Adrian & Matt are back on their own this month, reading & talking about the short story collection Exhalation, by Ted Chiang. A wonderful collection of short fiction, we've decided to do something a little bit different from the usual.
With this episode we talk about the power of short-form fiction, why we love Chiang's work so much, and (starting at 43:25) ask each other a couple tough philosophical questions of the type Chiang's stories attempt to answer.
Books & movies mentioned include (links help support Spectology, go to spectology.com if they're not showing up):
- Exhalation, by Ted Chiang
- Stories of Your Life & Others, by Ted Chiang
- Store of the Worlds, by Robert Sheckley
- The Best Stories of JG Ballard
- Her Smoke Rose up Forever, by James Tiptree, Jr
- Tobias Buckell's Patreon
- Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy, ed. NK Jemisin
- The Best SF&F of the Year series, ed. Jonathan Strahan
- Interview w/ Chiang at Powel's
- Interview w/ Walter Mosley at Paris Review
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And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
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19.1: Zone One pre-read: Zombies, Horror, and LitFic
18.2: Waste Tide post-read: social class in science fiction, translation, and the problems with cyberpunk
Critical Conversations: Ning Ken's Ultra Unreal, how to define a genre, and genre gatekeeping
18.1: Waste Tide pre-read: Chinese Language, Literary History, and Science Fiction
17.2: The Killing Moon post-read: Lucid Dreaming, Writing Compelling Villains, and Genre Blending
17.1: The Killing Moon pre-read: Worldbuilding techniques in SF & Fantasy
Critical Conversations: "Critics: Endgame" by Soraya Roberts & the purpose of criticism in a dying world
16.2: Empress of Forever post-read: Journey to the West, Redemption, and Buddhism in Science Fiction
Things We Like July 2019: Anime, Music, Poetry, and Cookbooks
16.1: Empress of Forever pre-read: Space Opera, Epics, & Journey to the West
15.3: Exhalation (collection) by Ted Chiang post-read: AI, Identity, & Metaphysics in Science Fiction
15.2: "Exhalation" post-read: Re-reading stories, philosophy of mind, & the heat death of the universe
14.2: The Raven Tower post-read w/ Reading the End: 2nd Person, Language Games, and Hamlet.
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14.1: The Raven Tower pre-read w/ Reading the End: Fantasy, Genre, & Gender!
13.3 (fixed): Chris Beckett discusses his novel Dark Eden, writing for realism over role models, and how he thinks about genre.
13.2: Dark Eden post-read w/ Kevin Kelsey: From Stories to Legends to Myths to Religion.
13.1: Dark Eden pre-read w/ Kevin Kelsey: Linguistic drift, creating myths, and rogue planets.
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