Friday, September 9, 2011
Opinions on Ted Chiang
After the past two weeks, I can definitely say that I thoroughly enjoy Ted Chiang's writing. A lot of people said they were a bit put off by all the technical details he includes in his stories, but to be honest, they were my favorite part. Reading that really felt like discovering an entirely new world, and the feeling at the end of a story was much like that of finally understanding the solution to a difficult problem. Whether he was describing a possible version of our world or a new one entirely, I always came away from his stories feeling like I had really learned something, invigorated with the spirit of exploration and discovery. Ted Chiang doesn't write to tell a story so much as to explore an idea, and if you go into his stories with the same attitude, they will be extremely rewarding. It will be interesting moving on to Cory Doctorow, who similarly writes to explore the implications of an idea, but with more of a focus on narrative and more of an influence from current or likely near future events.
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I really didn't expect to enjoy Ted Chiang as much as I did because I tend to like a different style of story. I was amazed by how much enthusiasm I had for the works that we read. I loved how in depth he thought out his plots. His imagination is so unique and truly remarkable to me. I would never be able to think up ONE new reality yet he managed to create new and newer worlds every time I started a storyt. I even enjoyed the way he wrote. It was a change from the norm and I think added to the credibility of his plotline. I never once questioned his validity as an author. Final opinion: Ted Chiang is AWEsome!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I mentioned this in class, but I really thought he was only an average writer, in regard to his prose style. He was descriptive enough to convey his messages (which were often fairly complicated) but at the same time, as interesting as it was, the reading felt a little dry and simple. While I know that you can simply chalk that up to personal preference, I was a little disappointed by the "fact-telling" way he chose to tell his stories. On the whole enjoyable as stories/ideas, less compelling as far as really deep storytelling is concerned.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed Ted Chiang and all of the worlds he created. I to like all of the details that he went into because; even thought I do not understand most of the concepts, I enjoy trying to wrap my head around them.
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