Exhalation Audiobook By Ted Chiang cover art

Exhalation

Stories

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Exhalation

By: Ted Chiang
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Dominic Hoffman, Amy Landon, Ted Chiang
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories—two published for the very first time—all from the mind of the incomparable author of Stories of Your Life and Others

Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, revelatory.

Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine.

In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.

Accolades & Awards

Locus Award
2020
Anthologies & Short Stories Locus Award Science Fiction Thought-Provoking Short Story Mind-Bending Literary Fiction Genre Fiction Fiction Suspenseful
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Editor's Pick

From the Author who brought us Arrival
"Ted Chiang’s stories are incomparable. They are mathematical and uniquely scientific, but not hard to understand, and they never fail to deliver on an emotional level. His most famous work—Stories of Your Life and Others (which contains the story that was the basis for the movie Arrival)—made me cry when I first heard it. That's something I can’t say for the movie, even though Denis Villeneuve is my favorite director of all time. In my mind, Chiang is a modern day Italo Calvino: an empath who can simultaneously tap into the perspectives of totally alien or inanimate entities, and deliver absolutely mind-blowing and borderline-mystical plots and concepts. His reputation and writing certainly deserve a top-notch cast of narrators, and Exhalation uses them to full effect. Offering an experience that feels as ancient as it does futuristic—as if life was one big circle."
—Michael D., Audible Editor

Thought-provoking Concepts • Philosophical Depth • Excellent Narrators • Creative Premises • Diverse Storytelling

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The book overall was great. Lots of interesting ideas. However, I find that if a male can't do a female voice well or vice versa it always takes me out of the story. The female reader was particularly bad when it came to male voices. Her voice sounded like a voice you'd use to make fun of someone like they are dumb. Hence all her male characters sound like they are supposed to be dim. It's not really the case if you read it without her voice. It changed the tone of the story for me. This was surprising for me since I find that female readers typically do a better job with male voices than the other way around.

Great book. Not so great reading.

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All the stories are thought provoking and diverse. A few themes reoccur but all the stories are fresh although of differing quality and length. Most of our current social order is replicated, our social order as envision by CA and NY conventions. There is no creativity there whatsoever or any challenges to that world view. He actually challenges creationism as if that was in any way relevant today. On top of that, he mixes determinism and quantum theory. More apparently profound than actually philosophical in any way above the level of a mediocre intro to philosophy class.

Despite these few critical things. TC is a good writer and I will be looking for more work from him. Ted tackle some of today’s social norms that’s more ripe for dissection than straw men you have erected here.
The readers are good but I wish that they would not try to act out voices and just read.

Some great and some not so great.

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An amazing mix of technology and philosophy in a highly information dense stories. I love how Ted takes weighty topics and applies the lens of the practical or even day to day. Highly enjoyable and would recommend

In you are fan of black mirror

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Read it. Don't listen to it. Ted Chiang is very thought provoking, but the actors don't always got their roles. A great mix of works.

Great

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It has been about two years now since I read this book, and the stories in it have really made me think about our life and how society deals with innovations that raise existential questions. The story about the lifecycle of software objects speaks to the imagination in the current discussions around generative AI. Highly recommend this book to anyone.

Fantastic book that still makes me think 2 years after reading it

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