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charlener0's review against another edition
4.0
Really liked the ideas explored when people sail across time rather than space.
effy's review
4.5
A very interesting and unique take on a novelette as we have an introduction for an imaginary book. I was fascinated by the approach taken considering social and scientific limitations to cryogenesis. The idea that a human lifespan would have a terminal length was intriguing and made a lot of sense using a very accessible scientific basis. I didn’t expect for there to be a twist at the end but I appreciated the personal angle and the emotional impact.
wctracy's review against another edition
3.0
Read for 2024 Hugos
The concept behind this is interesting, and I would have loved to actually read a story about it. Instead, in 26 pages, about 15 are devoted to what seems like an abstract about the concept of cryosleep and documenting its development. Only in the first couple pages and the last few do we have any sort of story about the any character being affected by any of this. What could have been an inventive story reads more like a research article.
The concept behind this is interesting, and I would have loved to actually read a story about it. Instead, in 26 pages, about 15 are devoted to what seems like an abstract about the concept of cryosleep and documenting its development. Only in the first couple pages and the last few do we have any sort of story about the any character being affected by any of this. What could have been an inventive story reads more like a research article.
anna_hepworth's review against another edition
4.5
not a proper review, just copying my reading notes: I initially missed the ‘introduction’ part of the title, and thus the tone seemed off; when I worked that out it started to flow better, because I was reading in the right register. For a book introduction, this is too long. For a story using that as the conceit, it is interesting — a bit like reading some of Stanislaw Lem’s meta-textual writing. Tonally, the story shifts dramatically towards the end in a way that makes complete sense, but makes the whole thing heartbreaking.
zober's review against another edition
3.5
Good, albeit dark. I didn't think the story framing was effective even though I liked the writing and the world-building and the message.
a_o's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lozymandias's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A fascinating world building of the growth of humanity over the next 160 years, somewhat limited in enjoyment by the framing device of a review of an academic paper.