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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
I read this while recovering from gallbladder surgery, feeling sick to my stomach and half asleep in my hospital bed, which feels like the proper way of consuming this work: bringing a heaping portion of disbelief. I don’t actually remember much of the story but I remember enjoying it.
I feel like this work would be more strongly presented as an anthology of short stories without attempts to weave together an overarching narrative.
I feel like this work would be more strongly presented as an anthology of short stories without attempts to weave together an overarching narrative.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-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
Total Gibberish
This could have been a real mindblower, but as it is, there's a pile of disconnected ideas, characters and plot threads without a narrative throughline. Not at all worth your time.
This could have been a real mindblower, but as it is, there's a pile of disconnected ideas, characters and plot threads without a narrative throughline. Not at all worth your time.
This is, truly, a science fiction book. Not a book with a science fiction element throw in, but a book ABOUT science, about scientists, but told in a very epic and metaphysical way. It's very difficult to describe, especially without spoiling anything, but I encourage anyone who likes sci fi or theoretical scientific concepts to try it out and don't give up if it seems weird or confusing. It is weird and confusing, and there are whole sections whose relevance is unknown to the reader until much later, but the explanation always comes around. The last quarter or so is especially confusing, and some of it I really didn't understand at all until I read the author's Q&A in the appendices, which is why I'm only giving it a 4. Still, it was quite enjoyable and one of the most original sci fi stories I've read (or consumed in any form) in a long time, possibly ever.
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Just like "There Is No Antimemetics Division" and "Valuable Humans in Transit" collection, this was delightfully mindbending scifi with lots of fresh ideas taken into extreme. This book first looks like a collection of short stories but soon they start creating a big picture. The book demands quite a lot from the reader with imaginative science concepts and multiple parallel intertwining plots - the FAQ at the end of the book explains a lot of things I was confused about. I rank this alongside Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem trilogy in imagination and epic scale of things.
A Big Ideas book about the Fermi Paradox and the fate of mankind, in a similar vein to Three-Body Problem and its sequels. Suffers somewhat because those books already exist.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated