Chiang’s collection of short stories are of the speculative science fiction genre, but I would characterize them as thought experiments. Chiang offers notes at the end of the book on most of the collected stories, which further supports the experimental nature of each well-crafted story. He appears to come across a notion in his daily life, and then feels the creative motive to explore it when he finds the right combination of character, setting, and situation. The result is a collection of curiosities; beautiful, intricate, thoughtful objects, that bring to life and play out Chiang’s questions, his what-if’s.

And what are these what-if’s? What happens when we apply an untested theory of human nature to a developing child, and that experiment badly fails? What are our moral responsibilities to an AI entity? What are the cognitive and moral consequences of having perfect access to every moment of our lives? How do we square scientific discovery with the spiritual belief that humanity is the center of God’s creation? If the many universes concept of time-space is real, what role does free will and moral accountability play? Chiang embraces big questions with small, tight structures and scenarios. It is an effective strategy, and each story will stay with you and resonate.

Chiang achieves this while also effectively spinning great stories—they do not feel contrived, but he economically draws lived-in scenarios and mostly believable characters without strings on view. He is subtle, not clunky. He is personal, not sterile. His scenarios have the complexity of real life, with its diversity, yet don’t overburden the reader with unnecessary diversions. It is satisfying to read an author who understands the effectiveness of the short story form for questions of this nature. He is rational without feeling impersonal; rather, his questions are very personal, and should make you question your personal choices, your morality, and how you view the moral choices of the technological world evolving around you, and your place within it.