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Highly recommend "Stories of Your Life and Others". I describe Ted Chiang as a very human sci-fi author, where humanity comes before technology in his stories.
by vrnvu 2y ago
Highly recommend "Stories of Your Life and Others".
I describe Ted Chiang as a very human sci-fi author, where humanity comes before technology in his stories. His work is incredibly versatile, and while I expected sci-fi, I'd actually place him closer to fantasy. Perfect for anyone who enjoys short stories with a scientific, social, or philosophical twist.
Another anthology I'd recommend with fresh ideas is Axiomatic by Greg Egan.
- Squarex 2y agoTed Chiang and Greg Egan are my absolutely favourite authors. Do you know about other similar writers?
- baruchel 2y agoSome stories by Ted Chiang share similarities with those of Borges.
- vrnvu 2y agoLove Borges. In the sci-fi space I'd argue that Ursula K. Le Guin is another must read. She was heavily influenced by taoism (and eastern philosophy). When you approach her work with that in mind, it adds a whole new layer of depth to everything.
- Squarex 2y agoCould you share some tips where to start with him?
- baruchel 2y agoThe most classical book is certainly "Fictions": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficciones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficciones. One of the most known stories in it is "The library of Babel": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Library_of_Babel
- ycombinete 2y agoI’ve never encountered anything like Egan before. I’ve heard Stanislaw Lem mentioned in conversations about him though. But I can’t vouch for the comparison myself as I’ve never read Lem.
- JadeNB 2y agoBoth are fresh voices and well worth reading, but I don't think Lem comes anywhere near Egan's diamond-hard sci-fi. Egan knows, and does, real math; you can sometimes find him at the n-category Café. My impression is that Lem's beautiful philosophical ideas were not accompanied by comparable math or physics knowledge.
- svilen_dobrev 2y agoLem is humanist. The sci-fi part is only a vehicle to make you think (eh, if you want to), and while things are written in 1950-80... they are not outdated, because humans are essentially same, for millenias. Just read "Stories of commandor Pirx". Somewhere in the middle of them, you may notice something like the current frenzy around LLMs and ethics. But he goes further..
- bookofjoe 2y agoThe last time I responded to a similar comment by suggesting asking an AI, I was downvoted to hell. I won't do it again. I will note, though, that the list generated was excellent and provided rewarding information.
- Squarex 2y agoI've tried but it has provided pretty generic authors I've known and are great, but are not at all that similar to those two. https://gist.github.com/jansuchomel/b3da1f8e2588e13ba9fc005902ad6520 https://gist.github.com/jansuchomel/b3da1f8e2588e13ba9fc0059... Any ideas for a better prompt?
- breakitmakeit 2y agoAs a fan of both I highly recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Time_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Time_(novel)) for something deeply imaginative, empathetic, and technically plausible.
- smallerfish 2y agoExurb1a is also worth reading. He's better known for his YouTube video essays (which vary between bleak and profound, usually within the same video), but he has published several books. I got about halfway through Fifth Science before leaving it on a plane (yesterday); I plan to rebuy it so that I can finish it. Here's one of his stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKouPOhh_9I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKouPOhh_9I
- andrei_says_ 2y agoA bit “harder” sci-fi but incredible world building - Alastair Reynolds. I recommend his short stories first - Galactic North is a good start. Or Beyond the Aquila Rift. House of Suns is a good first novel.
- ericrallen 2y agoI also really enjoyed Chiang’s “Exhalation” anthology. There are some great short stories in both collections.
- m_fayer 2y agoWhile he’s very much unique, the one writer he brings to my mind is Borges, just a bit more humane and steeped in real technology and theory.
- justinpombrio 2y agoChiang writes science-fiction, Egan writes physics-fiction, and Borges wrote philosophy-fiction.
- RangerScience 2y agoI think of this as “humanist” sci-fi; which has heavy overlap with “golden era” SF. Other authors I’d put in this category are Gene Roddenberry (TOS and TNG, particularly), Asimov, PKD, Vonnegut and Theodore Sturgeon. Personally - fantasy stories are “and-then” stories, SF are “what-if”. Humanist sci-fi is then asking “what-if” about very human things, as opposed to technological things, although the two are always related. However, practically speaking, literature vs sci-fi vs fantasy (vs young adult!) are more marketing cohorts than anything else; what kind of people buy what kind of books?
- satvikpendem 2y agoI recommend the story Hell is the Absence of God in the book you mentioned; as someone non-religious, it was quite interesting to see how people generally feel about deities and their awesome power, from this short story [0]. [0] https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50e08e65e4b0c2f4976972df/t/588a2e70725e25b6981e64d1/1485450864394/Chiang+Hell+Is+the+Absence+of+God.pdf https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50e08e65e4b0c2f497697...