4.0
Exhalation
ByPublisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories—two published for the very first time—all from the mind of the incomparable author of Stories of Your Life and Others
Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, revelatory.
Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine.
In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.
Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, revelatory.
Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine.
In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.
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4.0
JGW
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💕 Brenna 💕
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Jennydelblock
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jeru j
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“A collection of 9 short stories, each one a little different sci-fi adventure, each with a life lesson to take away. I was so unprepared for how much I'd love this, and was pleasantly surprised with each story to find that although they were just made up storeis, and most of them really short, I found myself in each story, caring about the characters and what would happen to them. I can't recommend this enough.”
Asa
Created 5 days agoShare
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“Since this is a collection of short stories, I rated each story and then found the average to rate the entire collection:
The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate - 4/5
- A great story, something about it just didn’t hit right with me, I think I just didn’t like the main character’s actions near the end
Exhalation - 5/5
- I absolutely love this story and the main character’s thoughts in the last few pages
What’s Expected of Us - 2.5/5
- interesting, but I found it underwhelming and honestly unrealistic
The Lifecycle of Software Products - 1.5/5
- This felt too long for a short story collection (111 pages) and too short to fully flesh out the concepts. The characters were so oblivious and stupid that I wanted to reach into the pages and slap them. There was a very weird tangent about the ethics of beastiality that made me want to rip my hair out. Also, the AI characters were speaking in the weirdest way and it pissed me off (that meme from the office - “why say many word when few word do trick” - would not leave my brain)
Dacey’s Patent Automatic Nanny - 2.5/5
- Fun, but underwhelming and just not all that interesting to me
The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling - 2/5
- Writing, the act of it and the meaning of it, are part of this story, and I hated the way it was portrayed. I also didn’t like the aspect we focused on with the memory technology
The Great Silence - 5/5
- Heart wrenching, and an interesting critique of attitudes towards space and the disinterest towards conservation efforts
Omphalos - 4/5
- I do love the religious aspect, but I find the main conflict to be slightly unrealistic
Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom - 3/5
- I don’t understand the mentality around multiversal
counterparts in this story, but the rest of it was fascinating
So overall, 3/5. Some other notes:
- I didn’t like the way certain topics and ideas were handled/portrayed
- there were multiple instances of something happening that caused widespread panic which no one could stop, which makes it sound like humans are incapable of being rational and I hate that
- I did tear up during Exhalation and The Great Silence and I will be rereading those, I would recommend this book just for those two stories because I love them so much”
About Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang’s fiction has won four Hugo, four Nebula, and four Locus awards, and has been featured in The Best American Short Stories. His debut collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, has been translated into twenty-one languages. He was born in Port Jefferson, New York, and currently lives near Seattle, Washington.
Other books by Ted Chiang
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