"The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" really grabbed me because it felt like Sinbad, and I loved those stories as a child.

"Exhalation" I read years ago, and I don't think it's any better the second time.

"What's Expected of Us" is a great concept but Chiang should have done more with it.

"The Lifecycle of Software Objects" feels like an absurdly long outline. It lacks any flesh or feeling to make it worth the unbearable tedium of its current length.

"Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny" has a great setup.

"The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling" is a fascinating (if a little ham-fisted, but I can forgive that as a necessity of the short story format) discussion of memory and we both preserve and distort it. I feel like this was one of the stories where his spark of an idea hit the page with the same heft that he intended.

"The Great Silence" was SO SAD. OH NO.

"Omphalos" is an interesting new take on science and religion and how they intertwine. Feels like it's a ring from the bell that "What's Expected of Us" struck.

"Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom" was a cool concept, I liked how many different story lines there were.