Exhalation
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- Create Date：2022-08-24 09:54:26
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Ted Chiang
- ISBN：1529014492
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Summary
From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others comes a groundbreaking second collection of short fiction: nine stunningly original， provocative， and poignant stories。 These are tales that tackle some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries that only Ted Chiang 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 errors and the temptation of second chances。 In the epistolary ‘Exhalation’， an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people， but for all of reality。 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。
In Exhalation， Ted Chiang addresses the most fundamental of issues—What is the nature of the universe？ What does it mean to be human？—alongside others that no one else has even imagined。 And， each in its own way， the stories prove that complex and thoughtful science fiction can rise to new heights of beauty， meaning， and compassion。
In ‘The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate’， a portal through time forces a fabric-seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past errors and the temptation of second chances。 In the epistolary ‘Exhalation’， an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people， but for all of reality。 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。
In Exhalation， Ted Chiang addresses the most fundamental of issues—What is the nature of the universe？ What does it mean to be human？—alongside others that no one else has even imagined。 And， each in its own way， the stories prove that complex and thoughtful science fiction can rise to new heights of beauty， meaning， and compassion。
Reviews
Sherron Wahrheit
，
I’m not even finished reading this， but this， this is the epitome of science fiction。 Exploring the crux of humanity and science。 The clever title story “Exhalation” tickles my interest in lexicography， invoking both the diametrical ideas of noumena of the spirit and pneumatic door closers。 Exhalation， inhalation， aspiration， inspiration， and sighs。
Jesse
，
I love the idea of a short story collection that includes a 4-page story and a 111-page story。 Chiang's stories work through a host of philosophical problems—time travel， ethical obligations to digital entities， free will， oral vs written memory。 His characters work through dilemmas in a speculative universe that casts an interesting light on our own world of questions and quandaries。 The book was a bit heady or conceptual for me。 The ideas are well thought through， but I sometimes got lost in t I love the idea of a short story collection that includes a 4-page story and a 111-page story。 Chiang's stories work through a host of philosophical problems—time travel， ethical obligations to digital entities， free will， oral vs written memory。 His characters work through dilemmas in a speculative universe that casts an interesting light on our own world of questions and quandaries。 The book was a bit heady or conceptual for me。 The ideas are well thought through， but I sometimes got lost in the techy explanations and didn't find all the characters to be as rounded or well-developed as they might be。 But maybe this says more about my relationship to the genre than Chiang's writing。 My favourite story was probably the first， and probably for the simple reason that it takes place in a world that is more magical than sci-fi。 。。。more
shane grant
，
A varied mix of science fiction stories from a very thoughtful author。
Eric
，
Beautiful and gently thought provoking in the way the best imaginative futures always are。 10/10！！
Megan Lister
，
I didn’t really care for it。 There were lots of stories with little to no dialogue， just blocks and blocks of paragraphs， lots of telling but no showing。 Very dry。
Katie G
，
Work of art。 So imaginative and creative。 Would love to see some of these stories turned into a full length novel
subhaga
，
the definition of a no skips album11/10 would recommend
Geri McB
，
More like 3。5 stars。 Well-written and thought-provoking stories。 I especially enjoyed the author's musings on what precipitated the stories。 Recommend。 More like 3。5 stars。 Well-written and thought-provoking stories。 I especially enjoyed the author's musings on what precipitated the stories。 Recommend。 。。。more
Chavi
，
Este libro me dejó sensaciones encontradas。 No dudo de la erudición del autor y de su gran capacidad de análisis。 Sin embargo， me resultaron relatos distantes， apáticos y sin pasión。 El producto de un cerebro prodigioso， pero de un alma dormida。 Ninguno de ellos me conmovió y no vibré con sus personajes。 En general， me parecieron ensayos filosóficos más que literatura。
Harim Lee
，
Thought provoking and appreciated Chiang’s focus on how technology can increase our humanity and compassion， not detract。 I thought the longer stories dragged on too much， esp The Lifecycle of Software Objects and writing style was very direct。 My personal favorite was Exhalation: good pacing， optimistic nihilism， visually stunning （physically looking within oneself）， great one liners。
Makrand
，
