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mugwumpun's review
5.0
I really enjoyed the first two books, The Just City and Philosopher Kings, as the characters struggled with building Plato's Republic, confronting the strictures of the original text with perspectives from their own lives across the ages. Simmea has become an inspiration to me.
The last book, Necessity, though it does provide some great closure, felt more rushed and plotty compared to the first two books which seemed more introspective.
Overall though, Jo Walton did build some amazing worlds, and I feel like the imagined conversations throughout are a Socratic dialogue on pursuing excellence that I will probably have to re-read a few more times to really digest.
The last book, Necessity, though it does provide some great closure, felt more rushed and plotty compared to the first two books which seemed more introspective.
Overall though, Jo Walton did build some amazing worlds, and I feel like the imagined conversations throughout are a Socratic dialogue on pursuing excellence that I will probably have to re-read a few more times to really digest.
entropyre's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lulu628's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ophiuchus's review
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Volition. Equal significance. Plato.
Plato’s Republic is put into action! How? Well, a little divine inspiration goes a long way… plus some literal divinity. This book is a thought experiment about a thought experiment. Get ready for a lot of talking!
1) Potential (for rereading): very low. What you see is what you get with this trilogy. Plus the third act/book has moments that *really* drag. That said, I will be reading the works referenced in this one, so there’s a plus. .25/1.
Plato’s Republic is put into action! How? Well, a little divine inspiration goes a long way… plus some literal divinity. This book is a thought experiment about a thought experiment. Get ready for a lot of talking!
1) Potential (for rereading): very low. What you see is what you get with this trilogy. Plus the third act/book has moments that *really* drag. That said, I will be reading the works referenced in this one, so there’s a plus. .25/1.
2) Protagonists (proportion of believable, people-like characters): .5/1. There are a couple of very interesting characters here. Also a couple of mind-numbingly tedious ones that could not exist in any universe except that of the author’s imagination.
3) Plot (well-structured/no holes):
.25/1. The “plot”, such as it is, is not what you’re really reading this book for. That said, it is there and has an overarching frame that is at least logical if not very satisfying. The lack of any sort of meaningful foreshadowing will really grate on some genre readers.
.25/1. The “plot”, such as it is, is not what you’re really reading this book for. That said, it is there and has an overarching frame that is at least logical if not very satisfying. The lack of any sort of meaningful foreshadowing will really grate on some genre readers.
4) Premise (interestingness): .75/1. This is the category I read this book for and it mostly delivered on the concept. There were a couple of hand-wavey / unnecessarily elided scenes that left me feeling blue-balled, but nothing seriously disappointing.
5) Prose (flow): yikes. For a professionally published book written by a veteran author, there were more than a few sentences that made me do a double take because they were so needlessly convoluted, and not in the intentional way obviously noticed at other junctures in the book. The editor really failed to do their job with this one. .25/1.
Who should read this book:
People who want to understand what on Earth is going on inside the heads of those people working at new AI companies cranking out LLMs like there’s no tomorrow (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.).
Who should not read this book:
anyone who hates philosophy/thought PHIL 101 was too boring to stay awake for in college.
Who maybe should / maybe shouldn’t read this:
fans of speculative fiction. You could really enjoy it. You could also find it really annoying. Like Greek mythology? Absolutely yes. Find the Olympian pantheon overdone? Stay away!
Who should read this book:
People who want to understand what on Earth is going on inside the heads of those people working at new AI companies cranking out LLMs like there’s no tomorrow (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.).
Who should not read this book:
anyone who hates philosophy/thought PHIL 101 was too boring to stay awake for in college.
Who maybe should / maybe shouldn’t read this:
fans of speculative fiction. You could really enjoy it. You could also find it really annoying. Like Greek mythology? Absolutely yes. Find the Olympian pantheon overdone? Stay away!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
The rape scenes are integral to the plot and are well discussed in a reasonably detached and objective manner multiple times in the book. It’s not torture porn, but there was one rape instance that seemed like the author enjoyed writing it just a little too much.renegadepearl's review
I finished the first book of the trilogy! I loved it but I had to return the book and didn’t feel like reading the other two. I started the second one but Simmea immediately died so I thought it fine to just end there. Loved The Just City tho!
dpepin's review
5.0
Possibly the best novel I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It’s a medley of all I adore: Greek myth and history; philosophy and debate; and superbly crafted worlds. This trilogy has fascinating world building and such a brilliant, mesmerising logic behind it, one cannot help but be in awe! The characters are wonderfully well-rounded and I love them with my heart, truly. I laughed, I cried, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times… yada yada yada go read this fucking exceptional, heart-rending, mind boggling book!!
battlepoet's review
5.0
I adored this series.
The Just City saved my life when I was stuck in a crisis center.
Two years later, when I realized there were sequels, I barreled through them. I was delighted.
Book 2 was intriguing. There was plenty to be sad about. I appreciate the importance of grief throughout the trilogy.
Book 3 is rather repetitive given that so many characters need to coordinate with each other. However! There's lots of fun plot twists. I really like how the consequences for various actions echo throughout the trilogy. It resonates with how things work in real life.
I want all my friends to read this trilogy so I can have someone to geek out with!!!
The Just City saved my life when I was stuck in a crisis center.
Two years later, when I realized there were sequels, I barreled through them. I was delighted.
Book 2 was intriguing. There was plenty to be sad about. I appreciate the importance of grief throughout the trilogy.
Book 3 is rather repetitive given that so many characters need to coordinate with each other. However! There's lots of fun plot twists. I really like how the consequences for various actions echo throughout the trilogy. It resonates with how things work in real life.
I want all my friends to read this trilogy so I can have someone to geek out with!!!
assimbya's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ashleyh's review against another edition
4.0
I loved book 1 in this trilogy, and really enjoyed books 2 and 3. I liked the combination of mythology, time travel and science fiction, and thought over all it was a well-written series. Will likely reread at some point in the future, and will definitely be checking out some of her other books.
izzywoo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Grief