Exhalation

While the first story and the second one, the titular story, are some of the best scifi I've ever read since Asimov, I did not love the other ones so much. While they are certainly good, Ted Chiang's mind was not a comfortable one for me to interact with. He is almost too sharp, his character's are entirely subordinated to the speculation of the idea, and his imagery and prose is almost too precise. That style is typical of science fiction, and I probably would not be bothered so much had I not read each story after the other. Beats watching Black Mirror though (they definitely ripped off the Remem story out of this book).

Byly tam hodne nabuseny povidky, stejne tak par slabsich. Celkove povedena sbirka zaokrouhlime nahoru na 4 hvezdy.

Several great short stories, though the longest one in the book is not as successful. Chiang keeps the spirit of his previous book 'Stories of your life', with short narratives that investigate deep philosophical questions in a creative and engaging way, without being artificial. I found the earlier book to be brilliant cover-to-cover, while this one is more uneven.

Every story is a thought experiment—like the best episodes of Twilight Zone. I was completely absorbed. I still talk about stories in this collection. "The Great Silence," the story from the perspective of a (critically endangered) Puerto Rican parrot, left me choked up. "Omphalos," a pseudo-epistolary story from a timeline where creationism is real and science and religion are closely intertwined. I'm still telling people about those about 4 months after reading them.

Not sure why, but I'm ranking the stories:

1. Exhalation
2. The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
3. Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom
4. The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling
5. The Lifecycle of Software Objects
6. Omphalos
7. What's Expected of Us
8. The Great Silence
9. Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny

I don't usually read short stories but this one was recommended to me. Maybe I had too high expectations? Anyway, I enjoyed the first stories "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", "Exhalation" and the "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" and "Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny". But I had a hard time engaging with all the other stories. I didn't find the ideas that interesting and for the most part, I didn't care at all about the characters/narrator of the story. Most of the stories were disturbingly weird to me. I was a little bit disappointed overall.

Many of the stories are glaringly built around a fixed idea so that the notes at the end are redundant—or are more interesting than the stories themselves. The surrounding texts are more filler than breathing worlds. "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate", "The Lifecycle of Software Objects", and "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom" are the most organic.

I kind of inhaled this, so I think that requires 5 stars. I’m trying to be more generous with 5 stars.

A lot of these stories really got me thinking. I enjoyed them, and will probably check out more stuff by Chiang.

Some really solid speculative fiction. The good stories are really good (Omphalos, Exhalation, Software Objects, Anxiety), and the collection as a whole was great.

Some really solid speculative fiction. The good stories are really good (Omphalos, Exhalation, Software Objects, Anxiety), and the collection as a whole was great.

My kind of sci-fi. Chiang transcends the engineering approach to life typical of much science fiction. He creates believable cultures that aren't superficial tweaks but shows a deep understanding of what life is about.

Confession time: I am in love with Ted Chiang. Deeply. I fell hard in 2003 with his story “Liking What You See: A Documentary.” Today, having finished “The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling” and “Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom,” I’m head over heels. What a beautiful mind. The stories in this collection all dance around the nature of consciousness; of personality, decisionmaking, determinism. Communication, empathy, freedom, culture, storytelling, adapting to change. Everything we think about what makes us human, he takes in interesting directions. All told with grace, empathy, humility, compassion and gentle humor. All of them, every one, making me stop reading afterward to reflect.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, read these. You’ll grow.

You be good. I love you.