Science fiction short stories with groud breaking ideas！---Exhalation was a completely different experience for me。 I had never read any of Ted Chiang's before and this caught me completely off guard。Since Exhalation comes in Sci-Fi genre， I was totally expecting weird science fiction ideas and that's what I got in a couple stories - Proper nerdy science fiction however when the stories started ending with either morals or messages I realised that Ted's idea of sci-fi isn't just inventing futuri Science fiction short stories with groud breaking ideas！---Exhalation was a completely different experience for me。 I had never read any of Ted Chiang's before and this caught me completely off guard。Since Exhalation comes in Sci-Fi genre， I was totally expecting weird science fiction ideas and that's what I got in a couple stories - Proper nerdy science fiction however when the stories started ending with either morals or messages I realised that Ted's idea of sci-fi isn't just inventing futuristic gadgets or universes but also to blend reality smartly in it and bring out shocking truths out of it！Every story is a unique one with topics ranging from Time Travel， Digital creatures， Parallel universe， Robots to Futuristic gadgets。It was definitely great to read this one！ 。。。more
Maxime Lenormand
，
One of my favourite elements about Ted Chiang’s writing is how， while they all are based around the premise of a different technology or physics， he’s able to tell these short stories in so many different styles and from so many different point of views。I think what makes any good sci-do stories good isn’t just the idea of the tech， the different laws of physics， but how those ideas are executed and told。 I do think Ted Chiang is excellent at creating none-obvious， intriguing and challenging sce One of my favourite elements about Ted Chiang’s writing is how， while they all are based around the premise of a different technology or physics， he’s able to tell these short stories in so many different styles and from so many different point of views。I think what makes any good sci-do stories good isn’t just the idea of the tech， the different laws of physics， but how those ideas are executed and told。 I do think Ted Chiang is excellent at creating none-obvious， intriguing and challenging scenarios out of his ideas: these put characters in odd and complicated places， and faces them with decisions that force them to put boundaries around what being human （or not） means。 I’m staying a bit vague to keep this spoiler free by the way。I think Ted Chiang is some of the best recent sci-fi that’s been written recently， and would recommend it hands down to anyone even remotely interested in ideas around what it means to be a person & human。 In many ways that’s what sci-fi does best: give us tools and inspiration to ask questions about ourselves 。。。more
Kelvin
，
Most of Ted Chiang’s short stories are extremely creative and very thought-provoking。 No two stories are alike， as they each tackle different moral and ethical dilemmas。 However， at the same time， there are a few boring stories as well without much purpose， it seems。So， as these are all different stories， it might not be fair to give the entire book a rating。 Instead， here are ratings for each short story:"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate"Rating: 5/5Comments: Amazingly written story that ta Most of Ted Chiang’s short stories are extremely creative and very thought-provoking。 No two stories are alike， as they each tackle different moral and ethical dilemmas。 However， at the same time， there are a few boring stories as well without much purpose， it seems。So， as these are all different stories， it might not be fair to give the entire book a rating。 Instead， here are ratings for each short story:"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate"Rating: 5/5Comments: Amazingly written story that tackles time travel in a very unique way。 The three tales provide differing angles to the dilemma to demonstrate the hidden implications behind interacting with your past/future self。"Exhalation"Rating: 2/5Comments: An okay written thought experiment that didn't amount to much。"What's Expected of Us"Rating: 4/5Comments: An interesting thought experiment that makes you wonder whether or not there exists free will。"The Lifecycle of Software Objects"Rating: 3/5Comments: The first 1/3 of this story is interesting， but it quickly tails off as the story drags on and on and on without much resolution。"Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny"Rating: 3/5Comments: Not particularly sure what the message is。"The Truth of Fact， the Truth of Feeling"Rating: 5/5Comments: This story perfectly reflects today's society where we're no longer experiencing experiences， but instead we're recording experiences just so we can share them。 In a way， we're preferring fact over feeling， not necessarily through memory recollection in daily life like Remen， but instead through the sharing of memories through videos。 It's thought-provoking and sad to see that today's society is already on its way to Remen。"The Great Silence"Rating: 4/5Comments: Hmm。。。 very good point regarding parrots。。。"Omphalos"Rating: 1/5Comments: Really lost me here。"Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom"Rating: 5/5Comments: Ted Chiang constructs an absolutely fascinating and simple-to-understand story around The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics。 Each characters' interactions with their own paraselves shed light on the overall theme of fate， free will， and alternate timelines。 And the choices each of them make （or don't make） reflect the type of person they are， which ultimately reflects all the types of people they could be in alternate timelines。 At the heart of that too are the other themes of envy and jealousy and competition， particularly when seeing paraselves living better lives over one simple decision years ago？ For us， it is hard to truly regret a decision because who knows if it would have been better otherwise？ However， with a prism， we open up Pandora's box， and regret is merely one click away。 。。。more
L
，
