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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
I walked away a little disappointed with the depth of this book compared to the fascinating premise. There just wasn’t much there, and every detail there was just focused on war outside the awesome virtual world bit. It was great disconnected ideas that didn’t mesh up into a satisfying ending. There’s also a clear bias towards China, Europe/US is painted in an overly negative light (but honestly might be accurate in the situation) and nary a mention of Africa. There's also only two female characters and one of them is described as Shirley-Temple-like. Stick to the Three Body Problem instead.
The cutest book dedication. I really loved the first half. Watching the world prepare to die and leave everything for the children and then the children trying to keep everything running. Kinda reminded me of „the society“ on Netflix, but that was just with teenagers and it was only one little town.
But then it turned into that typical sci-fi cross continent war and it was boring. The ending was so random and I didn’t understand the ending of the epilogue too but I still enjoyed it. Read it on my too Berlin.
Concept: ★★★★ Characters: ★★★
Pacing: ★★ Feels: ★★★★
Writing style : ★★★
But then it turned into that typical sci-fi cross continent war and it was boring. The ending was so random and I didn’t understand the ending of the epilogue too but I still enjoyed it. Read it on my too Berlin.
Concept: ★★★★ Characters: ★★★
Pacing: ★★ Feels: ★★★★
Writing style : ★★★
this was kind of absurd...it started off well but then the characters ended up being absurd national stereotypes about their respective countries and nothing made much sense. it probably would have worked better as a novella or short story even. I gave it 3 stars instead of 2 because maybe some of the nuance was lost in translation from Mandarin? I'll read the next Cixin Liu because Three Body Problem is still amazing, but this really isn't great.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
A good reading...but after ones read The Three Body Problem trilogy, its hard to consider any other sci-fi book a good one.
I enjoyed most of this books, but found the stereotypes and the third part of the book to really be a let down. The idea of a world of children only is intriguing and makes one wonder about how that society would function as whole without the stability and set social parameters adults set. However, I felt the story as a whole missed the mark in many ways and would have better going on a different path.
I could never really figure out why all the kids who were leaders continued on the path adults had set for them. There seemed to be a discrepancy between this idea that children were creating a new "children's world" beyond what adults could conceive and the children staunchly remaining in the roles they were given and bound to the world they lived in. Perhaps that was the point, but I never really bought into it. Nor did I get why adults would prepare children the way they did, with the idea that children would just take over society the way it was.
I generally disliked the "war" tangent and was super excited about the concept of how a children's world would develop, how the Digital Domain would help shape a new society, and how the children would learn how to integrate what they needed to do with what they wanted to do. That was the book I wanted to read. But none of that really played out. The whole war section was filled with stereotypes and biases that really were unpleasant and unoriginal. Of course, the American children are all shooting each other in the streets. *eye roll* The Japanese kids are bombing whales. *eye roll* But the Chinese kids are all cool and calm and outsmart everyone *eye roll*.
All in all I feel this was a missed opportunity to really explore what a children's world could be like and instead lead to a third of the book being about the children's war, which didn't really make a lot of sense and wasn't that interesting to read. Up until that point, I did enjoy the book. I know this was written in 2004, but it would be nice if there were more female characters as well. Though Liu Cixin does tend to write heavily towards male characters.
I could never really figure out why all the kids who were leaders continued on the path adults had set for them. There seemed to be a discrepancy between this idea that children were creating a new "children's world" beyond what adults could conceive and the children staunchly remaining in the roles they were given and bound to the world they lived in. Perhaps that was the point, but I never really bought into it. Nor did I get why adults would prepare children the way they did, with the idea that children would just take over society the way it was.
I generally disliked the "war" tangent and was super excited about the concept of how a children's world would develop, how the Digital Domain would help shape a new society, and how the children would learn how to integrate what they needed to do with what they wanted to do. That was the book I wanted to read. But none of that really played out. The whole war section was filled with stereotypes and biases that really were unpleasant and unoriginal. Of course, the American children are all shooting each other in the streets. *eye roll* The Japanese kids are bombing whales. *eye roll* But the Chinese kids are all cool and calm and outsmart everyone *eye roll*.
