Stories of Your Life and Others
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- Create Date：2021-04-03 13:59:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Ted Chiang
- ISBN：1529039436
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Summary
Ted Chiang's first published story， "Tower of Babylon，" won the Nebula Award in 1990。 Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll， a second Nebula Award， the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award， and the Sidewise Award for alternate history。 He won the John W。 Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992。 Story for story， he is the most honored young writer in modern SF。
Now， collected here for the first time are all seven of this extraordinary writer's stories so far-plus an eighth story written especially for this volume。
What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side？ What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent？ What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter？ What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time？ What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true， and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets？ These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang。 Stories of your life 。 。 。 and others。
Now， collected here for the first time are all seven of this extraordinary writer's stories so far-plus an eighth story written especially for this volume。
What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side？ What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent？ What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter？ What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time？ What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true， and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets？ These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang。 Stories of your life 。 。 。 and others。
Reviews
Alynus
，
In ciuda ideilor interesante （temele abordate sunt studii matematice， religioase， de comunicare， primul contact cu civilizații extraterestre）， abundenta detaliilor tehnice a luat din placerea lecturii pentru mine， făcând-o extrem de plictisitoare。
Ryan
，
A collection of short stories Ted Chiang written over the duration of 1990-2002， Stories is wraps them together in creating tales that relate to questioning the universe， yet while finding beauty in things we do not give much attention to。 All of these stories have large worldbuilding as they are related in context to the characters and plot， but it can sometimes make it heavy to continue reading on certain points。 Despite that， most of these stories are thought-provoking and relatable to questi A collection of short stories Ted Chiang written over the duration of 1990-2002， Stories is wraps them together in creating tales that relate to questioning the universe， yet while finding beauty in things we do not give much attention to。 All of these stories have large worldbuilding as they are related in context to the characters and plot， but it can sometimes make it heavy to continue reading on certain points。 Despite that， most of these stories are thought-provoking and relatable to questions we all have， which made my rating go to 4 instead of 3。 This being my introduction to Chiang's work and the sci-fi genre is interesting to say the least。 。。。more
Katherine
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Unusual sci-fi/speculative short stories that blend science， philosophy， mathematics， and theology in a variety of ways。 I bought this book for a specific story that I wanted to vet before teaching to my class， but ended up reading the whole anthology。 Very solid overall。
Nancy Shaffer
，
I started out really liking the stories in this book。 So intelligent， intellectually stimulating without losing the human touch。 After The Story of Your Life， though， they got increasingly。。。 weird。 So I'm going with a "meh" three stars。 I started out really liking the stories in this book。 So intelligent， intellectually stimulating without losing the human touch。 After The Story of Your Life， though， they got increasingly。。。 weird。 So I'm going with a "meh" three stars。 。。。more
Alex
，
Contains "Story of Your Life，" which the film Arrival is （or was， or will be） based on。 Brought tears to my eyes。 For that alone it's worth the price of admission。 Contains "Story of Your Life，" which the film Arrival is （or was， or will be） based on。 Brought tears to my eyes。 For that alone it's worth the price of admission。 。。。more
Rick Silva
，
