Here at WIRED Book Club, we tend to read newer writers. Ted Chiang isn't exactly that. Since publishing his first short story, "Tower of Babylon," in 1990, he's averaged less than a story a year, quietly cultivating a modest but devoted fan base that recognizes his work for what it is: sharp, spare, intensely thought-through science fiction. "Literary," as some like to call it.

And that probably wouldn't have changed, had it not been for the release last year of Arrival, Denis Villeneuve's lovely meditation on time and psycholinguistics. Widely celebrated as cerebral, meaningful sci-fi, it sent people flocking to the source material—a Chiang short called "Story of Your Life," published in 1998 (well before the Internet and 1D corrupted that phrase). Suddenly, people—lots of people—knew Ted Chiang. Even The New Yorker, not a publication with deep roots in genre fiction, caught wind.

All this to say: Now that Chiang's super hot, let's try some of his stuff. Each week this month we'll look at one short tale from his trove, starting with—how could we not?—"Story of Your Life." Your best bet is probably to pick up his collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, reissued last year. We'll see you on the flip to discuss Chiang's work next week.