A collection of short stories that will make you think, grapple with big questions, and feel more human. The best kind of science fiction.

Beautifully written and conceived, this is a marvelous, astonishing collection that we would do well to read before the worlds it conjures are upon us. Urgently recommended.

One of the most exciting writers in science fiction . . . Although dark in premise, these parables – threaded through with references to ancient mythology and folklore – are filled with hope and humanism: a balm for anxious souls.

Deeply beautiful . . . This book is as generous as it is marvelous, and I’m left feeling nothing so much as grateful for it.

Chiang’s writing . . . inspires awe for the natural properties of the universe; it renders the fundamentals of science poignant and affecting.

A scintillating cavalcade of ideas . . . Chiang breathes new life into well-worn SF themes such as time travel, artificial intelligence and parallel universes.

Ted Chiang is a superstar . . . Every sentence is the perfect incision in the dissection of the idea at hand.

Illuminating, thrilling . . . Individual sentences possess the windowpane transparency that George Orwell advocated as a prose ideal.

Chiang is a virtuoso of short fiction . . . This collection is a stunning achievement in speculative fiction, from an author whose star will only continue to rise.

Breaks down what it really means to be human

Meticulously crafted and innovative short fiction . . . Masterful and striking . . . plucks both heartstrings and gray matter in equal measure

Ted Chiang’s stories are lean, relentless, and incandescent.

We all know Ted Chiang is a fucking genius, but: Ted Chiang is a fucking genius.

Ted Chiang has no contemporary peers . . . His name deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Carver, Poe, Borges, and Kafka . . . You will inhale Exhalation in a single, stunned sitting, because true genius doesn’t come along nearly as often as advertised. This is the real thing.

Ted Chiang writes with such a matter-of-fact grace and visionary power that one simply takes on faith that his worlds and his characters exist, whether they are human or robot or parrot.

A beguiling mix of compassion and awe, worthy of comparisons to the work of Philip K. Dick . . . An immensely pleasing book

So jammed with brilliant, mind-exploding ideas it’s like the author packed fireworks between the covers

Chiang produces deeply moving drama from fascinating first premises . . . These stories are brilliant experiments, and [Chiang’s] commitment to exploring deep human questions elevates them to among the very best science fiction.

This stellar collection . . . begins with an instant classic . . . Visionary speculative stories that will change the way readers see themselves and the world around them: This book delivers in a big way.

Each of his devastating stories mines little pieces of humanity from unexpected points of view.

Explores emotional and physical landscapes with precise and incisive prose . . . Chiang remains one of the most skilled stylists in SF, and this will appeal to genre and literary fiction fans alike.

Chiang is always thought-provoking, and his latest collection is no exception.

Chiang is a master. . . . The Alice Munro of science fiction

[Chiang] is so good that this book qualifies as an event.

Ted Chiang has long been one of science fiction’s best-kept secrets.