Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I intended to keep reading this, if only so I could discuss this with my book club (side note: if someone suggests this for your sci-fi fantasy book club, know that they did not do their due diligence to check the genre lmao).
However, some more engaging media/personal things easily pulled me away from picking this back up.
I'll admit the first chapter was rough -- I very nearly DNF'd it because of the mind-numbing level of detail about Soviet steel mills. I decided to push through another chapter and I was rewarded with fascinating 1920s and 1930s Soviet and American history that I only vaguely knew about, if at all.
The dedication to research and setting seemed incredible, but I also couldn't help but feel like fictional characters got in the way of someone's mini history lectures/Wikipedia deep dives.
I cannot fairly assess the characterization of Dawn/Aurora, but she felt secondary to the details being laid out in the first third of the book (and based on some of the other reviews, this appears to continue through the rest of the book).
I got the impression that she was going to Forrest Gump her way through Communist/anarchist societies and historical events. The only glimmer of character was her frustration about her father's inability to drop the cause for even a few moments. I was interested in this attitude and how she gets to be where she is in the prologue/first chapter, but ultimately nothing was calling me back to this story.
I do wish I was able to keep going, I just really lost the momentum after putting it down. I'm not sure if this was the best introduction to Stephenson, but I'm also not sure if he is also the right author for me.
However, some more engaging media/personal things easily pulled me away from picking this back up.
I'll admit the first chapter was rough -- I very nearly DNF'd it because of the mind-numbing level of detail about Soviet steel mills. I decided to push through another chapter and I was rewarded with fascinating 1920s and 1930s Soviet and American history that I only vaguely knew about, if at all.
The dedication to research and setting seemed incredible, but I also couldn't help but feel like fictional characters got in the way of someone's mini history lectures/Wikipedia deep dives.
I cannot fairly assess the characterization of Dawn/Aurora, but she felt secondary to the details being laid out in the first third of the book (and based on some of the other reviews, this appears to continue through the rest of the book).
I got the impression that she was going to Forrest Gump her way through Communist/anarchist societies and historical events. The only glimmer of character was her frustration about her father's inability to drop the cause for even a few moments. I was interested in this attitude and how she gets to be where she is in the prologue/first chapter, but ultimately nothing was calling me back to this story.
I do wish I was able to keep going, I just really lost the momentum after putting it down. I'm not sure if this was the best introduction to Stephenson, but I'm also not sure if he is also the right author for me.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This is a Neal Stephenson ass book for all the good and bad that implies. Maybe too much of setting up for the rest of the series. Tons of history info dumps to dig into further.
slow-paced
I do have a feeling this was the publisher chopping one large book into three for a bigger pay day. However, what is here is interesting. Despite its short length (for Neal) he does still tend to wander into excessive info dumps.
adventurous
medium-paced
***1/2
Het is even wennen. Stephenson kan een goed verhaal vertellen, en je vergeeft ‘m daarom makkelijk dat het, qua volume, vaak nog uitwaaiert. Deze keer is het niet de gebruikelijke 900 pagina’s, maar een eerste deel (van 3). Met als gevolg dat je het eerste deel heel erg bezig bent om in het boek te komen, en als he denkt: “kom nu maar door met dat verhaal”, je moet wachten op het volgende deel. Qua beoordeling: eerste stuk medium (3 sterren), maar meer naar het eind lonkte het perspectief, de personages en de nieuwsgierigheid met hie nu verder (4 sterren). Nu maar het voordeel van de twijfel (hoe moeilijk is dat, Goodreads, halve sterren?).
Het is even wennen. Stephenson kan een goed verhaal vertellen, en je vergeeft ‘m daarom makkelijk dat het, qua volume, vaak nog uitwaaiert. Deze keer is het niet de gebruikelijke 900 pagina’s, maar een eerste deel (van 3). Met als gevolg dat je het eerste deel heel erg bezig bent om in het boek te komen, en als he denkt: “kom nu maar door met dat verhaal”, je moet wachten op het volgende deel. Qua beoordeling: eerste stuk medium (3 sterren), maar meer naar het eind lonkte het perspectief, de personages en de nieuwsgierigheid met hie nu verder (4 sterren). Nu maar het voordeel van de twijfel (hoe moeilijk is dat, Goodreads, halve sterren?).