Omphalos (story)
| Omphalos | |
|---|---|
| by Ted Chiang | |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Published in | Exhalation: Stories |
| Publication type | Book |
| Publication date | May 2019 |
"Omphalos" is a science fantasy short story by Ted Chiang, named after the omphalos hypothesis. It was first published in Chiang's 2019 collection Exhalation: Stories.
Synopsis[]
In a world where Young Earth creationism is true, Dorothea Morrell is an archaeologist who discovers an unsettling fact about the universe.
Reception[]
"Omphalos" won the Locus Award for Best Novelette for 2020. It was also a finalist for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novelette[1] and the Theodore Sturgeon Award.[2]
The Nation considered the basic premise — a creationist archaeologist in conflict with a creationist astronomer — to be "hilarious", but noted that the story is not a humorous work, and emphasized that Dorothea is an empiricist who uses the scientific method.[3] In the Washington Post, Paul Di Filippo called the story "masterful and striking", and found it evocative of Philip Jose Farmer's "Sail On! Sail On!".[4]
References[]
- ^ 2020 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved August 1, 2020
- ^ Sturgeon Finalists; retrieved August 22, 2021
- ^ The Rest Is Up to Us, by Stephen Kearse; in The Nation; published November 19, 2019; retrieved August 1, 2020
- ^ Ted Chiang’s ‘Exhalation,’ like his story that inspired ‘Arrival,’ fuses intellect and emotion, by Paul Di Filippo, in the Washington Post; published May 3, 2019; retrieved August 1, 2020
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- Short stories by Ted Chiang
- 2019 short stories
- American short stories
- Novels about religion
- Fantasy short story stubs
- 2010s short story stubs
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