For me this was a complete page turner i couldn’t stop reading it on the bus at work and before bed. I really like how there is enough world building For me this was a complete page turner i couldn’t stop reading it on the bus at work and before bed. I really like how there is enough world building and enough science to help you follow along all the different physics/chemistry/biology problems without being overwhelming. My curiosity about the potentially apocalyptic end to the world and the desperate attempt to save it all really made me commit. The absolute highest stakes possible for me made it all kind of accept the tale, even though having gone through 3 years of Covid i feel like any sort of global cooperation in any kind of threat is wishful thinking at best. :/
Spoilers from here on you have been warned!
Stop reading.
My favourite aspect of the book is the encounter with Rocky and the different ways in which communication and rapport builds up between these two alien species. The progression and different culture with their own traditions and taboos developed in their on planets were fascinating. I found Rocky adorable and was driven to tears once or twice. Like what the fuck. I am just glad that this is a tale of interstellar friendship....more
My favourite thing about this book is that it's told from the point of view of a robot with artificial intelligence, so the way that she parses the woMy favourite thing about this book is that it's told from the point of view of a robot with artificial intelligence, so the way that she parses the world and analyses human behavior and her environment made it super refreshing. For example, she "sees" items in "boxes" and she analyses the patters of groups of people, or the sun's rays. That was really cool, especially seeing how she slowly learns more and more.
The blurb says this book is about what it means to love someone, but I think the main theme here is actually loneliness, and how different people experience and react to loneliness. We don't have a lot of characters, but they are all really fleshed out, even when all we know about them is through the lens of Klara, the robot. Is Klara herself capable of feeling loneliness? It's so heartbreaking, because through the book we get to empathize with her so much, but the human characters keep reminding us that she is "just" a robot.
I wish I liked this a little more, because I was really looking forward to an interstellar sci-fi novel where humans meet aliens and study the beautifI wish I liked this a little more, because I was really looking forward to an interstellar sci-fi novel where humans meet aliens and study the beautiful cultures of other planets. Instead it was an action/war/fantasy combination set in space that I honestly wasn't too fond of. Like, it was fine, but wayyyyy too long. One of the things I liked the most about the book is how the aliens are portrayed as having an incredibly different culture and world view that is so completely different from humans that there is never quite full understanding between the two sides. I also liked seeing the process in which humans go to empty planets and make them habitable through pleeeenty of intervention. I just wish we had had the opportunity to see the floating cities of Venus, the Earth in 2300 or whatever year it is supposed to be), the home planet of the protagonist or Shin-zar, where humans live under higher gavities. It is such a pity because I was totally looking forward to all this, and I was almost 100% certain we would see these things. So it was kind of disappointing. The book also kind of set me up to not care much from the very beginning. Like the book starts with e three consecutive sequences of 1) protagonist is injured 2) protagonist loses consciousness 3) protagonist wakes up somewhere else. and that's just in the first 200 pages. Another thing that made me really lose it is that there are many action scenes in which I can never really make sense of what's happening. Is there gravity? Is there no gravity? Where are they? What's happening? Who's injured? I also found much of the descriptions rather flat and uncaptivating. We get taken to a tidal-locked country where cities can only be built in a kind of "permanent sunset" I would have loved to learn more about this place, but it's kind of just, brushed over. I also did not like how towards the end of the book there is a sudden and rather drastic shift to fantasy, with a certain character handing out gifts as if they were magical elements (staffs and orbs with special powers). Or how the protagonists suddenly has a "revelation" of the meaning of its existence and suddenly knows how to solve all the problems of the universe (literally lol) Anyway, I probably won't be reading any more books in this series....more
This was a total mindfuck! I haven't really read a lot of science fiction in my life but I loved the concepts here. 1) taking neuroscience and making This was a total mindfuck! I haven't really read a lot of science fiction in my life but I loved the concepts here. 1) taking neuroscience and making it human 2) what is real and fake 3)we are our memories 4) time travel? It really was an exciting read, packed with action and emotion. I felt so many things throughout the book, from intrigue, to shock, then hopelessness, heartwarm. I finished the book a week or two ago but i've still not stopped thinking about it. Also, there was a brief death scene that I started feeling really lightheaded as i read. it was the first time that I ever have anything like this happen and I honestly really considered not reading any more (i’m glad i continued) but yeah I had to physically put the book down for a bit and get some air con on my face. I don’t not how i got so affected because i’ve read much gorier stuff than that (girl with the dragon tattoo for example)...more
Loved the narration style, and the character's way of speaking their interactions can be so funny that I laughed out loud several times while reading Loved the narration style, and the character's way of speaking their interactions can be so funny that I laughed out loud several times while reading the book. There is a great deal of equipment and "sciency" stuff that is quite interesting but still always presented in an urgent or funny way. It also gets pretty emotional at times. It's started a mars-mania for me!...more
It was a cool read with a well thought-out sci-fi plot. I thought it was great how I believed and got immersed on this moon colony. I loved the story It was a cool read with a well thought-out sci-fi plot. I thought it was great how I believed and got immersed on this moon colony. I loved the story and having my attention brought to how life in Artemis is on a daily basis, how its economy sustains itself and the culture it develops. The story (after the first third or so, anyway) really sucks you in. In fact, I was so intrigued I read the whole book in two sittings. That said, I absolutely hated how the female lead was written. It's like she's always aware of what is feminine and how she is a woman. She giggles and immediately thinks "I'm allowed to giggle, I'm a girl." Like, ugh, that was really painful to read. Also the random sexual stuff was kind of just.. irrelevant and made me roll my eyes, in a way I felt like it was just catering to immature college guys?...more
I keep going back to this trilogy every now and then because I just the world they love in so interesting. It's one of my favourite books of all time I keep going back to this trilogy every now and then because I just the world they love in so interesting. It's one of my favourite books of all time and every time I read it I see things differently....more
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