Short story collection centered around "Story of Your Life"， which was the basis for the film， Arrival。Story of Your Life" provides more introspection and emotional impact than the film version， but lacks some of the film's plot twists。 The concepts from physics and linguistics are very intricately woven into the story。Almost all of the stories in this collection are highly immersive。 Chiang crams a lot of worldbuilding into the limited space he has to work with， and has created some fascinating Short story collection centered around "Story of Your Life"， which was the basis for the film， Arrival。Story of Your Life" provides more introspection and emotional impact than the film version， but lacks some of the film's plot twists。 The concepts from physics and linguistics are very intricately woven into the story。Almost all of the stories in this collection are highly immersive。 Chiang crams a lot of worldbuilding into the limited space he has to work with， and has created some fascinating settings， from a version of Babylon that could truly build a tower to heaven， to version of our modern reality where angels regularly cause mayhem along with miracles， to a steampunk Britain where human biology really works they way early 18th Century science thought it did， and where heavy industry is powered by golems。In some of these stories， the worldbuilding is at the expense of plot， as "Seventy-Two Letters" and "Tower of Babylon" felt like they could have been just getting started when things wrapped up。 Likewise， the near-future exploration of technology that blocks the perception of human beauty described in "Liking What You See: A Documentary" felt like it left much unresolved。I did find the characters engaging and interesting in just about all of the stories， and the scope of the author's vision is impressive。 。。。more
Cams
，
This short story collection is thought-provoking， intriguing， and mixes science with magical realism。 Stories I really liked: Story of Your Life Liking What You see: A Documentary Hell is the Absence of God+ The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate -1 star because Seventy-Two Letters was boring af and i DNFed it （only got passed half-way through the 54 pages of BOREDOM）。 Other than that， I think I’m now a fan of Ted Chiang。 [Read this for a book club and i’m glad my friend chose this for us to read This short story collection is thought-provoking， intriguing， and mixes science with magical realism。 Stories I really liked: Story of Your Life Liking What You see: A Documentary Hell is the Absence of God+ The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate -1 star because Seventy-Two Letters was boring af and i DNFed it （only got passed half-way through the 54 pages of BOREDOM）。 Other than that， I think I’m now a fan of Ted Chiang。 [Read this for a book club and i’m glad my friend chose this for us to read。] 。。。more
Shriram Narayanan
，
Excellent stories and great concept
GARN ARNOLD
，
This is a hard one。 A couple stories didn't resonate with me。 Tower of Babylon was interesting， but meh。 Hell is the Absence of God was meh。 What was that one trying to say？ What was the point？ I have no idea。 Not all fiction needs a point， but this one was clearly trying to make a point， I just don't know what it was。Some stories I found very interesting。 Understand was great。 Division by Zero was great。 Just really interesting and intelligent stories。 The science was just detailed enough to be This is a hard one。 A couple stories didn't resonate with me。 Tower of Babylon was interesting， but meh。 Hell is the Absence of God was meh。 What was that one trying to say？ What was the point？ I have no idea。 Not all fiction needs a point， but this one was clearly trying to make a point， I just don't know what it was。Some stories I found very interesting。 Understand was great。 Division by Zero was great。 Just really interesting and intelligent stories。 The science was just detailed enough to be believable。 I liked them。Seventy Two Letters was nice for me， because I wrote a paper on Mystic Judaism， or kabal， in college， so I really enjoyed reading this spin on the concept， taking it to the extreme。Liking What You See， was my number two。 It was so fascinating。 I often have very similar conversations in my mind， where I take a subject and develop very detailed and complex arguments for both sides。 And this idea of being blind to beauty was very interesting。 Very thought provoking。Then there was Story of Your Life。 I read this book specifically for this story。 My wife had recently lost a baby， and this was recommended to me for this story， and the impact was real。 After I finished this story I had to just stop doing anything else for the rest of the day。 I thought about the value of experience， and if experience is worth it even if you know it will lead to extreme pain。 It really hit home with me， and I don't know that I will ever forget my experience reading this story。 This book deserves 5 stars for this story alone。 。。。more
Raül
，
Que trobareu en aquest llibre？ Històries de torres altíssimes en una Babilònia alternativa， de visites extraterrestres on els visitants parlen llengües no-lineals que els permeten copsar alhora tots els succesos de la linia del temps， sobre l'estudi de la ciència dels golems i l'alquímia en una Universitat de Cambridge diferent， visites d'àngels celestials que provoquen tant milacres com danys colaterals， drogues cerebrals que alteren la percepció de la bellesa。。。 en definitiva， un grapat de rel Que trobareu en aquest llibre？ Històries de torres altíssimes en una Babilònia alternativa， de visites extraterrestres on els visitants parlen llengües no-lineals que els permeten copsar alhora tots els succesos de la linia del temps， sobre l'estudi de la ciència dels golems i l'alquímia en una Universitat de Cambridge diferent， visites d'àngels celestials que provoquen tant milacres com danys colaterals， drogues cerebrals que alteren la percepció de la bellesa。。。 en definitiva， un grapat de relats portentosos i meravellosos。 Relats que van de la fantasia a la ciència ficció dura， passant per l’steam punk， i que es basteixen amb diferents estils i estratègies narratives també。 Un goig de lectura。 Ara bé， no tots els relats m'han semblat aptes per al lector no iniciat en la ciència ficció "dura"， per alguns conceptes complexos que s'exposen en alguns dels relats -però que precisament donen més verosimilitud al relat i augmenten el seu efecte de meravella-。 Imprescindible， un clàssic modern。 。。。more
