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With his debut novel, The Grace of Kings, taking the literary world by storm, Ken Liu now shares his finest short fiction in The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. This mesmerizing collection features all of Ken's award-winning and award-finalist stories.
After thousands of years searching, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. There are two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds.The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches.
In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity's genius-animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species: anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend.
From best-selling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.
Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist, and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchy—from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of Mars. Now he’s confined inside the Dilemma Prison, where every day he has to get up and kill himself before his other self can kill him.
The Western Front, 1916. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong and the wind in the leaves. Where have the mud, blood, and blasted landscape of no-man's-land gone? For that matter, where has Percy gone? Madison, Wisconsin, 2015. Police officer Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive - some say mad, others allege dangerous - scientist who seems to have vanished. Sifting through the wreckage, Jansson find a curious gadget.
With his debut novel, The Grace of Kings, taking the literary world by storm, Ken Liu now shares his finest short fiction in The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. This mesmerizing collection features all of Ken's award-winning and award-finalist stories.
After thousands of years searching, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. There are two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds.The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches.
In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity's genius-animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species: anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend.
From best-selling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.
Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist, and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchy—from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of Mars. Now he’s confined inside the Dilemma Prison, where every day he has to get up and kill himself before his other self can kill him.
The Western Front, 1916. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong and the wind in the leaves. Where have the mud, blood, and blasted landscape of no-man's-land gone? For that matter, where has Percy gone? Madison, Wisconsin, 2015. Police officer Monica Jansson is exploring the burned-out home of a reclusive - some say mad, others allege dangerous - scientist who seems to have vanished. Sifting through the wreckage, Jansson find a curious gadget.
When Ivan Pritchard signs on as a newbie aboard the Mad Astra, it's his final, desperate stab at giving his wife and children the life they deserve. He can survive the hazing of his crewmates, and how many times, really, can near-zero g make you vomit? But there's another challenge looming out there, in the farthest reaches of human exploration, that will test every man, woman and AI on the ship - and will force Ivan to confront the very essence of what makes him human.
Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.
Having just celebrated her 26th birthday in 1976 California, Dana, an African-American woman, is suddenly and inexplicably wrenched through time into antebellum Maryland. After saving a drowning white boy there, she finds herself staring into the barrel of a shotgun and is transported back to the present just in time to save her life. During numerous such time-defying episodes with the same young man, she realizes she's been given a challenge.
Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of 20th-century literature—a chilling and still-provocative look at a postapocalyptic future.
Doro is an entity who changes bodies like clothes, killing his hosts by reflexor design. He fears no one...until he meets Anyanwu. Anyanwu is a shapeshifter who can absorb bullets and heal with a kiss and savage anyone who threatens her. Together they weave a pattern of destiny unimaginable to mortals.
Following a scalding row with her mother, 15-year-old Holly Sykes slams the door on her old life. But Holly is no typical teenage runaway: A sensitive child once contacted by voices she knew only as "the radio people," Holly is a lightning rod for psychic phenomena. Now, as she wanders deeper into the English countryside, visions and coincidences reorder her reality until they assume the aura of a nightmare brought to life.
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
When prospector Bob Broadhead went out to Gateway on the Heechee spacecraft, he decided he would know which was the right mission to make him his fortune. Three missions later, now famous and permanently rich, Robinette Broadhead has to face what happened to him and what he is...in a journey into himself as perilous and even more horrifying than the nightmare trip through the interstellar void that he drove himself to take!
Sangamon Taylor's a New Age Sam Spade who sports a wet suit instead of a trench coat and prefers Jolt to Scotch. He knows about chemical sludge the way he knows about evil -- all too intimately. And the toxic trail he follows leads to some high and foul places.
Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, Red Mars is the first book in Kim Stanley Robinson's best-selling trilogy. Red Mars is praised by scientists for its detailed visions of future technology. It is also hailed by authors and critics for its vivid characters and dramatic conflicts.
For centuries, the red planet has enticed the people of Earth. Now an international group of scientists has colonized Mars. Leaving Earth forever, these 100 people have traveled nine months to reach their new home. This is the remarkable story of the world they create - and the hidden power struggles of those who want to control it.
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
This book contains 26 of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. They represent the considered verdict of the Science Fiction Writers of America, those who have shaped the genre and who know, more intimately than anyone else, what the criteria for excellence in the field should be. The authors chosen for the Science Fiction Hall Fame are the men and women who have shaped the body and heart of modern science fiction; their brilliantly imaginative creations continue to inspire and astound new generations of writers and fans.
