First published 2002. Picador paperback, 2020, pp 338, c.95,000 words.
This is a collection of eight fantasy short stories. It includes Chiang’s first published story Tower of Babylon, Story of Your Life, which was adapted into the very successful film Arrival, starring Amy Adams, and Liking What You See: A Documentary for which Chiang tuned down a Hugo Award on the grounds that the writing was rushed and it didn’t turn out as he had hoped.
All these stories are thoughtfully written and thought provoking. Chiang’s writing style is quite dense but accessible. They are not easy reads; we are challenged to think about big concepts: the nature of God, beauty, mathematical certainty, and so on. Religious stories, belief and the response to that belief are themes in a number of these stories. What is undoubtedly true is that there is a highly original mind at work here, and well deserving of our attention. While there is entertainment in these stories, the deep themes and their intelligent exploration make the collection slightly dry and humourless, although there is humour in individual scenes and character reactions. Chiang’s world is dark with metaphysics, but not with blood.
© William John Graham, May 2022