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rheren's review against another edition
5.0
This book was great. Think of "Count to a Trillion", "The Hermetic Millenia" and "The Judge of Ages" as a trilogy: most of the numerous threads are explained and wrapped up neatly in this book. There will be a few more in the series (the overarching thread isn't finished yet), but this is a good conclusion to the first series of events. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger like the last two did.
The first book was very cerebral and difficult to read, and the second was better but still rather slow and confusing, but this book really shines. It explains what was going on in the huge, fascinating evolutionary arcs humanity has been following over the several millenia. In fact, one of the few complaints I would have about this book is that it explains things several times, and sometimes I'm reading a recap that I already read earlier, and shouldn't have to go through again.
Overall, I thought this book was terrific: fascinating ideas, huge scope and a very interesting and creative conclusion: the ending definitely took me by surprise, in a good way. I would say that the protagonist is one of the more interesting and unique characters I have ever read in science fiction, and I like the way he was built up.
The first book was very cerebral and difficult to read, and the second was better but still rather slow and confusing, but this book really shines. It explains what was going on in the huge, fascinating evolutionary arcs humanity has been following over the several millenia. In fact, one of the few complaints I would have about this book is that it explains things several times, and sometimes I'm reading a recap that I already read earlier, and shouldn't have to go through again.
Overall, I thought this book was terrific: fascinating ideas, huge scope and a very interesting and creative conclusion: the ending definitely took me by surprise, in a good way. I would say that the protagonist is one of the more interesting and unique characters I have ever read in science fiction, and I like the way he was built up.
rossbm's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This was a bit of slog. Didn't like how things that the protoganist knew kept on being hid from us (everything is told from his point of view!). It was slow. Took a long time for things to advance. Didn't like the pivot to "monogamy is the best and only way" though I guess it was being hinted at in previous books. Not going to read rest of series.
kyladenae94's review against another edition
2.0
oh, god. sigh.
so i accidentally grabbed this one thinking it was the first of the series. it's not. my bad. that might be partly why it's so weird. but then again, maybe not, because it's just...not that great.
like, okay, as old-fashioned ""classic"" science fiction, it's okay. it's got an interesting technological scheme, a lot of technobabble. and not gonna lie, the premise is stellar. alien invaders coming, slowly but inexorably, to enslave or murder all life on earth, and humanity's response is to turn both themselves & their planet into freaks of nature?? sign. me. up.
but then. then. oh my god. the execution. the subtext. like i'm a hundred pages from the end, and if i have to read through one more rant about how the whole problem with humanity is that human women aren't the property of men and--how did he put it?--"sexual pathologies" have "erupt[ed] in the west", i'm going to literally puke and then set this book on fire. and don't even get me started on how every. single. one. of his female characters is graded--by this supposedly very married & deeply loyal "gunslinger"--on how good their boobs are. literally. the male characters spend a ludicrous amount of time talking about the physical attractiveness of the female characters, even the ones who are supposedly very adept, able warriors. and that's not even mentioning the underage sex-crazed teenager who gets locked--oh my god--naked in a "coffin" with a man twice her age. like. so many layers of male entitlement and male nerd culture at it's absolute worst. dude.
and then even if you want to overlook All Of That, it's just not a very good novel. the plot progression reminds me of trying to learn how to drive a manual. like the entire novel is just somebody going "we must urgently do something!" and then talking ad nauseum. like if you're all about to die, why are we deconstructing everything that's wrong with Witch society? why? that should be the last thing on our list. and like, if we do spend time on such irrelevancies, there should be consequences. like, please, i'm begging this gd bell to just get here already & put us all out of our misery. please.
none of the characters sound or feel unique at all. it's like the author thinks if he talks enough about how different their cultures are & what they're all wearing--like, seriously, i've never read an adult author who spends this much time talking about costuming--we'll forget that his characters have all the uniqueness of ayn rand cardboard cutouts. their dialogue is stilted, fully three-quarters exposition, and it's deeply boring & deeply jarring by turns. like, john, my dude, have you ever heard a real human talk, even once? like, ever? because i feel like you haven't. real people don't talk endlessly about things in their cultures & surroundings & biology that are normal. they don't. when in a life-or-death situation, soldiers don't take the time to go: "why yes! i can take this grenade & throw it, for i have articulated limbs with biologically-primed muscles designed for throwing things! watch me!" people involved in life-or-death situations don't take the time to explain fundamental assumptions about their cultures to each other. they don't.
dear god. i'm not even joking or exaggerating. i wish i were.
like honestly the only thing this trainwreck of a book makes me want to do is rescue the premise from this dude.
edt: oh, and one more thing. Let Menelaus Montrose Say 'F*ck' You Coward.
so i accidentally grabbed this one thinking it was the first of the series. it's not. my bad. that might be partly why it's so weird. but then again, maybe not, because it's just...not that great.
like, okay, as old-fashioned ""classic"" science fiction, it's okay. it's got an interesting technological scheme, a lot of technobabble. and not gonna lie, the premise is stellar. alien invaders coming, slowly but inexorably, to enslave or murder all life on earth, and humanity's response is to turn both themselves & their planet into freaks of nature?? sign. me. up.
but then. then. oh my god. the execution. the subtext. like i'm a hundred pages from the end, and if i have to read through one more rant about how the whole problem with humanity is that human women aren't the property of men and--how did he put it?--"sexual pathologies" have "erupt[ed] in the west", i'm going to literally puke and then set this book on fire. and don't even get me started on how every. single. one. of his female characters is graded--by this supposedly very married & deeply loyal "gunslinger"--on how good their boobs are. literally. the male characters spend a ludicrous amount of time talking about the physical attractiveness of the female characters, even the ones who are supposedly very adept, able warriors. and that's not even mentioning the underage sex-crazed teenager who gets locked--oh my god--naked in a "coffin" with a man twice her age. like. so many layers of male entitlement and male nerd culture at it's absolute worst. dude.
and then even if you want to overlook All Of That, it's just not a very good novel. the plot progression reminds me of trying to learn how to drive a manual. like the entire novel is just somebody going "we must urgently do something!" and then talking ad nauseum. like if you're all about to die, why are we deconstructing everything that's wrong with Witch society? why? that should be the last thing on our list. and like, if we do spend time on such irrelevancies, there should be consequences. like, please, i'm begging this gd bell to just get here already & put us all out of our misery. please.
none of the characters sound or feel unique at all. it's like the author thinks if he talks enough about how different their cultures are & what they're all wearing--like, seriously, i've never read an adult author who spends this much time talking about costuming--we'll forget that his characters have all the uniqueness of ayn rand cardboard cutouts. their dialogue is stilted, fully three-quarters exposition, and it's deeply boring & deeply jarring by turns. like, john, my dude, have you ever heard a real human talk, even once? like, ever? because i feel like you haven't. real people don't talk endlessly about things in their cultures & surroundings & biology that are normal. they don't. when in a life-or-death situation, soldiers don't take the time to go: "why yes! i can take this grenade & throw it, for i have articulated limbs with biologically-primed muscles designed for throwing things! watch me!" people involved in life-or-death situations don't take the time to explain fundamental assumptions about their cultures to each other. they don't.
dear god. i'm not even joking or exaggerating. i wish i were.
like honestly the only thing this trainwreck of a book makes me want to do is rescue the premise from this dude.
edt: oh, and one more thing. Let Menelaus Montrose Say 'F*ck' You Coward.
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