Chiang does not offer any answers, only approaches, and that is, I believe, a large reason for why his stories ultimately succeed. Each of the stories in this collection explores a variation in what it means to be human and the significance (and insignificance) of our thoughts, decisions, actions in a nihilistic and deterministic universe. (Okay, okay, 'The Lifecycle of Software Objects' could've been a tad shorter - but I still liked it overall.) The standouts for me, however, are 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate,' 'The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling,' 'Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,' and of course, the eponymous 'Exhalation.' Special thanks to for introducing me to that last one several years ago in one of her classes, which largely prompted me to pick up this collection in the first place.įor all the differences in these stories, there is also an unexpected, but much welcome, cohesiveness to them.

This collection is notable in that I actually enjoyed every story in it.

(I enjoy Stephenson very much, but he's a slow-burn kind of guy, you know?) Ted Chiang is perhaps the most cerebral sci-fi author I have read he accomplishes in 30 pages what Neal Stephenson needs 300 pages to do.

Exhalation goodreads