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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-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:
No
Asimov never disappoints. His stories are always interesting and original and this is no exception.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
Some pretty interesting ideas about a brand of alien reproductive habits and possible Earth-Moon inter-civilization politics, but overall pretty 'meh'. I prefer my sci-fi with a little more literary merit. No offense to Asimov, who I've really enjoyed in short story form.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-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
adventurous
medium-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
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
Spoiler
Minus 1 stars for the lack of enthusiasm in the end, it could have been way more dramatic given the stakes. I wanted more drama! More energy! Maybe if the book had an additional chapter this could have been reached. The third part was lacking.But nonetheless, it is impressive how complex the story got in only 270 ish pages. Dayum.
The book is divided into 3 parts. It is very wordy, as some other reviewers mentioned, but the division makes it more digestible.
I particularly loved the introduction (by Ken MacLeod), very funny, very witty, it mentioned alien sex and imma be honest, it got me hooked.
The intro also summarizes the book without giving away any real spoiler, which was nice.
Speaking of spoilers, on the copy I got, there were spoilers for all 3 parts on the back of the book :))). Luckily, I didn't really pay attention to that part, but still, rude!
Let's get into the actual work.
The story starts with chapter 6, then goes back to chapter 1 and switches between chapters for a short while. I liked this, I knew more of the story that I should have when I got to chapter one, and I could concentrate on certain aspects of the story.
I fricking loved the first two parts, LOVED THEM. After the first one, I got a bit afraid when I saw the tonality change in the second part, but that changed quickly.
The angst, anger, and absolute craziness of part 1 were complimented and continued well in the next one.
And can we talk about the triad.....such a great, great, amazing concept. So well done. This is the greatest interpretation of alien life that I have yet read (although I don't have many others under my belt as of now, it shouldn't take from its value). The distinct personalities, the stigma of acting different, the mistery of death, and the plot twist at the end. Chef's kiss! Also... the melting! How can I forget, I will never.
And then the last part....I expected something more. The character dynamics and Lunar society are interesting, but the end of the book seemed a bit boring tbh. Maybe I missed some parts while reading it. I got the multiple universes theory and the solution that they found to keep the sun from exploding, also the possibility that they might create a big bang in another universe was very cool, but the writing missed a bit of oomph at the end, I think.
In the introduction, it is mentioned that you should read this at least twice to completely appreciate the masterpiece. I will do that and will come back with an update.
The last thing I will mention is the science. I am not as knowledgeable is this field as I wish to be, and I want to work on that, but even for a pleb like me, this was a complete masterpiece. Complex theories explained well and very, VERY cool ideas. Like I mentioned before, this book proposes a possibility of how the big bang/a big bang might happen. A universe with not enough energy to explode gets it from a leak from another universe, along with a particle reaction change that allows the stars to grow/get smaller.
On my second read, I want to pay closer attention to the science, I missed stuff for sure. Even still, great descriptions.