Cuando Pedro me prestó este libro diciéndome que el autor era muy bueno, tengo que confensar que no conocía nada de este autor. Y después de haber leído el libro, solamente me puedo preguntar por qué no había leído nada antes de Ted Chiang.
Las historias son de lo más interesante que he leído de ciencia ficción últimamente. El autor demuestra una gran imaginación al narrarnos mundos fantásticos, pero al mismo tiempo tan cercanos al nuestro, que tardas un rato en ver las sutiles diferencias que el autor te cuenta. Espacialmente, esto me pasó en la primera historia del libro Tower of Babylon.
En la parte final del libro, Ted Chiang nos explica la inspiración que le llevó a escribir cada una de las historias. En esos breves párrafos te das cuenta del cuidado y esmero que el autor empleó en cada una de las historias. Ya sea de la biblia, del mito judío del Golem o de una petición para escribir una historia de ficción en una revista científica.
Praise for Ted Chiang and Stories of Your Life and Others
«The stakes are high in all Chiang’s stories, for their social and existential implications concern him as much as their construction… He puts the science back in science fiction-brilliantly.»
–Booklist (starred review)
«‘Hel Is the Absence of God’ is perhaps one of the best fantasy novellas ever written… [It] alone would justify the rest of the material in Stories of Your Life and Others. But the collection does not need this kind of support. Summarizing these stores does not do justive to Chiang’s talent. Seemingly ordinary ideas are pursued ruthlessly, their tendons flayed, their bones exposed, Chiang derides lazy thinking, weasels it out of its hiden place, and leaves it cowering.»
–The Washington Post
«Ted Chiang’s collection is probably -without exaggeration- the most anticipated short story collection of its generation.»
–The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
«Rarely does a new voice stand out as quickly and as forcefully as Ted Chiang’s. He takes a novel’s worth of ideas, wit, vivid images, and rare insights -and packs them into stories that you can carry in your pocket, taking them out again and again for the sheer pleasure of it.»
–David Brin
«Wonderful, astonishing, and almost pointlessly brilliant. These are among the best stories being written today. This is why I read science fiction.»
–Michael Swanwick
«Ted Chiang is one of the rare contemporary science fiction writers who has made his considerable reputation without producing one novel. His stories brim with originality and seduce with their complexity.»
–Ellen Datlow
«One of our very best writers. Prepare: Ted Chiang will astonish you.»
–James Patrick Kelly
«Every once in a while an SF writer comes along who combines meticulous craftsmanship with so much human feeling that the resulting stories grip the reader and will not let go. Theodore Sturgeon and Ursula K. Le Guin are writers like that. Ted Chiang belongs in the same company.»
–Nancy Kress
«A wonderfully imaginative, lyrical writer. Stories such as ‘Towers of Babylon’ take the breath away. This is important work.»
–Jack Dann
«Chiang’s combination of translucent prose, emotional depth, meticulous research, and soaring imagination is as rara as it is wonderful. The publication of his first collection is tryly cause for celebration.»
–Karen Joy Fowler
Ya cambiando de tema, este libro hace el número 25 de todos los libros que leí este año, lo cual indica que no voy nada mal, dado que tenía planeado llegar a esta cifra dentro de un mes. Como siga así las cosas, no creo que tenga problema en alcanzar la cifra de 50 libros.
Más libros leídos este año en: Propósitos para el 2007 (I): 50 Libros
