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sunbreak's review against another edition
3.0
I just couldn't do it. So many pages of extraneous details. This is why I don't like sci fi. I made it to page 400 and the book was due and while I'm curious how it ends, I'm not THAT curious.
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
4.0
This story is split into 3 parts. I loved the first and second parts; they could have been a fantastic stand alone book (or 2) as each one had a satisfying resolution. I found them to be fast paced and contain just enough science. The balance of character building and compelling plot was perfect. If it were just these parts I'd have given this book 5 stars.
The final part was focused around the science. While the underlying story was very interesting, for me it was too slow paced. While there was lots of detail in areas I didn’t really care about, there were so many areas I wanted to understand better that never got discussed. The end of the book left me with more questions and a not-quite-complete feeling. Despite/because of that I keep thinking about these characters and ultimately am very happy with this story.
The final part was focused around the science. While the underlying story was very interesting, for me it was too slow paced. While there was lots of detail in areas I didn’t really care about, there were so many areas I wanted to understand better that never got discussed. The end of the book left me with more questions and a not-quite-complete feeling. Despite/because of that I keep thinking about these characters and ultimately am very happy with this story.
gardenfairyreads's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
I 1000% see why this book would not be for everyone—Stephenson certainly has a very distinct style in the fashion of page long scientific info-dumping sessions broken up by a few sentences of actual plot—but I personally really enjoyed this story and the image it painted of life following a catastrophe. I honestly expected to be kind of bored by this book when I first started it, but I ultimately found myself being drawn in and hardly ever felt bored or overly confused by the science-y stuff. This may have been helped along by the fact that I have a habit of just skipping over things I don’t understand and hoping that they’ll start to make sense as I keep reading and gain some context, but I also feel like I was able to follow along pretty well the whole time despite my lack of scientific background, and therefore didn’t often employ this procrastination of understanding.
I 1000% see why this book would not be for everyone—Stephenson certainly has a very distinct style in the fashion of page long scientific info-dumping sessions broken up by a few sentences of actual plot—but I personally really enjoyed this story and the image it painted of life following a catastrophe. I honestly expected to be kind of bored by this book when I first started it, but I ultimately found myself being drawn in and hardly ever felt bored or overly confused by the science-y stuff. This may have been helped along by the fact that I have a habit of just skipping over things I don’t understand and hoping that they’ll start to make sense as I keep reading and gain some context, but I also feel like I was able to follow along pretty well the whole time despite my lack of scientific background, and therefore didn’t often employ this procrastination of understanding.
teokajlibroj's review against another edition
2.0
Imagine a WW2 novel about an engineer designing an aeroplane. There's hints that something dramatic is happening elsewhere, but most of the book is just engineering technalities. That's basically this book. The end of the world is only a small feature of this book, most of it is just engineering technicalities.
Which is incredibly boring.
It is hard for me to explain how incredibly bored I was for most of this book as I sludged through endless info dumps. There isn't anything to cover the info dumps either, the chatacters are bland, dull and forgettable. I have no idea what any of them do for fun, because no one has fun (or friends or a social life) or does anything except for working. Even the sex is incredibly dull.
There isn't even much of a plot or much happening. Some robots do stuff, some program is coded, space shuttles are attached to other shuttles and chains link up. Despite the fact the world is ending, there's no sense of urgency or tension or any reason to keep turning the page. How society would react to the end of the world is a fascinating question, but unfortunately the characters decide they don't care about the news or politics, so we learn next to nothing.
I've heard the ending is bonkers, but I never got that far. I sludged nearly halfway through before I gave up.
Which is incredibly boring.
It is hard for me to explain how incredibly bored I was for most of this book as I sludged through endless info dumps. There isn't anything to cover the info dumps either, the chatacters are bland, dull and forgettable. I have no idea what any of them do for fun, because no one has fun (or friends or a social life) or does anything except for working. Even the sex is incredibly dull.
There isn't even much of a plot or much happening. Some robots do stuff, some program is coded, space shuttles are attached to other shuttles and chains link up. Despite the fact the world is ending, there's no sense of urgency or tension or any reason to keep turning the page. How society would react to the end of the world is a fascinating question, but unfortunately the characters decide they don't care about the news or politics, so we learn next to nothing.
I've heard the ending is bonkers, but I never got that far. I sludged nearly halfway through before I gave up.
klparmley's review against another edition
2.0
Not my flavor. Too much technical detail. I don't care how the ship is built. I care how the people are interacting. I have stayed with longer than I might have because Stephenson is an excellent writer.
rainstar's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
winniewonders's review
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? N/A
4.5
willand90's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0