En la industria de videojuegos hay una disciplina de nicho que se llama hard-surface， siempre me encantó。 Hace referencia al modelado en 3D de todo lo que sea mecánico， como robots o maquinaria。 Es un trabajo muy técnico， porque las máquinas tienen que parecer y moverse como si fueran reales， tiene que haber una lógica atrás del diseño， pero al mismo tiempo es muy creativo。 El diseño de mechs es fascinante。 Hay pocos buenos y creíbles artistas de hard-surface （entre ellos por ejemplo el maestro En la industria de videojuegos hay una disciplina de nicho que se llama hard-surface， siempre me encantó。 Hace referencia al modelado en 3D de todo lo que sea mecánico， como robots o maquinaria。 Es un trabajo muy técnico， porque las máquinas tienen que parecer y moverse como si fueran reales， tiene que haber una lógica atrás del diseño， pero al mismo tiempo es muy creativo。 El diseño de mechs es fascinante。 Hay pocos buenos y creíbles artistas de hard-surface （entre ellos por ejemplo el maestro Vitaly Bulgarov）， porque lograr el balance perfecto entre técnica y estilo demanda muchísima práctica， un ojo meticuloso y talento natural。 Ted Chiang hace con sus cuentos lo que un gran artista de hard-surface hace con los robots: crea una lógica interna tan compleja y creíble que es imposible no sumergirse。 Es la misma belleza que hay en mirar videos de un Transformer pasar de auto a figura antropomórfica en el medio de una autopista para mí。 Es perfecto en su ficción。 Por otro lado aprecié un montón no solo la creatividad de cada historia sino la excavación filosófica de lo que implica cada escenario， como hipótesis del mundo。 Al final hay un apartado interesante donde explica la intención atrás de cada cuento， no sé si lo había visto antes en un libro y me gustó un montón。 。。。more
Henry Fosdike
，
Having heard good things， this was surprisingly a bit of a disappointment。 It starts strong with an interesting portal to the past but a couple of other stories didn’t connect， especially the longest one which just went on and on and on… Perhaps that was the point considering its subject matter but it just wasn’t entertaining。 Some great concepts， and the notes from the author provided some extra context to the stories， but only a few of the tales will stick with me。
Bryan Fox
，
I'm not a big sci-fi reader， but Chiang does such intricate， delightful， and， most importantly， humane world-building that it's unfair to label his work as "genre fiction"。 It's rare to find a collection of short stories which intersperses 10-pagers with novellas， and rarer still when an author possesses the skill to draw you into his narratives as effectively with 3000 words as with 40，000。 At times， I'd fault him gently for almost getting lost， and losing the reader， in his own intellect and I'm not a big sci-fi reader， but Chiang does such intricate， delightful， and， most importantly， humane world-building that it's unfair to label his work as "genre fiction"。 It's rare to find a collection of short stories which intersperses 10-pagers with novellas， and rarer still when an author possesses the skill to draw you into his narratives as effectively with 3000 words as with 40，000。 At times， I'd fault him gently for almost getting lost， and losing the reader， in his own intellect and technical skill （the titular story comes to mind）。 But when he writes in a （relative， because this guy is a genius） plainsong， it's hard not to get blissfully immersed in his work。 Half of these stories could be movies， and half of them could be novels， but they're also fine just as they are。 It helps when the two longest pieces in the book， "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom" and "The Lifestyle of Software Objects" are also the most accessible and emotive。 。。。more
James Wheeler
，
Remarkable group of short stories。 Some jumped out at me， particularly Omphalos and Truth of Fact and Truth of Feeling。 It is incredible how Chiang takes a premise and follows it through with logical consistency。 The TF&TF and Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom multiple storylines are complex but Chiang's elegant style and sturdy diction make each of these stories a delightful literary tennis match。 I love the way that his protagonists search for truth or insight。 The discussions that the chara Remarkable group of short stories。 Some jumped out at me， particularly Omphalos and Truth of Fact and Truth of Feeling。 It is incredible how Chiang takes a premise and follows it through with logical consistency。 The TF&TF and Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom multiple storylines are complex but Chiang's elegant style and sturdy diction make each of these stories a delightful literary tennis match。 I love the way that his protagonists search for truth or insight。 The discussions that the characters have in their stories are filled with truth-telling （212， 257）。 And the searching does not collapse into hackneyed moralisms or harlequin outcomes， instead complexity can be worked through with an eye for ethics and love。 Chiang develops his stories with narrative integrity to unfold and also allows for redemptive red threads to surprisingly appear。 The ending of the Lifestyle of Software Objects sneaks up on the reader but is impossible to predict。 "The universe began as an enormous breath being held。" 53 。。。more
Anthony
，
Fantastic collection of stories revolving around what I'm beginning to think are the author's favorite subjects: the role of memory and free will （or lack thereof） on our lives。 Fantastic collection of stories revolving around what I'm beginning to think are the author's favorite subjects: the role of memory and free will （or lack thereof） on our lives。 。。。more
Florencia Gambetta
，
Algunos de los cuentos son simpáticos， sin más， pero otros te dislocan y te ayudan a cuestionar las raíces de lo que tenemos más asumido， como sociedad y como Humanidad。Detrás de los relatos， que son muy amigables y fáciles de leer hay una sensibilidad， percepción y mente únicos y excepcionales
