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leovino's review against another edition
3.0
this book is simply fine. not good, not bad, just ok. it walks a weird line between space sci fi and social commentary and in the ends it feels like nothing happened??? idk just not my thing
zmorris1923's review against another edition
5.0
Most definitely one of the best books I'll read this year. It is up there with *The Dispossessed* by Ursula K. Le Guin and *Kalpa Imperial* by Angélica Gorodischer. Ah, so beautifully written and translated, and truly a thoughtful read.
realityczar's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
dashie's review
3.0
That took 20 years.
Hao Jingfang is a weird person from what I have seen of her, but she has written a brilliant space opera. I must say I was disappointed that instead of an action-packed sci-fi movie, I got a lot of introspection instead and it's not that I didn't like it.
It was a great exploration of what utopia means and what a loss of faith in the system can ultimately do to the system. What resounded with me most was the realisation that yes, you lose faith in the system and try to be the change, but more often that not, it won't really happen all neat and tied up in a ribbon as it sort of did at the end of Vagabonds.
I feel that at the end of the book there was ample example of both, neat endings and no answers. Overall, I was mostly cross-eyed during huge swathes of the book. Maybe I am not as smart as I think I am.
Hao Jingfang is a weird person from what I have seen of her, but she has written a brilliant space opera. I must say I was disappointed that instead of an action-packed sci-fi movie, I got a lot of introspection instead and it's not that I didn't like it.
It was a great exploration of what utopia means and what a loss of faith in the system can ultimately do to the system. What resounded with me most was the realisation that yes, you lose faith in the system and try to be the change, but more often that not, it won't really happen all neat and tied up in a ribbon as it sort of did at the end of Vagabonds.
I feel that at the end of the book there was ample example of both, neat endings and no answers. Overall, I was mostly cross-eyed during huge swathes of the book. Maybe I am not as smart as I think I am.
indukisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-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? No
3.75
kat_caledonia's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
beccaand's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
jimmybrewster's review against another edition
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? No
3.0
picastoste's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This novel should have been an essay, on account of there not being any plot whatsoever, and all the characters having the same voice. The worldbuilding and scifi aspects are amzing and great and I thoroughly enjoyed them, and that is where the 2.5 stars come from, exclusively.
Nothing happens, the protagonist is not appealing, neither is any character, the dialogues are Very Bad , and the whole book is a constant telling instead of showing. I would have loved to learn anything about the characters by way of them doing something, but instead you can only learn it through other people telling you how much of a something they are.
The writer is a woman, the main character is also a woman, and yet the entire book is a compendium of men doing things and the main character being in awe at them. Literally women cooking while the men drive the spaceship, over and over and over. Whenever a bunch of important people in the history of the planet are named, there are NO women!!!! It was honestly hard to read. The politics of the book are also so LUKEWARM its honestly insulting. I will refrain from making any spoilers, but I will say you can only get so far with a “sometimes things are complex” approach, like, we know, that is literally life.
Very very disappointing in the way that it has a good premise and very interesting concepts for the technology and architecture and territorial organisation, but it fails spectacularly at anything story-related. So yeah, I would read an essay or one of those fake encyclopedias for fictional universes, definitely, but this did not need to be a novel and it was honestly a hard read.
Nothing happens, the protagonist is not appealing, neither is any character, the dialogues are Very Bad , and the whole book is a constant telling instead of showing. I would have loved to learn anything about the characters by way of them doing something, but instead you can only learn it through other people telling you how much of a something they are.
The writer is a woman, the main character is also a woman, and yet the entire book is a compendium of men doing things and the main character being in awe at them. Literally women cooking while the men drive the spaceship, over and over and over. Whenever a bunch of important people in the history of the planet are named, there are NO women!!!! It was honestly hard to read. The politics of the book are also so LUKEWARM its honestly insulting. I will refrain from making any spoilers, but I will say you can only get so far with a “sometimes things are complex” approach, like, we know, that is literally life.
Very very disappointing in the way that it has a good premise and very interesting concepts for the technology and architecture and territorial organisation, but it fails spectacularly at anything story-related. So yeah, I would read an essay or one of those fake encyclopedias for fictional universes, definitely, but this did not need to be a novel and it was honestly a hard read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism
serranok's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0