Reviews

The Redemption of Time by Baoshu

dayala01's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

essie_'s review against another edition

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adventurous

3.0

acecool's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

3.25

sofaer's review against another edition

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2.0

interesting ideas, but fanfictiony as heck

lorenz32's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

greenteamaker's review against another edition

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 Despite its almost canonical status, which was granted by Liu Cixin, I cannot recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the original Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. The author provides answers to questions that no one asked him for, tries to explain everything (not very successfully in my opinion), and thus deprives you of the sense of overwhelming space mystery on which the charm of Liu Cixin's books is largely based. Perhaps the book is worth reading only to understand how not-explaining might be an important and key element in science fiction, but just take the word of those who have read it before you.

Perhaps there are fanfics capable of approaching the quality of the original works, but this is not the case here. 

mrahilario's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

sambora's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Liu Cixin's The Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy made me reconsider the standard by which I judge science fiction, and they had a profound impact on me on a personal level, which very few books ever do.
Thus this semi-canon, loose continuation, written as fanfiction by someone else was always going to struggle in comparison.
And it really does.

I won't go into detail or spoil anything, but I think that despite adding lots of details, filling gaps and extending the story, I unfortunately feel that The Redemption of Time actually detracts from the story of the original trilogy. Don't get me wrong, it does some interesting things, there were some cool ideas and it is definitely well written/translated, but it lacks the nuanced concepts and themes that made Cixin's books so special. The sophistication behind this book's explanations of complex scientific ideas is nowhere near the level of the books that precede and inspire it.
Doors that were specifically left open by Death's End, this book firmly closes and does it it a way that isn't entirely satisfying, at least in my opinion.

I wish I could give this a higher rating. I can feel Baoshu's passion come through in the writing, but it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

2.5 stars

Thank you for reading my review!
If you happen to be reading this and you haven't yet read the trilogy, I would wholeheartedly recommend correcting that as soon as possible. It's a series that already I wish I could forget just so I can experience it again for the first time.

mgnspncr's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

kateofmind's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5