"Stories of Your Life and Others" by Ted Chiang

I have been interested in Ted Chiang’s science fiction stories ever since I watched the movie “Arrival” that is based on his “Story of Your Life”. The movie and the original story examine the human concept of time. Chiang uses Fermat’s principle from physics to posit that time can be perceived in non-linear manner. Read the story – it’ll definitely mess with your mind.

Overall, I am very glad I finally picked up this collection. There are eight stories total, and at around 270 pages, it is a pretty short book. However, all stories are meticulously researched and have intricately developed worlds and characters. It is hard for me to pick a favorite. They were all really good. I did enjoy the three that had biblical/mythological undertones slightly more. There is a story about the tower of Babel, a story inspired by the Book of Job and a story based on the Jewish folklore about golems. If you like sci-fi and want to read something intellectually stimulating, this is a great book to pick up. I also appreciated the author’s notes in the back where he explained how he got ideas for each of the stories or what prompted him to structure them a certain way.

A very enjoyable and thought-provoking book. 5 out of 5 stars.