Reviews

I was surprised how much I liked this and how easy it was to read considering the material of the book and how heavily it relies on scientific principles. I would definitely recommend anyone who doesn’t know Chinese modern history very well read up or watch some videos on the Red Guard before reading this because it kind of just jumps into the cultural revolution without a ton of context (fair enough - people should know the basics) but after that it is very easy to follow I found. I really like the interweaving of the story and how it’s written (like the flow and storyline of jumping to Red Coast on and off) and the translation and translators notes are amazing!

I do really like that it kind of hints that its aliens throughout but in a very subtle way. The one part that kind of lost me was the very end, I didn’t really understand the particles the Trisolarians sent to earth

Content Warnings

isle_of_polyphemus's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

trevoryu's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

bijan711's review against another edition

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3.0

I mostly struggled with the structure of the book. I enjoyed the primary plot and it kept me engaged. But the book frequently makes a hard stop and turns away from the main plot, deep diving into something else for an unanticipated amount of time. I'd find myself desperate to speed through these sections to get back to the main plot. I'd say about half the book consists of these supporting sections, so it made for a challenging read. I understand these sections were necessary to fully comprehend the entirety of the plot, but their execution didn't work for me.

Special shoutout to Da Shi, who stood out as a phenomenal character and frequently brought laughter to very dense or heavy conversations.

lexidubbs's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Really interesting ideas in this book. I am hoping the next one is more adventurous now that the ground work has been established. Honestly I might be too dumb for this series. I ended up tuning out most of the science talk because it was hard to comprehend. I stayed intrigued because of the interesting plot and I hope the sequel dives right into the good stuff

turtle_puff95's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

Honestly, if this wasn't my buddy read pick of the month, I would have DNF'd this one hard. I can't tell if I'm just uneducated or if this book was only directed at super smart people who are into math. I love a sci-fi book with a lot of science about space travel and time travel, but this one was just lost on me. I didn't understand most of the science that was talked about and it seemed to sort of bog the story down.

I felt like there were 20 different story lines all going at once and not making any connections until the last quarter of the book. I found the whole thing confusing and I wasn't retaining anything I was reading. I also didn't care for any of the characters or their story lines. It introduced a lot of people and I had a hard time remembering who was who.

I'm sad because I went into this book so excited and came out confused and disappointed. I really thought Ye was going to be the main character of this book, and while she is very pivotal to the story, it's in a way I didn't imagine. Unfortunately this book is not at all what I thought it would be and I don't see myself continuing the series anytime soon.

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