Scan barcode
art_books_chemistry's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
In the interest of transparency, I was not excited to read this and only started it because it's for my bookclub. Maybe that skepticism is what kept me going, since it didn't turn out to be quite as dry as I was expecting. However, it did not start well and I was prepared to stop it "soon" around the 3 hour mark when very little had happened to progress the storyline and there were already multiple tangents on somewhat random topics. Although wild pigs were relevant to part of the storyline, we did not need a mini-lecture on how they were introduced to North America. Nor was our excursion into Amsterdam's gay scene relevant to the actual storyline and only tangentially relevant to character background. It felt like padding the author added because he didn't want to jump into the main story "too quickly" or something.
At first I thought Lox's storyline was much of the same fluff. His chapters did however become some of my favorite to look forward too, though it took forever to wrap his storyline into the main plot. I think the author did his story dirty, however, and could have played around with him more instead of what happened at the end. I can say his was one of the only character arcs that actually drew to completion in the novel. Everything else was kind of left up in the air (pun intended for those who have read it lol).
Lastly, I thought the science aspect was ok, potentially plausible but not particularly imaginative. I didn't find Stephenson to be as directly preachy about climate change as some authors with similar novels and I also found his plot into the international politics surrounding such decisions interesting.
I also was not a fan of the narrator for this audiobook version. Their attempted accents were strange at some points and just a bit off for others.
As long as you're into sci-fi adjacent, "near future", climate change novels with heavy doses of politics, this book is perfect for you. Otherwise, maybe not.
At first I thought Lox's storyline was much of the same fluff. His chapters did however become some of my favorite to look forward too, though it took forever to wrap his storyline into the main plot. I think the author did his story dirty, however, and could have played around with him more instead of what happened at the end. I can say his was one of the only character arcs that actually drew to completion in the novel. Everything else was kind of left up in the air (pun intended for those who have read it lol).
Lastly, I thought the science aspect was ok, potentially plausible but not particularly imaginative. I didn't find Stephenson to be as directly preachy about climate change as some authors with similar novels and I also found his plot into the international politics surrounding such decisions interesting.
I also was not a fan of the narrator for this audiobook version. Their attempted accents were strange at some points and just a bit off for others.
As long as you're into sci-fi adjacent, "near future", climate change novels with heavy doses of politics, this book is perfect for you. Otherwise, maybe not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Classism, and Colonisation
blenchbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Racism, and Islamophobia
Minor: War and Pandemic/Epidemic
More...