Hell Is the Absence of God

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Ted Chiang: Hell Is the Absence of God (not on label)

English language

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4 stars (5 reviews)

"Hell Is the Absence of God" is a 2001 fantasy novelette by American writer Ted Chiang, first published in Starlight #3, and subsequently reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy 2, and in Fantasy: The Best of 2001, as well as in Chiang's 2002 anthology, Stories of Your Life and Others. "Hell Is" won the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, the Nebula Award for Best Novelette, and the Locus Award for Best Novelette. It was also a finalist for the 2002 Theodore Sturgeon Award. The novelette has also been translated into Japanese, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian, German, Ukrainian and Romanian.

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reviewed Hell Is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang

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5 stars

Wow. It's certainly a new literary experience for me. If all those religious magic-realism stuff in Garcia Marquez's 'Hundred Years...' were to be compiled into one story universe and its logic followed to their conclusion, it would be the setting of this story.

I liked the very personal tone. You feel the conflicts and motivations of the characters immediately. In the face of assured eternity, where there's no longer doubt that heaven and hell exists, all that matters is the attitude one has. This is what I got from the story. Camus. Myth of Sisyphus.

Overall a great read. Philosophical, sad, and a sincere meditation on the issue of faith.

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