Exhalation: Stories

Not a bad book, some stories are really interesting other are pretty boring. The author have good idea and will make you think about really interesting problem but the quality of writting is average. Everything seems super cold and analytic, human character and interaction are often just used as a tool to make a point and are uninteresting. Sometime it's really feel like a scholar paper more than a fiction.

I don't read science fiction, but I was curious about this book as it was listed by the New York Times as one of the five best fiction books of 2019. It stretched me, and I'm glad of the stretch. I found intriguing ideas and stories in a genre which I'd been inclined to dismiss. There is a wide range of stories here, but all are dense with questions of philosophy and ethics. In the months since reading, I have continued to mull several of the stories. I am eager to read more of Ted Chiang.

The book is a series of mostly good short stories. I know it's very intelectual to write these with a plot that basically goes nowhere and draws no conclusion other than showing off a setting, but I like stories with a distinct ending. Doesn't have to be happy. Just conclude something. Some of the stories do end and those are great, hence the four stars.