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A review by rheren
Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright
3.0
I am a huge fan of John C Wright, so I was really excited to read this book. The first half of the book blew my mind with the out-of-the-box ideas worked in and the breadth and audacity of the imagination put into it. I absolutely loved the first half of the book, and would wholeheartedly recommend it on that merit. To my disappointment, however, I can't give the book as a whole more than 3 stars because of two things:
1. The whole book hinges on advanced math (it's about an interplanetary mission crewed by math geniuses, deciphering an alien code). I've taken math up through a year of calculus, and a lot of it was over my head: I would definitely say that anyone with less math background than me would have a hard time understanding what they're talking about in a lot of the dialogue, and I feel like I was missing a lot because I don't have more calculus knowledge than I do. Maybe a math or engineering major could grasp what he's saying but I felt like a lot of it was going over my head.
2. The ending is very unsatisfying, and feels rushed to me. We're on an epic arc talking about guiding human destiny through hundreds of generations, and then (don't want to give any spoilers, but let's just say) it's over, with no conclusion. In the end, after maneuvering his character through mind-bending intrigue and brilliant constructs, Wright has his main character get caught in a very juvenile, pointless trap and ends the book there. I was rather disappointed.
UPDATE: I finally, 3 years later, got a chance to read more of the series, and it definitely picks up pace, gets less cerebral, and is much more enjoyable. Don't give up after just reading this book! Read this and then give #2 a try!
1. The whole book hinges on advanced math (it's about an interplanetary mission crewed by math geniuses, deciphering an alien code). I've taken math up through a year of calculus, and a lot of it was over my head: I would definitely say that anyone with less math background than me would have a hard time understanding what they're talking about in a lot of the dialogue, and I feel like I was missing a lot because I don't have more calculus knowledge than I do. Maybe a math or engineering major could grasp what he's saying but I felt like a lot of it was going over my head.
2. The ending is very unsatisfying, and feels rushed to me. We're on an epic arc talking about guiding human destiny through hundreds of generations, and then (don't want to give any spoilers, but let's just say) it's over, with no conclusion. In the end, after maneuvering his character through mind-bending intrigue and brilliant constructs, Wright has his main character get caught in a very juvenile, pointless trap and ends the book there. I was rather disappointed.
UPDATE: I finally, 3 years later, got a chance to read more of the series, and it definitely picks up pace, gets less cerebral, and is much more enjoyable. Don't give up after just reading this book! Read this and then give #2 a try!