Exhalation Audiobook By Ted Chiang cover art

Exhalation

Stories

 Preview
Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends January 21, 2026 11:59pm PT
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just $0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible Premium Plus.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Exhalation

By: Ted Chiang
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Dominic Hoffman, Amy Landon, Ted Chiang
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends January 21, 2026 11:59pm PT.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.25

Buy for $20.25

LIMITED TIME OFFER | Get 3 months for $0.99 a month

$14.95/mo thereafter-terms apply.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories—two published for the very first time—all from the mind of the incomparable author of Stories of Your Life and Others

Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, revelatory.

Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine.

In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate,” a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In “Exhalation,” an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom,” the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will. Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Locus Award Science Fiction Short Stories Thought-Provoking Mind-Bending Suspenseful

Editor's Pick

From the Author who brought us Arrival
"Ted Chiang’s stories are incomparable. They are mathematical and uniquely scientific, but not hard to understand, and they never fail to deliver on an emotional level. His most famous work—Stories of Your Life and Others (which contains the story that was the basis for the movie Arrival)—made me cry when I first heard it. That's something I can’t say for the movie, even though Denis Villeneuve is my favorite director of all time. In my mind, Chiang is a modern day Italo Calvino: an empath who can simultaneously tap into the perspectives of totally alien or inanimate entities, and deliver absolutely mind-blowing and borderline-mystical plots and concepts. His reputation and writing certainly deserve a top-notch cast of narrators, and Exhalation uses them to full effect. Offering an experience that feels as ancient as it does futuristic—as if life was one big circle."
—Michael D., Audible Editor

Thought-provoking Concepts • Philosophical Depth • Excellent Narrators • Creative Premises • Diverse Storytelling

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
This is a stellar collection of thoughtful, creative SF stories. I know of no other collection I'd more highly recommend.

Spectacular! (seriously)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was fully engaged with every story. All of them made me think about humanity and about myself. Who are we? Why is our purpose? All the good stuff. Just wow!
Everyone should.... no. NEEDS TO read this!

Though provoking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
While I think the “Stories of Your Life and Others” anthology was better, or at least more so to me, this collection is fantastic. So many sci-fi stories today are really just fantasy stories couched in futuristic settings. They lack a clear narrative of physics and philosophy that should be requisite of the genre, and instead make up for this with fantastical scenes and creatures that are not plausible in any universe resembling this one. This has reduced much of the genre to mere entertainment. Ted harnesses coherent ideas about philosophy, theology, and physics, and forms his stories around this. And I think it makes all the difference in the universe as to the quality of robust, deep stories unfolded with brevity.

Excellent, well thought out storyteller

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
nothing better than sci-fi short stories, and these are exceptional. love the different worlds and imaginative characters. every story is 5 stars, and i love each of the different readers

deep thoughts, stories that stay with you

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Story is amazing

The voices for the robot kids are really terrible. Kept taking me out of the story. Maybe just read this one with your eyes.

great writing, delivery could be better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews