|
|
|
|
+++
|
|
|
|
|
title = "Arrival - Ted Chiang"
|
|
|
|
|
date = 2017-02-28
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[taxonomies]
|
|
|
|
|
tags = ["books", "ted chiang", "reviews", "scifi", "fantasy"]
|
|
|
|
|
+++
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[GoodReads Summary](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31625351-arrival):
|
|
|
|
|
From a soaring Babylonian tower that connects a flat Earth with the heavens
|
|
|
|
|
above, to a world where angelic visitations are a wondrous and terrifying part
|
|
|
|
|
of everyday life; from a neural modification that eliminates the appeal of
|
|
|
|
|
physical beauty, to an alien language that challenges our very perception of
|
|
|
|
|
time and reality... Chiang's rigorously imagined stories invite us to question
|
|
|
|
|
our understanding of the universe and our place in it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!-- more -->
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
{{ stars(stars=5) }}
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'll be honest (again) and admit that I bought the book because of the movie
|
|
|
|
|
(again -- the same thing happened with [book:All You Need Is
|
|
|
|
|
Kill|6255949]/Edge of Tomorrow). This time, though, I haven't seen the movie
|
|
|
|
|
yet, so I basically "read the movie" before watching it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thing is, this is *not* just about Arrival. It's a collection of stories by
|
|
|
|
|
Ted Chiang -- one of them is "The Story of Your Life", which is the base for
|
|
|
|
|
the movie. You have "Tower of Babylon", which is kinda like a fantasy story if
|
|
|
|
|
said tower actually reached the heavens; "Understand", which takes a stab in a
|
|
|
|
|
"Limitless" kinda-way; "Division By Zero", which talks about mathematics but
|
|
|
|
|
it is actually about people (Pro-tip: if you read, keep an eye on the
|
|
|
|
|
"chapter" numbers; it will explain the story); "Story of Your Life", which,
|
|
|
|
|
again, is the base for the Arrival movie; "Seventy-Two Letters", about a world
|
|
|
|
|
where golems and controlling stuff with written stuff actually exists; "The
|
|
|
|
|
Evolution About Human Science", a short story about a future when humans can't
|
|
|
|
|
keep up with their own science; "Hell is the Absence of God", about angels
|
|
|
|
|
(although the author explains it in the end, it felt much more like "this is
|
|
|
|
|
hell" than anything else); and "Liking What You See: A Documentary", which
|
|
|
|
|
feels like a huge discussion about beauty and propaganda.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In general, all stories are pretty easy and interesting to read -- reading the
|
|
|
|
|
whole book in two days may be a testament of this. The whole style reminded me
|
|
|
|
|
of Asimov's writing, although I could skip half paragraphs without missing
|
|
|
|
|
anything in the story, while that wouldn't be an option in Asimov stories.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The endings are also kinda loose, but because there are hidden clues about the
|
|
|
|
|
story itself in other parts -- like in "Division By Zero" -- I guess I just
|
|
|
|
|
didn't *get* them yet.
|
