--- product_id: 212473898 title: "Exhalation" price: "VT5710" currency: VUV in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/212473898-exhalation store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # Exhalation **Price:** VT5710 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Exhalation - **How much does it cost?** VT5710 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/212473898-exhalation) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories—two published for the very first time—all from the mind of the incomparable author of Stories of Your Life and Others Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, revelatory. Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he 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 mistakes and second chances. In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. 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. Review: A superb collection containing brilliant, thought-provoking works of science fiction. - The finest stories in the second Ted Chiang collection, Exhalation, are amongst the most thoughtfully written and thought-provoking works of fiction that I've ever read, and every single piece contained herein is a worthwhile journey. This master craftsman investigates, upends, and inverts big ideas by employing scientific tools: His well considered works are exemplar speculative fiction pieces that touch upon concepts no other genre can explore. Although I greatly enjoyed Chiang's first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, this new one is richer, more scientifically interesting, and very, very emotionally engaging. (An aside: I didn't care for 'Understand' in the first collection---the only story that he's written that I'd describe as commonplace---but I liked or relished all of the others.) Scientific explorations of religious themes/myths are present in both books, but I prefer 'Omphalos' in this new collection over his previous forays ('Hell is the Absence of God,' 'Seventy-Two Letters,' and 'Tower of Babylon'), as it cleverly underpins it's religion with science and then makes superb ontological extrapolations from there. The revelations in this piece about the day of creation and cosmology are truly brilliant fictional conceits. Even though I typically avoid time travel stories, 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate' proves that Chiang's talents, humanitarian voice, and clever plotting can create a strong entry in this category. It's a good, somber yet hopeful story. The ideas explored in the short tales between the long ones are thought-provoking catalysts for discussion on free will ('What's Expected of Us'), communication with non-human beings ('The Great Silence'), and the nature of nurture ('Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny'). Even these smaller works are valuable jewels. The two longest tales are amongst the best in the collection. 'The Lifecycle of Software Objects' explores Artificial Intelligence in such a way that the treatment of these beings (digients), their development, and the parameters of their worlds mirror our own kindnesses, weaknesses, and biological biases. In this story, Chiang brilliantly reconciles humanity's best traits and flaws with the inexorable, amoral, and valuable advances of science. 'Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom' is an exploration that asks questions I've never even considered in relation to divergent quantum realities. As was the case with my favorite story from this author's first collection ('Liking What You See: A Documentary'), thoughtful and believable characters investigate inchoate moral issues that an advancement of science has presented, and the conclusions drawn by the inhabitants of this dizzying web continue to linger in my mind... My other favorite story in the collection, and one of the most daring works in this author's entire catalogue is the titular tale, 'Exhalation.' This universe is very different from our own: The protagonist's detective work/surgery/scientific musings are odd, memorable, and deftly done, and the thematic connections between this alien place and our own reality only enrich the experience. The bizarre setting of this tale is atypical for Ted Chiang (and feels a bit more like Greg Egan), but Chiang's subtle characterization, warmth, optimism, and introspection are present and make the big, strange ideas resonate universally and feel very personal. Ted Chiang's second story collection is one of the best science fiction books that I've ever read. I recommend it highly and rank it alongside other favorite works in this genre like Diaspora (Greg Egan), Dark Integers and Other Stories (Greg Egan), Permutation City (Greg Egan), Quarantine (Greg Egan), Appropriate Love (Greg Egan), Childhood's End (Arthur C. Clarke), Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke), Star Maker (Olaf Stapledon), Forge of God (Greg Bear), The Electric Ant (Philip K. Dick), The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (Philip K. Dick), Dragon's Egg (Robert L. Forward), Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. LeGuin), The Lotus Eaters (Stanley G. Weinbaum), Raft (Stephen Baxter), The Frame-by-Frame (qntm), I Don't Know, Timmy, Being God Is a Big Responsibility (qntm), The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal (Cordwainer Smith), and Black Fog (Donald Wandrei). Review: ❤Ted Chaing is a Master Sci-Fi Storyteller❤ - "The universe began as an enormous breath being held. Who knows why, but whatever the reason, I am glad that it did, because I owe my exsistance to that fact. All my desires and ruminations are no more and no less eddy currants generated by the gradual exhalation of our universe. And until that exhalation is finished, my thoughts live on." 