Stories of Your Life and Others

by Ted Chiang

‘A science fiction genius . . . Ted Chiang is a superstar.’ – Guardian

With Stories of Your Life and Others, multiple-award-winning author Ted Chiang deftly blends human emotion and scientific rationalism in eight remarkably diverse stories, all told in his trademark precise and evocative prose.

The science fiction novella 'Story of Your Life' is the basis for the Academy Award nominated film Arrival.

From a soaring Babylonian tower that connects a flat Earth with the firmament above, to a world where angelic visitations are a wondrous and terrifying part of everyday life; from a neural modification that eliminates the appeal of physical beauty, to an alien language that challenges our very perception of time and reality, Chiang’s rigorously imagined fantasias invite us to question our understanding of the universe and our place in it.

‘United by a humane intelligence that speaks very directly to the reader, and makes us experience each story with immediacy and Chiang’s calm passion.’ – China Miéville

• ISBN10: 1447281985
• ISBN13: 9781447281986
• Publish Date: 19 June 2014 (first published 5 July 2002)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Picador
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[pamela]

Hell is the Absence of God and Story of Your Life are possibly two of the best short stories I've ever read. Everything in this collection means something, and the language choices are very deliberate. These stories are not to be read while distracted. They take profound amounts of concentration. It's High-Concept, unique, diverse, and most of all, and exploratory collection about the human condition.

[remo]

Magnífica colección de historias de CF. Todas tienen un algo que te descoloca mentalmente, como cuando uno se acerca a Greg Egan. La historia en que se basa la peli de "la llegada" (que no he visto) es fantástica en la parte de la ciencia, pero la parte emocional fue la que menos me gustó del libro. La de la matemática que descubre un teorema que no querría descubrir es maravillosa. "Babel" es hipnótica. "Understand" te agarra y no te suelta. La de la caliagnosia es un desborde de fuerza del autor, que hace un documental con decenas de puntos de vista sobre un asunto que es ciencia ficción.
Salvo una o dos que me dejaron un poco meh, el resto son material de primerísima calidad. Absolutamente recomendable.

[arronkau]

A collection of wonderful short stories, full of startling ideas, beautifully explored. This sort of stuff is why I read Sci-Fi.