Exhalation

 

Exhalation by Ted Chiang (2019 Knopf Publishing Kindle 368p)

 

A couple of years ago I read Ted Chiang’s first short story collection “The Story of Your Life and Others” mainly on the strength of the movie “Arrival” which was based on the title story. I was impressed by what I read and one or two of the stories remain in my thoughts still. So, I was expecting great things from this second collection and by in large I wasn’t disappointed.

There are 9 stories in this book, some much longer than others. Without going into details about each, I can say they all broadly cover the ground of technology, morality, free will and the large effects of seemingly small choices. The variety of stories probably isn’t as great as in the first book with several of them being similar “Black Mirror” type explorations of a new technology but there are several outliers involving such things as an Arabian Nights type tale and a narrative told by a parrot.

Chiang as at his best when he’s describing new ideas and new technologies. There’s a great sense of wonder as his stories unfold. Unfortunately, some of the stories never really live up to the ideas. They go on too long and outlive their welcomes as the neat ideas end up being used as the basis of mundane soap operas. When he’s firing on all cylinders however, he is among the best short SF writers out there.

My favourite from this collection is the title story but I think a couple of others will also remain in my thoughts. If you want an influx of fresh ideas you can’t go wrong with this book.