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_mrc_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ethias's review against another edition
5.0
What can I even say about this book? This book made me think of things I had never even considered before. This book gave me a new respect and love for spiders and other creatures that I have always harbored a great fear for. I loved it. It was inspiring and heart wrenching and tragic and hopeful. I’m utterly impressed.
My only real complaint is that it was a bit of a slow read, I had a hard time keeping myself going a few times, and it took quite a bit of energy to read just because of the nature of its topic and style.
I don’t think I will ever get over this book. I will be thinking about this for years if not for the rest of my life. I’m very glad I picked this up and stuck through to the end of this journey.
I have copied below my favorite passage for my own remembrance:
pg 439-440
“”So, tell me?” Holstein broached to them. “Tell me who you really are. You!” He pointed at not-Ailen. “Who are you? What happened to the real Ailen that you’re wearing her skin— clothes, her clothes?” He could feel a deep craziness trying to shake itself loose inside him. This crowd of serious well-mannered people in stolen shipsuits was beginning to frighten him more than the mutineers, more than the ragged robes of the cultists. And why was it always like this? “What’s wrong with us?” And only from their expressions did he realize that he had just spoken aloud, but the words wouldn’t stop. “What is it about us that we cannot live together in this fucking eggshell ship without tearing at each other? That we have to try and control one another and lie to one another and hurt one another? Who are you that you’re telling me where I have to be and what to do? What are you doing to the poor Gilgamesh? Where did all you freaks come from?” The last came out as a shriek that appalled Holsten, because something in him seemed to have snapped beyond any control or repair. For a moment he stared at his audience of the young and alien, with his mouth open, everyone including himself waiting to see if more words would be forthcoming. Instead he could feel the shape of his mouth deforming and twisting, and sobs starting to claw and suck at his chest. It was too much. It has been too much. He, who had translated the madness of a millennia-old guardian angle. He who had been abducted. He who had seen an alien world crawling with earthly horrors. He had feared. He had loved. He had met a man who wanted to be God. He had seen death.
It had been a rough few weeks. The universe had been given centuries to absorb the shock, but not him. He had been woken and pounded, woken and pounded, and the rigid stasis of suspension offered him no capacity to recover his balance.”
My only real complaint is that it was a bit of a slow read, I had a hard time keeping myself going a few times, and it took quite a bit of energy to read just because of the nature of its topic and style.
I don’t think I will ever get over this book. I will be thinking about this for years if not for the rest of my life. I’m very glad I picked this up and stuck through to the end of this journey.
I have copied below my favorite passage for my own remembrance:
pg 439-440
“”So, tell me?” Holstein broached to them. “Tell me who you really are. You!” He pointed at not-Ailen. “Who are you? What happened to the real Ailen that you’re wearing her skin— clothes, her clothes?” He could feel a deep craziness trying to shake itself loose inside him. This crowd of serious well-mannered people in stolen shipsuits was beginning to frighten him more than the mutineers, more than the ragged robes of the cultists. And why was it always like this? “What’s wrong with us?” And only from their expressions did he realize that he had just spoken aloud, but the words wouldn’t stop. “What is it about us that we cannot live together in this fucking eggshell ship without tearing at each other? That we have to try and control one another and lie to one another and hurt one another? Who are you that you’re telling me where I have to be and what to do? What are you doing to the poor Gilgamesh? Where did all you freaks come from?” The last came out as a shriek that appalled Holsten, because something in him seemed to have snapped beyond any control or repair. For a moment he stared at his audience of the young and alien, with his mouth open, everyone including himself waiting to see if more words would be forthcoming. Instead he could feel the shape of his mouth deforming and twisting, and sobs starting to claw and suck at his chest. It was too much. It has been too much. He, who had translated the madness of a millennia-old guardian angle. He who had been abducted. He who had seen an alien world crawling with earthly horrors. He had feared. He had loved. He had met a man who wanted to be God. He had seen death.
