This short story collection gathers eight of Ted Chiang's works. From it, it is clear that he is fascinated with the power of language, perception, science, and beauty - so it seems quite natural that he would dwelve into the science fiction genre, where he can creatively explore many complex topics that are on his mind. I loved some stories here more than some other, hence it will receive a 4/5 star rating from me. I'll rate each individual story below.

1. Tower of Babylon: 3/5 ⭐
The storytelling in this one reminded me of The Spear Cuts Through Water. The way both authors wave together myths with everyday life in a poetic magical realism is quite beautiful, however, I didn't particularly liked the ending in this one.

2. Understand: 4/5 ⭐
A guy receives an experimental treatment during his coma that leaves him with increased intellectual cabalities. What will he do with his newfound power?

3. Division by Zero: 3/5 ⭐
When your wife discovers something in science that will shake her world, will you stay by her?

4. Story of Your Life: 4/5 ⭐
This is as good as the movie adaptation of it, Arrival. There are a few differences in the movie, but it kept the essence of the story. However, I think a first person narration shows much more of the human thought and emotion.

5. Seventy-Two Letters: 5/5 ⭐
This is the longest and most complex story that goes deep into discussions on evolution, ethics of human labor, poverty, religion, and reproduction rights.

6. The Evolution of Human Science: 4/5 ⭐
This is the shortest story in this collection and it debates scientific progress and reproduction choices, similarly like the previous one, but in an opposite scenario, where the creation surpasses its creator.

7. Hell Is the Absence of God: 5/5 ⭐
This story is an excellent modern representation of the notion that belief in God means all things happen for a reason which is in contradiction that you can't deserve good things just by being a good person. It was inspired by the story of Job from the Bible, where his faith was tested by God making him lose everything he valued in life, including his family, just to later seemingly make up for it with different blessings.

8. Liking What You See: A Documentary: 4/5 ⭐
This is a discussion on beauty and how it make us biased. Would it be possible to impose a loss of facial beauty recognition population wide or would it be senseless to have it as an advantage or disadvantage used by few?

At the end we have his Story Notes: Here we are introduced to the inspiration and background to the stories included in this collection. I appreciate having these small insights into the creative process that led to the creation of these literature pieces.