Rina Wu
，
cool
Aljoša
，
This is an excellent collection of short stories that I picked up because of my love for the 2016 Villeneuve movie Arrival and its philosophico-linguistic awareness of the difficulties of establishing first contact with an alien race （the movie is an adaption of one of the stories in this collection）。 The collection itself is diverse， stimulating， full of rich perspectives and perplexing scenarios that immediately suck you in yet don't leave you dissapointed。 Just a really really cool collection This is an excellent collection of short stories that I picked up because of my love for the 2016 Villeneuve movie Arrival and its philosophico-linguistic awareness of the difficulties of establishing first contact with an alien race （the movie is an adaption of one of the stories in this collection）。 The collection itself is diverse， stimulating， full of rich perspectives and perplexing scenarios that immediately suck you in yet don't leave you dissapointed。 Just a really really cool collection that I don't just recommend if you're into sci-fi and/or philosophy， but to everyone！"Tower of Babylon" is a novelette that is very interesting in that it takes geocentrism and the celestial sphere that's the border of our world as true。 After 200 years of building， the tower of Babylon stretches all the way from Babylon to the celestial sphere （it takes about 4 months of ascending by foot to reach the top）， where now miners are sent to in order to make a tunnel through the crest between our world and heaven。 Fascinating example of alternative science fiction！"Understand" is a story about achieving super-intelligence and being able to see the deeper patterns that guide the world。 In order to be able to think about the world clearly， the protagonist has to abandon human language and invent his own language， one that would be directly tied to mathematical equations and logics but would also accomodate for other types of expression。 Soon he realizes that his biological brain won't do and he needs something better 。。“Division by Zero” is a story about a mathematician who finds sound proof that one equals two。 Faced by the realization that all of mathematics is nothing but abstracted empirics， she spirals into mad uncertainty。 In-between the story we get flashbacks to the discussions of 20th century foundation of mathematics such as Russell， Gödel， Hilbert， etc。"Stories of Your Life" is the short story Villeneuve's 2016 movie Arrival is based on。 Although the movie is great， the story goes a bit deeper into the philosophy of language and ends more realistically。 I really like the way in which it is revealed that the aliens don't perceive time in the short story （they understood only variational formulations of physical laws）; something that I don't remember from the movie。 It somehow ties into Sagan's One world argument， the idea that in order to establish first contact we need to tie our languages to the same world we inhabit - physics， logics， etc。 Since the aliens don't perceive time， nothing that used the notion of causality in our theories of nature made sense to them。"The Evolution of Human Science" is 3-page long fictional jorunal article that looks at the condition of human science in a time of metahuman intelligence。 Human journals， it seems， are reduced to nothing more than an attempt at translating the findings of metahumans （who communicate directly through neural transmission） into our language。 Even then， our langauge barely grasps the nuances of metahuman science， so regular humans not only can't help science progress anymore， they can't even understand it。"Hell is the absence of God” is a story of a world where angels， miracles and biblical disasters are all around， so the population is not split among believers and non-believers but devoted and non-devoted people （everyone knows God exists but some choose to defy him in name of their own ethical code）。 Makes for some interesting questions about morality and God - even if his existence would be all-aparent， we could still decide we don't vibe with his ethical system。"Liking What You See: A Documentary" is a kind of transcription of a documentary of a time in society where a university is about to pass a rule that all the students have to accept neural blockers that wouldn't disable their ability to see people as beautiful。 This is an attempt to battle what is referred to as "lookism" （in analogy to sexism and racism） the bias towards beautiful people。 It also server as a boycott against advertisers that bombard us with stimuli of beauty and try to make us act against our interests。 The documentary includes different interviews of students， neurologists， sociologists， professors， advertisers， ethicists， etc。 some in favour some against it。 What we get is a rich discussion of a very interesting social phenomenon。 。。。more
