‘One of the most exciting writers in science fiction . . . CHIANG Although dark in premise, these parables – threaded through with references to ancient mythology and folklore – are filled with hope and humanism: a balm for anxious souls.’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others, the basis for the Oscar-nominated Arrival, the long-awaited second collection of stories, each of which remakes speculative fiction in its own unique fashion.

‘Deeply beautiful stories . . . Each thoughtful, elegantly crafted story poses a philosophical question; Chiang curates all nine into a conversation that comes full circle, after having traversed remarkable terrain.’ NEW YORK TIMES ‘THE 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2019’

‘Chiang’s writing . . . inspires awe for the natural properties of the universe; it renders the fundamentals of science poignant and affecting.’ ECONOMIST

‘A scintillating cavalcade of ideas . . . Chiang breathes new life into well-worn SF themes such as time travel, artificial intelligence and parallel universes.’ FINANCIAL TIMES, ‘BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2019

From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others – the basis for the Academy Award nominated film Arrival – comes a groundbreaking second collection of short fiction: nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories. These are tales that tackle some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries that only Ted Chiang could imagine.

In ‘The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate’, a portal through time forces a fabric-seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past errors and the temptation of second chances. In the epistolary ‘Exhalation’, an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications not just for his own people, but for all of reality. In ‘Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom’, the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will.

In Exhalation, Ted Chiang addresses the most fundamental of issues – What is the nature of the universe? What does it mean to be human? – alongside others that no one else has even imagined. And, each in its own way, the stories prove that complex and thoughtful science fiction can rise to new heights of beauty, meaning, and compassion.

Includes 'Story of Your Life' the basis for the major motion picture Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner, and directed by Denis Villeneuve.

With Stories of Your Life and Others, his masterful first collection, multiple-award-winning author Ted Chiang deftly blends human emotion and scientific rationalism in eight remarkably diverse stories, all told in his trademark precise and evocative prose.

From a soaring Babylonian tower that connects a flat Earth with the firmament 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 fantasia invites us to question our understanding of the universe and our place in it.

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

Previously published as Stories of Your Life and Others

With his masterful first collection, multiple-award-winning author Ted Chiang deftly blends human emotion and scientific rationalism in eight remarkably diverse stories, all told in his trademark precise and evocative prose.

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 fantasia invites us to question our understanding of the universe and our place in it.

Um dos autores de mais destaque no cenário da ficção científica, Ted Chiang pode ser descrito como um escritor pouco prolífico: tem apenas quinze trabalhos publicados, entre contos e novelas curtas. A pequena produção contrasta com sua expressiva quantidade de premiações: os oito textos reunidos em História da sua vida e outros contos ganharam no total nove importantes prêmios, dentre eles Nebula, Hugo, Locus, Sturgeon, Sidewise e Seiun.

Publicadas originalmente em volumes diversos, as narrativas de Ted Chiang estão pela primeira vez reunidas em uma coletânea. Entre as histórias dotadas de rigor científico, humanidade e lirismo estão “A torre da Babilônia”, na qual um minerador sobe a famosa torre com a missão de escavar a abóbada celeste; “Divisão por zero”, uma reflexão precisa e devastadora sobre o fim da esperança e do amor, e “História da sua vida”, na qual uma linguista aprende um idioma alienígena que modifica sua visão de mundo.

Com uma prosa límpida e ideias às vezes desconcertantes, Chiang comprova seu inegável talento para a boa ficção científica: a capacidade de contar uma história humana, extremamente bem escrita, na qual a ciência funciona como expressão dos questionamentos mais profundos enfrentados pelos personagens. Um livro repleto de ideias originais e passagens inesquecíveis.

O conto que dá título ao livro, “História da sua vida”, foi adaptado para o cinema sob o título A Chegada, numa produção de Denis Villeneuve, estrelada por Amy Adams e Jeremy Renner, e indicada aos prêmios de Melhor Roteiro e Melhor Direção no Festival de Veneza e selecionada como o filme de abertura do Festival do Rio. A Chegada estreia no Brasil em grande circuito em fevereiro de 2017.

“Ted Chiang escreve com pouca frequência, mas seus textos, quase inexplicavelmente maravilhosos, transcorrem com a precisão de um relógio suíço e explodem na consciência do leitor com impacto e força devastadores.” Kirkus Reviews

“Contos audaciosos, desafiadores e comoventes. As narrativas se assemelham ao trabalho de um Philip K. Dick menos metafísico ou de um Borges com mais caracterização e elementos de ciência.”Publishers Weekly