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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 hibernationdirectorpurry'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
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
m_liz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Suicide and Violence
shayna_hadassah's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Alcohol
vivectelvanni's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Chilling. This book single handedly dissuaded me from homing alien life exists nearby in the cosmos. On the other hand, hopefully we progress further faster.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, and War
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
craftyfairy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The novel got better over the pages, but I wish I didn't have to work through half the book to make it to more interesting parts. To me, the story got much more interesting whenthe time jump to the future where people lived underground came up. Some of the writing was very good, but not as many good bits as the first book in the series. Some people have speculated that this is due to the change in translator; I don't think anyone can say for sure unless they have read the original source material. Overall, this was a harder book to read than the first simply because it was much more depressing. If the goal was to paint a dark picture of civilizations (human and otherwise) then the goal was more than met. I do suspect that this was the goal because of the title.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and War
deyanira's review against another edition
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
Still a very fun read, but I didn't like it as much as The Three-Body Problem. I still plan to read Death's End. I had 2 big issues for this book when compared to the first.
1. several things just seemed a little too convenient or unreasonable. I can't go into it without spoilers, but it's like even though it's fiction, there would be moments where the characters stopped being characters and decided to start debating in a very contrived way (like reasoning in mystery manga). The other is a biggish spoiler not for main plot but important to the story:Luo Ji literally dreams up a fantasy girl in favor of his real flawed human girlfriend, and then he just magically gets this girl?? She exists AND she conveniently falls in love with him??? Sorry, but there are already very few female characters in this story, and instead of getting one with some insight into Luo Ji's brain we get a blank, 1-dimensional, white-dress pure girl? C'mon.
I feel what I feel, but I also must say it's still a good read. It's engaging enough for me to want to read the next one, and the occasional humor is a pleasant surprise. I'm just hoping the third book will lean away from the unbelievable solutions and be more like thewallfacer strategy-based plans that featured in this one.
1. several things just seemed a little too convenient or unreasonable. I can't go into it without spoilers, but it's like even though it's fiction, there would be moments where the characters stopped being characters and decided to start debating in a very contrived way (like reasoning in mystery manga). The other is a biggish spoiler not for main plot but important to the story:
I feel what I feel, but I also must say it's still a good read. It's engaging enough for me to want to read the next one, and the occasional humor is a pleasant surprise. I'm just hoping the third book will lean away from the unbelievable solutions and be more like the
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Violence and Murder