Hell Is the Absence of God
Encyclopedia
Hell Is the Absence of God is a 2001 novelette
by Ted Chiang
, first published in Starlight
#3; in 2002, the story won a Hugo Award
, a Nebula Award
, and a Locus Award
. It was also a finalist for the 2002 Theodore Sturgeon Award
, and won the 2004 Seiun Award
.
, soul
s, and hell
are provable, and where miracle
s and angel
ic visitations are commonplace—albeit not necessarily benevolent: for instance, the protagonist's wife is killed by the collateral damage
of an angel's presence, having been "hit by flying glass when the angel's billowing curtain of flame shattered the storefront window of the café in which she was eating. She bled to death within minutes." Chiang has explicitly stated that the story is "straight fantasy
," because it takes place in a universe "in which the scientific method
doesn't work."
has described Hell Is the Absence of God as the "best single SF story of 2002". Conversely, John C. Wright has described it as "trite antichristian propaganda". Elf Sternberg
has compared the novelette to C. S. Lewis
's The Great Divorce
, saying that although Lewis is a supporter of God, Chiang is "far more ambivalent".
It was reprinted in Chiang's 2002 anthology, Stories of Your Life and Others, in Year's Best Fantasy 2, and in Fantasy: The Best of 2001.
Ken Liu wrote "Single-Bit Error", a short story published in 2009, in response to Hell Is the Absence of God.
Novelette
A novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...
by Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang is an American speculative fiction writer. His Chinese name is Chiang Feng-nan.He was born in Port Jefferson, New York and graduated from Brown University with a Computer Science degree. He currently works as a technical writer in the software industry and resides in Bellevue, near...
, first published in Starlight
Starlight (anthology series)
Starlight is a science fiction and fantasy series edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden and published by Tor Books.-Volumes:* Starlight 1 * Starlight 2 * Starlight 3 -Awards:...
#3; in 2002, the story won a Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
, a Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
, and a Locus Award
Locus Award
The Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
. It was also a finalist for the 2002 Theodore Sturgeon Award
Theodore Sturgeon Award
The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is given each year for the best science fiction short story of the year and is the short fiction counterpart of the Campbell award , published in English....
, and won the 2004 Seiun Award
Seiun Award
The is a Japanese science fiction award for the best science fiction published in Japan during the preceding year, as voted by attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Convention. "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula", but the award is not related to the American Nebula Award. It was named after...
.
Plot
The novelette is set in a world where the existence of GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
s, and hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
are provable, and where miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
s and angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
ic visitations are commonplace—albeit not necessarily benevolent: for instance, the protagonist's wife is killed by the collateral damage
Collateral damage
Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.-Etymology:...
of an angel's presence, having been "hit by flying glass when the angel's billowing curtain of flame shattered the storefront window of the café in which she was eating. She bled to death within minutes." Chiang has explicitly stated that the story is "straight fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
," because it takes place in a universe "in which the scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
doesn't work."
Reception
Robert J. SawyerRobert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 20 novels published, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and many anthologies. Sawyer has won over forty awards for his fiction, including the Nebula Award ,...
has described Hell Is the Absence of God as the "best single SF story of 2002". Conversely, John C. Wright has described it as "trite antichristian propaganda". Elf Sternberg
Elf Sternberg
Elf Mathieu Sternberg, born May 7, 1966, is the former keeper of the alt.sex FAQ. He is also the author of many erotic stories and articles on sexuality and sexual practices, and is considered one of the most notable and prolific online erotica authors....
has compared the novelette to C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
's The Great Divorce
The Great Divorce
The Great Divorce is a work of allegory by C. S. Lewis that is complementary to Lewis' earlier book The Screwtape Letters.The working title was Who Goes Home? but the real name was changed at the publisher's insistence. The title refers to William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell...
, saying that although Lewis is a supporter of God, Chiang is "far more ambivalent".
It was reprinted in Chiang's 2002 anthology, Stories of Your Life and Others, in Year's Best Fantasy 2, and in Fantasy: The Best of 2001.
Ken Liu wrote "Single-Bit Error", a short story published in 2009, in response to Hell Is the Absence of God.