Arrival Writer Ted Chiang’s Latest Book Is on Sale for $1.99
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Ted Chiang is primarily known as a writer of sci-fi short stories. Even if you don’t typically read science fiction, you probably know his work. Director Denis Villeneuve adapted Chiang’s short story “Story of Your Life” into the movie Arrival. Despite being a working writer for several decades now, Chiang has published only two story collections, one in 2002, and another in 2019. If you’re familiar with his work, it’s not hard to imagine why he publishes so infrequently: he puts an incredible amount of thought and craft into each story. These aren’t your typical sci-fi stories of exciting adventures on faraway planets. These are thoughtful pieces that take wildly far-out premises and work through what it might be like if they actually happened. Right now, you can pick up a digital copy of his most recent collection, Exhalation: Stories, for just $1.99 on most platforms, ranging from Kindle to Kobo. Exhalation: Stories doesn’t include “Story of Your Life” (that’s collected in Story of Your Life and Others), but it has nine new stories, each of which is fascinating, thought-provoking, and exciting. In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad discovers a way to travel through time. He wants to use it to correct a mistake he made, but things don’t go quite as planned, because time travel paradoxes get in the way. The year it camae out, this story won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novelette. “The Lifecycle of Software Objects” is a story from 2010 about people buying and raising artificial intelligence pets over the course of years. These “digients” seem to become sentient, but what happens to them when the companies that make them shift their attention away from these digital creatures? (Chiang has also weighed in on AI in recent years, arguing that AI models are not, in fact, conscious). The titular story, “Exhalation,” is a brainy tale told in the form of a scientist’s journal entry. The scientist, who exists in an alternate world and is made of metal, is trying to figure out why clocks are running fast. The story deals with existential issues, as well as entropy and the second law of thermodynamics. No one writes stories like Ted Chiang. Despite their out-there premises, the stories in this collection are intelligent, thoughtful, intriguing, yet still deeply human. Each one is a small miracle. Getting these nine pieces of one-of-a-kind fiction for $1.99 is like a gift. Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.
Exhalation: Stories, by Ted Chiang for $1.99
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Originally published at www.ign.com.
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