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kkqwel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
dinudolan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
3.75
damopedro's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
I read this after watching the TV series and found this to be even better. Quite a different beast in some ways though. Lots more explanation of the technology. There was some "science" explained right at the end of the book that was do hard to follow. I think I got the gist of it but it was hard going. Now I need to read the next 2 books.
corvid0cravings's review against another edition
3.0
This story really was so interesting and compelling, sadly the writing felt stunted and took away from the excitement of the plot. I'm pretty sure it was translated, so that's not really a fault of anyone, just an unfortunately reality.
kukkaruukku's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
madeleine_hbk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
hweezbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book spouted truisms so uncomfortably close to how we humans are so predictably narrow-minded on our needs but also how broad the possibilities were if we just thought a little further.
Ye Wenjie witnessed the death of her physics professor father during the Cultural Revolution, beaten to death by young and fervent Red Guards.
Holed up in a remote installation for years following that, she discovers and communicates back with an extraterrestrial voice from light years away.
What follows is a fascinating and fantastical premise of a story — a “credible” explanation of events through physics and also:
1. a confirmation of the brutality with which mankind continues to treat his or her own
2. the ingenious survivability of mankind delivered so beautifully through Wang Miao, a brilliant mind in nano tech and his utter opposite, a wizened policeman, look-down-my-throat-and-you-can-see-out-my-ass Shi Qiang.
My ears are still ringing from the climax scene where the two work together to take down the rogues. It was AWESOME!
In his afterword, author Liu Cixin (translated by Ken Liu, whom I’ve also read) says he writes not to criticize reality, but to create imaginative worlds outside of it:
“I’ve always felt that the greatest and most beautiful stories in the history of humanity were not sung by wandering bards or written by playwrights and novelists, but told by science.”
Now showing on @netflixsg , which expedited this book up my TBR!
Ye Wenjie witnessed the death of her physics professor father during the Cultural Revolution, beaten to death by young and fervent Red Guards.
Holed up in a remote installation for years following that, she discovers and communicates back with an extraterrestrial voice from light years away.
What follows is a fascinating and fantastical premise of a story — a “credible” explanation of events through physics and also:
1. a confirmation of the brutality with which mankind continues to treat his or her own
2. the ingenious survivability of mankind delivered so beautifully through Wang Miao, a brilliant mind in nano tech and his utter opposite, a wizened policeman, look-down-my-throat-and-you-can-see-out-my-ass Shi Qiang.
My ears are still ringing from the climax scene where the two work together to take down the rogues. It was AWESOME!
In his afterword, author Liu Cixin (translated by Ken Liu, whom I’ve also read) says he writes not to criticize reality, but to create imaginative worlds outside of it:
“I’ve always felt that the greatest and most beautiful stories in the history of humanity were not sung by wandering bards or written by playwrights and novelists, but told by science.”
Now showing on @netflixsg , which expedited this book up my TBR!
dvornik575's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ehabich's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5