3.4 KiB
[RT][Repost] Everything by Ted Chiang
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Author: u/blazinghand Chaos Undivided*
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/3kxox6/rtrepost_everything_by_ted_chiang/
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Score: 13
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Created: 2015-09-14T17:46:32
Post:
Ted Chiang is an author noteworthy for his excellent rational science fiction. I consider his work to be some of the most relevant to this subreddit. He pretty much exclusively writes short stories, and they're all amazing. Many of you will have read his writing, but I feel like since it has been some months since the last "Everything by Ted Chiang" post, it's time for a new post to show our new readers some of the very best this genre has to offer.
The first story of his I read was Exhalation, the story of a scientist who isn't afraid to face the truth. I cried at the end, because the beauty of the story was too much for me. Read it first, and you will end up reading the rest of his work.
Many of his short stories are in a collection for sale on Amazon, or you can read them online. One short story, The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling is not in that collection, but is available online and generally considered an excellent rationalist work.
I highly recommend all of Ted Chiang's stories. I bought the book and have no regrets.
/u/Prezombie recommends two sites with podcasted audiobook versions of Ted Chiang's works.
Thanks to /u/Tasty_Yogurt and /u/CalebJohnsn for finding links, and /u/embrodski for inspiring this thread.
Comments:
u/BadGoyWithAGun [+4] (20 hours later)
I particularly enjoyed Seventy-Two letters and Hell is the absence of God - the idea of "theology fiction" certainly isn't new, but the execution with hindsight of modern knowledge is excellent.
u/None [+2] (20 hours later)
I wish 72 letters was named 46 letters though, for the number of human chromosomes.
u/Cruithne [+4] Light Sith epistemologist (a day later)
I've read almost every piece of fiction he has written, and thoroughly enjoyed almost all of it. I really recommend 'Understand' as an example of a genuinely super-intelligent character, and 'The Story of Your Life and Others' as my favourite of his stories, which includes a truly alien type of alien.
Another thing that I've noticed after getting through the majority of his work is the diversity of it. You can tell that he pushes himself so that he isn't constrained by one particular setting. He's also good with the sorts of organic little details that get you to quickly feel for a character. I sort of have the idea that he's an attentive man in everyday life.
The only thing of his I've read that I don't recommend is 'The Lifecycle of Software Objects'. It's a bit meandering and it never really goes anywhere, though it's well-thought out, and I'm sure there's a niche audience who love it. I just don't get the feeling that it was written for me.
u/gonight [+3] i shouldn't be allowed to change my own flair (13 hours later)
I read exhalation. That was an amazing story. I'm going to work my way through the rest of these works. Thank you.