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Ted Chiang

Exhalation: Stories Kindle Edition

by Ted Chiang (Author)

175 ratings

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A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Exhalation by Ted Chiang is a collection of short stories that will make you think, grapple with big questions, and feel more human. The best kind of science fiction.” —Barack Obama

From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others—the basis for the Academy Award –nominated film Arrival: a groundbreaking new collection of short fiction.

"THE UNIVERSE BEGAN AS AN ENORMOUS BREATH BEING HELD."

In these nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, 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.

Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic—revelatory.

Length: 362 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled

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From the Publisher

File Size: 1235 KB
Print Length: 362 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1529014484
Publisher: Knopf (May 7, 2019)
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Sold by: Random House LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07GD46PQZ
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

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Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,275 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #2 in Science Fiction Short Stories
- #9 in Literary Short Stories
- #5 in U.S. Short Stories

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A Brilliant Collection of Philosophical Short Stories

May 12, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Thank you, Ted Chiang, for your thought provoking collection of nine short stories. Each story has a philosophical premise that is seriously explored in clearly written prose.

The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate is a fable about time travel, sensibly told in the context of the medieval Muslim Middle East. Exhalation is a brilliant reframing of the laws of entropy. What’s Expected Of Us explores the social impact of experiential proof that free will is an illusion. The Lifecycle of Software Objects is a splendid and humane analysis of artificial intelligence. Darcy’s Patent Automatic Nanny is a steampunk tale of a robotic nanny. The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling brilliantly examines the impact of technology on memory, both in terms of the written word vs oral tradition and in terms of a near future where everything is recorded. The Great Silence posits that our search for non- human intelligence in the universe errs in neglecting non-human intelligence here on earth. Omphalos examines creationism with great sympathy and scientific precision. Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom is a thought provoking exploration of the many worlds hypothesis of quantum mechanics, accessibly told in very human terms.

Ted Chiang knows his hard science and his philosophy. He writes in the mold of the great natural philosophers, crafting his tales to illuminate some of the most profound questions of our time. His writing is clear and awesomely competent. I’ll read anything he publishes. He’s s wonder.

58 people found this helpful

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K. Cobourn

Frustratingly good.

May 12, 2019

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Reading the stories in Exhalation (Like most Ted Chiang) was like being reminded of a dream or hearing someone sing a song I had half heard when I was young and not since. I'm not sure there's a word for what some of these stories make me feel. Deep feelings of wonder and belonging, but even that's not quite it.

It was beautiful and will be one of my favorite books for a long time to come.

42 people found this helpful

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Dan'l Danehy-Oakes

Just brilliant

May 21, 2019

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Ted Chiang has some mighty big boots to fill, and they are his own. His first collection, _Stories of Your Life and Others_, with stories like "Tower of Babylon," "Seventy-two Letters," and of course,"The Story of Your Live," is so massively good that the "sophomore" volume might easily disappoint.

It doesn't, I am happy to say. Each of the nine stories in _Exhalation_ is a gem of stfnal alienation, neither longer nor shorter than it needs to be to do the job it does.

"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" is a time travel tale that evokes the "Thousand Nights and a Night" tales, and takes on the question of free will and inevitability -- a recurring theme in this collection.

"Exhalation" is easily the weirdest tale in this collection, and I admit it took me a few pages to get into it. It might be an allegory of environmental decay. It is certainly an illustration of the Third Law of Thermodynamics.

"What's Expected of Us" is another take on free will. The shortest story in the collection, it is less a story than a _gedankenexperiment_. What if a machine could accurately know what you will do in five seconds? (Shades of resublimated thiotimoline!)

"The Lifecycle of Software Objects," is the longest. Here we have software agents designed to be cute, as pets, with fairly-strong AI powering them. Directly attacks the question of animal rights, which we will see again in a short while.

"Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny" is an almost-plausible bit of alternate Victoriana - not quite steampunk, but certainly compatible with it. A bit of a horror story under the tale of a marvelous invention that isn't so marvelous after all.

"The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" is about the kind of stories we construct about ourselves, and two kinds of truth: what we "know" to be true, and facts.

"The Great Silence" is told by a parrot, who wants to know why we are wasting our time on SETI when we have other species to talk to right here.

"Omphalos" is the second weirdest story in the book. Its basic premise is an alternate world where archaeology turns up proof of a young Earth, rather than the extensive fossil record, and what it would take to shake faith in a world like that.

"Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom" is another meditation on free will, as well as an exploration of how to turn your life around. "Prisms" let you talk to alternate versions of yourself, in worlds that branch off just as the prism is activated.

The thing is, Chiang isn't just doing intellectual exploration of "big ideas". Other than a couple of thought-experiment stories, these stories all go for the feels, putting human beings into situations derived from the big ideas - and they do it well.

29 people found this helpful

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Willy Xiao

Theology and Philosophy

May 14, 2019

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

What if a single, core philosophical, theological, or physical fact were true? What would the world look like: what's the etiquette, laws, products, scams, and life that would arise from that simple fact being true?

This is what Ted Chiang answers and as such his scene setting is the strongest aspect of his writing. If Angels visiting Earth were both awesomely wonderful but also terrible as true to Biblical stories, you may have content, wealthy folks who would try to avoid them, and those down on their luck proactively seeking them out. If quantum physics created a split in the universe in the multiverse theory, war generals would try to use that to simulate battle scenarios only to realize their counterpart in the other universe is expecting the same. If the young earth theory were true, you'd find trees in which the center has no rings.

These are incredibly detailed worlds, which indulge you in the thought experiment of each of these theories being true and as they relate to human aspects such as love, grief, and cunning. Love it. Highly recommend.

In this one particularly: exhalation, anxiety is the dizziness of thought, the merchant and the alchemist's gate are my favorite.

11 people found this helpful

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Bryan G

Superb reading from cover to cover.

May 17, 2019

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Ted Chiang hasn’t published many stories, but what little he’s given us is really, really good. That very much continues in “Exhalation”, which delivers several new gems. Foremost amongst these is the final story, “Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom”, which is a master class on the many worlds hypothesis and the road not taken. “Exhalation” is breathtakingly clever, “The Lifecycle of Software Objects” is unexpectedly moving, and “Omphalos” asks scientific questions that very few scientists ever ask. Superb reading from cover to cover.

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