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scmiller's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Drug abuse, and Grief
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
mlewis's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Drug use, Ableism, Addiction, and Grief
Minor: Dementia, Murder, Terminal illness, and Car accident
cassimiranda's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
~The past has left its traces on the world, and we only have to know how to read them.~
This collection of short stories explores intelligence, agency, and self-determination. Each story explores these questions in a unique hard science fiction settings. The worlds are interesting and well-developed and the themes are intriguing. My favorite story, The Great Silence, explores human’s inability to recognize intelligent, if dissimilar, communication from close to home. While thought-provoking and imaginative, the prose style is distancing. This made it difficult to connect with the characters, and reduced my overall enjoyment.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Genocide, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Abandonment, and Addiction
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