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challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Delightfully absurd. An excellent read.
Despite its fame, it was a completely surprising experience. Definitely different from other sci fi works of the same era, despite almost exclusively containing very familiar elements. The whole time I was going "Oh! Huh." (in various tones of dis/pleasure).
Cons:
Man, yall weren't kidding when reviews railed on Simmons for the tons of racist, sexist, etc etc etc things in here. Jeez. And the sexual content was unexpectedly graphic and alarming. Made it pretty distasteful to read, sometimes. Often, my reaction was "fking yuck."
Man, yall weren't kidding when reviews said this was the most Non-Ending non-ending of all time. I get that there are follow-up pieces in the series, but it's unusual for a first novel to finish with such an extreme anticlimax.
However!
Pros!
I like the interpretation that the whole work is just a big meditation on "Wow people are fking ridiculous." It's fully and deeply lost in the vices and delusions of individuals, and obviously makes the statement that in however many hundreds/thousands of years of "advancement," humans are stubbornly so messed up. To that end, the problematic elements seem meaningful, if not necessarily deliberate or mindful. That showcased regression and centerpiece backwards-ness makes the work "work" as a whole, to me.
I like the bitter humor about the cyclical folly of mankind, and I like that it doesn't reneg on that perspective with some kind of pristine Clark Kent heroism or some other BS at the end. The ending makes you roll your eyes, for sure, but it tracks perfectly with the momentum and message of the rest of the book, given that the momentum is into a ditch and the message is "We made this dumpster fire, now we'll lie in it."
And, of course, the vibes are immaculate. The scene-setting and moodiness and everything is so over-the-top dramatic and I love it. Like, it's hammy and hokey and emo and delightful. Playing ominous piano in a terrible storm! Gothic cathedrals on alien planets! Gun-slinging, Stetson-wearing cyberpunks! I mean, every scene is exponentially more absurd and ridiculous and unhinged in its nonsense, and the aesthetic never fails.
I might not read the rest of the books, at least right away, but I hope I do.
Despite its fame, it was a completely surprising experience. Definitely different from other sci fi works of the same era, despite almost exclusively containing very familiar elements. The whole time I was going "Oh! Huh." (in various tones of dis/pleasure).
Cons:
Man, yall weren't kidding when reviews railed on Simmons for the tons of racist, sexist, etc etc etc things in here. Jeez. And the sexual content was unexpectedly graphic and alarming. Made it pretty distasteful to read, sometimes. Often, my reaction was "fking yuck."
Man, yall weren't kidding when reviews said this was the most Non-Ending non-ending of all time. I get that there are follow-up pieces in the series, but it's unusual for a first novel to finish with such an extreme anticlimax.
However!
Pros!
I like the interpretation that the whole work is just a big meditation on "Wow people are fking ridiculous." It's fully and deeply lost in the vices and delusions of individuals, and obviously makes the statement that in however many hundreds/thousands of years of "advancement," humans are stubbornly so messed up. To that end, the problematic elements seem meaningful, if not necessarily deliberate or mindful. That showcased regression and centerpiece backwards-ness makes the work "work" as a whole, to me.
I like the bitter humor about the cyclical folly of mankind, and I like that it doesn't reneg on that perspective with some kind of pristine Clark Kent heroism or some other BS at the end. The ending makes you roll your eyes, for sure, but it tracks perfectly with the momentum and message of the rest of the book, given that the momentum is into a ditch and the message is "We made this dumpster fire, now we'll lie in it."
And, of course, the vibes are immaculate. The scene-setting and moodiness and everything is so over-the-top dramatic and I love it. Like, it's hammy and hokey and emo and delightful. Playing ominous piano in a terrible storm! Gothic cathedrals on alien planets! Gun-slinging, Stetson-wearing cyberpunks! I mean, every scene is exponentially more absurd and ridiculous and unhinged in its nonsense, and the aesthetic never fails.
I might not read the rest of the books, at least right away, but I hope I do.