The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Death, Suicide, and Animal death
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Colonisation, Genocide, and War
kamela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
In the beginning, I almost put it down because of how brutal the opening scenes in the Cultural Revolution were. If it had gone on much longer, I wasn't going to be able to deal with it - I didn't want to spend all that time in a world where these intensely violent and head-twisting things were being depicted one after the other. But it did cause me to feel attached to Ye Wenjie, and I was quite disappointed when the rest of the book didn't focus on her. Her every appearance in the book added intrigue and pathos, but I truly wish Liu had made her the protagonist, to the extent this book has one.
Because honestly...it really doesn't. It mostly has a bunch of characters whose purpose it is to react to huge, physics-related happenings that are difficult to feel much about. There's an incredible underlying thread here, about the way systematic brutality and having your mind beaten down repeatedly
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Torture
Moderate: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Trafficking
wrackspurtt's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Physical abuse
syinhui's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Minor: Xenophobia and War
uranaishi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, War, Alcohol, Classism, Abandonment, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Minor: Colonisation, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Suicide
cloud_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse
Minor: Suicide, War, and Violence
kinddog2073's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Much of this book read quite cheesy to me, though that improved at about 50% of the way through. Very glad I picjed this book back uo.
Graphic: Death, War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia and Police brutality
Minor: Animal death
qtcarolyn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide
tree_branch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and War
ekcd_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Where to start?
The characters are utterly forgettable and there is not a single redeemable or meaningful relationship between any of the characters or any facet of the story. They only existed so they could talk to each other as a way to move the plot along. Without the characters the whole book could be reduced to one, drunken rant about ālike what if aliens lived on an unstable planet?ā He put characters in so it wouldnāt just be a really bizarre lectureĀ
This book reads as 350 pages of history and philosophical waxing and then 50 pages of shitty alien fan fiction that is really just the author patting himself on the back for creating analogies that are complicated enough for readers to think him smart but are ultimately meaningless.Ā
By rooting a story in the present and then layering in completely absurd scientific magic over it really removed me from the story. The physics and math were really inaccessible and honesty glossed over that whole chapter.Ā
Nothing in this story or itās writing made me care about any of the individuals, civilizations, communities or social movements that were used.Ā
I am gobsmacked that so many people praise this book so highly. I love science fiction and read it almost exclusively. The only thing keeping me from rage quitting half way through was rage reading so I could review this book without people sayingĀ āyou didnāt finish it so you canāt comment on itāĀ
It gets a 1.5 because I was able to finish it quickly (thank god)
Well screw you, fans of this book, I read it and I disliked it!Ā
Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicide, Police brutality, Hate crime, Gun violence, Genocide, Death, Confinement, Colonisation, Classism, and Blood
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
I donāt regret reading this because at least it gives me something concrete to point my unhinged anger at. Going to drink some tea and read something that I know is good and pure