“ Tower of Babylon” is set in ancient Mesopotamia. Two Chiang stories fit squarely into this subgenre: “Tower of Babylon” and “Seventy-Two Letters.” In other words, how could people hundreds or thousands of years ago have imagined their future? What technologies could they have foreseen, using their (now obsolete) scientific theories?

I call “science fiction from an imaginary past” a specific and uncommon subgenre of science fiction: stories that are set in the future as seen from a point in the past.

Science Fiction from an Imaginary PastĬolorized version of the famous Flammarion engraving In any case, spoilers don’t really matter for Ted Chiang’s stories. Their value almost never comes from surprising twists and endings, and most are perhaps even more enjoyable on a second read. They’re not totally spoiler-free, but they’re not spoiler-heavy either. Here are some notes and thoughts from each. Each session covered two to three stories, arranged by theme. So it felt fitting to discuss the entirety of his oeuvre over seven salons. The fact that you can know an author’s work fully, especially one as great as Ted Chiang, is attractive. Except for the most recent material, it’s all included within two books: Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation: Stories. Second, you can literally read his entire body of work in a short time. All are of excellent quality several are masterpieces and have won prizes. First, he makes sure that his stories are real good. His most famous work is “Story of Your Life,” the basis for the movie Arrival.Ĭhiang’s slow publishing pace implies two things. He’s been publishing stories since 1990, but very few of them: only 18 over 31 years. His style is clear, lucid, and usually optimistic. Most people who know me probably know Ted Chiang at this point, but in case you don’t: Chiang is an American writer, specializing in short science fiction. One of the things I did, from January to August, is hosting seven Interintellect salons - online discussions, in the form of a book club - about (almost) all of Ted Chiang’s short stories. The end of 2021 is nigh now is a good time to reflect back on the year. Article first published on the Atlas of Wonders and Monsters Substack.

Arrival short story ted chiang