Reviews

Era supernowej by Cixin Liu

jonathonjones's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Not as good as the three body problem trilogy, but still interesting on its own. The setup and questions of what would happen in this scenario were more thought-provoking to me than his answers (in contrast to Dark Forest in which I was pretty convinced by him). But certainly it is interesting to think about what society looks like when one is trying to maximize “fun”.

caraellen's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-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

3.5

The best parts of this book were marvelous and incredibly thought provoking, and some of the ideas and visions of a future under this premise felt incredibly creative and sadly realistic. But large swaths of it were just incredibly tedious and boring to read, and I really had to force myself to push through. 
I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, but the premise and authors ideas are interesting enough that for big sci-fi fans who don’t mind a little tedium in their books it can be a good read and not one I would discourage them from. 

sahara_bye's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-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

3.0

The first "miss" I've read by Mr. Liu. Great concept, and I did like a lot of the reflection on psychology, humanity, and history - like I do in most of Liu's work - but this book was so endless and the meat of it was so boring. I also found it constantly difficult to suspend disbelief, which feels like an unimaginative complaint about a Sci/Fi fantasy novel, but even its thematic predecessors like Lord of the Flies performed better than this in terms of realism. 

I found it as bizarre to read as Stephen King's imagining of a world in which Kennedy had not been killed in the sense that it was trying too hard to be edgy and unique rather than doing the nuanced work of actual imagination. Highlights were reading about the US from a Chinese point of view (as always), but overall I thought this one was a slog, a bit nonsensical, and aimless at the core. Liu's afterword gives it a bit of oomph, but I wouldn't recommend this one. 

kristianawithak's review against another edition

2.0

I really liked the premise and most of the book. It’s a modern global Lord of the Flies. It’s stressful and engaging and left me wanting more. I hated the epilogue.

beyourbestshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.5

owenjetton's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative reflective fast-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

4.25

yorit1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

jfaberrit's review against another edition

4.0

Apparently now in translation, another science-heavy puzzle-box parable from Liu Cixin, following on the huge success of the [b:The Three-Body Problem|20518872|The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)|Liu Cixin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415428227l/20518872._SY75_.jpg|25696480] and its successors in America. Here, the book is older, but the problem just as intricate: what would happen in the reasonably farfetched world where all people over the 13 are dead within a year from a nearby Supernova. The ideas are fantastic as ever, and the view of Americans much more cynical than an American author would probably dare, but it never fails to be thought-provoking. The translation is a bit stiff, and some of the lines of discussion a bit advanced even for gifted 13-year olds, but the thought exercise part of the novel touches on ideas that just haven't been put forth this cogently in popular scifi novels I've come across. Always interesting and somewhat plausible, but that's a fine combination for speculative fiction.

anabelisdreaming's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense medium-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? No

3.5