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mappingmeaning's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
brucenapier's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Amazing... Asimov (Foundation series), Moorcock (Entropy Tango), Banks (Culture series) all rolled into one but unique. Epic highs and lows worth the effort
tienbeng's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
abbymawhinney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
fedor_ulysses's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
chessnut265's review against another edition
4.0
Ideas are still there, but this time we need plot shenanigans to make it work
Small spoilers for book 2, major spoilers for book 3 in the para between "waifu" and ending after "plot-wise"
Characters: 1.5/5
Narrative: 2.5/5
Ideas: 4/5
A flawed masterpiece like the rest of the trilogy, only with the best bits toned up to the max and the weaknesses of the whole series getting so much worse.
The characters, a major weak point for the whole trilogy, are just god-awful on this one. The only character I can somewhat commend is Wade, who's personality is quite well written. Cheng Xin, on the other hand, is a horrid protagonist.
Wang Miao, from book 1, is an NPC protagonist, who makes almost not plot affecting decisions and is simply there as lens for the reader to view the story progress, which isn't great but is still something I can gloss over if the rest of the book is good enough. Luo Ji is an excellent protagonist with a satisfying character arc, except for that one bit where he takes part of the resources of the whole of humanity given to him to save the world and uses it to find the perfect waifu.
Compared to these 2, Cheng Xin falls flat. She genocides humanity twice, both times not exactly her fault but still for reasons completely disproportionate to the near or full destruction of humanity itself. She is a flat character, though I feel that's more of a plot problem.
Plot-wise, its a lot worse than the rest of the series, especially later. While books 1-2 had reasonable plots that worked well with the grand ideas, the same can hardly be said for book 3. Book 3's narrative ditches the plot and flies far ahead of a normal story. To keep up, a new level of plot bull-shittery is needed. Events that are far too convenient happen just at the right moment for no real purpose other than to keep the plot trudging onward to its next big idea.
The plot also handles new reveals and ideas clumsily. In book 1-2 a new reveal would be allowed its proper glory after sufficient build up, keeping them memorable even if it is later rendered insignificant by another reveal. This style also works well because each new reveal usually renders much before it wrong or insignificant, so the build-up adds to that effect. Book 3, however, has far too many ideas to allow anything so satisfying. Reveal after reveal is thrown at you without anywhere near enough build up to stay proportionate to the way it renders everything before it insignificant.
The ideas also get too grand for their own good, and some of them fall flat or seem way too far-fetched.
Overall, a flawed end to a flawed masterpiece of a trilogy.
Small spoilers for book 2, major spoilers for book 3 in the para between "waifu" and ending after "plot-wise"
Characters: 1.5/5
Narrative: 2.5/5
Ideas: 4/5
A flawed masterpiece like the rest of the trilogy, only with the best bits toned up to the max and the weaknesses of the whole series getting so much worse.
The characters, a major weak point for the whole trilogy, are just god-awful on this one. The only character I can somewhat commend is Wade, who's personality is quite well written. Cheng Xin, on the other hand, is a horrid protagonist.
Wang Miao, from book 1, is an NPC protagonist, who makes almost not plot affecting decisions and is simply there as lens for the reader to view the story progress, which isn't great but is still something I can gloss over if the rest of the book is good enough. Luo Ji is an excellent protagonist with a satisfying character arc, except for that one bit where he takes part of the resources of the whole of humanity given to him to save the world and uses it to find the perfect waifu.
Compared to these 2, Cheng Xin falls flat. She genocides humanity twice, both times not exactly her fault but still for reasons completely disproportionate to the near or full destruction of humanity itself. She is a flat character, though I feel that's more of a plot problem.
Plot-wise, its a lot worse than the rest of the series, especially later. While books 1-2 had reasonable plots that worked well with the grand ideas, the same can hardly be said for book 3. Book 3's narrative ditches the plot and flies far ahead of a normal story. To keep up, a new level of plot bull-shittery is needed. Events that are far too convenient happen just at the right moment for no real purpose other than to keep the plot trudging onward to its next big idea.
The plot also handles new reveals and ideas clumsily. In book 1-2 a new reveal would be allowed its proper glory after sufficient build up, keeping them memorable even if it is later rendered insignificant by another reveal. This style also works well because each new reveal usually renders much before it wrong or insignificant, so the build-up adds to that effect. Book 3, however, has far too many ideas to allow anything so satisfying. Reveal after reveal is thrown at you without anywhere near enough build up to stay proportionate to the way it renders everything before it insignificant.
The ideas also get too grand for their own good, and some of them fall flat or seem way too far-fetched.
Overall, a flawed end to a flawed masterpiece of a trilogy.
wistfulaether's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read the very first excerpt from Past Outside of Time at the very beginning after finishing the book and had to just sit and think for awhile. Wow man
ferrywijn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
Helaas het minst sterke deel van een verder erg originele sci-fi trilogie. Vooral op het einde vliegt het boek nogal uit de bocht. Het lijkt dan wel alsof een kleuter een verhaal vertelt. 'En toen was er opeens dit en toen was er opeens dat'.
Alsnog met veel plezier gelezen.
Alsnog met veel plezier gelezen.
sophietica's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0