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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
This book's scope expands well beyond the first two in the series. Is that a good thing? Yes and no.
It's incredibly clear to me that the author is an engineer first. Liu delights in his descriptions of orbital mechanics, speed of light shenanigans, and general scientific concepts as applied to the dynamics of his stories. The worldbuilding and overall arcs of his stories are certainly fascinating and well-crafted. Unfortunately, he is a much weaker writer than he is worldbuilder and technical communicator. The galactic scale of this story is muted by the vast blandness of his characters.
The writing is riddled with similes used to convey meaning and emotional depth, and with some exception it just doesn't hit for me.
To be fair—how much of that is Liu's writing, and how much is the translation from Chinese to English?
I know it's complete apples-to-oranges, but reading this after Catch-22 is a stark comparison to legitimately great writing—joyous to read, delightful phrasing, generating laughter and horror in the same paragraph—while Liu's writing here is at best neutral compared to the story arcs and sci-fi elements. The book is full of "this happened, then this happened, then this happened..." to fill the space between more important character moments. Interesting as a sci-fi history, but does not a great book make.
It's incredibly clear to me that the author is an engineer first. Liu delights in his descriptions of orbital mechanics, speed of light shenanigans, and general scientific concepts as applied to the dynamics of his stories. The worldbuilding and overall arcs of his stories are certainly fascinating and well-crafted. Unfortunately, he is a much weaker writer than he is worldbuilder and technical communicator. The galactic scale of this story is muted by the vast blandness of his characters.
The writing is riddled with similes used to convey meaning and emotional depth, and with some exception it just doesn't hit for me.
To be fair—how much of that is Liu's writing, and how much is the translation from Chinese to English?
I know it's complete apples-to-oranges, but reading this after Catch-22 is a stark comparison to legitimately great writing—joyous to read, delightful phrasing, generating laughter and horror in the same paragraph—while Liu's writing here is at best neutral compared to the story arcs and sci-fi elements. The book is full of "this happened, then this happened, then this happened..." to fill the space between more important character moments. Interesting as a sci-fi history, but does not a great book make.
Spoiler
The end of Thomas Wade's story is particularly weak to me, and hard to imagine a group of zealots with that strength of belief giving up so easily.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
I konačno je kraj ove trilogije! Kraj smrti je sigurno najduži roman koji sam pročitao ove godine. I utisci su mi veoma pomešani. Ko je čitao utiske o prethodna dva romana iz trilogije Besede o Zemljinoj prošlosti zna da sam te romane uglavnom hvalio. Ni ovoga puta nije mnogo drugačiji utisak, ali uz jednu veliku napomenu da ovo nisu romani za svakoga.
Drugi deo trilogije se završava spoznajom o Mračnoj šumi. I zaista, taj deo je veoma veličanstven i gotovo da ostavlja bez daha. A nastavak samo ide dalje sa takvim utiskom i Cisin nam donosi jedan fantastično izmaštani svet. Zapravo, svemir! I to dobro potkovan činjenicama. I to vremenski veoma širok. I ovaj roman je nešto što prevazilazi moju maštu.
Samo sesti i maštati ili razmišljati o tome šta bi sve moglo da bude, a koristeći teoriju iz mnogih naučnih oblasti je veoma zahtevno i zadivljujuće. A Liju nam donosi obilje toga u ovom romanu. Sve tehničke stvari on objašnjava. Trudi se da uprosti i prosečnom čitaocu će biti u većoj meri jasno o čemu se radi. Ipak, postoji granica iza koje će samo određeni biti u stanju da vide i razumeju. Prosto, tu je dosta fizike i nauke o svemiru. Razne teorije i činjenice. Zaista, i meni kao matematičaru su neke stvari bile takve da sam morao da zastanem i promislim o njima. U pojedinim momentima čak nisam ni bio siguran da razumem šta to znači.
I to je momenat zbog koga mislim da ovo nije serijal za svakoga. Da, dobar deo će se razumeti. Da, dobar deo će biti oduševljen. Ali kada su u pitanju te tehničke stvari nekom može delovati naporno i prosto ga odbiti od daljeg čitanja. Da ne spominjem da je svaki sledeći roman iz trilogije duži od prethodnog. Samim tim ispunjen sa više detalja. Nepobitno je da će se u tim detaljima uživati, ali neko može imati utisak da je sve to pomalo suvišno.
Već u Mračnoj šumi sam imao utisak da je autor otišao predaleko i izmaštao neke stvari koje je pitanje da li će moći da se dogode i za hiljadu godina. A onda je u ovom romanu probio tu barijeru i prosto nisam siguran da su stvari o kojima on piše moguće i za milion godina. A Cisin piše tako da sve deluje realno i vrlo moguće u nekoj daljoj budućnosti. Zaista, uživao sam u njegovom stvaranju ovog svemira.
