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icarusandthesun's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
this book fried my brain.
i'm a little ashamed to admit that i didn't understand like half of it. maybe it was the english terminology—all the jargon—, or maybe it was the fact i'm not too knowledgeable about neither the Chinese Cultural Revolution nor, well, astrophysics.
maybe my reading was also lacking a bit of personal initiative, because i'm sure a couple more google searches (that i didn't make) would've greatly helped my understanding.
but alas. perhaps i will re-read this book someday and then hopefully understand it a bit better, because the story and ideas weren't at all bad! i still really enjoyed it.
i'm a little ashamed to admit that i didn't understand like half of it. maybe it was the english terminology—all the jargon—, or maybe it was the fact i'm not too knowledgeable about neither the Chinese Cultural Revolution nor, well, astrophysics.
maybe my reading was also lacking a bit of personal initiative, because i'm sure a couple more google searches (that i didn't make) would've greatly helped my understanding.
but alas. perhaps i will re-read this book someday and then hopefully understand it a bit better, because the story and ideas weren't at all bad! i still really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
cdbrendel's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Suicide, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
aude's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder
dished_pallor's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
An interesting, extremely slow-burn premise that pays off. Book has a tendency to "tell" not "show" and it can be a bit grating and wooden. But I'm a sucker for hard scifi with big mysteries.
Content Warnings
Minor: Torture, Death of parent, Murder, and War
maddie_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I usually prefer faster pace books but I really enjoyed this one.
I really enjoyed
I really enjoyed
- writing style
- the tension and mystery
And learning more about
- China's cultural revolution
- Science concepts - a lot were explained well enough that I could understand without a science background
I never felt bored listening to this but some of the science parts went completely over my head and I didn't want to look them up out of fear of spoilers so I felt a bit lost during some of the super science heavy parts.
Spoilers:
Fyi it ends on a cliffhanger.
I love books that make me say wtf lol dried out people rolls?? What the fuck! Cutting a boat in half with a nano string?? Destroying microcosm societies??love it, absolutely loved the part at the end with the bug metaphor- The Bugs have never truly been defeated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
monsty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Murder, and War
atalea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-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
4.0
At the beginning it was a five star read for me, but at the end it became a little too science heavy for me which deflated my interest a bit. I do love how the author explains difficult scientific concepts, it made it easier to follow. Very interested to see how things continue!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Pregnancy, and War
bettysbookishworld's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Police brutality and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
ali1311's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
I'd heard a lot about this book, which was why it was such a bummer to find it so disappointing! At first, I thought it was just me and my love of romance/an emotionally driven character or sci-fi not being my preferred genre that made me feel like the story fell flat, but upon reading some other reviews, it seems it's not just me. Which is a relief because I thought I was being a real hater for no reason. Alas, there is reason. The book was interesting but the writing reads as somewhat robotic and I wouldn't say we know any of the characters well. In fact, I think there were too many characters and we didn't get to really attach ourselves to a specific character as our protagonist for much of the book. I also don't have enough of a STEM brain for this book. The science didn't interest me much, and with no interesting characters to supplement the complex science, I spent a lot of the book feeling lost and a bit bored. Overall, I see what the author was trying to do and I can see why someone would enjoy this book, but I thought it was a bit bland.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, and War
Minor: Murder
scytheria's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Suicide and Terminal illness