'A science fiction genius . . . Ted Chiang is a superstar.' GUARDIAN
With Stories of Your Life and Others, his masterful first collection, multiple-award-winning author Ted Chiang deftly blends human emotion and scientific rationalism in eight remarkably diverse stories, all told in his trademark precise and evocative prose.
From a soaring Babylonian tower that connects a flat Earth with the firmament above, to a world where angelic visitations are a wondrous and terrifying part of everyday life; from a neural modification that eliminates the appeal of physical beauty, to an alien language that challenges our very perception of time and reality, Chiang's rigorously imagined fantasias invite us to question our understanding of the universe and our place in it.
'United by a humane intelligence that speaks very directly to the reader, and makes us experience each story with immediacy and Chiang's calm passion.' CHINA MIEVILLE
Ted Chiang was born in Port Jefferson, New York, and currently lives outside Seattle, Washington. In 1990 he won the Nebula Award for his first published story, Tower of Babylon . Following this triumph, his stories have won him numerous other awards, making him one of the most honoured writers in contemporary SF.
Title: Stories of Your Life and Others
Author: Chiang, Ted
ISBN: 9781529039436
Binding:
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Publication Date: 2020-06-11
Number of Pages: 352
Weight: 0.2551 kg
Shining, haunting, mind-blowing tales . . . this collection is a pure marvel. [Ted] Chiang is so exhilarating, so original, so stylish he just leaves you speechless. I always suggest a person read at least 52 books a year for proper mental functioning but if you only have time for one, be at peace: you found it. * Junot Diaz *
United by a humane intelligence that speaks very directly to the reader, and makes us experience each story with immediacy and Chiang's calm passion. * China Mieville, Guardian *
Ted is a national treasure... each of those stories is a goddamned jewel. * Cory Doctorow *
Meticulously pieced together, utterly thought through, Chiang's stories emerge slowly...but with the perfection of slow-growing crystal. * Lev Grossman *
Chiang writes seldom, but his almost unfathomably wonderful stories tick away with the precision of a Swiss watch - and explode in your awareness with shocking, devastating force. * Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) *
He puts the science back in science fiction - brilliantly. * Booklist (Starred Review) *
[Chiang] confirms that blending science and fine art at this length can produce touching works, tales as intimate as our own blood cells, with the structural strength of just-discovered industrial alloys. * Seattle Times *
Essential. You won't know SF if you don't read Ted Chiang. * Greg Bear *
Chiang is the real deal. His debut collection, Stories of Your Life and Others is one of the finest collections of short fiction I have read in the last decade. These tales possess the imaginative frisson that is a trademark of the best conceptual fiction, but, also bespeak a confident prose style and a willingness to take chances in tone and narrative structure. * Ted Gioia *
His stories mirror the process of scientific discovery: complex ideas emerge from the measured, methodical accumulation of information until epiphany strikes. . . . The best science fiction inspires awe for the natural properties of the universe . . . Mr Chiang's writing manages all of this. * The Economist blog *
Chiang derides lazy thinking, weasels it out of its hiding place, and leaves it cowering. * Washington Post *
The stories range widely in time, subject and style but are united by a patient but ruthless fascination with the limits of knowledge. * Ed Park, Los Angeles Times *
Throughout all his work, though no more so than in Stories, you can feel his months of removing sentences from his stories. Perhaps that he writes so little does something good for him, or maybe it's just that he doesn't write enough. * Choire Sicha *
It will not take readers new to these stories very long to appreciate their quality and beauty. * https://www.sfsite.com *
I think Chiang is one of the great science fiction short story writers of all time . . . it's not often these days that I have that What? What? Wow! experience. Chiang does it for me practically every time. There's no wonder he keeps winning awards - he really is just that good. I generally try not to simply burble incoherently that things are brilliant and you have to read them, but faced with stories this awesome, that's pretty much all I can do. * Jo Walton, Tor.com *
Ted Chiang's stories are lean, relentless and incandescent. * Colson Whitehead *
A science fiction genius . . . Ted Chiang is a superstar. * Guardian *