Özgür Pozan
，
Geliş |5/5|Bilimkurgu da bilimkurguymuş！ Filmini çok sevdikten sonra kitap uyarlaması olduğunu öğrendiğim ama kısa bir araştırmayla filmin， kitaptaki bir öyküden uyarlandığını öğrendim ama bu beni kitabı okumaktan alı koymadı。 Kitabı gerçekten sevdim， gerçekten değil çok sevdim。 Modern bilimkurgu alanında çok başarılı öyküler bulunuyor kitapta。 Modern bilimkurgu denildiğinde genelde birkaç farklı yol izleniyor。 Ya çok uzaktaki bir hayali teknoloji hayal ediliyor ya da günlük hayattaki koşuşturma Geliş |5/5|Bilimkurgu da bilimkurguymuş！ Filmini çok sevdikten sonra kitap uyarlaması olduğunu öğrendiğim ama kısa bir araştırmayla filmin， kitaptaki bir öyküden uyarlandığını öğrendim ama bu beni kitabı okumaktan alı koymadı。 Kitabı gerçekten sevdim， gerçekten değil çok sevdim。 Modern bilimkurgu alanında çok başarılı öyküler bulunuyor kitapta。 Modern bilimkurgu denildiğinde genelde birkaç farklı yol izleniyor。 Ya çok uzaktaki bir hayali teknoloji hayal ediliyor ya da günlük hayattaki koşuşturmacaların içine ‘proton enerjili telefon’ gibi， ‘omega ışını tabancası’ gibi daha uzun isimli eşyalar sıkıştırılıyor。 Ted Chiang’in öyküleri ne bunlara baş vuruyor ne de diğer yöntemlere。 İçerisindeki bilimsel fikri size hissettirmeyi başaran öyküler sunuyor， iki tanesi haricinde。 İki tane bilimkurguya pek oturmayan öykü var kitapta ve ikisinden biri kitabın ilk öyküsü olunca insan biraz şaşırıyor。 “Bilimkurgu diye aldım arabayla taş taşıyorlar，” gibi düşünüyor insan ama ben Babil Kulesi öyküsünün de bilimkurguya oturtulabileceğini düşünüyorum。 Yalnızca， cennet ve cehennem ile alakalı olan öykü pek bilimkurguya oturmuyor aslında ama onu da okuması çok keyifliydi ve pek bir orjinaldi o yüzden sorun etmedim。Filme uyarlanan öykü burada ‘Hayatının Hikayesi’ ismindeki öykü。 Filmin öyküye fazlasıyla sadık kaldığını fark ettim。 Uzaylıların dilini öğrenme ve keşfetme sürecini karakterin ağzından dinlemek ve uzaylıların bakış açısındaki farklılığın daha iyi açıklanması dışında öyküyü filmden ayıran pek bir şey yok。 Şahsen kitaptaki diğer öyküleri daha bile beğendim diyebilirim。 Mesela Lucy filmin yapmak isteyip yapamadığını yapan， olağanüstü seviyede gelişen bir bilinçteki adamın öyküsü mesela。 Öykülerin her birini roman olarak okumak isterdim。 Öyküler bu halleriyle birçok romandan daha dolu ve daha oturaklı içeriklere sahipler。 Belki öyküler romana evrilseydi ve daha çok açıklansaydı aynı etkiyi yaratmayacaktı; olabilir tabi。 O yüzden durumdan şikayetçi değilim hatta iyi yandan da bakılabilir， böyle üzerine düşünülmüş ve farklı fikirler bulabilen bir yazarın aklına gelen her fikri okumak ister insan ve tüm fikirleri roman olsa bu pek mümkün olmaz。 Yazarın diğer kitabını da en erken vakitte okumak istiyorum。 Siz de eğer ‘bilim bilim’ bilimkurgu öyküleri okumak istiyorsanız bir şans vermelisiniz。 Gerçi ‘Bilim bilim’ bilim kurgu okumak istemeseniz de bir şans vermelisiniz bence ama lafın gelişi işte。 Bu kitaptan， Geliş dışında başka bir öyküyü uyarlayacak olsaydım sondaki öyküyü bir Black Mirror bölümü olarak görmek isterdim。 Gerçekten güzel bir konseptti ve yazar， öyküyü kaleme alırken kullandığı üslup sayesinde de konuyu birçok açıdan ele alabilmeyi başarmış。 Kitabın eksik yanı muhakkak vardır ama itiraf etmem gerekirse hiç aramadım， dikkat etmedim， gözüme de çarpmadı。 Sonuçta hiçbir kurgu kusursuz değildir ama bu öykülerin kusurları varsa da yazar gizlemeyi başarmış。Bu sene içerisinde beni bu kitaptan daha çok şaşırtabilecek bir kitap olacağını sanmıyorum ama göreceğiz bakalım。Bilimkurgunun sonunun gelmeyeceği güzel günler dileğiyle。 Kendinize iyi bakın。 。。。more
Lucie
，
1。 Tower Of Babylon ⭐⭐⭐ 3。5/5 A beautiful concept and ending。 The wording was a little difficult for me （english isn't my first language） but the images the author plants in your head are very vivid。2。 Understand ⭐⭐ 2。5/5 An interesting concept but it's just too long， it feels a bit repetitive after a while。 I found myself getting bored around halfway through， which is a shame because the premise was very promising。 I did like the ending， though。3。 Division By Zero ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 I really really liked 1。 Tower Of Babylon ⭐⭐⭐ 3。5/5 A beautiful concept and ending。 The wording was a little difficult for me （english isn't my first language） but the images the author plants in your head are very vivid。2。 Understand ⭐⭐ 2。5/5 An interesting concept but it's just too long， it feels a bit repetitive after a while。 I found myself getting bored around halfway through， which is a shame because the premise was very promising。 I did like the ending， though。3。 Division By Zero ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 I really really liked the story but I was a bit disappointed by the ending。 It's an abrupt stop with not resolution， not even a cliffhanger。 But everything else was amazing。4。 Story of your life ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 As good as I expected it to be， even better than the movie！ Not too long， not too short， easy to understand but thought provoking。 Amazing。5。 Seventy-two letters ⭐⭐ 2/5 I was hooked by the premise but found myself unable to really get into the story。 It was nice， but not revolutionary for me。 It might have been a bit too long or too difficult to read， which again might be because english isn't my first language。 