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Exhalation
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.
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Community Reviews
Even if I didn't enjoy the writing style or execution of these stories, the ideas are so very interesting and stimulating that I would say they alone merit the rating I gave. There were a couple that I didn't not care much for personally, but I love Ted Chiang's writing style and exploration of ideas, so I'll be reading more of his work!
Fascinating and thought provoking set of short stories that examine free will, language, and ethics in the presence of technologies that could enhance the human lived experience. I think that 'The lifecycle of software objects' and 'Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom' will stick with me for a long time. The former closely examines the use of AI to create pets and perhaps companions, the latter imagines a technology that allows you to view your life had you made a different choice at some critical time in your life. Each of these stories also includes a brief author's note in the audiobook version, allowing Chiang to explain where the idea for the story had originated and a little back story. All in all, time well spent!
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