I'm waffling between 2 and 3 stars so I'll round up. I loved the intro and set up, but once it really got going it got boring. The characters are insuI'm waffling between 2 and 3 stars so I'll round up. I loved the intro and set up, but once it really got going it got boring. The characters are insufferable and very very dumb. By the end of the book I was actively yelling at them to stop being so damn stupid. Unsatisfying ending. I wouldn't recommend it....more
Can we please stop with the books told from a different point of view every chapter that magically have something in common with each other/the other Can we please stop with the books told from a different point of view every chapter that magically have something in common with each other/the other characters?
It's not the author's fault but I am very, very tired of this format. My kingdom for a new book told from a single goddamn point of view.
Unfortunately, beyond the format of the story, it did not hit me right. Seems like from the reviews so far you either think it is beautiful and groundbreaking or lackluster and derivative. I'm in the latter group. The only emotions it evoked in me were eyerolls. After two years of our current pandemic, I'd like to think we would know how people would react to a pandemic, and this book is decidedly not that. It felt much more sci fi than fiction, which I would have thought would win me over - I prefer sci fi to fiction. But it felt like sci fi written by a fiction writer. Kind of like Station Eleven, where the "sci fi" concepts also bugged me because it was very clearly meant for fiction readers.
This series started with a recounting of a Struggle Session (public humiliation) by the Communist Party of China. It ended nowhere close to that.DAMN.
This series started with a recounting of a Struggle Session (public humiliation) by the Communist Party of China. It ended nowhere close to that.
I'm sure everyone does this - as we read/watch/consume media, we start to guess what is going to come next. When I am right, I am very proud of myself. At no point in this series did I know where the hell it was going. I was constantly coming up with ways to fix the situation and the book used none of my ideas. NOT A SINGLE ONE. It was constantly a surprise and I had no idea how it was going to end right up until the last paragraph.
Some of the sci-fi concepts used here have changed me. I am no longer the same reader I was before this series. They are so dang good and terrifying I don't know how any other author will ever convince me their ideas are the right ones. The Dark Forest concept alone will affect my reading for the rest of my life. Actually it might affect my actual life because it seems like absolutely the right idea and it is worrisome. How can I ever read another book with aliens now?
The Three-Body Problem was the weakest installation of this series. If you read that and were only somewhat interested, trust me, it is just the appetizer to the main course that is books 2 and 3. Really amazing stuff in all of them, but Book 1 was long-winded and kind of boring to me(ok, they're all a little long-winded, but it only bugged me in Book 1). I freakin' loved The Dark Forest and now I have really enjoyed Death's End. What a ride.
These are still hard sci-fi and I realize that is not for everyone. There are characters of course but they are just not the important part of the story. It is all about the concepts. And the concepts are good.
P.S. Why is this book called Death's End? I couldn't figure it out......more
I don't normally like cyberpunk and given the choice, I never would have picked this up. But a book club chose it, so I had to read it. And then I actI don't normally like cyberpunk and given the choice, I never would have picked this up. But a book club chose it, so I had to read it. And then I actually...liked it? I can't even put my finger on what exactly I liked about it. It was a romp through space without a storyline. The characters did not do anything meaningful or memorable. I just enjoyed myself.
It vaguely reminded me of the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. If you are looking for something to fill the Banks shaped hole in your life, maybe this would be a good thing to pick up....more
I am blessed to live in a part of the world that has few insects. We hardly even see mosquitos unless you are close to a lake. I have tried to form anI am blessed to live in a part of the world that has few insects. We hardly even see mosquitos unless you are close to a lake. I have tried to form an uneasy truce with things like bees and spiders over the years as I know they do so much good for the environment and my garden.
But lemme tell ya about ants.
I do not like ants.
I hate ants.
Last year when I was moving I went into the back to grab the barbecue. The cover had been lying on the ground for a while. I picked it up and it exploded in ants. I ran away screaming and grabbed a hose and sat about 10 feet away still yelling. There is apparently a video of me yelling "DIEEEEE!!!!!!" I crept over after the flood to survey my handiwork and all the ants were dead except the fucking queen who was crawling away and I burst into tears but my friend was there and she stomped on it for me.
I saw a queen ant. I FUCKING HATE ANTS.
There are a lot of scenes with creepy crawly spiders. There are fewer scenes with ants. There is a lot of mention about falling asleep and never waking up and general infinity and time, my partner's personal nightmare. This was a book FULL OF NIGHTMARES.
I actually really liked the first third, even with the ants. The problem was it kept going...and going. There were a few too many problems for each storyline to solve. I was getting bored by the end and wanted the climax to happen already. Then the climax was freakin' awesome and terrifying, but I rushed through it because I was pretty done with the book by that point.
It was a unique idea and pretty well written. But there's a big dose of nightmare, realism, and sadness to go along with it, so just know that going in. I highly recommend it anyway, even with my star rating - it was so original. Also, there is a sequel, but this definitely functions as a standalone. I will most likely pick up the sequel anyway....more
Wild the amount of imagination this took to be one of the first of its kind.
It is split into three novellas and the first one was by far the best. TheWild the amount of imagination this took to be one of the first of its kind.
It is split into three novellas and the first one was by far the best. The ending made me gasp out loud. The other two left me wanting, but I'm impressed with them nonetheless.
I loved the long view of time. Something about how the story jumped ahead really spoke to me and to the everlasting human spirit. It suddenly made monks hunched over manuscripts 1000 years ago seem almost nearby. It wasn't that long ago according to Earth's timeline. And instead of feeling like that made it hopeless, it made it hopeful, like someone will always see our best side even when we can't see it ourselves.
I could have done without the anti-"mercy killing" storyline (in the 3rd segment), and I also could have done without the single female reporter being called "female reporter."...more
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