The "plot twist/reveal" was very interesting but the ending was a little bit of a letdown as well。6。 The Evolution of Human Science ⭐⭐ 2/5 This one brings up an interesting idea but it's way too short to expend on it。 Good but forgettable。7。 Hell is the absence of God ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 This one might be my favourite， I really really liked the premise and was never bored！ It's very unique， dark but terribly realistic。 I think I'll remember that interpretation of "angels" for a while。8。 Liking what you see ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 Very interesting premise as well！ It's written like a documentary so it's pretty slow-paced， but I really liked it。 It really made me wonder whose side I'd be on if I lived in this reality， and I honestly don't know。 Very compelling！ 。。。more
Gumbo Ya-ya
，
A miner climbs a tower to the top of the sky。 A linguist thinks in circles。 A mathematician has a nervous breakdown because mathematics fails to meet her fanatical expectations。 In this collection， Ted Chiang presents 8 worlds that are， in some way large or small， radically different from our own。 That difference， or at least the kernel of it， sits squarely in the centre of each story， rendering a product that seems very like the sci-fi of the '50s in conception， if not in style， tone， or aesthe A miner climbs a tower to the top of the sky。 A linguist thinks in circles。 A mathematician has a nervous breakdown because mathematics fails to meet her fanatical expectations。 In this collection， Ted Chiang presents 8 worlds that are， in some way large or small， radically different from our own。 That difference， or at least the kernel of it， sits squarely in the centre of each story， rendering a product that seems very like the sci-fi of the '50s in conception， if not in style， tone， or aesthetic。 As such， the stories largely stand or fall on the cohesion of that idea; it's not so much about whether the idea is， in and of itself， interesting， but rather about its successful （or not） integration into every other facet of the story's fabric。 For me， largely， they fall， though I understand I am probably in the minority in that regard。 It is beyond question that each of these stories has been very carefully and deliberately crafted， successively editing to its most gleaming form。 But the overall effect in many cases was a story that was almost all polish。 ------------------------------------------------Tower of Babylon: ★★☆☆☆Opened strong and built into a fascinating portrait of an absurd mythical society， realised at face value。 The ending really let this one down for me。------------------------------------------------Understand: ★★★☆☆ This was one of the strongest stories for me。 There was a greater sense of meaningful， cohesive plot than in many of the others， and the integration of the character into the action of the story was well realised。 Everything clicked for this story。------------------------------------------------Division by Zero: ★☆☆☆☆ I found it very difficult to take this story seriously。 If you are a Platonist， at least as far as mathematics goes， and， to fair， most mathematicians I've met are， then this story may be truly terrifying， but I just kept thinking of Pratchett's take on Hellenic philosophers arguing that you can never hit a turtle with an arrow because by the time the arrow arrives where the turtle was， it's moved。。。------------------------------------------------Story of Your Life: ★★☆☆☆ It seems a little unfair to judge this story in the light of Denis Villeneuve's masterful adaptation but， as I'd already seen that twice when I read this， that is how I responded to it。 The story in itself is not bad; the idea is interesting and the characterisation is decent。 However， by contrast to the movie， it is lacking in depth and the presentation comes off as somewhat sloppy， certainly not meeting the general standard of agonised overwroughtness that is on display in the remainder of the volume。 ------------------------------------------------Seventy Two Letters: ★★★☆☆ A fascinating weaving together of a Victorian world transformed by the magic-science of automata， a somewhat tongue-in-cheek treatment of an outdated view of animal reproduction， and a genesis story， Seventy Two Letter is probably the strongest story in this volume。 My main complaint with this one is that it probably should have been significantly longer; the pacing is excellent for most of the story but the denouement is rushed and rather unsatisfying as a result。------------------------------------------------The Evolution of Human Science: ★★☆☆☆ An interesting kernel， prevented from being anything more by the constraints of the medium。 A very good example of Chiang demonstrating exemplary performance while playing with form， without actually managing to produce a result that particularly satisfying。------------------------------------------------Hell is the Absence of God: ★★☆☆☆ There are two strands to this tale: one is a speculation along the lines of， 'What if divine visitations were real， and they were actually as terrible as the scriptures suggest; the other is a less-cheerful retelling of the Book of Job， minus the happy ending。 