Stories of Your Life and Others in Beyond Reality

Aug 30, 2012 Banner rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi

I'm not a writer, but as a reader I can say that writing short stories would be hard work. You have to build a universe, develop characters and set up a plot all within a few short pages (I think around 50 pages was the longest story in this book). Ted Chiang does that and more in all of these stories.

I simply enjoyed each one. Granted, I guess I had a favorite ( I don't want to make the other stories jealous, so I'm not telling). I appreciate the direct and unapologetic manner in which themes ...more

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Mar 10, 2017 Kerry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 8-out-of-10, 2010, library, sf, 2021, reread, rereads-in-2021, 10-out-of-10, shorter-than-a-novel, 2017

Previously read single stories, now reading entire collection in 2021.

I managed to finish Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang today which made me happy. His stories are really good and I'm really glad and everything. I'm just sorry it took me quite as long as it did. So many of the stories, I was reading them thinking Dad would really like this. I wish I could have pushed these on Dad sooner, but it's not making me desperately miserable. It's a melancholy kind of sad that reminds you t ...more

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Jun 03, 2017 Tom Britz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ted Chiang writes sf that makes the reader think. I tend to like a bit more movement and action, which is why I gave it four stars rather than five. Most of these stories have a theological bent, which was another reason. Story of your life, is a story that had my imagination engaged and that is something I, as a writer, do enjoy. I did like most of the stories, they just weren't what I tend to read. Ted Chiang is also somewhat of a scientist and he uses a scientist nomenclature. I had to put th ...more

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Sep 05, 2014 Adrienne rated it liked it

Shelves: short-stories, library, science-fiction

My favorites:
"Story of Your Life" - This was my favorite in the collection! The narrative style reflects the plot events, and plus, it's all about learning languages (and physics), with some emotional connection thrown in! Yay!
"Liking What You See: A Documentary" - Well-done documentary style. There's a smallish plot thrown in with Tamera, which keeps it a little more interesting.

Stories that were ok:
"Division by Zero"
"Understand"
"The Evolution of Human Science"

Stories I didn't like:
"Hell Is the ...more

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Oct 19, 2017 mina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It's amazing how Ted Chiang can write diverse themes: medicine, mathematics, linguistics, physics, magic, religion, a reteling of a myth, you name it. Some are harder to understand (blame it on my lack of knowledge), but I like the way he assumes that the readers are able to sufficiently comprehend it, without going on and on explaining things. I particularly like the one titled "Liking what you see: a documentary" because of its documentary style and inventiveness.

Would love to read more of his ...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: anthologies-and-collections, science-fiction

This is a kind of SF few people seem to be capable of writing - literate and literary without being dull, and concerned with the facts of science without just infodumping. Probably more like a 3.5, though. I admit that there were some stories that didn't grab me, but there were some really awesome ones. Particularly the last one. ...more

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Oct 26, 2009 Megan rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

Dipped into this because people said the title story was amazing. Good but not mind-blowing.

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Dec 31, 2011 Richard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, short-stories, 5-stars

One of the best short story collections I've read in a very long time.

A mixture of solid 5 star stories and none less than 4 stars; I'm in a generous mood at the moment so giving the overall collection 5 stars.

If you tend towards the more scientific or mathamatical, but also like messing around with the purely fantastical then I highly reccomend giving this collection a try. ...more

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Aug 25, 2008 bsc rated it liked it

Shelves: short-stories, science-fiction, fiction, read-2010

No doubt Chiang is a great short story writer. All of these stories are original and imaginative and are actually quite intellectually challenging. I wasn't highly entertained by them, but I was highly impressed. ...more

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