Reviews

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

creadsreviews's review against another edition

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5.0

I am always amazed by the creativity of these short stories and the way they make you think

chloejoy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

bradams09's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

book_darner's review against another edition

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I didn't like any of the short stories. I didn't get all the accolades. I didn't think I like his writing style. I made it to 71%, but I couldn't finish it.

yinanization's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

thebookstackattack's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

skeeter4366's review against another edition

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4.0

 The kind of book where I told others about it afterwards. Lovely. I think the macaw one stuck with me the most. Also the idea of writing being parallelled with a technology that changes how we remember things. interesting. 

megancemery's review against another edition

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challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

lkbm's review against another edition

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3.0

* The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate: 4 stars: surprisingly good for what it was.
* Exhalation: 5-stars, top-notch, feels like 1950s era scifi, very good concept.
* What's Expected of Us: 4.5 stars until it says some stupid stuff that implies it doesn't even remotely understand the concept, made me mad by being stupid: 2 stars.
* The Lifecycle of Software Objects: 3.5 stars: feels like it had a bunch of points, none of which were well-explored.
* Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny: 2 stars: boring, uninteresting.
* The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling: 4 stars: good concept.
* The Great Silence: 3 stars: good concept, fine for what it is, but what it is isn't a great read.
* Omphalos: 4 stars: again, great concept, also feels like 1950s era scifi, but not developed as well as it could've been.
* Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom: 4.5 stars: great concept, pretty good story, weird ending that distracts from some of its better points.

milktxa's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

I don’t think I’m big brained enough to fully understand the impact and extent of this writing, but I loved it and it was so thought provoking and such a breath of fresh air.