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carolyngrace's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
abby_b's review
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
theecatreaders's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
shinyhero's review
5.0
4.5/5.0
This rating is for the Chinese original. I can see how some parts are difficult/impossible to translate into English without losing a significant amount of original meaning. This book is innovative in mixing the history of Cultural Revolution with science fiction. The description of life, and how politics worked in academia, during CR rings eerily authentic. Overall, I found the book captivating and imaginative.
Contrary to many reviewers, I do not find the characters bland. I found the character of Ye Wenjie, a conflicted elderly woman with a tumultuous past, to be especially well-written and believable. Shi Qiang is another distinctive character who seems very familiar because you are bound to know somebody like him in real life (especially if you know many Chinese people).
The only minor thing I found disagreeable is that the author shows some fundamental misunderstanding of the sciences he describes in detail. For example, it is well known that quantum entanglement cannot transmit information (thus the real-time communication between the aliens and Earth would not have been possible) . He could have fixed this very easily with a one-line introduction of a deux de machina (this is science fiction after all). Other examples include using the sun as an amplifier for electromagnetic signals (the sun is generally understood to absorb radiation, since the 60s and even today), and the nature of a sophon.
This rating is for the Chinese original. I can see how some parts are difficult/impossible to translate into English without losing a significant amount of original meaning. This book is innovative in mixing the history of Cultural Revolution with science fiction. The description of life, and how politics worked in academia, during CR rings eerily authentic. Overall, I found the book captivating and imaginative.
Contrary to many reviewers, I do not find the characters bland. I found the character of Ye Wenjie, a conflicted elderly woman with a tumultuous past, to be especially well-written and believable. Shi Qiang is another distinctive character who seems very familiar because you are bound to know somebody like him in real life (especially if you know many Chinese people).
The only minor thing I found disagreeable is that the author shows some fundamental misunderstanding of the sciences he describes in detail. For example, it is well known that quantum entanglement cannot transmit information
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