Scan barcode
kltemplado's review
5.0
Wow. It didn't go where I was expecting it too. A great, thought provoking story.
kandicez's review
5.0
I wish I could give more stars! I read this because a friend in a Dystopian book club said this was the short story the episode The Entire History of You of Black Mirror was based on. tEHoY is not one of my favorite episodes, but that's not a bad thing since the worst episode in that series is better than many series best offerings.
This longish short story was terrific! It made me think even more than the episode did about how we all rewrite our own history and we are almost always the hero of our that story. Even when we act much less than heroic.
I will now be looking for everything Ted Chiang ever wrote because he has apparently won many awards and this is nowhere near his best. Wow! Just wow.
This longish short story was terrific! It made me think even more than the episode did about how we all rewrite our own history and we are almost always the hero of our that story. Even when we act much less than heroic.
I will now be looking for everything Ted Chiang ever wrote because he has apparently won many awards and this is nowhere near his best. Wow! Just wow.
plumrain's review
4.0
Quick, compelling read about the dangers of immersive technology that records everything we do. Very similar to the Black Mirror episode, "The Entire History of You," except the main character in this story is far more sympathetic. Though I almost preferred the parallel story of written language being introduced to a rural village.
sonofthe's review
5.0
A man explores memory and truth. Writing comes to the Tiv people.
This is part story, part philosophical exploration of memory and truth. The story is actually story here, though, rising above things like the Platonic dialogues because the characters are actually fleshed out and travel an arc, not simply straw men. Above that, the story enacted by the narrator and the story of the Tiv people, even this overall story by Ted Chiang, illustrate the Truth of Feeling better than a mere argument could. The journey of the narrator and of Jijingi as they develop and explore the topics give me plenty of food for thought and self-examination.
NOTE: I read this as part of the 2014 Hugo Voter Pack.
This is part story, part philosophical exploration of memory and truth. The story is actually story here, though, rising above things like the Platonic dialogues because the characters are actually fleshed out and travel an arc, not simply straw men. Above that, the story enacted by the narrator and the story of the Tiv people, even this overall story by Ted Chiang, illustrate the Truth of Feeling better than a mere argument could. The journey of the narrator and of Jijingi as they develop and explore the topics give me plenty of food for thought and self-examination.
NOTE: I read this as part of the 2014 Hugo Voter Pack.
liacooper's review
4.0
I received a digital ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
My average rating for this collection is 3.7 stars.
1/3 of this collection is pretty stand out (There are couple authors in particular who i'll be checking out further), 1/3 is just not to my taste or interest but otherwise well written, and 1/3 was pretty dry AF.
Overall this collection wasn't bad. I think most readers would find at least a couple stories here they'd really like but because it covers such a diverse range of topics, genres, writing styles, I don't think every story is going to appeal to every reader--if that makes sense? A decent collection for those interested in surveying a lot of speculative authors. Like I mentioned above, I found a couple new names to check out.
I think the stories that worked the best were the ones that pushed the envelope. Several were just a little too...tame, a little too timid and stoic in their execution, but I can't fault the writing in any of the stories--it's all by accomplished and polished writers.
I jotted down brief thoughts about most of the short stories, though I should emphasize they are only BRIEF. My absolute favs have been bolded.
1. Perfidia *3.5
2. Game *4
3. Last Log of the Lachrimosa *4.5 this was one of my favorites, super gripping, great characters, intrigue, interesting spin, would make a great movie
4. The 17th King *3.75 lolz
5. Dispersed by the Sun *3.75 depressing AF
6. The Pile *3.5 good but the ending fell flat for me
7. The Bohemian Astrolabe *4 really entertaining, I would definitely read an entire series of novels set in this universe
8. Tanglefoot *3.75 creepy. there was a lot of stuff about the civil war and trying to set this in an AU that felt...sort of unnecessary and didn't tie back in
9. Hide and Horns *3.25 writing was fine but not the most engaging
10. Balfour and Meriweather *4 the two protagonists were a little hard to set apart but the story itself was a lot of fun and i would totally read a series set in this universe with these characters
11. Last Breath *3.5
12. Younger Women *3.75 gave me a lol
13. White Lines etc *4 (this is the sort of thing I wanted to see from American Gods but which American Gods UTTERLY failed to deliver.)
