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. * 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. * New York Times * Deeply beautiful stories . . . Each thoughtful, elegantly crafted story poses a philosophical question; Chiang curates all nine into a conversation that comes full circle, after having traversed remarkable terrain. * New York Times 'The 10 Best Books of 2019' * Chiang's writing . . . inspires awe for the natural properties of the universe; it renders the fundamentals of science poignant and affecting. * 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 'Books of the Year 2019' * A beguiling mix of compassion and awe, worthy of comparisons to the work of Philip K. Dick . . . An immensely pleasing book. * San Francisco Chronicle * We all know Ted Chiang is a fucking genius, but: Ted Chiang is a fucking genius. -- Carmen Maria Machado 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 * Ted Chiang's stories are lean, relentless, and incandescent. -- Colson Whitehead Illuminating, thrilling . . . Individual sentences possess the windowpane transparency that George Orwell advocated as a prose ideal. -- Joyce Carol Oates * New Yorker * '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 Breaks down what it really means to be human. * Time * So jammed with brilliant, mind-exploding ideas it's like the author packed fireworks between the covers. * National Public Radio * 'Meticulously crafted and innovative short fiction . . . Masterful and striking . . . plucks both heartstrings and gray matter in equal measure.' * Washington Post * '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.' * Publisher's Weekly 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.' * Kirkus 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.' * Booklist starred review * 'Chiang is always thought provoking, and his latest collection is no exception.' * Library Journal 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 * Chiang has explored conventional tropes of science fiction in highly unconventional ways . . . each [story is] . . . likely to linger in the memory the way riddles may linger - teasing, tormenting, illuminating, thrilling.' * New Yorker * Ted Chiang is a superstar . . . Every sentence is the perfect incision in the dissection of the idea at hand * Guardian * Ted Chiang has long been one of science fiction's best-kept secrets. * GQ * As perfect a collection of stories as I have ever read * Junot Diaz *