I found the former mildly interesting but a little absurd to really embrace and the latter about as miserable as one would expect。 The characterisation felt strong but I was unable to really care about any of the characters anyway。------------------------------------------------Liking What You See: A Documentary: ★☆☆☆☆ This story was just an awful end to what had turned out to be a mediocre read。 I very nearly didn't finish it。 Maybe when this collection was published in 2002， the presentation， a series of interview snippets， may have struck me as novel， but it failed to add any interest to a rather meandering rumination on the advantage of beauty that， of itself， held no lustre。------------------------------------------------Story Notes: ★★★☆☆ I liked the inclusion of these notes， explaining the author's inspiration and thinking during the development of the stories。 Not something I've seen done with any regularity but I think it's a nice touch。 。。。more
Isabel Barber
，
“Despite knowing the journey and where it leads， I embrace it and welcome every moment。” - Ted Chiang Stories of your life and others by Ted ChiangGenre: Science fiction， Short stories， Philosophy 🧬✯✯✯✯✯/5Ted Chiang’s Stories of your life and others is a collection of short stories。 He has never published a novel but is known widely among authors but I don’t think enough readers read his work。 My favourite story within the book would have to be ‘Story of your life’ it’s science fiction but also “Despite knowing the journey and where it leads， I embrace it and welcome every moment。” - Ted Chiang Stories of your life and others by Ted ChiangGenre: Science fiction， Short stories， Philosophy 🧬✯✯✯✯✯/5Ted Chiang’s Stories of your life and others is a collection of short stories。 He has never published a novel but is known widely among authors but I don’t think enough readers read his work。 My favourite story within the book would have to be ‘Story of your life’ it’s science fiction but also mixed with the raw emotional side of being a mother。 It’s written in both past， future and present - as there are elements in the book which effect the timeline。 This was also made into the movie ‘Arrival’。 There is also a huge philosophical element to his stories， which make the idea of the universe and why we exist a theme throughout。 Focusing mainly on ‘Story of your life’ it shows how devastating the loss of a child can be， and with the science fiction element added to it， we see how time for the narrator of the story has changed。 How she no longer perceives it the same way as other humans but as the aliens on vessel。 With that element added， it’s like she lives in the past， present and the future。 And we see that she knows of what is to come， and that makes it more wicked in a way when she can see her whole life in front of her。 And with the quote I put at the top of my review there’s a bitter sweet tone to it， as she knows of the downfall and the bad moments yet keeps going。 。。。more
Topher
，
Astounding。 One okay story， one too short to have an opinion on and the rest are masterful， some of the best I've ever read。 Astounding。 One okay story， one too short to have an opinion on and the rest are masterful， some of the best I've ever read。 。。。more
Branden
，
Another incredible book by Ted Chiang。 I couldn’t put it down。 He’s quickly become one of my all-time favorite authors。
Martyna
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A collection of eight well-written and thought-provoking stories in which various technologies， Aliens or miraculous medicines are not the target of the story， but only a means of a slightly deeper message。 Thanks to the literary measures applied， the questions are not asked brutally， straight ahead。 Instead， you have to consider for yourself what choices you could make or have already made。 By creating short forms， Ted Chiang restored the splendor of science fiction， the message of which was a A collection of eight well-written and thought-provoking stories in which various technologies， Aliens or miraculous medicines are not the target of the story， but only a means of a slightly deeper message。 Thanks to the literary measures applied， the questions are not asked brutally， straight ahead。 Instead， you have to consider for yourself what choices you could make or have already made。 By creating short forms， Ted Chiang restored the splendor of science fiction， the message of which was a lofty， extraordinary idea or reflection。 However， the most important thing is that the author did not give in to the temptations of fantasy creators， i。e。 pulsating action， cosmic battles， the enormity of uniqueness， etc。 Instead， the collection is dominated by reverie， reflection， a bit of melancholy。The title story is a story about a linguist trying to get in touch with alien life forms that humans call the seven-legged。 To do this， he has to learn their language， which is based on semagrams。 Learning this language causes a completely new， non-linear perception of time and completely changes the personal life of the protagonist。The story "Understand" is a story about a man who undergoes an experimental therapy that causes his intelligence to grow at an amazing pace。 The protagonist notices the regularities that govern our reality， and even begins to change them in his own fashion。 