Borba u svemiru za opstanak i dalje traje. Prva dva romana nam govore o predstojećoj borbi sa Trisolarijancima. I ako ste mislili da je u ovom romanu to glavna tema, varate se. Nakon borbe sa njima ima još! I to više od polovine romana govori o vremenu posle te borbe. Imam utisak da je vrlo moguće da Cisin napiše još jedan roman kao nastavak u nekom trenutku. Kome se dopadnu prva dva romana u trećem će dobiti mnogo više od očekivanog, to mogu da garantujem.
Inače, u trećem delu je vrlo mali broj likova koji se pojavljuju u prva dva dela. I, u neku ruku, imate utisak kao da čitate potpuno nov roman. Da, radnja se nastavlja i spominju se neki događaji od ranije. Ali sami likovi su uglavnom novi. I to mi je malo bilo neobično. Ipak, radnja romana Kraj smrti obuhvata veliki vremenski interval. Veoma veliki! I čak ako ne znate mnoge stvari o, na primer, crnim rupama ili kretanju brzinom svetlosti, ovde ćete naučiti. Ne puno, ali hoćete. Cisin je stvarno uradio fantastičan posao i za ovo mu skidam kapu! Nadam se da ćemo od njega dobiti još puno dobrih dela.
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Drugi deo trilogije se završava spoznajom o Mračnoj šumi. I zaista, taj deo je veoma veličanstven i gotovo da ostavlja bez daha. A nastavak samo ide dalje sa takvim utiskom i Cisin nam donosi jedan fantastično izmaštani svet. Zapravo, svemir! I to dobro potkovan činjenicama. I to vremenski veoma širok. I ovaj roman je nešto što prevazilazi moju maštu.
Samo sesti i maštati ili razmišljati o tome šta bi sve moglo da bude, a koristeći teoriju iz mnogih naučnih oblasti je veoma zahtevno i zadivljujuće. A Liju nam donosi obilje toga u ovom romanu. Sve tehničke stvari on objašnjava. Trudi se da uprosti i prosečnom čitaocu će biti u većoj meri jasno o čemu se radi. Ipak, postoji granica iza koje će samo određeni biti u stanju da vide i razumeju. Prosto, tu je dosta fizike i nauke o svemiru. Razne teorije i činjenice. Zaista, i meni kao matematičaru su neke stvari bile takve da sam morao da zastanem i promislim o njima. U pojedinim momentima čak nisam ni bio siguran da razumem šta to znači.
I to je momenat zbog koga mislim da ovo nije serijal za svakoga. Da, dobar deo će se razumeti. Da, dobar deo će biti oduševljen. Ali kada su u pitanju te tehničke stvari nekom može delovati naporno i prosto ga odbiti od daljeg čitanja. Da ne spominjem da je svaki sledeći roman iz trilogije duži od prethodnog. Samim tim ispunjen sa više detalja. Nepobitno je da će se u tim detaljima uživati, ali neko može imati utisak da je sve to pomalo suvišno.
Već u Mračnoj šumi sam imao utisak da je autor otišao predaleko i izmaštao neke stvari koje je pitanje da li će moći da se dogode i za hiljadu godina. A onda je u ovom romanu probio tu barijeru i prosto nisam siguran da su stvari o kojima on piše moguće i za milion godina. A Cisin piše tako da sve deluje realno i vrlo moguće u nekoj daljoj budućnosti. Zaista, uživao sam u njegovom stvaranju ovog svemira.
Borba u svemiru za opstanak i dalje traje. Prva dva romana nam govore o predstojećoj borbi sa Trisolarijancima. I ako ste mislili da je u ovom romanu to glavna tema, varate se. Nakon borbe sa njima ima još! I to više od polovine romana govori o vremenu posle te borbe. Imam utisak da je vrlo moguće da Cisin napiše još jedan roman kao nastavak u nekom trenutku. Kome se dopadnu prva dva romana u trećem će dobiti mnogo više od očekivanog, to mogu da garantujem.
Inače, u trećem delu je vrlo mali broj likova koji se pojavljuju u prva dva dela. I, u neku ruku, imate utisak kao da čitate potpuno nov roman. Da, radnja se nastavlja i spominju se neki događaji od ranije. Ali sami likovi su uglavnom novi. I to mi je malo bilo neobično. Ipak, radnja romana Kraj smrti obuhvata veliki vremenski interval. Veoma veliki! I čak ako ne znate mnoge stvari o, na primer, crnim rupama ili kretanju brzinom svetlosti, ovde ćete naučiti. Ne puno, ali hoćete. Cisin je stvarno uradio fantastičan posao i za ovo mu skidam kapu! Nadam se da ćemo od njega dobiti još puno dobrih dela.
★ Za izdvojene citate i više detalja posetite blog Petrov svet
★ Možete me pratiti i na Instagram stranici
bleakest books I've ever read. awesome hard scifi though - some amazing concepts at play
4.5 Stars *****
The score is for the Trilogy as a whole as it impossible to see this as seperate books.
The books are truly something different, maybe it's the perspective of a Chinese writer, everytime you think you have the story or the characters figured out, it takes an unexpected turn.