All in all I feel this was a missed opportunity to really explore what a children's world could be like and instead lead to a third of the book being about the children's war, which didn't really make a lot of sense and wasn't that interesting to read. Up until that point, I did enjoy the book. I know this was written in 2004, but it would be nice if there were more female characters as well. Though Liu Cixin does tend to write heavily towards male characters.
"In those days, Earth was a planet in space.
In those days, Beijing was a city on Earth.
On this night, history as known to humanity came to an end."
Supernova Era is a book from bestselling author Cixin Liu, author of award-winning The Three Bodies Problem novel. I’ve heard a lot about him and was very excited to read some of his work, although I must admit I was a bit scared of too much-complicated science in his book. But in the case of Supernova Era, it is no problem at all. There’s not much hard science here, it’s more like dystopian political fiction in fact. We have a dying star here, yes, but it’s only the beginning of the whole story.
The Earth is showered by the deadly radiation from the supernova, and although at first, everything seemed fine, people soon found out about grievous consequences of this event. All humankind has left then a year to live, except children under thirteen, who have higher cell-regenerating abilities. Is it possible to prepare children to take reign over the world in less than a year? Can you expect from teenager to learn in a few months for a job his parents spend years of studies and hard work to master? But nothing else could be done. The adults try to introduce children into their complicated world as best as they can in given time hoping it would be enough. No one could predict how the children’s world would look like.
From the first pages, I was fascinated by this book. The author has an exceptional talent to describe a tedious and complicated physical and chemical process as if it was poetry. Prologue about dying star was written so beautifully I could read it all day. The first half of the book, I practically devoured, waiting with the heat on my cheeks for the moment, when the adults finally leave the Earth to children. How will they cope all by themselves? As expected, the first hours of Supernova Era were disastrous. I, as a parent of a small child, could only imagine how terrible it would be to be forced to leave my baby for other children to care for.
Unfortunately, the further into the book, the more boring and monotonous it got. It is written as an emotionless report from the beginnings of a new era, so there is loads of very detailed description of similar situations and events. There’re not many distinctive characters in this book. It’s more like a tale about nations and collectives then individuals. The hardest part for me to read through were the events on Antarctica (I won’t go into details, because I don’t want to spoil the plot for you). It was literary over forty pages of sophisticated descriptions, going on and on. I could really do without it, or at least with only half of it.
But it doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book, because I enjoyed it immensely. I like the way the author showed us that children’s minds are completely different from those of adults. Because of that, all the efforts people of the common era put into preparing youngster to live in their world were doomed to failure from the very beginning. Of course, the vision Xicin Liu is showing us is very troubling and unsettling, but still believable.
I’ve heard it’s not the best novel from this author and considering it was written before The Three Bodies Problem it’s not surprising. But I don’t agree it’s not the best book to start with. I really enjoyed it, and I’ll surely want to read more from Xicin Liu. I think it could also be suitable for people who aren’t entirely sci-fi fans. If you like books like Lord of the Flies or Handmaid’s Tale you should read Supernova Era too!
*PL*
„Tej nocy znana ludzkości historia dobiegła końca.”
"Era Supernowej" to książka bestsellerowego autora Cixin Liu, którego powieść "Problem trzech ciał" została nagrodzona prestiżową nagrodą Hugo. Wiele dobrego słyszałam na temat tych książek, więc kiedy w ręce wpadła mi "Era Supernowej" byłam bardzo podekscytowana, chociaż również nieco się obawiałam, czy nie przytłoczy mnie ogrom wątków naukowych. W przypadku "Ery Supernowej" jednak nie ma z tym najmniejszego problemu. Jest to bardziej antyutopia i fikcja polityczna niż science-fiction. Mamy to co prawda wybuchające gwiazdy, ale to tylko wydarzenia, które dają początek samej historii.
