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mrstorycraft's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Suicide
alexutzu's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
slow-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
3.25
This book took me ages to get through. Was it worth it? Honestly, there's no clear answer to this question. It's not that the book had no good parts, but the "meh" elements really outweighed the better ones. I enjoyed the mix of historical/political details with the science parts, but the fictional side of this was not really my thing. After finding out about the controversies surrounding the author and his perspectives, I struggled even more with thinking about the book on a positive note. I doubt that I will continue this series.
😍 The good:
The scientific descriptions were researched and complex, making me wonder if these things could really happen in daily life. There were a bunch of interesting quotes and ideas, specifically in the first and second part of the book. Due to its complexity, it is fun and easy to come up with many theories related to this. I personally also liked learning more about the history of China and this novel encouraged me to research and understand the related sociopolitical phenomena better.
😅 The not-so-good:
The characters were flat and not that interesting and I felt at times that the plot has some holes. The literary style was barely existent in my opinion, as the book was really heavy to process and packed with too many details that felt more like a thesis than a novel. Overall, the general idea related to cultish alien invasions was not my really cup of tea, so the last part of the book was really dragging for me and I had to speed-read it. I also felt that there were too many story lines and plot points to keep track of and some of them seemed redundant or absurd.
😍 The good:
The scientific descriptions were researched and complex, making me wonder if these things could really happen in daily life. There were a bunch of interesting quotes and ideas, specifically in the first and second part of the book. Due to its complexity, it is fun and easy to come up with many theories related to this. I personally also liked learning more about the history of China and this novel encouraged me to research and understand the related sociopolitical phenomena better.
😅 The not-so-good:
The characters were flat and not that interesting and I felt at times that the plot has some holes. The literary style was barely existent in my opinion, as the book was really heavy to process and packed with too many details that felt more like a thesis than a novel. Overall, the general idea related to cultish alien invasions was not my really cup of tea, so the last part of the book was really dragging for me and I had to speed-read it. I also felt that there were too many story lines and plot points to keep track of and some of them seemed redundant or absurd.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide and Colonisation
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
tpbft's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
4.75
Amazing book! The storytelling is incredible and captivating. The author gives you enough to try to solve the mysteries alongside the characters and it’s a lot of fun to read. Major vibe shift in the last hundred pages or so but it wasn’t a huge issue, just felt a lot different to read compared to the rest of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
adanisan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I read this as an audiobook and it was hard for me to keep up with, I think I would have rated it higher if I had been reading it on something hard. The ideas this book deals with are heavy and intense, I was thinking about them after I finished so I recommend it, but I did have difficulty understanding some of the physics elements.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Violence
cweeks_ng's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
As a newer fan of sci-fi, I enjoyed parts of this book a lot. I’d say the larger ideas of the author were excellent, but the execution in the plot and characters was a let down for me. Not interested enough to continue the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and War
aoib's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Genocide and Suicide
ahoyitsjoy's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-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
2.0
A book full of interesting ideas and... not much else. With one exception, the characters are all pretty 2-dimensional and are mostly just mouthpieces for exposition.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Torture, and Classism
Minor: Misogyny and Suicide
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
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