🌟🌟🌟🌟Star Ratings of each short story: 1. The Merchant at the Alchemist's Gate (5/5 stars). 2. Exhalation (5/5 stars) 3. What's Expected of Us (4/5 Stars) 4. The Lifecycle of Software Objects (3/5 Stars) 5. Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny (2/5 stars) 6. The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling (5/5 stars) 7. The Great Silence (4/5 stars) 8. Omphalos (3/5 stars) 9. Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom (5/5 stars) *Overall book rating taken from averaging the short story star ratings. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars 🔥🔥Overall feelings regarding this book: This is the second book that I have read by Ted Chiang and just like "The Story of Our Lives and Others" I got alot of scientific applications for real life abstract ideas and these short stories exploring those ideas. Ted Chiang always seems to do a profound job of really captivating and capturing my attention and my imagination. He really plays with ideas and gets me thinking. While I don't think I can love anything as much as I loved "The Story of Our Lives and Others", I really enjoyed this book. The short stories in this book "Exhalation" where, for the most part, very on brand for him and wonderfully captivating. But there were a few short stories in this I did not find I loved as much as I had hoped and could not relate to. It's not to say they were poorly written (I don't think Ted could manage that even if he tried), and they weren't bad stories, but they were a bit more bound in straight detail and fact rather containing an emotional element that would draw my attention to them. I'm sure you can tell from the ratings above, which stories caught my attention better than others. But this is my biggest reason why "Exhalation" fell shorter for me than "The Story of Our Lives and Others". I still highly recommend this if you enjoy science fiction. Ted Chiang is a true master a science fiction story telling. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #9,409 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #14 in Science Fiction Short Stories #36 in Short Stories (Books) #545 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 14,480 Reviews | ## Images ![Exhalation - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71RUx22ZVuL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A superb collection containing brilliant, thought-provoking works of science fiction. *by S***) on November 13, 2024* The finest stories in the second Ted Chiang collection, Exhalation, are amongst the most thoughtfully written and thought-provoking works of fiction that I've ever read, and every single piece contained herein is a worthwhile journey. This master craftsman investigates, upends, and inverts big ideas by employing scientific tools: His well considered works are exemplar speculative fiction pieces that touch upon concepts no other genre can explore. Although I greatly enjoyed Chiang's first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, this new one is richer, more scientifically interesting, and very, very emotionally engaging. (An aside: I didn't care for 'Understand' in the first collection---the only story that he's written that I'd describe as commonplace---but I liked or relished all of the others.) Scientific explorations of religious themes/myths are present in both books, but I prefer 'Omphalos' in this new collection over his previous forays ('Hell is the Absence of God,' 'Seventy-Two Letters,' and 'Tower of Babylon'), as it cleverly underpins it's religion with science and then makes superb ontological extrapolations from there. The revelations in this piece about the day of creation and cosmology are truly brilliant fictional conceits. Even though I typically avoid time travel stories, 'The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate' proves that Chiang's talents, humanitarian voice, and clever plotting can create a strong entry in this category. It's a good, somber yet hopeful story. The ideas explored in the short tales between the long ones are thought-provoking catalysts for discussion on free will ('What's Expected of Us'), communication with non-human beings ('The Great Silence'), and the nature of nurture ('Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny'). Even these smaller works are valuable jewels. The two longest tales are amongst the best in the collection. 