Soon he meets a person undergoing a therapy similar to him。 "Liking What You See: A Documentary" is a kind of debate over the sense of the so-called calliagnosia， i。e。 such changes in the brain that make people unable to distinguish between ugly and pretty faces。 This insensitivity to beauty implies far-reaching changes in human life。"Seventy-Two Letters" is a story set in an alternate world where the industry is based on slot machines that operate thanks to words。 In this story， the author created an amazing world， reminiscent of nineteenth-century England。''Division by Zero" is the story of an outstanding mathematician who discovers new rules governing mathematics， undermining the sense of this science。"Tower of Babylon" tells the story of building a tower that is to reach Heaven。 When it finally reaches the vault of Heaven， a big surprise awaits the builders of the tower。"The Evolution of Human Science" is a short story about communication problems with metal people with incredible intelligence。"Hell Is the Absence of God" - a story about a world that is haunted by angels。 Their visits help some， and pose a mortal threat to others。Ted Chiang's collection of short stories is incredibly imaginative and original texts are read with ceaseless amazement that you can create something so amazing。 Outstanding literature， not only for science fiction lovers。 。。。more
Nikita
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- So。 Good。 Chiang combines carefully researched themes of science， history， mathematics， religion and psychology with bright creativity and excellent writing to create stories you simply can’t put down。- Story of your life （the basis for the film Arrival） was an obvious favorite for my language/linguistics-obsessed self， but every story is truly brilliant and engaging。
Santiago Ide
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Ted Ghiang tiene y posee una capacidad de seducir a través de su relato que es extraordinario， en cuanto al genero de ciencia ficción， fantasía o ucronía de leyendas。 Desde hace mucho tiempo que no leía con tanto agrado y además disfrutando ¿“novelas cortas o cuentos largos”？ Esta edición “La historia de tu vida” que es un cuento mas y en que se basó la película “Arrival” （La Llegada） que en ningún momento eclipsa los demás relatos de un total de 8。Ted Chiang juega con la especulación de realida Ted Ghiang tiene y posee una capacidad de seducir a través de su relato que es extraordinario， en cuanto al genero de ciencia ficción， fantasía o ucronía de leyendas。 Desde hace mucho tiempo que no leía con tanto agrado y además disfrutando ¿“novelas cortas o cuentos largos”？ Esta edición “La historia de tu vida” que es un cuento mas y en que se basó la película “Arrival” （La Llegada） que en ningún momento eclipsa los demás relatos de un total de 8。Ted Chiang juega con la especulación de realidades posibles y argumentado por ciencia y el devenir de nuestra civilización en un cambio cultural， también toma leyendas bíblicas y de tradición talmúdica desarrollando un universo con sus propias leyes entregando un relato maravilloso y sembrando con parábolas para nuestra vida interior。¡Solo puedo decir “fue increíble” como la última estrella de máximo galardón！¿Será el nuevo Borges de ciencia ficción？ 。。。more
B
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4。5+
Kasia
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Jak nie przepadam za opowiadaniami， tak te były całkiem ciekawe - szeroki zakres tematyczny， fajne twisty。 Ale teraz z powrotem przerwa od opowiadań na jakiś czas :）
Maureen Weiner
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I wasn't quite as impressed with this group of short stories。The Story of Your Life was especially difficult for me to wrap my mind around。 I certainly realize that living life in the corporeal world means that many things are beyond choice。 I also realize that there are many forces， forces seen and unseen， forces known and unknown， that compel us to act as we do。 But， the idea that a person could know the future for certain yet be unable to act differently， I find to be impossible。 I could soon I wasn't quite as impressed with this group of short stories。The Story of Your Life was especially difficult for me to wrap my mind around。 I certainly realize that living life in the corporeal world means that many things are beyond choice。 I also realize that there are many forces， forces seen and unseen， forces known and unknown， that compel us to act as we do。 But， the idea that a person could know the future for certain yet be unable to act differently， I find to be impossible。 I could sooner believe the idea of a Greek tragedy， that fate will accomplish its goal no matter how we mortal try to change it， than to believe that I might know my own future and be unable to change it。 To believe that would be to believe that I am unable to learn from my past mistakes。 I know learning from past mistakes is very difficult， but I cannot believe it is impossible。 I imagine the only thing that would change my mind on the subject would be a Predictor from What's Expected of Us。 Although， knowing me， I would probably just ignore it since it can only predict one thing and that one thing isn't anything significant。I did enjoy reading Liking What You See: A Documentary。 Reading all the opinions of all the different people trying to decide if they should allow themselves to be more or less controlled by their own human instincts。 The idea is very compelling especially since we live in a world where our need for those instincts is diminished since we have such tight control over nature， yet we ourselves use those instincts to control and manipulate each other so we can get more money， more control， more power。 。。。more
