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maddie_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This final installment is increasingly dark, disturbing, tense, and pessimistic, taking you on a wild ride.
I think Liu partially redeemed the lack of developed female characters in the second novel by having the main character and a secondary character be women.
However, I think the author has some odd notions about femininity that are expressed throughout the novel. Obviously it was translated and Eastern and Western cultures have different broad views.But like describing the men looking exactly like women in the peacetime era and them being weak. Going on and on about Cheng Xin being motherly and loving and this makes her weak
Loved the weird stuff.
Explored some very interesting concepts.
A book structure spoiler:
This book has multiple shorter chapters. Found it a lot easier to re-read parts/ more natural stopping points. Didn't get lost in where I was in the audiobook at all! I was super engrossed in the book for the first 2/3s however I thought the pacing fell off a bit towards the end.
Spoiler Spoilers:
Still thinking about the end. Very wtf. Cheng missing Yun Tianming by 18 million years wtf. And then her living in a little mini universe with a random man?? What.
I enjoyed the friendship between Ai AA and Cheng but wished it were more developed.
Loved that Luo Ji came back and his character development. Feels weird because the novel is pretty long and meanders a lot but then at the end it feels a bit rushed. I was hoping to see more about 4d space, Yun's time with the Trisolarians/ how he got a body, what did he and Ai do for the rest of their lives etc
I think Liu partially redeemed the lack of developed female characters in the second novel by having the main character and a secondary character be women.
However, I think the author has some odd notions about femininity that are expressed throughout the novel. Obviously it was translated and Eastern and Western cultures have different broad views.
Loved the weird stuff.
Explored some very interesting concepts.
A book structure spoiler:
Spoiler Spoilers:
I enjoyed the friendship between Ai AA and Cheng but wished it were more developed.
Loved that Luo Ji came back and his character development. Feels weird because the novel is pretty long and meanders a lot but then at the end it feels a bit rushed. I was hoping to see more about 4d space, Yun's time with the Trisolarians/ how he got a body, what did he and Ai do for the rest of their lives etc
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
coralswank's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a trilogy that will probably stick with me for the rest of my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Misogyny
qtcarolyn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
savvylit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
After reading The Dark Forest, I was nervous to dive into the final book. I am glad I did, though, because Death's End returned to the subject matter that I had really enjoyed in the first book: accessible philosophy and physics.
Death's End features an incomprehensible timeline that is honestly a mind-boggling feat of imagination. Imagining the extremely distant future - we're talking millions and millions of years - really cemented the trilogy's creeping feeling That human existence is both incredibly insignificant and ephemeral.
Death's End also features a very epic star-crossed lovers storyline that felt absolutely made for the cinema. At its best moments, this whole book often reminded me of one of my favorite films, Interstellar.
What ultimately made this a three-star read for me was the misogyny in this book that really felt overwhelming. Cixin Liu does not seem to like women. Unfortunately, like a lot of other "classic" sci-fi from the Western canon, women are often poorly portrayed in this series. The most obvious & shameful example of this is the fact that all of humanity's poorest and most naive decisions regarding alien contact are made by female characters. Even though this book features the very rad & highly-educated female protagonist of Cheng Xin, her "weak" femininity and "motherly" inclinations are constantly emphasized. These qualities eventually lead to a few huge mistakes on behalf of the entire human race. Gross.
Relatedly, Cixin Liu also seems absolutely obsessed with the gender binary. There is an era in this book's timeline in which all the men are constantly described as incredibly "effeminate." Many characters lament the loss of "true" masculinity during this time. This era comes to represent a time period in human history where humanity failed at making the correct decisions. What an elaborate way to show how much of a misogynist you are - by saying that the one era without masculine leaders was the most foolish and complacent era of humankind.
What ultimately made this a three-star read for me was the misogyny in this book that really felt overwhelming. Cixin Liu does not seem to like women. Unfortunately, like a lot of other "classic" sci-fi from the Western canon, women are often poorly portrayed in this series. The most obvious & shameful example of this is the fact that all of humanity's poorest and most naive decisions regarding alien contact are made by female characters. Even though this book features the very rad & highly-educated female protagonist of Cheng Xin, her "weak" femininity and "motherly" inclinations are constantly emphasized. These qualities eventually lead to a few huge mistakes on behalf of the entire human race. Gross.
Relatedly, Cixin Liu also seems absolutely obsessed with the gender binary. There is an era in this book's timeline in which all the men are constantly described as incredibly "effeminate." Many characters lament the loss of "true" masculinity during this time. This era comes to represent a time period in human history where humanity failed at making the correct decisions. What an elaborate way to show how much of a misogynist you are - by saying that the one era without masculine leaders was the most foolish and complacent era of humankind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War