Reviews

I don't think I've ever done such a stark about-face on a book before; in the beginning I was really enjoying this but now I'm struggling to make myself read the last 50 pages, and after just having finished reading a much better book, I've come to the realisation that life's too short to hate-read books (because it's not bad enough for me to hate on enjoyably).

I genuinely enjoy the premise of the book; I find it quite original and well-thought-out with all the worldbuilding. I'm a fan of hard sci-fi (or at least I think I am) so all the technobabble was just up my alley. The writing style itself wasn't bad either, sorta matter-of-fact without being bland. I think the stumbling stone of the book for me was that the plot seems to have all but resolved itself at the 65% mark. From then on, there's just nothing compelling me to read more apart from a desire to get detail about the characters' experiences with immortality, and for whatever reason, I had no desire at all to do that.

I don't want to swear off the author completely, but maybe timing was just poor for this book.

samihoch's review against another edition

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3.0

i enjoyed some parts of this book and found it relatively easy to read considering the confusing nature of the subject. but overall just not the genre for me

bbooker's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

michi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

tahnok's review against another edition

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4.0

A thoroughly weird and unsettling book.

Classic SciFi thought experiments brought to life in a story. Asking questions in the context of characters that would feel dry otherwise

joosty's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

jeromy's review against another edition

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2.0

I did not enjoy it. Ideas around cellular automata and virtual worlds but the story didn’t gel with me/didn’t age well.

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