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quarkie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book had me on the edge of my seat - I finished almost all of it in one sitting, it was that gripping. The ramp up to the big reveal was incredible, but then I thought the reveal itself didn't quite match the intensity of the first part of the book.
As a scientist, this book actually gets much of the science right, which helped with my suspension of disbelief. Things go just a bit beyond the walls of plausible reality at the end, but overall it's all sufficiently plausible as to not be too distracting.
This book is a translation, and it's obvious, but not in a bad way. In the translator's afterward, he talks about how hard he tried to balance translating the text in a way that would be more familiar to Western readers and translating it in a way that stayed true to the lyricism and tone of the original Chinese. In this, I think he succeeded. There are passages where things are phrased in ways that make it obvious it was written by a non-native English speaker, but I think that helps the reader place the characters and their motivations in cultural context. He also preserves some beautiful, thought-provoking passages that left existential questions lingering my mind long after I put the book down.
The book starts with descriptions of warring factions in the Cultural Revolution - of groups fighting each other even within the same organization. I think that theme is reflected in a fascinating way later in the book through the ETO, between the Adventists and the Redemptionists. This conflicts also underscores the deeply complex motivations for each member of humanity in everything they do. As Da Shi says, "There's someone behind everything." I think, similarly, "Everyone wants something."
This book explores a wide variety of other themes including:
- Whether the fundamental nature of humanity is good or bad, and how people react when they come to a conclusion in either way
- How your level of education can shape how you perceive the world and humanity, and how sometimes the 'wise' (meaning educated) can be so ignorant but the 'ignorant' (here meaning less educated) can be so perceptive
- The fine line between order and chaos
- How lonely the act of searching for nothing can be when your end goal is your sole motivation (which resonated strongly with me as someone who works on dark matter research)
- The role of environmentalism (with hints of anti-nuclear sentiments that I couldn't quite pin down)
- The role of colonialism and cultural influence, which again works as a fascinating juxtaposition of the Cultural Revolution
- How different world powers would react to First Contact, but also how societies very different from our would react to First Contact
One of my favorite scenes was where 30 million beings were used as a living computer. I felt it was so creative, and really helps readers understand how far humanity has come with technology.
Overall, this was a thought-provoking, fascinating, and gripping read. I already put 3 more books by Cixin Liu on hold at the library.
As a scientist, this book actually gets much of the science right, which helped with my suspension of disbelief. Things go just a bit beyond the walls of plausible reality at the end, but overall it's all sufficiently plausible as to not be too distracting.
This book is a translation, and it's obvious, but not in a bad way. In the translator's afterward, he talks about how hard he tried to balance translating the text in a way that would be more familiar to Western readers and translating it in a way that stayed true to the lyricism and tone of the original Chinese. In this, I think he succeeded. There are passages where things are phrased in ways that make it obvious it was written by a non-native English speaker, but I think that helps the reader place the characters and their motivations in cultural context. He also preserves some beautiful, thought-provoking passages that left existential questions lingering my mind long after I put the book down.
The book starts with descriptions of warring factions in the Cultural Revolution - of groups fighting each other even within the same organization. I think that theme is reflected in a fascinating way later in the book through the ETO, between the Adventists and the Redemptionists. This conflicts also underscores the deeply complex motivations for each member of humanity in everything they do. As Da Shi says, "There's someone behind everything." I think, similarly, "Everyone wants something."
This book explores a wide variety of other themes including:
- Whether the fundamental nature of humanity is good or bad, and how people react when they come to a conclusion in either way
- How your level of education can shape how you perceive the world and humanity, and how sometimes the 'wise' (meaning educated) can be so ignorant but the 'ignorant' (here meaning less educated) can be so perceptive
- The fine line between order and chaos
- How lonely the act of searching for nothing can be when your end goal is your sole motivation (which resonated strongly with me as someone who works on dark matter research)
- The role of environmentalism (with hints of anti-nuclear sentiments that I couldn't quite pin down)
- The role of colonialism and cultural influence, which again works as a fascinating juxtaposition of the Cultural Revolution
- How different world powers would react to First Contact, but also how societies very different from our would react to First Contact
One of my favorite scenes was where 30 million beings were used as a living computer. I felt it was so creative, and really helps readers understand how far humanity has come with technology.
Overall, this was a thought-provoking, fascinating, and gripping read. I already put 3 more books by Cixin Liu on hold at the library.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Classism
arno1820's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
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? No
3.5
I found this a nice read! Loved the deep dives on scientific topics. However, this isn't for everyone. It can challenging. If you don't mind rereading/researching parts or you have some background in science this is a great read. Else the deep dives on the science topics may hinder.
I also found the book heavily plot driven and the mistery of it all was a bit lost because the backcover gives a lot away. It is more about the how instead of what. Also some parts came a bit out of the blue and did more 'tell' then 'show'.
I also found the book heavily plot driven and the mistery of it all was a bit lost because the backcover gives a lot away. It is more about the how instead of what. Also some parts came a bit out of the blue and did more 'tell' then 'show'.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
There where some rough and heavy detailed murders. Which I dont really like.margot14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and War
icarusandthesun's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
this book fried my brain.
i'm a little ashamed to admit that i didn't understand like half of it. maybe it was the english terminology—all the jargon—, or maybe it was the fact i'm not too knowledgeable about neither the Chinese Cultural Revolution nor, well, astrophysics.
maybe my reading was also lacking a bit of personal initiative, because i'm sure a couple more google searches (that i didn't make) would've greatly helped my understanding.
but alas. perhaps i will re-read this book someday and then hopefully understand it a bit better, because the story and ideas weren't at all bad! i still really enjoyed it.
i'm a little ashamed to admit that i didn't understand like half of it. maybe it was the english terminology—all the jargon—, or maybe it was the fact i'm not too knowledgeable about neither the Chinese Cultural Revolution nor, well, astrophysics.
maybe my reading was also lacking a bit of personal initiative, because i'm sure a couple more google searches (that i didn't make) would've greatly helped my understanding.
but alas. perhaps i will re-read this book someday and then hopefully understand it a bit better, because the story and ideas weren't at all bad! i still really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
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
sandrine_bc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cultural appropriation and Colonisation
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
atalea's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? No
4.0
At the beginning it was a five star read for me, but at the end it became a little too science heavy for me which deflated my interest a bit. I do love how the author explains difficult scientific concepts, it made it easier to follow. Very interested to see how things continue!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Pregnancy, and War
seaofbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
blau_elmo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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? No
4.25
Generally, a solid sci-fi novel with extremely detailed and geeky mechanics that are impressively intricate yet largely believable.
I enjoyed the fact that the dystopian end-of-the-world prophecy is not the sole feature of the book. In fact, Lu provides some background into the Cultural Revolution in China, using that as the basis from which certain characters' nihilism and apathy is born, which kickstarts the events of the entire book in the first place.
Furthermore, the slow unravelling of the mystery told from the point of view of the protagonist is extremely gripping and horrifying all at the same time. Super enjoyable.
Overall, a great sci-fi mystery/dystopian book.
I enjoyed the fact that the dystopian end-of-the-world prophecy is not the sole feature of the book. In fact, Lu provides some background into the Cultural Revolution in China, using that as the basis from which certain characters' nihilism and apathy is born, which kickstarts the events of the entire book in the first place.
Furthermore, the slow unravelling of the mystery told from the point of view of the protagonist is extremely gripping and horrifying all at the same time. Super enjoyable.
Overall, a great sci-fi mystery/dystopian book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Blood