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capybaraparty's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
hhhhhh17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
marklipkin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
5.0
thepaperbackplanner's review against another edition
5.0
Y'all, this book was fucking rad. I really enjoy the idea of hard scifi, but I sometimes can't get into it because my mid-tier science education (and poor memory for classes from 8-12 years ago) aren't adequate for the subject matter. But in a note written for the English translation of the novel, Liu talks about how science tells amazing stories but not everyone knows how to read them. I think both the author and the translator here did a wonderful job of using science to tell a story. I never felt lost in the science of the story. I knew enough to keep up but not so much that I saw the plot twists coming a mile away. I also feel like I learned a ton about the Chinese cultural revolution, something I was not very familiar with before (thanks, U.S. education!). I would recommend this if you like hard scifi from a non-U.S./European perspective and aren't bothered by translations and annotations. If you don't know much about this story — try to keep it that way if you want to read someday. I'm glad I went in not knowing much.
zamosa's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
soapdish's review against another edition
challenging
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? No
1.0
aingealk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
ipharra's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0