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Ted Chiang

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Author

The Resume

    (circa 1967- )
    Born in Port Jefferson, New York
    American science fiction writer
    Winner of; four Nebula Awards, three Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, two Seiun Awards and the 1992 John W Cambell Award for Best New Writer
    Graduate of Brown University and UC Santa Barbara's Clarion workshop for science fiction writers
    Most well-known for his short story, Story of Your Life
    Collected short stories, Stories of Your Life and Others (2010)
    BS in Computer Science from Brown University
    Technical writer in the computer industry
    Real name: Chiang Fen-nan
    Atheist

Why he might be annoying:

    By his own admission, he writes 'extremely slowly' and has a very poor volume of output. As of 2014, since his first publication in 1990, he had only published fourteen short stories, novelettes and novellas. He doubts he will ever write a novel and deliberately keeps his stories short.
    He is apathetic in his atheism, ascribing it for the most part as being due to his problem with the eternal question of good and evil and says his only knowledge of Christianity is 'limited to Linus's monologue in the 'Peanuts' Christmas special.
    He and his girlfriend own four cats.
    He rejects the possibility of intelligent robots and nanotechnology being developed in the future, at least as they are portrayed in most science fiction.
    He spoke Chinese as a child but 'lost' it as he grew up.
    None of his work has ever been filmed or is likely to be due to his exotic writing style(s).

Why he might not be annoying:

    His work is staggering in its inventiveness and originality and is so unique that even he cannot define his style.
    In addition to his more purely science fiction work, his works include elements of; historical fantasy, steampunk, fantasy and horror.
    He is an excellent interview, 'In person, Ted Chiang is friendly and soft-spoken. He comes across as somewhat reserved while being neither shy nor aloof.'
    He cites a wide variety of influences on his work ranging from masters like Issac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke to more contemporary writers like; John Crowley, Gene Wolfe, Greg Egan, and Karen Joy Fowler.
    His tearjerker, Story of Your Life is a work of striking originality that approaches the concept of time travel and first contact and communication with an alien species in a way that cannot be described, only experienced and though not having any formal training in linguistics besides four years of Latin in high school, he developed a concept of language/communication never before imagined prior to the publication of the story.
    He is very popular among other science fiction writer and critics, and more edgy hardcore science fiction fans.
    Over half of his published works have won (often multiple) major awards and he has even won awards in Japan and Germany for translations of his works.
    Despite his atheism, he is respectful of other people's beliefs and often works religious themes (even occasionally making them the centerpiece) into his work.
    His works are not easy reads and are quite deep and complex and require the reader to 'concentrate intensely.'
    He has won two Nebulas for best novelette and two for best novella.

Credit: tom_jeffords


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 20 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 29 Votes: 44.83% Annoying