Do Ziemi dociera szkodliwe promieniowanie odległej o osiem lat świetlnych supernowej. Początkowo zdaje się, że nic złego się nie stało, wkrótce jednak okazuje się, że jego moc była na tyle duża, by skazić całą planetę. Wszyscy ludzie są skazani na śmierć w przeciągu roku, z wyjątkiem dzieci do trzynastego roku życia, których większa zdolność regeneracji komórkowej pozwala zwalczyć szkodliwe efekty. Czy jest możliwe, by w przeciągu kilku miesięcy przygotować dzieci do tego, by przejęły rządy i stery świata? Czy można oczekiwać od trzynastolatków, aby w rok przejęły całą wiedzę i umiejętności rodziców, którym nauka tego zajęła lata studiów i wieloletni staż? Jednak niewiele więcej można zrobić. Dorośli wdrażają dzieci w swój świat na tyle na ile jest to możliwe w tak krótkim czasie z nadzieją, że zapewnią rasie ludzkiej przetrwanie. Jednak żaden z nich nie mógł przewidzieć, jak faktycznie będzie wyglądał świat dzieci.
Od pierwszych stron byłam zachwycona książką. Wielkie wrażenie wywarło na mnie to, w jak poetycki sposób autor opisuje procesy chemiczne i fizyczne zachodzące na umierającej gwieździe. Coś, co kojarzy mi się z nudnymi zjawiskami z podręcznika fizyki było pokazane przepięknie, niczym najznakomitszy obraz. Przez pierwszą połowę książki przeszłam błyskawicznie i z wypiekami na twarzy czekałam na to, co się stanie, gdy w końcu tych dorosłych zabraknie. Jak dzieci sobie poradzą w tej beznadziejnej sytuacji? Pierwsze godziny Ery Supernowej były straszliwe. Ja, jako rodzic małego dziecka, mogę sobie tylko wyobrazić jakbym się czuła, gdybym musiała zostawić swoją małą córeczkę pod opieką innych dzieci.
Jednak im bardziej "Era Supernowej" posuwała się do przodu, tym bardziej powieść staje się monotonna. Jest ona napisana w formie sprawozdania z wydarzeń tej ery, więc mamy bardzo dużo suchych opisów wydarzeń, często bardzo szczegółowych i powtarzalnych. Cała akcja na Antarktydzie (nic więcej nie napiszę, bo nie chcę wam zdradzać zbyt wielu szczegółów) była dla mnie chyba najtrudniejsza do przebrnięcia. Mamy tam ponad czterdzieści stron relacji z wydarzeń, przedstawionych w sposób obiektywny i wyprany z emocji, i szczerze mówiąc trochę mnie to wymęczyło.
Co nie znaczy, że książka mi się nie podobała, bo podobała mi się bardzo. To, w jaki sposób autor pokazuje nam, że dzieci mają zupełnie inne pojmowanie świata, inne priorytety oraz zupełnie inną mentalność. Przez to cały wysiłek dorosłych, by wdrożyć je w funkcjonowanie ich świata był zupełnie bezowocny. Oczywiście jest to wizja bardzo mroczna i niepokojąca, ale Cixin Liu przedstawia to w taki sposób, że jesteśmy w stanie uwierzyć, że tak właśnie mógłby się potoczyć los Ziemi.
Słyszałam opinie, że nie jest to najlepsza powieść autora. Zważywszy na fakt, że "Era Supernowej" została napisana przed "Problemem Trzech Ciał", nie ma w tym nic specjalnie dziwnego. Nie zgodzę się jednak z tym, że nie jest to najlepsza powieść, by zacząć przygodę z autorem. Mi, pomimo drobnych wad, książka bardzo się podobała i na pewno będę chciała sięgnąć po więcej jego powieści. Myślę, że "Era Supernowej" może się również spodobać tym, którzy niekoniecznie są fanami sci-fi. Jeśli podobają się wam powieści typu "Władcy Much" czy "Opowieści Podręcznej", to myślę, że ta również przypadnie Wam do gustu.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
More brutal insight from Cixin Liu
There was a point in this book where I wanted to put it down for how brutal the story line was. I'm glad I stuck with it. A what if that shines a light on how we live and what matters, not quite as dramatic as the three body problem but still worth the risk reading.
There was a point in this book where I wanted to put it down for how brutal the story line was. I'm glad I stuck with it. A what if that shines a light on how we live and what matters, not quite as dramatic as the three body problem but still worth the risk reading.