Story of Your Life
#896 of 2,654 all-time
Story of Your Life
Ted Chiang
8 people recommended it in 3 threads, 2018–2025.
2 of those were in the last year.
What people on Hacker News said
Short story about a linguist learning the recently arrived aliens language. Liked the humor depicting the different perspectives between scientists and military. Pretty emotional.
The way they learn to speak the languages of the aliens for instance - both methods seem plausible and horribly different.
While the film “Arrival” was excellent, it was based on his short story “Story of your life” which was even better.
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read? 2018 · 4 recommendations
- My favorite cult sci-fi and fantasy books you may not have heard of before 2025 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2023 and recommend for 2024? 2023 · 2 recommendations