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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Supernova Era by Cixin Liu--Liu is at his best when he's writing about humanity's response to forces wholly outside their control. He has a good sense of instincts, primal and otherwise, which shape our collective and individual actions, and that allows him to write compelling sci-fi. Here, he imagines a supernova in relatively close proximity to us which has the unfortunate side effect of systematically killing off everyone over the age of 13. From there, perspective shifts to an almost Ender's Game format where the (possibly all precocious) kids run the show. Liu is increasingly baffling in his scope and focus as the book proceeds, but the thought experiment is a fun one which he draws to a not-so-natural conclusion. I'd say this book is fun, disturbingly delightful, and possibly the most Chinese-centric/specific of his longer books that I've read, even if America is more centered in this than any of his other works. Reading the Afterward makes clear Liu's thoughts and intents in this book, and they're touching, though perhaps more inscrutable to a Western audience. Thumbs up, even still.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
Unlike the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, Supernova Era has at its core a fairly simple (in theory) conceit: What would happen if all the adults disappeared? Liu engineers a supernova that causes irreparable damage to everyone over the age of 13, giving them one year to live so they can train the children. It's a little too neat, but it survives to propel the plot.
Overall, the book is a lot of fun, with less technobabble than the Earth's Past books. At only 350 pages, it largely manages to keep the action moving at a good clip. It slows down in a couple of spots, and a few things are a touch clichéd (spoiler: the American kids get their hands on all the guns). But overall, this was a good read.
Overall, the book is a lot of fun, with less technobabble than the Earth's Past books. At only 350 pages, it largely manages to keep the action moving at a good clip. It slows down in a couple of spots, and a few things are a touch clichéd (spoiler: the American kids get their hands on all the guns). But overall, this was a good read.