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mind's review
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
raj_page's review against another edition
5.0
Two civil wars, so much political intrigue, so many deaths, so much plotting and scheming.
The book was so good.
Perfect follow-up to book 1.
The book was so good.
Perfect follow-up to book 1.
realhumanbean4u's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
lleullawgyffes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
valhecka's review against another edition
5.0
Like, yes, these are space opera light novel pulp, and the writing varies from lilac to eggplant in its degree of purple, but GOD THEY'RE SO GOOD. Ridiculous scale - dozens of thousands of ships per side per battle (it is notable when Yang orders ONLY 800), billions of tons of weaponry, millions of personnel - and yet the humanity of the lead characters is never in question. For Yang, because he's a grumpy statistician; for von Lohengramm, because he is so MESSILY early 20s. He and Kircheis break up; it's awful, and both are too boneheaded and 20 to reconcile, and ugh these little Space Reich boyfriends have no right to upset me like this.
Still mad the books feature precisely four women with names, but willing to overlook it for the pulp factor - I am fully reading these for galactic intrigues and lots of pretty space war. Plus, I mean, context of a Japanese man writing in 1983 for sci-fi fans... most of the progressiveness in the English-language specfic publishing scene at that point was like "women can enjoy having sex" and "yes we acknowledge that Le Guin and Butler and Willis are writing circles around 97% of genre fiction". (knock wood)
Anyway this was a ton of fun and analyzing power structures in this framework is fascinating.
Still mad the books feature precisely four women with names, but willing to overlook it for the pulp factor - I am fully reading these for galactic intrigues and lots of pretty space war. Plus, I mean, context of a Japanese man writing in 1983 for sci-fi fans... most of the progressiveness in the English-language specfic publishing scene at that point was like "women can enjoy having sex" and "yes we acknowledge that Le Guin and Butler and Willis are writing circles around 97% of genre fiction". (knock wood)
Anyway this was a ton of fun and analyzing power structures in this framework is fascinating.
cindeereads's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much it is the best Space Opera I have ever read such a great political drama that was always interesting never a dull moment. I loved the characters so much they were all told in a wonderfully detailed way especially Reinhard his group and Yang and his group. There is so much nuanced and wonderfully well developed characters that go through so much many parts especially at the end are so painful to read. I like how ambitious many of the characters are I like like how that ambition is a double edged sword that does not always go well in the end. I loved the plot it mainly was about two different civil wars from each side of the book with many painful and world altering consequences on each side. So overall i loved this volume of Legend of the Galactic Heroes and I will be reading more soon.
jacoblp's review
5.0
I think i only paid attention to 70% of this book. There are a lot of characters with similar German/Austrian names and i stopped trying to keep them straight.
Edit: On second reading, i really enjoyed this book. It is a bit challenging following the story when you're very quickly moving between character drama and factional competition. The conflicts seem very familiar if you've studied European political history.
Edit: On second reading, i really enjoyed this book. It is a bit challenging following the story when you're very quickly moving between character drama and factional competition. The conflicts seem very familiar if you've studied European political history.
eely225's review
3.0
I read the first one of these books three years ago. But it didn't take long to get back in the swing of things with volume two.
The issue that became increasingly apparent is that only two characters matter and one of them is never wrong. Both of them are interesting. One is wrong in substantial ways letting the ends justify the means, one is so openly apathetic about the ends that he just does the right and proper thing with the means. As a reader, you're supposed to be compelled by both but find one more admirable.
My issues with the book are mostly issues with sci-fi generally. Lots of important Capitalized Terms and Ideas that that people discuss in vaunted terms. Lots of people who are the best in the galaxy at something and also being space admirals before their 21st birthday. The old people are Scheming. And the young people are Righteous. The scale of the conflicts described is amplified one hundred times over to make them seem more interesting and important than the descriptions of those conflicts can (e.g. "they launched a skirmishing fleet of 16,000 battleships").
There are two things that kept me reading the book. Despite how brazen the author is in insisting on Yang Wen-li's likability, he is pretty likable. And his dialogue strikes a different chord than most of the cast.
The second, and more substantial, thing is reading the book as a historical document. While sci-fi always projects into the future, it does so as a way of engaging with contemporary ideas. It's sometimes a more interesting exercise to read the idea behind the book and try to infer the author's influences. Is this really about the Prussian Wars as he said? How much of it was informed by the rise of totalitarianism in interwar Japan? Or the position of Japan as buffer between the powers in the Cold War? Seeing how this specific author used this narrative to engage with many sides of many historical conflicts and trying to come to his own conclusions is a fun exercise.
The book reads quickly. While the language is often overly hyperbolic and most characters blend together, the plot clips along enough that you can skim intermittently and still have a good time. I don't know if I'll read all ten of these suckers, but I probably have at least one more in me.
The issue that became increasingly apparent is that only two characters matter and one of them is never wrong. Both of them are interesting. One is wrong in substantial ways letting the ends justify the means, one is so openly apathetic about the ends that he just does the right and proper thing with the means. As a reader, you're supposed to be compelled by both but find one more admirable.
My issues with the book are mostly issues with sci-fi generally. Lots of important Capitalized Terms and Ideas that that people discuss in vaunted terms. Lots of people who are the best in the galaxy at something and also being space admirals before their 21st birthday. The old people are Scheming. And the young people are Righteous. The scale of the conflicts described is amplified one hundred times over to make them seem more interesting and important than the descriptions of those conflicts can (e.g. "they launched a skirmishing fleet of 16,000 battleships").
There are two things that kept me reading the book. Despite how brazen the author is in insisting on Yang Wen-li's likability, he is pretty likable. And his dialogue strikes a different chord than most of the cast.
The second, and more substantial, thing is reading the book as a historical document. While sci-fi always projects into the future, it does so as a way of engaging with contemporary ideas. It's sometimes a more interesting exercise to read the idea behind the book and try to infer the author's influences. Is this really about the Prussian Wars as he said? How much of it was informed by the rise of totalitarianism in interwar Japan? Or the position of Japan as buffer between the powers in the Cold War? Seeing how this specific author used this narrative to engage with many sides of many historical conflicts and trying to come to his own conclusions is a fun exercise.
The book reads quickly. While the language is often overly hyperbolic and most characters blend together, the plot clips along enough that you can skim intermittently and still have a good time. I don't know if I'll read all ten of these suckers, but I probably have at least one more in me.
count_zero's review
Well... one of our two leads has had their psychological cooling rods removed, which makes me very interested in seeing what they'll be doing next book.
cindeereads's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much it is the best Space Opera I have ever read such a great political drama that was always interesting never a dull moment. I loved the characters so much they were all told in a wonderfully detailed way especially Reinhard his group and Yang and his group. There is so much nuanced and wonderfully well developed characters that go through so much many parts especially at the end are so painful to read. I like how ambitious many of the characters are I like like how that ambition is a double edged sword that does not always go well in the end. I loved the plot it mainly was about two different civil wars from each side of the book with many painful and world altering consequences on each side. So overall i loved this volume of Legend of the Galactic Heroes and I will be reading more soon.