It had been a rough few weeks. The universe had been given centuries to absorb the shock, but not him. He had been woken and pounded, woken and pounded, and the rigid stasis of suspension offered him no capacity to recover his balance.”
stephanierachel's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
goldripred's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-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
4.5
Really good ending. Mind-opening and contained a lot of different perspectives.
kim012's review against another edition
4.0
This was a ride. I was very intrigued by the premise and read the first 50% or so and was enjoying it a lot. But then the story kind of sagged, in my opinion, and I struggled with the next 25%, to the point that I put it aside for some time and read other books in between. Today I picked it up again, and I am very glad I did. The last 25% I read in one sitting, the ending is really good and I think worth the struggle. The action was like watching a good old school sci-fi movie, and all concepts and ideas were really neatly tied together.
teokajlibroj's review against another edition
3.0
This book certainly deserves credit for its originality. The imagination used in creating an alternative evolutionary history of spiders is very impressive and the strongest part of the book. I also really enjoyed the gender dynamics among the spiders.
Unfortunately, the author goes too far in how logical and understandable the spiders are, resulting in an absurdly over-powered civilisation. The nanovirus is basically magic that makes everything easy and convenient for the spiders.
So the spiders create a utopia, a civilisation without any of the flaws of real civilisations. They never build monuments (because that would be wasteful), acquire luxuries (because all resources must be spent on science), have a king or single strong ruler (everything is decided democratically), create a religion that restricts them in anyway (because everyone agrees science rules) or with one exception, ever go to war. I admire the author for imaging a completely different kind of society, but I never believed the spider society was real. Everything was just too easy. Were there never disagreements over limited resources? No power struggles? Did the enormous growth in the spider population not have a single negative impact on the environment?
The treatment of the humans is the opposite extreme, just as there is not a single unlikeable spider, there is not a single likeable human. Just as everything that possible could go right does go right for the spiders, everything that could go wrong for the humans does. Technology for the spiders moves in a straight line of progress, whereas it falls apart for humans. There is something of a contradiction in the treatment of technology. The human plot emphasises the dangers of technological advancement, but in the spider plot there is absolutely no possible negative effects of technology.
This book is about the vast overview of history and as a result, none of the individual characters are particularly memorable. Most of the human plots seemed to be there just to fill space and give the spiders time to advance, with most of the interesting development happening off-page.
Unfortunately, the author goes too far in how logical and understandable the spiders are, resulting in an absurdly over-powered civilisation. The nanovirus is basically magic that makes everything easy and convenient for the spiders.
So the spiders create a utopia, a civilisation without any of the flaws of real civilisations. They never build monuments (because that would be wasteful), acquire luxuries (because all resources must be spent on science), have a king or single strong ruler (everything is decided democratically), create a religion that restricts them in anyway (because everyone agrees science rules) or with one exception, ever go to war. I admire the author for imaging a completely different kind of society, but I never believed the spider society was real. Everything was just too easy. Were there never disagreements over limited resources? No power struggles? Did the enormous growth in the spider population not have a single negative impact on the environment?
The treatment of the humans is the opposite extreme, just as there is not a single unlikeable spider, there is not a single likeable human. Just as everything that possible could go right does go right for the spiders, everything that could go wrong for the humans does. Technology for the spiders moves in a straight line of progress, whereas it falls apart for humans. There is something of a contradiction in the treatment of technology. The human plot emphasises the dangers of technological advancement, but in the spider plot there is absolutely no possible negative effects of technology.
This book is about the vast overview of history and as a result, none of the individual characters are particularly memorable. Most of the human plots seemed to be there just to fill space and give the spiders time to advance, with most of the interesting development happening off-page.
elorine's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
hollyalex's review against another edition
4.0
This one is a solid 4-4.5. I wish Goodreads allowed half stars so I could give it the rating it deserves.
The parallels between the two timelines in the book and the history of our own planet are remarkably well done in this. Seeing the spiders evolve and advance in ways so similar to how humans did was so interesting, and seeing how the humans repeated so much of our own history on Earth within the confines of the Gilgamesh was frustrating, heartbreaking, and entirely expected to a certain extent.
I listened to this story on audio and the narrator did a great job with pausing for breaks within chapters and the voices throughout as well.
The ending was immensely satisfying and was a surprise to be - but made total sense once I realized what was happening. I am very much looking forward to starting the next book in the series!
The parallels between the two timelines in the book and the history of our own planet are remarkably well done in this. Seeing the spiders evolve and advance in ways so similar to how humans did was so interesting, and seeing how the humans repeated so much of our own history on Earth within the confines of the Gilgamesh was frustrating, heartbreaking, and entirely expected to a certain extent.
I listened to this story on audio and the narrator did a great job with pausing for breaks within chapters and the voices throughout as well.
The ending was immensely satisfying and was a surprise to be - but made total sense once I realized what was happening. I am very much looking forward to starting the next book in the series!