Our score
Outstanding
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Exhalation: Stories Audiobook by Ted Chiang— narrated by Ted Chiang, Edoardo Ballerini, Dominic Hoffman, and Amy Landon
Nine luminous stories from the most thoughtful science fiction writer alive, each one a fully built thought experiment that arrives at something genuinely moving about free will, memory, and how we choose to live. Quietly profound.
Why the audiobook wins
Nine stories, four voices: Ted Chiang reads some of his own introductory material alongside narrators Edoardo Ballerini, Dominic Hoffman, and Amy Landon, and splitting the collection across performers keeps each story feeling like its own discrete thought experiment rather than one long undifferentiated block. Ballerini in particular brings a measured, almost scholarly calm that suits Chiang's habit of following an idea all the way to its emotional core.
Chiang's stories are dense with premise, free will examined through a time-travel gate, a robot ecosystem running on borrowed time, and audio narration forces the kind of unhurried attention his writing rewards. You can't skim a Chiang paragraph and still catch the turn; a good narrator paces you through it instead, and these three do.
At just over eleven hours, this is a collection built for patient listening, ideally somewhere quiet enough to let each story land before the next one starts. One credit brings you nine of the most thoughtful stories science fiction has produced this century.
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Audiobook questions
- Who narrates the Exhalation: Stories audiobook?
- Ted Chiang, Edoardo Ballerini, Dominic Hoffman, and Amy Landon narrate the audiobook edition of Exhalation: Stories.
- How long is the Exhalation: Stories audiobook?
- The audiobook runs 11 hr 22 min.
- Is the Exhalation: Stories audiobook worth listening to?
- We scored Exhalation: Stories 4.5 out of 5. Nine stories, four voices: Ted Chiang reads some of his own introductory material alongside narrators Edoardo Ballerini, Dominic Hoffman, and Amy Landon, and splitting the collection across performers keeps each story feeling like its own discrete thought experiment rather than…
- Can I listen to Exhalation: Stories free with an Audible trial?
- Eligible new Audible members can use a free-trial credit to listen in the Audible app. Eligibility and current offer terms are set by Audible.Listen to Exhalation: Stories free with an Audible trial
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- Is Exhalation: Stories on Kindle Unlimited?
- No. Exhalation: Stories was not included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on August 18, 2026.
- How much does Exhalation: Stories cost?
- On Amazon: Kindle $9.99, Paperback $10.81, Hardcover $14.64. Prices as of August 20, 2026 at 3:45 AM EDT and may change.
