Exhalation

Reviews / Votes

A collection of short stories that will make you think, grapple with big questions, and feel more human. The best kind of science fiction. -- Barack Obama Beautifully written and conceived, this is a marvelous, astonishing collection that we would do well to read before the worlds it conjures are upon us. Urgently recommended. -- Alan Moore One of the most exciting writers in science fiction . . . Although dark in premise, these parables - threaded through with references to ancient mythology and folklore - are filled with hope and humanism: a balm for anxious souls. * The Daily Telegraph * Deeply beautiful . . . This book is as generous as it is marvelous, and I'm left feeling nothing so much as grateful for it. * The New York Times * Chiang's writing . . . inspires awe for the natural properties of the universe; it renders the fundamentals of science poignant and affecting. * The Economist * A scintillating cavalcade of ideas . . . Chiang breathes new life into well-worn SF themes such as time travel, artificial intelligence and parallel universes. * Financial Times * Ted Chiang is a superstar . . . Every sentence is the perfect incision in the dissection of the idea at hand. * The Guardian * Illuminating, thrilling . . . Individual sentences possess the windowpane transparency that George Orwell advocated as a prose ideal. -- Joyce Carol Oates, <i>The New Yorker</i> Chiang is a virtuoso of short fiction . . . This collection is a stunning achievement in speculative fiction, from an author whose star will only continue to rise. * Los Angeles Review of Books * Breaks down what it really means to be human * TIME * Meticulously crafted and innovative short fiction . . . Masterful and striking . . . plucks both heartstrings and gray matter in equal measure * The Washington Post * Ted Chiang's stories are lean, relentless, and incandescent. -- Colson Whitehead We all know Ted Chiang is a fucking genius, but: Ted Chiang is a fucking genius. -- Carmen Maria Machado Ted Chiang has no contemporary peers . . . His name deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Carver, Poe, Borges, and Kafka . . . You will inhale Exhalation in a single, stunned sitting, because true genius doesn't come along nearly as often as advertised. This is the real thing. -- Blake Crouch Ted Chiang writes with such a matter-of-fact grace and visionary power that one simply takes on faith that his worlds and his characters exist, whether they are human or robot or parrot. -- Karen Russell A beguiling mix of compassion and awe, worthy of comparisons to the work of Philip K. Dick . . . An immensely pleasing book * San Francisco Chronicle * So jammed with brilliant, mind-exploding ideas it's like the author packed fireworks between the covers -- NPR Chiang produces deeply moving drama from fascinating first premises . . . These stories are brilliant experiments, and [Chiang's] commitment to exploring deep human questions elevates them to among the very best science fiction. -- <i>Publisher's Weekly</i>, starred review This stellar collection . . . begins with an instant classic . . . Visionary speculative stories that will change the way readers see themselves and the world around them: This book delivers in a big way. -- <i>Kirkus Reviews</i>, starred review Each of his devastating stories mines little pieces of humanity from unexpected points of view. * Vulture * Explores emotional and physical landscapes with precise and incisive prose . . . Chiang remains one of the most skilled stylists in SF, and this will appeal to genre and literary fiction fans alike. -- <i>Booklist</i>, starred review Chiang is always thought-provoking, and his latest collection is no exception. -- <i>Library Journal</i>, starred review Chiang is a master. . . . The Alice Munro of science fiction * LitHub * [Chiang] is so good that this book qualifies as an event. * Newsday * Ted Chiang has long been one of science fiction's best-kept secrets. * GQ *