wxhere 's review for:

5.0
dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

[I read this book in chinese] this is literally the epitome of good dystopians. I wouldn't say I read that many dystopians in my life but this is one of my favourite genres and I have NEVER read anything like this. What's so special about it is really it's commentary about humanity. A lot of dystopians these days, I feel, are far too focused on the main characters and building a fascinating world, they forget that the key to exploring dystopian worlds is exploring the different school of thoughts that humans have and how that affects the way things are handled, the fragility of humanity as a whole, human emotions etc etc. My personal favourite was really the conversation about the trolley problem (which is one of my favourite ethics concept), specifically, the choice between consequentialism and deontology and the path the human bases (基地)decided to take. As the book also said, there is no right or wrong in methodology, its just a survival method. I'm keeping this very vague but.. I think going into this book with no expectations or prior knowledge about the world is a good way to go(tried and tested!). Of course, the romance was also super sweet, I love a good slow burn romance trope anytime- and this one was done well!! also, the characters themselves were surprisingly super super likeable (sorry I don't always like the main characters I read about). 安折 (an zhe) was so adorable and endearing while 陆沨 (lu feng) was so easy to love and inspiring :").  So... do give this book a try if you - like dystopians, talk about humanity and a good old slow burn romance.