"What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven's other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets?"
-Shamelessly copied from the Goodreads summary, because how could I top this description?
This month we selected Stories of Your Life and Others (2002), a collection of 8 short stories by Ted Chiang that were previously published between 1990 and 2001. As you can tell, these stories cover a vast range of sci-fi-adjacent topics, but all deal with timeless human emotions and concerns. One of the stories, "Story of Your Life" was later adapted into the (masterpiece) film Arrival (2016).
Join us this month as we discuss the stories, and see if any of the technological concerns at end of the last century are a little too relevant in 2025.
Please bring a recommendation for a future book club pick!