14. Least of the Deathly Arts *3.75 liked the world, liked the concept, weak ending
15. Water Can't be Nervous *2.5 umm, wtf
16. Valley of the Girls *4 Interesting
17. Sic Him, Hellhounds! Kill! Kill! *4.5 YAS, love the twilight digs, loved the relationship
18. Troublesolving *4 lot of fun and quirky
19. The Indelible Dark *4 I like parts of it
20. The Prayer of 90 Cats *3.75 the beginning is cumbersome but at its heart theres an interesting story
21. The Crane Method *3 good concept and title, eh execution
22. The Tomb of the Pontifax Dvorn *3 the beginning was PAINFULLY slow, lots of bleh exposition, abrupt rushed ending
23. The Toys of Caliban *3 JFC GRRM is a such a Nihilist
24. The Secret History etc *3 not a real short story, eh (I didnt make a note of it but I think this is the Scalzi addition that feels like it was only added so they could put his name on the cover)
25. The Screams of Dragons *4 Man that was dark
26. The Dry Spy *3.75 super boring beginning but great ending
27. He Who Grew Up reading Sherlock Holmes *3.5 eh
28. A Small Price to Pay *4.5 Almost Amadeus w/ more murder
29. The Truth of Fact etc *3 interesting but i found the writing soooo dry
30. Long Walk Home *4.5 OMG!!!!
My average rating for this collection is 3.7 stars.
1/3 of this collection is pretty stand out (There are couple authors in particular who i'll be checking out further), 1/3 is just not to my taste or interest but otherwise well written, and 1/3 was pretty dry AF.
Overall this collection wasn't bad. I think most readers would find at least a couple stories here they'd really like but because it covers such a diverse range of topics, genres, writing styles, I don't think every story is going to appeal to every reader--if that makes sense? A decent collection for those interested in surveying a lot of speculative authors. Like I mentioned above, I found a couple new names to check out.
I think the stories that worked the best were the ones that pushed the envelope. Several were just a little too...tame, a little too timid and stoic in their execution, but I can't fault the writing in any of the stories--it's all by accomplished and polished writers.
I jotted down brief thoughts about most of the short stories, though I should emphasize they are only BRIEF. My absolute favs have been bolded.
1. Perfidia *3.5
2. Game *4
3. Last Log of the Lachrimosa *4.5 this was one of my favorites, super gripping, great characters, intrigue, interesting spin, would make a great movie
4. The 17th King *3.75 lolz
5. Dispersed by the Sun *3.75 depressing AF
6. The Pile *3.5 good but the ending fell flat for me
7. The Bohemian Astrolabe *4 really entertaining, I would definitely read an entire series of novels set in this universe
8. Tanglefoot *3.75 creepy. there was a lot of stuff about the civil war and trying to set this in an AU that felt...sort of unnecessary and didn't tie back in
9. Hide and Horns *3.25 writing was fine but not the most engaging
10. Balfour and Meriweather *4 the two protagonists were a little hard to set apart but the story itself was a lot of fun and i would totally read a series set in this universe with these characters
11. Last Breath *3.5
12. Younger Women *3.75 gave me a lol
13. White Lines etc *4 (this is the sort of thing I wanted to see from American Gods but which American Gods UTTERLY failed to deliver.)
