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barath_6023 's review for:
Stories of Your Life and Others
by Ted Chiang
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
Ted, you brilliant man. Blew my expectations away. Sci-fi has felt stale sometimes, but this book redefined sci-fi for me and makes a wonderful job of it. Novels usually get all the glory in the writing world. But with how interesting Ted Chiang has written it, it's not "just a short story" anymore. Most of the stories astounded me with its topic and story, and it kept me randomly thinking of them many days after reading them. Inspiring stuff!
I especially loved "Liking what you see: A Documentary" (6/5). The idea of a technology that turns off the influence that physical beauty can have on people, was very intriguing as it was similar to my perspective. 'Hell is the absence of God"(5/5), "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate"(5/5), "Lifecycle of software objects"(4.5/5) were all wonderful too. Exhalation (4.75/5) was also interesting, especially because it's a story on the freaking laws of thermodynamics? WTF?!
The title story, "Story of your life" was what inspired the movie Arrival. And it was a unique, refreshing take on an alien invasion. It's not just a reimagining of War of the Worlds. The story is about the aliens but it has more to do with us humans, and our languages, thoughts, and lives. (4/5 stars)
However, I wasn't the biggest fan of "Understand"(maybe a 3/5), it felt like Flowers for Algernon with an unsympathetic dude. Tower of Babel (3.5/5) was alright, not the best in the collection. I DNF the golem story but I might have to give it another chance.
Even while considering these flaws, the other stories and just the general feeling I got out of them was great. It's hard to rate a collection and I am really, really tempted to give it 5 stars but overall, it's definitely a 4.75/5.
Edit: Giving it 5 stars, even if I haven't finished one of the stories, because I kept thinking of the others long after reading them.
I especially loved "Liking what you see: A Documentary" (6/5). The idea of a technology that turns off the influence that physical beauty can have on people, was very intriguing as it was similar to my perspective. 'Hell is the absence of God"(5/5), "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate"(5/5), "Lifecycle of software objects"(4.5/5) were all wonderful too. Exhalation (4.75/5) was also interesting, especially because it's a story on the freaking laws of thermodynamics? WTF?!
The title story, "Story of your life" was what inspired the movie Arrival. And it was a unique, refreshing take on an alien invasion. It's not just a reimagining of War of the Worlds. The story is about the aliens but it has more to do with us humans, and our languages, thoughts, and lives. (4/5 stars)
However, I wasn't the biggest fan of "Understand"(maybe a 3/5), it felt like Flowers for Algernon with an unsympathetic dude. Tower of Babel (3.5/5) was alright, not the best in the collection. I DNF the golem story but I might have to give it another chance.
Even while considering these flaws, the other stories and just the general feeling I got out of them was great. It's hard to rate a collection and I am really, really tempted to give it 5 stars but overall, it's definitely a 4.75/5.
Edit: Giving it 5 stars, even if I haven't finished one of the stories, because I kept thinking of the others long after reading them.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture