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alica2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape
charelia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Humanity had become as blasé about sharing their lives with potential AI monitoring as pre-Civil War Old Earth USA-southern families had been about speaking in front of their human slaves . . . Having sex or a domestic quarrel with the house monitors on is like undressing in front of a dog or cat . . . it gives you pause the first time, and then you forget about it.
The only flaw in these interwoven stories is the pacing; a chapter often ends on a cliffhanger, but rather than switching to another thrilling plot thread to entertain the reader whilst keeping them in suspense as to the resolution of the cliffhanger, the book instead pivots to the plodding Keats PoV, and several times I found myself debating whether it was worth sitting through the next chapter just to get back to the exciting stuff. Nevertheless, this was a fantastic read, a worthy sequel to the masterpiece that was Hyperion, beautifully written and deeply philosophical.
With a sudden clarity which went beyond the immediacy of his pain or sorrow, Sol Weintraub suddenly understood perfectly why Abraham had agreed to sacrifice Isaac, his son, when the Lord commanded him to do so.
It was not obedience.
It was not even to put the love of God above the love of his son.
Abraham was testing God.
By denying the sacrifice at the last moment, by stopping the knife, God had earned the right — in Abraham's eyes and the hearts of his offspring — to become the God of Abraham.
. . . The tree of thorns . . . [was] an instrument to broadcast suffering through the universe so the human God-part would be forced to respond, to show itself . . . but the obscene tree . . . was not the way to evoke the missing power.
Sol realized now that the machine god, whatever its form, was insightful enough to see that empathy was a response to others' pain, but the same UI was too stupid to realize that empathy — in both human terms and the terms of humankind's UI — was far more than that. Empathy and love were inseparable and inexplicable. The machine UI would never understand it — not even enough to use it as a lure for the part of the human UI who had tired of warfare in the distant future.
Moderate: Rape
anshm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Violence, War, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Colonisation, Blood, Chronic illness, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Genocide
machewson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Medical trauma, Slavery, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Torture, Child death, Terminal illness, Violence, War, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual violence
singalana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: War, Rape, Blood, Terminal illness, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Genocide, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
manatad's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The two books are very different. Compared to the previous novel, this one has a much larger focus on the plot and setting rather than the characters and their backgrounds. It is therefore much more linear and reads like a typical novel with multiple points of view. As a result, the characters do not feel quite as distinct as before, but the universe they live in feels much more rich. I would say that the overall tone of the story is less mysterious and more action-packed.
There is a notable amount of padding in this book which serves to remind you of events from the previous novel. This might feel tedious and unnecessary if you were to start reading this book immediately after finishing the previous one.
What surprised me even more than my enjoyment of this novel was how emotional it made me. I shed tears and I laughed out loud. Any book that can make me do both of those things counts as a great one in my mind.
I didn't have the intention of moving on to read Endymion before I started this book, but I am considering it now. It doesn't feel like it is necessary to continue the series, but I've fallen in love with the worlds of the Hyperion Cantos and would really like to immerse myself in it again at some point in the future.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: War and Body horror
Minor: Alcohol and Pregnancy
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It got to a point where I didn’t quite understand what all was transpiring, but I liked that feeling actually.
I want to read more of the series but also these books take me SO long to finish, and I don’t want to kill my reading motivation
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
nquinlan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Rape and War
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Colonisation
thefoxyreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Rape