14. Least of the Deathly Arts *3.75 liked the world, liked the concept, weak ending
15. Water Can't be Nervous *2.5 umm, wtf
16. Valley of the Girls *4 Interesting
17. Sic Him, Hellhounds! Kill! Kill! *4.5 YAS, love the twilight digs, loved the relationship
18. Troublesolving *4 lot of fun and quirky
19. The Indelible Dark *4 I like parts of it
20. The Prayer of 90 Cats *3.75 the beginning is cumbersome but at its heart theres an interesting story
21. The Crane Method *3 good concept and title, eh execution
22. The Tomb of the Pontifax Dvorn *3 the beginning was PAINFULLY slow, lots of bleh exposition, abrupt rushed ending
23. The Toys of Caliban *3 JFC GRRM is a such a Nihilist
24. The Secret History etc *3 not a real short story, eh (I didnt make a note of it but I think this is the Scalzi addition that feels like it was only added so they could put his name on the cover)
25. The Screams of Dragons *4 Man that was dark
26. The Dry Spy *3.75 super boring beginning but great ending
27. He Who Grew Up reading Sherlock Holmes *3.5 eh
28. A Small Price to Pay *4.5 Almost Amadeus w/ more murder
29. The Truth of Fact etc *3 interesting but i found the writing soooo dry
30. Long Walk Home *4.5 OMG!!!!
lamusadelils's review
5.0
Lo que podría parecer una historia muy sencilla, estilo blog, contiene muchos elementos complejos acerca del pensamiento, la memoria, el lenguaje y la comunicación humanas.
Chiang no solo demuestra su talento de contar una buena historia en poco espacio, sino de usar ejemplos aparentemente muy simples para ilustrar conceptos complejos, además de siempre incluir los sentimientos, emociones y valores que permean la naturaleza humana cuando lidiamos con situaciones relacionadas a estos conceptos en la vida cotidiana.
Aquí nos presenta los paralelos de los descubrimientos tecnológicos en dos puntos distintos en la historia: por un lado la introducción de la escritura en una sociedad que no la conoce, y por el otro una tecnología en la que es posible grabar toda nuestra vida y accesar esa información constantemente. Las implicaciones de ambos casos van mas allá de lo práctico (tener registros supuestamente exactos) sino que conllevan cambios en nuestras interacciones con otros e incluso en nuestra forma de pensar y de conceptualizar la realidad.
Si bien las dos historias que se cuentan aquí son por si mismas poderosas al comprender el desafío mental y social que implican las nuevas tecnologías en cada una, es en sus paralelos donde encontramos verdadero significado, así como en las reflexiones que podemos sacar de aquí acerca de nuestra sociedad y los avances que encuentra todo el tiempo.
Chiang no solo demuestra su talento de contar una buena historia en poco espacio, sino de usar ejemplos aparentemente muy simples para ilustrar conceptos complejos, además de siempre incluir los sentimientos, emociones y valores que permean la naturaleza humana cuando lidiamos con situaciones relacionadas a estos conceptos en la vida cotidiana.
Aquí nos presenta los paralelos de los descubrimientos tecnológicos en dos puntos distintos en la historia: por un lado la introducción de la escritura en una sociedad que no la conoce, y por el otro una tecnología en la que es posible grabar toda nuestra vida y accesar esa información constantemente. Las implicaciones de ambos casos van mas allá de lo práctico (tener registros supuestamente exactos) sino que conllevan cambios en nuestras interacciones con otros e incluso en nuestra forma de pensar y de conceptualizar la realidad.
Si bien las dos historias que se cuentan aquí son por si mismas poderosas al comprender el desafío mental y social que implican las nuevas tecnologías en cada una, es en sus paralelos donde encontramos verdadero significado, así como en las reflexiones que podemos sacar de aquí acerca de nuestra sociedad y los avances que encuentra todo el tiempo.
Spoiler
Curiosamente, las conclusiones de las dos historias parecen terminar al lado opuesto del que empezaron. Esto no solo nos deja en medio del debate, sino que demuestra que es posible cambiar de perspectiva dependiendo de nuestro entorno.f18's review
At the time I read all of the stories in this I was interested in. I may come back to it another time or maybe not.
Stories read:
Perfidia by Lewis Shiner
Game by Maria Dahvana Headley
The Last Log of the Lachrimosa by Alastair Reynolds
The Bohemian Astrobleme by Kage Baker
The Prayer of Ninety Cats by Caitlín R. Kiernan
A Small Price to Pay for Birdsong by K. J. Parker
The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling by Ted Chiang