A collection to revisit

It's almost inevitable that a collection will miss a five star rating because some part of it doesn't appeal and that's the case here. These are stories with the nature of parables - and so slightly moralistic at times - but that, wherever they're set, have a science/speculative fiction slant. The title story, Exhalation, is superb and The Lifecycle of Software Objects is a dissection of difference, AI, and what constitutes sentience in virtual world entities. Sentience comes up again in The Great Silence, this time in a tale spanning Arecibo, the Fermi Paradox, and parrots, while Omphalos gently and carefully challenges one person's profound faith in a deity. Humanity with its strengths and failings is the driving force for all of these stories; how we think and feel and relate to others and what happens when technology becomes a part of the picture. It isn't dystopian, it doesn't preach, and nor does it labour its message of who and what we are; but it does make us think.

The stories vary considerably in length (I listened on Audible where they ranged from around six minutes to over three hours) and the style is often an account delivered from a particular and singular perspective. It's one of the books I will return to because there's likely to be much that I've missed.

I'll just add that the Author's notes, which pop up at the end of each story and are delivered by the author and give a little bit of the background theoretical context, are slightly jarring in audio but will be much less so in text. I will re-visit these too.

15 people found this helpful

Entrancing

I've read some negative reviews of this collection, but I loved it. Each story is carefully developed, beautifully written and completely absorbing. “The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling” is one of the best things I've read in ages. I even loved the parrot story, which people say is the weakest in the book. From the first, beautifully crafted Arabian Nights-style tale about time, and redemption, I was engaged. Every page of this collection is suffused with optimism. It's clever, kind, thoughtful and thought provoking and I highly recommend it. Yes, even the parrots.

7 people found this helpful

Fascinating ideas, plodding storytelling.

A fascinating exploration of ideas, just don't expect gripping storylines or intresting characters. . .

6 people found this helpful

Short stories from Ted Chiang's bottom drawer.

Performance lacked lustre. Notes from the author were used to pad out a collection of works that failed to live up to Ted Chiang's reputation. Unsatisfactory conclusions and no effort to develop characters other than that of the narrator. A disappointment.

3 people found this helpful

good but slow

I do realise that Ted's stories can be slow over a novel, but I hoped these may have been less of a plod. several chapters were given to one arc about AI which seemed a real waste of potential, whereas others lost the plot as they meandered along.

this isn't punchy short sci-fi, but worth listening to if you're a fan

3 people found this helpful

Thought provoking

Incredibly refreshing perspectives and imaginative concepts all tied to very human stories that are important in today's world

2 people found this helpful

Absolutely fantastic

This was a really good! I'd had so many people recommend this book to me, and now I understand why.

Stories were very engaging. Themes were extremely clever. And the mechanism of using fiction as a way to explore the philosophical aspects of AI, parallel universes, pre-destination, etc. was flawless.

Highly recommended.

1 person found this helpful

Mind expanding stories for philosophical

The ideas here are complex and some of the stories required more than one listen.

1 person found this helpful

Fantastic stories

I really enjoyed this anthology. Amy Landon's reading was overly robotic for me however.

1 person found this helpful

Magical story telling and really cool sci-fi concepts

Loved the stories in this book, each had their own style and fantastically satisfying endings. I really appreciated the short authors note at the end of each chapter where Ted Chiang explains which scientific theory has layed the foundation for each story.