Robot robot robot
Since he's been writing, and winning awards, for ten years now, I must have been living under a rock to not have heard of Ted Chiang. More surprisingly, given the awards he's received (the Nebula award among them), many of his stories are available on-line. I just read The Lifecycle of Software Objects, and it's a brilliant piece of fiction. It doesn't sound like it from the title; just ignore the title. It's surprisingly deep, almost entirely character-driven sci-fi, and it's hidden behind very utilitarian prose. This isn't the kind of story to sweep you in with amazing turns of phrase and moments of description that will make you weep with beauty. No, this story is not that at all, and yet it is this way because the prose serves the story, not the other way around.
But this is not a review. Just go and read it. It's not long.
But this is not a review. Just go and read it. It's not long.