Joseph Quigley reviewed Death's End by Cixin Liu (Remembrance of Earth's Past, #3)
Too long
3 stars
A bit too long. The plot meanders a bit too much as well. But it does resolve everything at the end.
Paperback, 724 pages
English language
Published May 4, 2017 by Head of Zeus.
Half a century after the Doomsday Battle, the uneasy balance of Dark Forest Deterrence keeps the Trisolaran invaders at bay. Earth enjoys unprecedented prosperity due to the infusion of Trisolaran knowledge. With human science advancing and the Trisolarans adopting Earth culture, it seems that the two civilizations can co-exist peacefully as equals without the terrible threat of mutually assured annihilation. But peace has also made humanity complacent.
Cheng Xin, an aerospace engineer from the 21st century, awakens from hibernation in this new age. She brings knowledge of a long-forgotten program dating from the start of the Trisolar Crisis, and her presence may upset the delicate balance between two worlds. Will humanity reach for the stars or die in its cradle?
A bit too long. The plot meanders a bit too much as well. But it does resolve everything at the end.
The world in this book is so complex and mesmerizing I have trouble to exiting it.
This one, like the last, is for the world builders. The world building is the plot. It is very detailed and thorough.
A brief warning: be careful with this book if you're depressed. It can be very depressing and possibly bring an existential dread. Even more than the second book. I had to read it pieces.
For that reason, I can't say I enjoyed this book. It is very impressive with what it's trying to do though.
I'm still at odds with this book and the whole trilogy. This one is better than the second books but it's still just okay 🤷🏼
Everything about the science is top notch though. I like the explanations, he doesn't overdo it, but it's still thorough enough to get the gist of the idea.
If somebody was struggling to find a sci-fi book, because he/she already read so many, this would be a good contender, especially if it should be more about the science and less about the characters.
This is the biggest weakness though: the characters seem so one-dimensional. Cheng Xin as the protagonist in this book did have a tiny bit more deepness than usual, but all surrounding characters were lacking. 艾AA was built up as the fun but clever character by Cheng Xin, but she never did anything fun really. Luo Ji was just there I guess (without …
I'm still at odds with this book and the whole trilogy. This one is better than the second books but it's still just okay 🤷🏼
Everything about the science is top notch though. I like the explanations, he doesn't overdo it, but it's still thorough enough to get the gist of the idea.
If somebody was struggling to find a sci-fi book, because he/she already read so many, this would be a good contender, especially if it should be more about the science and less about the characters.
This is the biggest weakness though: the characters seem so one-dimensional. Cheng Xin as the protagonist in this book did have a tiny bit more deepness than usual, but all surrounding characters were lacking. 艾AA was built up as the fun but clever character by Cheng Xin, but she never did anything fun really. Luo Ji was just there I guess (without spoiling too much) and the others as well (can't go into detail here without spoiling though).
In summary: It's okay I guess. If you are into getting some new perspective in a sci-fi book, either culturally or in the science, this one's not bad.
Side note: Talking about the characters, I noticed something weird: In this whole trilogy, every time there are some characters from every part of the world, it's usually: An American (I know, Diaz is an exception of that rule already), a British person (there are other Europeans as well, thank you very much) and some Chinese person (I think one Japanese as well and one is very into Japanese culture though). What about the Germans, French or Spanish people? Nobody ever talks about India or Pakistan at all (I think), two of the most populated countries on Earth. Africa and Canada also exist. There are Russians in the first novel, but I guess they are not important anymore later. I know you can't fit every single nation in a few books, but seriously, that's weird.
In a lot of ways, i think this book could stand alone instead of being book three. It kind of starts the timeline over in the near future instead of picking up where the other books left off. With hibernation we are able to mostly follow a single person through the book, and that makes it feel coherent in a new way. It’s about the relationship with the larger universe much more than it’s about the Trisolarans. I’m glad we read these