Exhalation
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Exhalation
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Narrated by:
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Ted Chiang
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Edoardo Ballerini
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Amy Landon
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Dominic Hoffman
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By:
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Ted Chiang
About this listen
This much-anticipated second collection of stories is signature Ted Chiang, full of revelatory ideas and deeply sympathetic characters. In ‘The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate’, a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and the temptation of second chances. In the epistolary ‘Exhalation’, an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people but for all of reality. And in ‘The Lifecycle of Software Objects’, a woman cares for an artificial intelligence over 20 years, elevating a faddish digital pet into what might be a true living being. Also included are two brand-new stories: ‘Omphalos’ and ‘Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom’.
In Exhalation, Ted Chiang wrestles with the oldest questions on earth - what is the nature of the universe? What does it mean to be human? - and ones that no one else has even imagined. And, each in its own way, the stories prove that complex and thoughtful science fiction can rise to new heights of beauty, meaning and compassion.
©2019 Ted Chiang (P)2019 Macmillan Digital AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about Exhalation
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ed Dowding
- 10-17-19
contains lots of content from previous books
so alas it is not as good value as I'd hoped, but still sufficiently entertaining
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-11-24
Ted Chiang is the writer of writers
Outstanding stories that one could listen again and again. There are very few stories that stand as condensed as Chiang's.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-08-21
Ted Chiang is great
I really enjoyed this book, the storys are fun to follow and really trigger deeper thoughts, a must read for sure.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Alexandra
- 03-31-23
It's boring
It's just boring. Some stories are better, some are very boring and I struggled to finish them. And I hated the voice acting even more: it sounded robotic. I wonder if those are actually human.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Panashe
- 01-01-21
Simple ideas
The author does a great job of taking simple or rather well known ideas to their not so obvious conclusions- a nice sci-fi collection.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Seamus Fagan
- 09-23-20
Different
I liked the ideas and the way they are woven into stories. well worth a listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Daniel Smith
- 12-11-21
Don't narrate the weird story first up
Amy Landon narrated a number of stories. And it just so happened, the next book I tried to listen to.
But she also narrated the retarded digimons in one of the first stories. And try as she might, her voice is very very similar. It was not great experience.
I would place a story like that, at the back of the book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-22-23
Worth listening to!
I recently got introduced to his material by a writing course I'm taking, and I can say it's completely worth getting into. This book was weird, thought-provoking, and easy to engage with.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- SMACKOMATIC
- 10-04-23
Too long, not engaging
I struggled to finish this, some good stories, but most are rambling without any red thread.
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