'The Lifecycle of Software Objects' explores Artificial Intelligence in such a way that the treatment of these beings (digients), their development, and the parameters of their worlds mirror our own kindnesses, weaknesses, and biological biases. In this story, Chiang brilliantly reconciles humanity's best traits and flaws with the inexorable, amoral, and valuable advances of science. 'Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom' is an exploration that asks questions I've never even considered in relation to divergent quantum realities. As was the case with my favorite story from this author's first collection ('Liking What You See: A Documentary'), thoughtful and believable characters investigate inchoate moral issues that an advancement of science has presented, and the conclusions drawn by the inhabitants of this dizzying web continue to linger in my mind... My other favorite story in the collection, and one of the most daring works in this author's entire catalogue is the titular tale, 'Exhalation.' This universe is very different from our own: The protagonist's detective work/surgery/scientific musings are odd, memorable, and deftly done, and the thematic connections between this alien place and our own reality only enrich the experience. The bizarre setting of this tale is atypical for Ted Chiang (and feels a bit more like Greg Egan), but Chiang's subtle characterization, warmth, optimism, and introspection are present and make the big, strange ideas resonate universally and feel very personal. Ted Chiang's second story collection is one of the best science fiction books that I've ever read. I recommend it highly and rank it alongside other favorite works in this genre like Diaspora (Greg Egan), Dark Integers and Other Stories (Greg Egan), Permutation City (Greg Egan), Quarantine (Greg Egan), Appropriate Love (Greg Egan), Childhood's End (Arthur C. Clarke), Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke), Star Maker (Olaf Stapledon), Forge of God (Greg Bear), The Electric Ant (Philip K. Dick), The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (Philip K. Dick), Dragon's Egg (Robert L. Forward), Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. LeGuin), The Lotus Eaters (Stanley G. Weinbaum), Raft (Stephen Baxter), The Frame-by-Frame (qntm), I Don't Know, Timmy, Being God Is a Big Responsibility (qntm), The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal (Cordwainer Smith), and Black Fog (Donald Wandrei). ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ❤Ted Chaing is a Master Sci-Fi Storyteller❤ *by T***A on February 18, 2020* "The universe began as an enormous breath being held. Who knows why, but whatever the reason, I am glad that it did, because I owe my exsistance to that fact. All my desires and ruminations are no more and no less eddy currants generated by the gradual exhalation of our universe. And until that exhalation is finished, my thoughts live on." 🌟🌟🌟🌟Star Ratings of each short story: 1. The Merchant at the Alchemist's Gate (5/5 stars). 2. Exhalation (5/5 stars) 3. What's Expected of Us (4/5 Stars) 4. The Lifecycle of Software Objects (3/5 Stars) 5. Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny (2/5 stars) 6. The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling (5/5 stars) 7. The Great Silence (4/5 stars) 8. Omphalos (3/5 stars) 9. Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom (5/5 stars) *Overall book rating taken from averaging the short story star ratings. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars 🔥🔥Overall feelings regarding this book: This is the second book that I have read by Ted Chiang and just like "The Story of Our Lives and Others" I got alot of scientific applications for real life abstract ideas and these short stories exploring those ideas. Ted Chiang always seems to do a profound job of really captivating and capturing my attention and my imagination. He really plays with ideas and gets me thinking. While I don't think I can love anything as much as I loved "The Story of Our Lives and Others", I really enjoyed this book. The short stories in this book "Exhalation" where, for the most part, very on brand for him and wonderfully captivating. But there were a few short stories in this I did not find I loved as much as I had hoped and could not relate to. It's not to say they were poorly written (I don't think Ted could manage that even if he tried), and they weren't bad stories, but they were a bit more bound in straight detail and fact rather containing an emotional element that would draw my attention to them. I'm sure you can tell from the ratings above, which stories caught my attention better than others. But this is my biggest reason why "Exhalation" fell shorter for me than "The Story of Our Lives and Others". I still highly recommend this if you enjoy science fiction. Ted Chiang is a true master a science fiction story telling. