Anders, aber sehr gut!

Etwas irritierend ist zu Beginn, dass die Personen andere sind, als im ersten Teil, was durch die zunächst nur schwer unterscheidbaren chinesischen Namen nicht einfacher wird, und dass die Handlung nicht mehr in der jüngeren Vergangenheit und Gegenwart stattfindet, sondern in einer immer ferneren Zukunft. Nach ein wenig Reinhören wird es aber richtig spannend, auch weil die vielen aufgeworfenen philosophisch-existentiellen Fragen fesseln!

8 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

The stupidity will blow your mind

This book offers an interesting story and promises great difficult challenges and creative solutions to them. But it only delivers part of that.
And the worst thing is that at some part in the story, you are presented with that VERY obvious trap that you see coming for ages and nobody in the book seems to care about... it might drive you mad. I've never felt that much disrespect from any author... does he really thing that even a small part of the readers didn't see that blatant plot twist coming for miles? Details in the spoiler-section below.
If you don't mind that, the book is an interesting read, but please don't say that you hadn't been warned.


***STORY SPOILERS BELOW***

***STORY SPOILERS BELOW***



The problem for me is that some of the time-steps in the story leave you puzzled. Before this one major timestep, everything seems to be in control. Jump 180 years into the future, and suddenly everyone seems to have gone totally mad. The frightening enemy that's hundreds of years ahead of you technologically (without any chance of closing that gap) is on course to invading earth... but suddenly, everyone is so convinced that defeating them is only a trivial matter. The "new" earthlings are already celebrating their victory against that still totally unknown and mysterious invader that they hardly know anything about. They are shedding tears of joy and walk into this VERY VERY obvious trap. The whole process takes about 50 pages (which feel more like 300 pages), and everyone is celebrating while you can't stop banging your head against the wall in disbelieve. How stupid does the author think we are? I can hardly think of anyone that would not have called that one out. And the characters in the book just turn stupid, all at the same time, and walk into the trap. There aren't even doubts or anything that might make you get back your faith in the story.
Afterwards, they have long philosophical discussions that show how everyone know for hundreds of years that peace with an unknown race is highly improbably, just to rub it into your face.

I'm not sure what other obvious plot-twists the author will force onto me in the future, but this one has been the worst I have read in a few hundred books over the last 20 years. And let me tell you, I have encountered a few books with very stupid writing.

It was VERY difficult to get through that part of the book, and if I hadn't already bought the third book of the trilogy I'd have stopped right there.
I certainly won't buy another book from this author, I haven't felt so stupid for a long time.

6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Epic

Beautifully narrated! Lots of food for thought! Just difficult to keep track of all the Chinese names.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great

Started off slowly and turned out to be a worthy sequel. Quite philosophical and ruminous.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Narrator not perfect, Audio production not so vood

The narrator feels at times a little robotic. It's made worse by the post production, which is audibly clipping the beginning of sentences.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Anfangs gut, Ende meh.

Wenn es am Anfang noch fesseln kann ist der letze Teil sehr vorhersehbar und am Ende wird es so unrealistisch im Kontext des gesamten Buches.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

An amazing philosophical treatise hidden in a nove

The narration is good. The different accents was the only thing that made remembering who is who possible.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

different and very creative

A great and different kind of story, which is focusing a lot on technical stuff. If you're not native english it's hell of a challenge, but it's possible and totally worth it.

Continues to amaze

It's a worthy continuation of the first installment.
I've enjoyed listening to it very much and were often reminded of the current stupidity going on in world affairs.

Incredible deep!

This novel touches on so many philosophical topics, that no review can do it justice. The dark forest theory is worth contemplating. The question about our moral code in the face of scarcity and the drive for survival could fill entire books. Hero worship and our contempt if they fail us... Hedonism, irrational optimism, defeatism, the value of STEM research, the speed of technological progress, institutional failure of catastrophic dimensions because of peer pressure and conformity in thinking...

The first two books of this trilogy are a masterpiece!