Mostly i'm impresssed with the focus on morality and duty towards your fellow beings, even though the story, in general, draws a glomy picture of the human race and the inteligent races in general.
The score is for the Trilogy as a whole as it impossible to see this as seperate books.
The books are truly something different, maybe it's the perspective of a Chinese writer, everytime you think you have the story or the characters figured out, it takes an unexpected turn.
Mostly i'm impresssed with the focus on morality and duty towards your fellow beings, even though the story, in general, draws a glomy picture of the human race and the inteligent races in general.
I’m gonna be honest, I really didn’t understand a lot of the science in this book and there were so many scenes that were so beautifully written, but were very difficult for me to actually imagine. Very mind bending. The beautiful architecture and the different eras of humanity and how they have arranged themselves given the changing circumstances. It was a little bit of a departure from the first two books, but seeing such expansive views of time was really interesting. It never felt packed, and it allowed for a lot of interesting ideas to be explored. There were so many little moments like the paintings, the notes outside of time and the fall of Constantinople that were woven in so well. It definitely made it less approachable, but also much better written for having those.
The gender commentary was odd, I don’t quite know where to put it. Again, at times I am unsure if what the author actually believes at times. I don’t think it muddled necessarily, but at times contradictory. I think that the part where Cheng Xin twice makes the choice of compassion dooming the human race (or at least in the humans in the galaxy) was confusing to me. It never really seems as though the narrative condemns her, and yes she is one of the main reason so many people die. I would have made the same choices too, though. It’s very human and good to choose life and kindness, to spite the dark forest. And I think in the end, making the choice to leave the pocket universe and rejoin the big universe to hopefully allow a new one to emerge even if they die and don't get to see the new universe is also the right choice. And one that needs to be made communally, one that all of the beings in pocket universes needs to make.
The fairy tales hiding a hidden message was ingenious. I loved the stories (or one story broken into parts). The painter who was able to trap people in portraits, the special soap, the prince who defied proportions. And it was woven in so well with the evental reveal of faster than light speed, of the idea of going dark and cutting off all ability for the human race to expand, of the horrifying meaning of the paintings.
The moments of horror around the mass relocation to Australia and the almost forced cannibalism or the final understanding of what the painting reference ment, the collapse of the third dimension into two. The horror of mass extinction and knowing there really isn't anything to do. Hearing a tomb talk in the second dimension is one of the most interesting things I have read in Sci Fi.
The gender commentary was odd, I don’t quite know where to put it. Again, at times I am unsure if what the author actually believes at times. I don’t think it muddled necessarily, but at times contradictory. I think that the part where Cheng Xin twice makes the choice of compassion dooming the human race (or at least in the humans in the galaxy) was confusing to me. It never really seems as though the narrative condemns her, and yes she is one of the main reason so many people die. I would have made the same choices too, though. It’s very human and good to choose life and kindness, to spite the dark forest. And I think in the end, making the choice to leave the pocket universe and rejoin the big universe to hopefully allow a new one to emerge even if they die and don't get to see the new universe is also the right choice. And one that needs to be made communally, one that all of the beings in pocket universes needs to make.
The fairy tales hiding a hidden message was ingenious. I loved the stories (or one story broken into parts). The painter who was able to trap people in portraits, the special soap, the prince who defied proportions. And it was woven in so well with the evental reveal of faster than light speed, of the idea of going dark and cutting off all ability for the human race to expand, of the horrifying meaning of the paintings.
The moments of horror around the mass relocation to Australia and the almost forced cannibalism or the final understanding of what the painting reference ment, the collapse of the third dimension into two. The horror of mass extinction and knowing there really isn't anything to do. Hearing a tomb talk in the second dimension is one of the most interesting things I have read in Sci Fi.
Okay, I keep it simple and short: you have to read the whole "Rembrance of Earth's Past" Series. It might take a while because you get quite a lot of science, but it is absolutely worth it. I think this series will be one of my favourite science-fiction books of all time because it combines sci-fi, but also philosophy, politics, existential questions and what-if-scenarious I personally am always drawn too. It's also very dark and it might not give you awesome feelings of joy. But it makes you think, like I am doing the whole day and night after finishing the last book in the series.
So, please read the series.
The only thing I don't like is how the characters can be interpreted and are portrayed. it's full of gender-related rolls/tropes. someone might stumble across those things and find them hindering to enjoy the overall story. for me, it was tolerable.
So, please read the series.
The only thing I don't like is how the characters can be interpreted and are portrayed. it's full of gender-related rolls/tropes. someone might stumble across those things and find them hindering to enjoy the overall story. for me, it was tolerable.
Yeh I had a break after the second book and wondered if I'd ever go back as the second left me feeling like it was drawn out.. was so glad I did as this book felt like it brought in so many aspects for speculative thought and not in an over-besring way, but more well balanced. I think with reading the second after the first I probably just needed a break from the series... class stuff, loved it.
This was probably my favorite book so far this year. It makes you think, it makes you weep for life. Such an extraordinary series.
This is a series that I will reread many times.
This is a series that I will reread many times.