This new edition of Ted Chiang's masterful first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, includes his first eight published stories. Combining the precision and scientific curiosity of Kim Stanley Robinson with Lorrie Moore's cool, clear love of language and narrative intricacy, this award-winning collection offers listeners the dual delights of the very, very strange and the heartbreakingly familiar.
Stories of Your Life and Others presents characters who must confront sudden change-the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens-while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the amazing and much-lauded title story (the basis for the 2016 movie Arrival), a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection. A clever pastiche of news reports and interviews chronicles a college's initiative to "turn off" the human ability to recognize beauty in "Liking What You See: A Documentary." With sharp intelligence and humor, Chiang examines what it means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty and constant change, and also by beauty and wonder.
Originally published at: A Girl that Likes Books
This was the September pick for the Sword and Laser book club
First impression
I have to admit that I was reluctant at first to give this book a try. First because I haven't read a lot of short stories so I wasn't sure this collection would grab me. Second, I went with the Audio version because my library didn't have it and I decided just to go with my Audible credit. The only other collection of short stories I've read recently was METAtropolis (also in audio) and while I enjoyed it, it didn't amaze me. Let me tell you, Stories of Your Life and Others might be the book that convinced me to try short stories more often.
Final thoughts
The collection is fantastic, I wasn't even finished and I kept telling people they had to give it a try. While very different, the short stories flow nicely. The fact that this time there were all written by the same person is really evident, even though the voice on each story changes quite a bit changing point of views and even presenting one as a documentary.
Goodreads describes the collection as multiple stories where the characters encounter sudden change. However, more than just sudden change, I believe that the common thread that this collection has is preconceptions and destroying or debunking them. From the concept of beauty to mathematics and even procreation, Chiang gives a new light to all of these subjects with touches of science fiction and even a bit of fantasy.
All the worlds presented are beautifully constructed; at no point did I get the feeling that what was being presented made no sense in the respective universe, and this is extremely important to me. This is not to say that the elements that made these stories feel outside of our world weren't there. They are obviously there without making it feel overdone and so my mind entered each story smoothly.
As might be expected, I liked some of the stories better than other, my favorites being Story of your Life and Others, which deals with the concept of language and physics, and Liking what you See, which deals with the concept and perception of beauty. Extra points for Understand not using the "we only use 10% of our brains" trope and actually going with something different.
Both narrators did a terrific job. Only at Liking What you See do we get to hear them at almost the same time, but I think they were perfect choices all the way through.
71 of 73 people found this review helpful
How could the tower of babel be built, how would a mad scientist view the world, What if we could make ourselves unaffected by people's looks, and what if Angel sightings were common everyday occurrences and we could see the deceased in heaven or hell? These are some of the stories this collection examines with their social, scientific and psychological impact. Some stories better than other, aimed more at plot and themes so some readers may find them boring.
31 of 33 people found this review helpful
These are some of the best scifi stories I've read in awhile. Many of them ive in a deep world that could easily be turned into full novels. The characters are interesting and engading and the plots are wild.
This is scifi that even non-scifi people will love
25 of 27 people found this review helpful
TOWER OF BABYLON, UNDERSTAND, HELL IS THE ABSENCE OF GOD, LIKING WHAY YOU SEE
This was a hard book to rate. It has eight stories or novelettes. Of the eight I absolutely loved the four stories mentioned above and the other four, bored me to tears. Chiang's writing is super intelligent, but most of the stories come off mostly as science papers, not stories. Chiang, digs into each subject with gusto and examines it from every angle. Basically if you like the subject matter, than you will love the paper, but if you are not interested to begin with, your not going to become interested. I will talk about the ones I loved and keep in mind I hated the others.
LIKING WHAT YOU SEE
This was my favorite, mostly because it is a subject matter I have always been interested in and one in which most writers ignore. It is all about beauty, what is beauty, and how people react to beauty or lack of. In this futuristic story, a technology has been invented that makes people blind to beauty. Some societies have this tech installed in their kids and at eighteen they can decide if they want it removed. I think we all agree that our looks aid in our confidence and in our success or lack of. It affects how people are treated in society. A young good looking woman walks in a room and it is as if the other women don't even exist. As a sidebar, not talked about in this book, my son recently mentioned that the average height of American Men is 5'9". The woman in the room were surprised and thought that was a little on the short side. It occurred to me, that the reason they thought that was that when they see a shorter man, they don't see him. He is not significant, he is a non person and does not matter. He does not exist in their minds.
TOWER OF BABYLON
This is the closest to a real story. As mentioned in the STORY NOTES, the Hebrews story of the Tower is more detailed, than what is in the bible. The Hebrew Tower, takes day to walk around and a year to climb. This all makes for a mind boggling picture in your head.