Stefanos
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The writer deals with questions that examine controversial issues such as religion， artificial intelligence， free will， time travel and predujize。Each story is a "what if" something was different from our current reality。。 for example。。 -what if we could see the future-what if maths was proven to be false-what if there was a device that makes you not realize good looking people-what if god was proven to be real and angels visit earth regularlyand others。。The book can trigger conversations with f The writer deals with questions that examine controversial issues such as religion， artificial intelligence， free will， time travel and predujize。Each story is a "what if" something was different from our current reality。。 for example。。 -what if we could see the future-what if maths was proven to be false-what if there was a device that makes you not realize good looking people-what if god was proven to be real and angels visit earth regularlyand others。。The book can trigger conversations with friends and i think is ideal for book club discussions！Grateful to the good friend of mine that recommend the book to me:） 。。。more
Sahib Khan
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Just wow。 Looking forward to read more of him。
Ryan Swanson
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Understanding or whatever it’s called was 19 out of 19 stars。 The Tower of Babylon one was pretty good。 The Arrival one seemed good but I saw the movie already so I bailed on it。 The others were meh to me I did some skimming。
Piyali Mukherjee
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Ted Chiang has great ideas。 His exploration of how he develops a story in the story notes is fascinating too。 He also picks an interesting perspective through which to tell a story， which makes for an active intellectual exercise as opposed to a passive one （the characters just acting out as humans）。 It's unfortunately for exactly this reason that I'm not giving this work a 5-stars。 Some of the stories （Understanding， Seventy Two Lines） feel like they're just ideas talking it out through some di Ted Chiang has great ideas。 His exploration of how he develops a story in the story notes is fascinating too。 He also picks an interesting perspective through which to tell a story， which makes for an active intellectual exercise as opposed to a passive one （the characters just acting out as humans）。 It's unfortunately for exactly this reason that I'm not giving this work a 5-stars。 Some of the stories （Understanding， Seventy Two Lines） feel like they're just ideas talking it out through some display of intellectual hubris。 Those ideas would have been better explored in an essay than to "see" two talking heads argue over what the larger implications of their ideas would be。 This sounds hypocritical coming from an avid Asimov fan， but the characters are too busy explaining their reasoning rather than having us arrive at the reasoning itself。 Chiang offers such a rich description of worlds， that it feels a shame that the characters who inhabit it are mere shadows。 The only story where the characters actually touched me was Hell Is the Absence of God。 A protagonist who is broken by grief， who reckons with the idea of God so pervasive and so profound was a journey that made me want to finish this anthology， as opposed to giving up with Seventy Two Lines。 Almost all the protagonists （except for the eponymous story， and Division By Zero） are men in academia who are too busy wrapped in their theory and ideas， to consider the human aspect of their interaction。 There's a common pattern of failed relationships across all the works as well。 There's never really an exploration of why these fall apart。 I'm reminded of the meme where Charles Darwin must have had a housekeeper too， someone to support his basic life as he went around being a genius。 Almost all the academic theoreticians here lack such a person in their life， or are too absorbed in their intellectual prowess to care that they are， fundamentally， humans。 Or maybe that's the point？ Maybe I'm supposed to learn that they are humans despite them not being it， in any meaningful way。 。。。more
Dana Lima
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Pocas， muy pocas， poquísimas veces una película adaptada es mejor su libro。 Este es el caso， por muchas desiciones artísticas del film que le dan más dramatismo， pero el libro no es malo， es lindo， emotivo。 Muy breve， más una nouvelle que novela en sí。 Me encanta cómo desarrolla la idea del futuro y el lenguaje con la historia de su hija。 Siempre recordé los nombres que la protagonista les puso a los extraterrestres “Aleteo y Pedorreta”， algún día tendré unos perros y les pondré esos nombres。
Joe
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