The Lifecycle of Software Objects in The Alternative Worlds

Jul 27, 2010 Kara Babcock rated it really liked it

Shelves: nebula-nominee, 2011-read, artificial-intelligence, owned, science-fiction, hugo-winner

Anyone else remember Creatures? I played that game when I was younger … I might still have it around somewhere in a closet. Hmm, maybe I should dig it out. Because The Lifecycle of Software Objects reminded me of Creatures (albeit without the breeding). The digients in Ted Chiang's novella are artificially-intelligent software programs who begin as a genome created by software developers. The genome is just a starting place, however, and more complex traits emerge as the digients learn from huma ...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Hirondelle (not getting notifications) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: short-pieces, sf, hugo-award-novellas

Review in progress - sometimes it takes me days and a few edits to say what I want to say and have it sound as coherent as possible. I would rather publish drafts here as an incentive to not forget!

There is something glorious in books that make me emotional, think a lot and then not be totally sure of what was right.

But first a small rant on the physical object. I was disappointed at how hard it was to find this for sale and the price of it. Maybe the release date was wrong, because eventually t Review in progress - sometimes it takes me days and a few edits to say what I want to say and have it sound as coherent as possible. I would rather publish drafts here as an incentive to not forget!

There is something glorious in books that make me emotional, think a lot and then not be totally sure of what was right.

But first a small rant on the physical object. I was disappointed at how hard it was to find this for sale and the price of it. Maybe the release date was wrong, because eventually the (blessed) bookdepository came (as usual) to my rescue. Their free shipping and the exchange rate made this affordable to me. A treat, only borderline justifiable and it does make me sad that many would be readers might not get to read this due to price or being hard to find ( the above bookseller has a weird definition of worldwide shipping). But when the book arrived I was mollified. I am not too picky about books as physical objects, but an hardcover this nice really appeals to me. Nice nice paper, solid binding, cute size, beautiful type setting on two colors, relevant cover, illustrations, and la pièce de résistance sewn folios ( if that is the word). I have heard it book making has been in decay ever since 1500s, this book would not terribly embarrass the 21st century. This small volume costs the buyer lot of money, but it´s also obviously they spent a lot of time, effort and money printing it. ( I will be good and not say any of the very snarky things I am thinking about ebook pricing).

Rather uniquely, the fact that this small volume looks, hopefully, set to still be readable in a couple of centuries makes the plot a little more poignant.

Tangentially : while I appreciate the fact that there are illustrations and related to plot, I actually did not like the illustrations. They were a bit either too literal, and maybe seeming to miss the point. I loved the cover. I dislike very much the blurb, which seems dry and academical, when this is such a character-driven story.

To the story : it is, unsurprisingly for Ted Chiang fans, about love and children and growing. And the lifecycle of software objects, which is not at all a dry academical stuff.

I am not sure if this is the longest Chiang story yet, feels like it, but it could be printing format. I don´t think it is a sign that he wants to start writing novels anytime soon, or that is the setup for one. I have some quibbles about the stopping point, I wish we had continued to look further, into events, into how characters reacted, that one character had taken her insight a little bit further and extrapolated it - but perhaps if the author had I would not be thinking about this story as much, it would not have had as much impact if more were told. So perhaps the length is actually perfect.

I think for some authors this sf "historical" narrative would be the prologue the setup for a long novel. Chiang did not, and I much prefer his take, the creation, the choices, are more important.

A lot of the word of mouth about this was that it was not as good as other past works. I did not find it at all disappointing. I just now wonder why did I not think for myself of a few of the plot´s "what ifs" and "whens" before. ...more

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May 09, 2011 Daniel Roy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sf, novella

This novella made me want to hunt down a Nintendo console and give it a long hug. The title may sound like some dry technical manual, but the story is warm, human, touching and funny. It's the best type of SF story: one that makes you think, makes you smile, and leaves you with a glimpse of deeper understanding of human nature.

Yes, it's that good.

In the near future, companies start producing digients, online AI designed as pets, kind of Tamagotchi on steroids. The novella takes us across a few y ...more

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Dec 28, 2010 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: sf

I really do have trouble reading longer pieces on a computer screen. I find myself skimming things I shouldn't skim, and books with a decent amount of characterization somehow come across as cold. I enjoyed this novella and the ideas that Chiang puts forth, but I think I would have enjoyed it more on paper. ...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Suz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, award-winner, science-fiction, short-stories

A nicely grounded story about dealing with a form of artificial intelligence developed to make pets. It brings out discussions and meditations on how we deal with non-human constructs (artificial or not) and how we treat other forms of intelligence. There is not a lot of action, but a lot of deep thinking with the treatment of "less" developed minds and their roles in our lives.

Bonus cookies for this quote:

"Women who work with animals hear this all the time: that their love for animals must aris ...more

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Feb 23, 2014 Joan rated it it was amazing

It's disturbing that I only discovered Ted Chiang last week, and after finishing this story I have now read his entire life's work. Prolific he's not, but his stories are brilliant and worth the wait. ...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, short-stories, book_club, award_winner

meditative and thoughtful, idea-driven rather than character- or plot-driven, Chiang's novella is a deeply human meditation on interacting with non-human constructs. highly recommended. ...more

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