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Incredible, beautiful, moving *by A***Y on June 28, 2019* Last month (May, 2019), the world became a little brighter – Ted Chiang published Exhalation, a short story collection brimming with another nine short stories. Some of these stories were published previously while others are brand new and original to this collection. All are heart-stoppingly gorgeous. Throughout, this collection contains the same balance of fanciful speculation and hard science fiction as his last collection. This, in short, is very Ted Chiang. Of these nine stories, I was moved to tears by five. I was so moved by three that I immediately sent quotes to friends and family. During one, I had to pause twice: once to cry, and once to head to Amazon and order two more copies for friends. It’s safe to say that I’m a fan. As a whole, the collection is admittedly a little disjointed. Most of the stories in this collection are a familiar length, while one is over a hundred pages. No matter how good the stories are (and they are good – have I said that enough?) this was jarring. The stories also swing wildly in tone and genre. While Chiang’s last collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, covered a similar tonal scope, something about these felt somehow disjointed. Knowing how much care Chiang puts into his work I can only believe that this impression is intentional. I’m afraid, however, that the effect was lost on me. Exhalation: As the titular story from this collection, Exhalation may be perfect. I hardly know what to say about it. The story is breathtaking and very, very Chiang. Told from the perspective of characters it’s immediately apparent are not entirely human, it covers so many of the science fiction throughlines: the impact scientific advancement has on society, the way personal perspectives limit research, where consciousness comes from, where memory resides. "None of us can remember much more than a hundred years in the past, and written records – accounts that we ourselves inscribed but have scant memory of doing so – extend only a few hundred years before that. How many years did we live before the beginning of written history? Where did we come from?" Full disclosure: this is the story that moved me so thoroughly I had to buy two more copies for friends. They’re currently in transit. I fully expect that 15 years from now I’ll still be referencing this story (one specific visual in particular). Be forewarned. The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling: This story is a bit of a sleeper. It’s on the longer side for this collection (still not even half the length of the longest story) and uses every page to great effect. While it’s entirely science fiction in familiar ways, Chiang introduces its themes subtly and carefully, so that you’re half-way through before you realize the water around you is boiling and you’re lost to the story. Or at least I was. It may be that I was easy prey for this one, though. It lines up a lot of my favorite themes, delivering them in a way that’s simultaneously intriguingly fresh and comfortingly familiar. It’s also one of the only stories that didn’t remind me of other works of fiction. For me, at least, while it played with all these familiar and beloved bits it was somehow not just unique but singular in that special way only art can be. This story, too, contained the most human characters. There’s something about them – their cares, their woes – that felt elevated, and the characters were more vivid and realized than you really find in short fiction. "Jijingi realized that, if he thought hard about it, he was now able to identify the words when people spoke in an ordinary conversation. The sounds that came from a person’s mouth hadn’t changed, but he understood them differently; he was aware of the pieces from which the whole was made. He himself had been speaking in words all along. He just hadn’t known it until now." Omphalos: Omphalos is perhaps the most ponderous inclusion in this collection. It’s a meditative read, with a very narrow narrative perspective, assembled solely of ruminations. It is a meditation on nothing short of man’s place in the universe, and is exemplar of what I believe is Chiang’s great strength – a fully-realized fictional world, whose oddities, rules, and circumstances he illustrates perfectly as the narrative unfolds. I’ve not encountered anyone does this better than he. "I began my lecture by discussing the growth rings of a tree trunk, and how the thickness of each ring depends on the rainfall during that year of the tree’s growth, so that a succession of narrow rings indicated a period of drought. I explained that by counting back from the year a tree was felled, we can compile a chronology of weather patterns going back many decades, beyond the memory of any person living. The past has left its traces on the world, and we only have to know how to read them." Imagine, now, a world in which the oldest trees have no growth rings at their core. In which the oldest mammals have no growth plates in their bones. What could the far reaches of the past in this world hold? What mystery? What miracle? ## Frequently Bought Together - Exhalation - Stories of Your Life and Others - The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/212473898-exhalation](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/212473898-exhalation) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-06-07*