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_david_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
2.0
Oh my god I'm so glad this slog of a read is over.
I feel as if there was often no room left for a reader's interpretation. Society and certain scientific tools were overly explained, making me have to skim read certain parts to be able to make it to the end. I'd rather just use my imagination to fill in the gaps.
There were also multiple moments in the book where possible potholes were explained via an awkward dialogue between characters. It made me feel as if the author was trying to impress me with how smart they were. Much was written as if it was an unlikable science teacher explaining to you that whatever scientific theories they taught you was the absolute truth and you were just expected to be impressed.
I found it hard to identify with some of the characters reasoning to do some drastic actions, but that's just personal so that's fine to me. I am surprised that no human figured out Luo Ji's plan. It was oddly simple even for someone without a background in the related fields.
The misogyny felt icky but could be explained away with "oh this is just how the main character thinks", but I would've liked to see more strong female characters.
I am again impressed by seemingly very unrelated scientific concepts being blended together into one fictional story. It was just much slower and longer than the story deserves.
I'm fine just stopping the series after this book and not bothering with the third.
I feel as if there was often no room left for a reader's interpretation. Society and certain scientific tools were overly explained, making me have to skim read certain parts to be able to make it to the end. I'd rather just use my imagination to fill in the gaps.
There were also multiple moments in the book where possible potholes were explained via an awkward dialogue between characters. It made me feel as if the author was trying to impress me with how smart they were. Much was written as if it was an unlikable science teacher explaining to you that whatever scientific theories they taught you was the absolute truth and you were just expected to be impressed.
I found it hard to identify with some of the characters reasoning to do some drastic actions, but that's just personal so that's fine to me. I am surprised that no human figured out Luo Ji's plan. It was oddly simple even for someone without a background in the related fields.
The misogyny felt icky but could be explained away with "oh this is just how the main character thinks", but I would've liked to see more strong female characters.
I am again impressed by seemingly very unrelated scientific concepts being blended together into one fictional story. It was just much slower and longer than the story deserves.
I'm fine just stopping the series after this book and not bothering with the third.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Police brutality, and Trafficking
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Human trafficking by government Misuse of power by government/people working for government Terminal illnesses are solved via hibernationalex_lws's review against another edition
The plot is predictable and boring, the characters are not very smart and extremely unlikeable, the themes and philosophy is shallow, etc etc.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny
Each of the wall-facer’s plans are so ridiculously dumbdirectorpurry's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cancer and Terminal illness
queenshiva's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and War
Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, and Alcohol
zoereadsoccasionally's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bro needs to learn how to give characters some personality and not just use them as plot devices smh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
ladybug12793's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Misogynistic and boring.
I had higher hopes for this book than the first. I read reviews talking about the misogyny and sexism but disregarded them prior to starting the book. I thought that there’s no way it’s that bad and it must be that the author uses mainly strong male characters and few females (which is correct). That it must be a cultural difference. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Some parts are just gross. Women are seen as soft and emotional and innocent. I highlighted some of the quotes that are just disgusting. I read that the original Chinese version is even worse, and some of the misogyny was omitted from the English translation. In the English version, it is not overt but still obvious.
Even removing those aspects of the book, this was so boring. I enjoy sci-fi and learning about science. I also enjoyed learning more about Chinese history in the first book. But, this was so dragged out and slow. I genuinely don’t understand the hype. The idea behind the books is interesting, but the execution is terrible.
Can we also talk about how there is one ellipsis or more on almost every page? I plan on watching the Netflix series to see how it compares. I’m not sure if I will continue on with this series.
* please disregard spelling and grammatical errors due to voice texting. Thanks.
0 🌶️
I had higher hopes for this book than the first. I read reviews talking about the misogyny and sexism but disregarded them prior to starting the book. I thought that there’s no way it’s that bad and it must be that the author uses mainly strong male characters and few females (which is correct). That it must be a cultural difference. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Some parts are just gross. Women are seen as soft and emotional and innocent. I highlighted some of the quotes that are just disgusting. I read that the original Chinese version is even worse, and some of the misogyny was omitted from the English translation. In the English version, it is not overt but still obvious.
Even removing those aspects of the book, this was so boring. I enjoy sci-fi and learning about science. I also enjoyed learning more about Chinese history in the first book. But, this was so dragged out and slow. I genuinely don’t understand the hype. The idea behind the books is interesting, but the execution is terrible.
Can we also talk about how there is one ellipsis or more on almost every page? I plan on watching the Netflix series to see how it compares. I’m not sure if I will continue on with this series.
* please disregard spelling and grammatical errors due to voice texting. Thanks.
0 🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Pedophilia, and War
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Drug use, Genocide, and Death of parent
hhabig310's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
beccaand's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and War
Minor: Suicide
davelkan's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
If you love books where not a single character decision makes any sense, where the entire military is a maguffin for a physics concept, and where society as a whole behaves in the most absolutely absurd ways to justify the authors predetermined plot choices, this is the book for you! Sprinkled throughout the author's misogony, elitism, and ego-stroking philosophical ramblings are some interesting concepts.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
mabelmoss's review against another edition
Author seems unaware that women are humans. Such weird, almost comically bad infantalising of women. If you thought 3 body problem was trying too hard to appear intelligent, prepare for an unrelenting barrage of technical information that adds nothing except for smugness that the author understands complex ideas. insufferable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny