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When breath becomes air...
A remarkable story although it requires a willingness to think rather than feel. it postulates an entire alternate universe where the inhabitants show the same curiosity as we do about our universe and come to their own bleak existential view about its ultimate meaning.It is, in short, a parable about the human condition and the pursuit of science. The alien scientist is presented as no different from us in that pursuit even if he is very different from us in his own physical make-up. A highly i...
Not sure how this ended up in my read list, I don't recall reading it BUT it does have a great story by Ted Chiang in it which can also be read online at:http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fic...
Worth it for Peter Beagle's "The Rabbi's Hobby". Also includes Ted Chiang's Hugo-nominated "Exhalation", and many other fine stories. Margo Lanagan's "Night of the Firstlings" could be an excerpt from the Ace double novel "God of Chaos/Thing With Three Souls".
As with all anthologies, I liked some stories more than others. The best were really good.Highlights:* The Big Hit: “Exhalation” • short story by Ted Chiang. Winner: 2009 Hugo, 2008 BSFA. Intricate story of self-exploration by a sentient robot(?). Not reread this time, not one of my favorites of his. 3.5 stars. Here’s a free reprint: http://www.nightshadebooks.com/Downlo... * The Hero • novelette by Karl Schroeder. Capital bugs! Reprint, Dozois #26, 2009, read there first (and second). Part of h...
Ted Chiang makes us plunge into a world where humans are robots, where future history looks like an old Past, where physics is turned upside down with air becoming energy. On top of this we get to experience with the narrator a self-surgery on his mechanical brain, which is vividly portrayed - and let’s not forget about those clocks going faster, all at once, or do they really?
Review for the Hugo award-winning “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang, first posted on Fantasy Literature:An alien scientist describes the life of its people, who are robots that depend on regular refills of the gas argon for their brains to function. They swap out “lungs,” aluminum cylinders filled with this gas, at filling stations, which are community centers for their race. At a filling station, the scientist hears rumors that clocks in several different districts are running too fast, although horol...
4.5 stars
Exhalation by Ted Chiang. Such a strange tale, told from what I think is the perspective of some type of robotic scientist in another universe searching to uncover the mysteries of what makes his kind tick, and in doing so probing into the mysteries of the birth and death of the universe and the beauty and purpose of life. Short and highly recommended! Free audio available on Escape Pod.
Exhalationby TED CHIANGAn exquisite philosophical introspection of the surrounding universe, meaning of life and what makes us who we are. High-class tech sci-fi; if you loved Stories of Your Life and Others, you'll love this one too.Can be read here: http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fic...
This was the first story I read by Ted Chiang and I got shivers toward the end of the story. The narrative is simple and metaphorical. In an alternative universe there exist other beings which brains work based on air pressure. Like us, they are also curious and discover that the nature of their universe tends toward equilibrium and that their own existence tends to bring about that equilibrium. What mindset should those beings adopt? Should they be hopeful, afraid, grateful? Should some beings
Ted Chinag's story was awesome. Others were pretty good and a couple of stinkers..
A fine collection well worth the read, finishing with one of the best short sci-fi stories I have come across in years, it had hints of Asimov, though it obviously wasn't to that quality it did show an understanding of the work. All in all it was a pleasure to read this fine collection, which yet again displayed the use of sci-fi tropes in non-sci-fi settings.
This review is only for Exhalation by TED CHIANG.An exquisite meditation and rejoicing upon existence itself. It came perfectly after recently I've done exactly that!For a second there, it made me think of Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth: A Celebration of Scientific Eccentricity and Self-Experimentation:"I could not ask anyone else to risk themselves for the sake of anatomical inquiry, and because I wished to conduct the dissection myself, I would not be satisfied by merely being the passive su...
Excellent. Each story contains an amazing thought experiment.
Read only Exhalation • (2008) • by Ted Chiang
Inventive, cerebral piece about the mechanics of Being. A philosophical-sci-fi-lit-fic mash-up. Art and science collide in a rough and tender embrace, and change each others disposal sets of lungs out with a sense of communal connection. Chiang faces the impending void of the universe with a skip in his step and in his heartbeat, wresting awe and meaning from it all before the great collapse.
A little patchy at times, but some really good stuff. Heavily biased on the sci-fi side, but the 3 or so fantasy stories were all really strong. Best story was by Chiang.
I've read about half of the stories in this anthology, so unless the other half are absolute shit I feel comfortable in rating it.Ted Chiang, Alastair Reynolds, and Stephen Baxter all have wonderful, interesting stories in there. Especially the Ted Chiang story "Exhalation." God that was amazing.
4.5 stars. Excellent short story. Beautifully written and original, this story shows the power and importance of the Science Ficiton short story. Winner: Hugo Award for Best Short Story (2009).