Anna Petrey
，
I have been reading the ending of the “Exhalation” story almost every day lately and I read this book two years ago。 I’ll never forget this collection of stories and I’ll mourn losing my written-in copy forever。 Ted Chiang is an outright genius。
Sandra Broadwill
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Mind = blown。 Wow Ted Chiang is a master of sci fi。 I tried to pace myself to let these stories and their implications sink in， but I also didn't want to put it down。 I feel like I will reread this again and again。 Mind = blown。 Wow Ted Chiang is a master of sci fi。 I tried to pace myself to let these stories and their implications sink in， but I also didn't want to put it down。 I feel like I will reread this again and again。 。。。more
Zayne
，
I've always been a big fan of Ted Chiang， and I really loved Tower of Babylon， that was the first that got me interested in his style of storytelling but it was Exhalation as a whole that made me realize how much his diction， a distinct diction， that I won't say I'm not， as a writer myself， fond of as it is deep thinking and provokes thought。 That is what I always want as a writer。 I always want my readers left a little in the dust。 I want them to feel the unknown， to not love or hate it， but to I've always been a big fan of Ted Chiang， and I really loved Tower of Babylon， that was the first that got me interested in his style of storytelling but it was Exhalation as a whole that made me realize how much his diction， a distinct diction， that I won't say I'm not， as a writer myself， fond of as it is deep thinking and provokes thought。 That is what I always want as a writer。 I always want my readers left a little in the dust。 I want them to feel the unknown， to not love or hate it， but to try and fully fill in the gaps that I， intentionally， leave open for them。 I want that diction， but for my own reasons and purposes。 。。。more
Lucas Rocha
，
esse foi meu primeiro contanto com o autor， e pretendo ler outras obras do mesmo。 Achei muito interessante como o autor consegue abordar questões filosóficas com contos de ficção científica; e mesmo não sabendo como esse livro， sinto que valeu muito a pena。 Sou muito leigo em termo científicos， e não consigo julgar se as ideias propostas fazem sentido ou coisas assim （e fico muito perdido em algumas partes）; mas tenho me interessado por muitas obras nesse estilo。 Achei a obra toda muito semelhan esse foi meu primeiro contanto com o autor， e pretendo ler outras obras do mesmo。 Achei muito interessante como o autor consegue abordar questões filosóficas com contos de ficção científica; e mesmo não sabendo como esse livro， sinto que valeu muito a pena。 Sou muito leigo em termo científicos， e não consigo julgar se as ideias propostas fazem sentido ou coisas assim （e fico muito perdido em algumas partes）; mas tenho me interessado por muitas obras nesse estilo。 Achei a obra toda muito semelhante ao livro Eu， robô。 。。。more
anna
，
five stars just for the parrot story alone but they were all good
Joz
，
i looooved this short story collection。。。。 the stories really stuck with me long after i'd finished reading。 Really had my imagination gears turning in a way that very few books have in the past few years！ I think my favs were 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate，' 'Exhalation，' and 'Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom。' I also really liked 'What's Expected of Us，' 'The Lifecycle of Software Objects，' and 'The Truth of Fact， The Truth of Feeling' （and the other three I don't remember too well） i looooved this short story collection。。。。 the stories really stuck with me long after i'd finished reading。 Really had my imagination gears turning in a way that very few books have in the past few years！ I think my favs were 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate，' 'Exhalation，' and 'Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom。' I also really liked 'What's Expected of Us，' 'The Lifecycle of Software Objects，' and 'The Truth of Fact， The Truth of Feeling' （and the other three I don't remember too well）。 。。。more
Mandy
，
Black Mirror in book form。 11/10 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Julie
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Creative， evocative short stories
Wyatt
，
4。5。 Some mind-blowing stuff in here。 "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" and "The Truth of Fact， the Truth of Feeling" are my favorites。 4。5。 Some mind-blowing stuff in here。 "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" and "The Truth of Fact， the Truth of Feeling" are my favorites。 。。。more
Karin
，
Me emociona siempre que un libro x mencione a mi país， Chile， quizás por eso me gustaron los relatos。O quizás eso aumentó mi interés。
Silvia ☽
，
I loved the positive take on AI and future technology in general， I don't typically read sci-fi but wanted to give this one a shot since I've only seen positive reviews （which it definitely deserves！）。 The writing is impeccable and the stories are very unique and original， but this was simply not for me。 I loved the positive take on AI and future technology in general， I don't typically read sci-fi but wanted to give this one a shot since I've only seen positive reviews （which it definitely deserves！）。 The writing is impeccable and the stories are very unique and original， but this was simply not for me。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Exhalation
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Exhalation&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Exhalation&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0