Here to report that this certified sci-fi amateur finished this quite hardcore collection of sci-fi stories and thoroughly enjoyed them! I’m very proud that I managed to stay focused and follow a lot of them, because Chiang does not shy away from complex scientific and technological theories in his work 😅 Sometimes my brain did check out when he would be explaining some theory, but I always managed to come back and enjoy the story!
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I think my favourites were The Lifecycle of Software Objects, The Truth of a Fact, The Truth of a Feeling and Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom. Chiang tackles a lot of weighty topics in these stories, they’re very thought-provoking as well as mind-boggling! One of the shorter stories, The Great Silence, wasn’t as exciting as the others but it also had a very profound effect on me. By that I mean it sent me spiralling a bit into an existential crisis at the fact that we’re all floating on a rock through space with seemingly no other sentient life around us. 🙂
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I’d highly recommend this collection, even if you’re not sure about science fiction! I feel like if I can understand them, truly anyone can 😂