A review by ethan_libra
Exhalation by Ted Chiang

4.0

Ted Chiang is a name that carries a lot of weight in the sci-fi world, having won numerous prestigious awards for his short stories, despite his relatively small list of works over the years. Still, as I saw when reading this collection, these stories are carefully crafted, usually starting with an intriguing question and evolving into a thoughtful examination of a particular character, situation, or concept. I won't take the time to review all of the stories here, but I found that in particular, the stories "Exhalation", "The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling", and "The Great Silence" stood out to me as exceptionally well-made. These stories aren't perfect, and my biggest complaint would probably be how cliché some of the emotional situations are, but when faced with a collection as serenely beautiful and captivating as this, I shouldn't be complaining. Well done, Mr. Chiang.