malessia's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Genocide
Moderate: Violence, War, and Gun violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Cancer
coralswank's review
- 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
Graphic: Genocide, War, Death, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny
npr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Terminal illness, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide, War, Car accident, Genocide, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic relationship
mandkips'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Genocide
Moderate: War, Misogyny, and Body horror
Minor: Gun violence, Ableism, and Sexism
shermansays'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? No
3.75
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: War, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Minor: Sexism and Cannibalism
jetlamar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, War, and Genocide
I wish much of the non-essential filler were placed in the appendix. It slowed my read time down significantly. But, mabye that was the point. I just didn't see the need for it. Still, amazing read.savvylit's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: War, Death, Violence, Misogyny, Grief, and Murder
jessthanthree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: War