Exhalation

Books | Fiction / Short Stories (single author)

4.2

(892)

Ted Chiang

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.

Science Fiction

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Author

Ted Chiang

Pages

368

Publisher

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Published Date

2019-05-07

ISBN

110194790X 9781101947906

Community ReviewsSee all

"Ted Chiang is one of the sharpest and most stimulating sci-fi thinkers ever. I hope he publishes more soon."

Michael Dix

"A collection of short Sci-fi stories that made you reflect on the choices you make in life and how do we deal with those choices. "

Sandy Lopez

"Some interesting concepts across stories both short and (too) long. Chiang does a good job of taking big ideas of physics, existential philosophy and AI technology and reducing them to the size and lives of human and AI characters. I quibble with the non-endings of his short stories: story trajectories simply stop. I “read” the book on audio, and my absorption of the stories might have been better if I read the book using my own imagined voices and characteristics. The narrators, while good, began to sound too much alike."

Diane Morello

"I really enjoyed the first half of the book but aa the stories progressed they seemed to lose their meaning and instead of exploring questions of life they seemed like more explorations of futuristic technology which, frankly, bored me."

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Charlotte Dibb

"Another great set of stories from Chiang. His stories always capture my full attention and imagination, which is rare. "

Chuck Grimmett

"He’s done it again. Pretty much the only short story writer I can tolerate. The longer stories were amazing. Like a lighter, more thoughtful black mirror."

Anna Farb

"If you like science fiction that is heavy on both the science side and the philosophical quandry side, Ted Chiang is the author for you! My favorite story from this book is "The Lifecycle of Software Objects.""

Jackie Noel

"I loved his other anthology " Stories of Your Life & Others," & this one was equally as interesting. Favorite story was "The Merchant & The Alchemist's Gate" !"

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Michael Armstrong

"AMAZING collection of appropriately philosophical short stories"