HELL IS THE ABSENCE OF GOD
This is a kind of biblical, paranormal story with angels that do as much harm as good. It is also a very detailed and thoughtful look into faith.
UNDERSTAND
I guess it takes a genius to write about being a genius. We are always being told we only use a small percentage of our brain. In this story Chiang explores what would happen if you could use your whole brain and it comes with a few twists.
The other stories I probably would have liked, had they been subject matter I cared about. Division by Zero, is very mathy and turned my brain to mush. My wife, who is a math teacher would have probably loved it. The Story of Your Life, is a linguistic study. It is a story about aliens and how we would learn to speak with them. Included in the story is a woman talking to her dead child. How these tied together, I don't know as I could not finish the story. While I am interested in how we could ever communicate with aliens, that are not humanoid in any way, I could not get into the nuts and bolts of it all. Seventy Two Letters is about golems, automatons and magic. In the Story Notes, Chiang mentions the Jewish Religion as the spark for the story. I should have been interested, but it just seemed like he sucked all the fun out of it. The Evolution of Human Science was written for the Journal, Nature. Thank God, it is very short, for it has the power to put the common layman into a coma.
40 of 45 people found this review helpful
Each story is quite different and a pleasant surprise. Glad I got this recommendation and decided to try it. Golems and problems of reproduction; what happens when the Tower of Babel actually reaches heaven; really alien languages; etc. So many ideas put together in unexpected ways. A real treat. The sound editing could have been a little better. Some stories start with zero gap from the previous story which can be a little confusing while listening.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I got interested in Ted Chiang's work after watching the recent Amy Adams movie, The Arrival. I was thoroughly engrossed in that movie and wanted to read the work that inspired it. That's how I came across this collection of short stories.
I can only say, thank god I did. I have not been this engrossed in a story or stories in years. Not since the first time I read Titans and the Lions of Al Rassan by Gavriel Kay. What's so amazing about Chiang is that his way of writing just hooks you right from the beginning, essential for short story form. He drops you into a new world. It doesn't bother explaining everything immediately. He lets the reader figure out the rules of the world and that discovery is half the magic.
In addition the characters feel real and are all engrossing. Even Stratford and the other characters from 72 Letters, the only story I didn't really like, were engaging and wanting to know what happens kept me going right to the end. The other stories were all fantastic, with my two favorite probably Understand and Hell is the Absence of God. I was most engrossed in these stories, but most moved by Stories of Your Life.
Finally the narration by Abby Cardenas and Todd Mclaren was phenomenal. As much as the stories engrossed me listening to these two kept me completely riveted. I hope to listen to more narrations by them in the future.
16 of 19 people found this review helpful
I really loved this collection of stories. All of them are thought provoking and emotionally engaging. I had to stop between stories just to collect myself and revel in the reaction to each finale. Every tale is performed well by a many actors adding character and depth. Highly recommended.
14 of 17 people found this review helpful
What disappointed you about Stories of Your Life and Others?
This is one of the few audiobooks I’ve purchased that I struggled to get through. I’m a sci-fi fan and although many of the author’s concepts were intriguing, I was expecting a little more excitement in the stories. I found it difficult to care about the characters and stay interested with the plots. If you enjoy long lectures on science, mathematics, and theology you’ll probably appreciate this book more than me
What didn’t you like about Abby Craden and Todd McLaren ’s performance?
Abby and Todd did the best they could with the material they had.
27 of 34 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
An interesting and often fun collection of short stories, that get a bit bogged down with noticeable exposition. Ted Chiang does a marvelous job of examining religious mythology in ‘Hell Is The Absence Of God’, while other stories drawing from similar source material are merely entertaining. If you’re religious, you’ll probably enjoy these stories more than I did. These are the author’s early works, and you can experience his progression as a writer over the course of this collection, which is neat. The strongest stories, whose themes and ideas linger, are ‘Understand’, ‘Story Of Your Life’, ‘Hell Is The Absence of God’, and ‘Liking What You See: A Documentary’. The other four tales are entertaining, but... lack something to make them spectacular.
All that being said, Abby Craden and Todd McLaren do an amazing job at narration. Their efforts are slightly marred by odd leveling issues with the audio file, but still shine through.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
I picked up this book in anticipation of the movie Arrival. I was surprised that the original story was only one of several, but I couldn't be more satisfied. Healthy pace, original storytelling, beautiful descriptions and sharp wit is present throughout all the short stories and I loved it. Give it a try for sure.
12 of 15 people found this review helpful