Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lucybbookstuff 's review for:
Speaking Bones
by Ken Liu
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not quite sure what to do with myself 1 million odd words later. 😵
Therein lies my biggest complaint. WORDS. TOO MANY OF THEM, KEN. I've come to be somewhat at peace with the fact that the seemingly endless engineering descriptions and philosophical musings are like candy for some, but like pulling teeth for me. Even so, I really believe he could have had his fun with all of it and still gotten quite detailed, but with far fewer words. I also think the story itself could have been achieved more efficiently. And/or this story should have been like 7 or 8 books.
That said, it really is a brilliant story by a brilliant writer. It may have felt sloggy and frustrating at times, but ultimately I could hardly put these last two books down (helped in large part by switching mainly to audio). And I absolutely adored the ending. An ending which couldn't have been achieved without everything that preceded it (everything in a grander storytelling sense; I stand by my opinion about fewer words).
This really is a saga, and while I recommend it, I don't do so lightly. It spans generations and is written like a history. Nothing and no one is sacred; everything is subject to change. That is one of the main themes, after all.
And despite my personal issues, I do have to give Ken Liu his due. It takes a truly uniquely brilliant mind to build a world with such deep and detailed science, language, history, culture, and philosophy. He went there, and while it may not have always been my cup of tea, it's unequivocally impressive.
Bravo, Ken. 👏🏼
Therein lies my biggest complaint. WORDS. TOO MANY OF THEM, KEN. I've come to be somewhat at peace with the fact that the seemingly endless engineering descriptions and philosophical musings are like candy for some, but like pulling teeth for me. Even so, I really believe he could have had his fun with all of it and still gotten quite detailed, but with far fewer words. I also think the story itself could have been achieved more efficiently. And/or this story should have been like 7 or 8 books.
That said, it really is a brilliant story by a brilliant writer. It may have felt sloggy and frustrating at times, but ultimately I could hardly put these last two books down (helped in large part by switching mainly to audio). And I absolutely adored the ending. An ending which couldn't have been achieved without everything that preceded it (everything in a grander storytelling sense; I stand by my opinion about fewer words).
This really is a saga, and while I recommend it, I don't do so lightly. It spans generations and is written like a history. Nothing and no one is sacred; everything is subject to change. That is one of the main themes, after all.
And despite my personal issues, I do have to give Ken Liu his due. It takes a truly uniquely brilliant mind to build a world with such deep and detailed science, language, history, culture, and philosophy. He went there, and while it may not have always been my cup of tea, it's unequivocally impressive.
Bravo, Ken. 👏🏼