Exhalation - Book Review

 Exhalation, by Ted Chiang, is a SF book in the form of short stories and novellas.


There were many excellent stories, in many different styles. It already starts with a great time travel story, in a very uncommon ancient fairy tale style.

Then there is a cute conceptual universe, where people run on pressurized air (the book title Exhalation).

The Lifecycle of software objects is about artificial life. I had already read it, but I'm not sure when or how. It is also great and have many thoughts about raising kids, and the responsibilities we have towards AIs.

The truth of fact, the truth of feeling talks about what happens when everything is recorded. I particularly liked the parts about the nature of memory, and how technologies as simple as writing change it.

Omphalos is about a world where the constructed nature of the world is expressed everywhere, and a new fact makes them doubt it (although I would say that in this case the logical thing to assume is that they discovered a clear goal pointed out by their God, not a crisis of faith, and I was a bit surprised not to see this pointed out).

Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom is about quantum universe theory, and devices that allow to communicate between the universes. Beautiful.

(there were some I didn't bother to comment on, the parrots one is very nice)

Then there are story notes, commenting each story, which I always like, but I was a bit surprised to see them in a block at the end instead of after every story. That would be much better because the stories would be fresher in the reader's mind.

Overall, excellent, and a great read for any thoughtful SF fan.


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