicate with your 'paraself' who exists in a parallel universe that only branches off from your current world when you use a prism. Of course, some people abuse this opportunity. Some people become obsessed with it. But what do your actions mean when there's another you in another world potentially doing the exact opposite? And what are the consequences of creating another "branch" world for yourself, the ones you love, and even random strangers? This is another story to check out, for sure! 4.75/5 stars.
After averaging, the collection as a whole gets 3.916 (rounded to 4) out of 5 stars. If you are interested in some sci-fi stories to get you thinking, I'd say you can't go wrong with picking this up!
Content Warnings
Minor: Car accident, Death, Addiction, Suicide, Mental illness, and Gun violence
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