Exhalation

Exhalation by Ted Chiang, 350 pages

Ted Chiang is not a prolific writer; in Exhalation, his second published volume of short stories, there are only two works that were not previously published elsewhere. This is unfortunate because there is nothing I would love more than for Chiang to churn out a volume of brand new short stories every year. He somehow manages to be supremely elegant and profound in every single one of these stories and he makes it look completely effortless. How can he be so good at creating detailed scientific thought experiments (branching quantum universes! time travel!) AND sympathetic, flawed, relatable, memorable characters all in the span of a single short story? I actually took notes (a thing I almost never do while reading) about "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" because I loved it so much.

If, as is the case for many folks, your only experience of Chiang's craft is the movie version of Story of Your Life (aka Arrival), do yourself a favor and pick up Exhalation. Then go back and pick up Stories of Your Life and Others. Chiang is a master of the sci-fi short story.