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The Supernova Era
The radiation from a suddenly glowing supernova is destined to kill everyone on Earth over the age of thirteen. Only children, who tissues can still regenerate, will survive. The doomed older generation desperately throws its time and resources into educating the children of tomorrow and future leaders of the world.
With the adults gone, the children become divided: some forge an imitation of the previous society, aided by the discovery of a new power source utilizing the supernova's energy; the others devolve into savagery and violence.
It is a stark, mournful story of survival, probing the fragility of moral inhibition, and what happens when the civilisation we know collapses.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
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June 10, 2023
The electromagnetic radiation and irradiated particles from a supernova event flood the Solar System and have a drastic effect on the Earth as it is determined that everyone aged 14 or over does not have the capacity to survive the resulting sickness! In a year only 13 year-olds and younger will remain on the Earth! It's Lord of the Flies on a global level but centred mostly on the new Chinese political elite and how they navigate the 'supernova area'.
Liu's dark yet almost impassively written (as a historical record), is a totally compelling read that I couldn't take my eyes off of. Liu began first writing this not long after the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989, he first published a version in 1991, and made continual tweaks and updates until the current version was first published in 2003. A book I enjoyed simply because of its audacious concept, it could have been better thought out, but I suppose that's part of the point, do we really have any idea how children would cope in an adult-less world? 8 out of 12, Four Star read.
2023 read
Liu's dark yet almost impassively written (as a historical record), is a totally compelling read that I couldn't take my eyes off of. Liu began first writing this not long after the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989, he first published a version in 1991, and made continual tweaks and updates until the current version was first published in 2003. A book I enjoyed simply because of its audacious concept, it could have been better thought out, but I suppose that's part of the point, do we really have any idea how children would cope in an adult-less world? 8 out of 12, Four Star read.
2023 read
February 15, 2020
This is an interesting piece of speculative science fiction meant to answer the question: what if the world was run by kids 12 and under? I found that Cixin Liu’s answer was imaginative and made for a brisk read. I felt that the translation by Joel Martinsen was a bit stuff at times (much like his translation of Dark Forest which I felt was weaker than those of Ken Liu for The Three-Body Problem and Death's End). As for the scenario, and avoiding spoilers, I felt that it was too focused on China vs the US and a bit dismissive of - in particular - Africa and Australia which are never even mentioned. The other missing variable is organized crime which I feel would have a non-negligible and negative impact on the outcome.
Honestly, what Cixin Liu says in the afterword about there already being an AI city project in Baoding blew my mind as did his statements about the very real current impact of social media and internet on Chinese society which gives me a whole new perspective on this book to be honest. In fact, I would be tempted to suggest that the afterword should have been a preface because (a) it contains zero spoilers and (b) it truly does help someone that is not in China to see where his vision is coming from.
I hope that some of those reading this book and then this review and to the end will exchange with me in the comments because the whole book is incredibly thought-provoking. That being said, the character development is superficial at best (sort of explained and made excuses for in the narrator’s postface, Blue World) unlike the more complex characters of his great trilogy. I hesitated between 3 and 4 stars here, had 3.5 stars been an option...I rounded up based on the originality of the thesis and the strength of the afterword.
Fino's Cixin Liu and other Chinese SciFi and Fantasy Reviews
The Three Body Problem
The Dark Forest
Death's End
The Wandering Earth
Supernova Era"
Ball Lightning
The Redemption of Time (Fan Fiction approved by Cixin Liu)
Invisible Planets (Short Story Anthology)
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
The Grace of Kings
The Wall of Storms
Honestly, what Cixin Liu says in the afterword about there already being an AI city project in Baoding blew my mind as did his statements about the very real current impact of social media and internet on Chinese society which gives me a whole new perspective on this book to be honest. In fact, I would be tempted to suggest that the afterword should have been a preface because (a) it contains zero spoilers and (b) it truly does help someone that is not in China to see where his vision is coming from.
I hope that some of those reading this book and then this review and to the end will exchange with me in the comments because the whole book is incredibly thought-provoking. That being said, the character development is superficial at best (sort of explained and made excuses for in the narrator’s postface, Blue World) unlike the more complex characters of his great trilogy. I hesitated between 3 and 4 stars here, had 3.5 stars been an option...I rounded up based on the originality of the thesis and the strength of the afterword.
Fino's Cixin Liu and other Chinese SciFi and Fantasy Reviews
The Three Body Problem
The Dark Forest
Death's End
The Wandering Earth
Supernova Era"
Ball Lightning
The Redemption of Time (Fan Fiction approved by Cixin Liu)
Invisible Planets (Short Story Anthology)
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
The Grace of Kings
The Wall of Storms
July 8, 2020
Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Chinese science fiction author Cixin Liu has had a successful career in China for many years, winning China’s prestigious Galaxy Award nine times. But it wasn’t until 2014, when his 2007 novel The Three-Body Problem was first published in English, that he became well-known outside of Asia. Since then, some of his earlier novels, like Ball Lightning (originally published in China in 2004), have been translated and published in English. This one, Supernova Era (published in October 2019, originally published in 2003 in Chinese, but written even earlier, in 1989) is one of Liu’s earliest works. a stand-alone novel in which a natural disaster leaves the children of Earth alone and in charge of everything, from transportation to weapons of mass destruction.
Sometime in the near future, a massive star only eight light years away from Earth, previously hidden from our view by a cloud of cosmic dust, explodes into a supernova. When the high-energy particles and electromagnetic radiation from the so-called Dead Star hit Earth eight years later, it briefly lights up the entire sky before leaving behind a rosette-shaped nebula that can be seen day and night. It also leaves a dose of radiation that, humans soon figure out, has irreversibly damaged the chromosomes of all humans over the age of thirteen, who will die in ten to twelve months. But in younger children and, apparently, all plants and animals, the damaged chromosomes will repair themselves and there will be no short- or long-term ill effects.
The first chapter of Supernova Era, which relates all of the scientific details relating to the supernova, is the only real hard science portion of the novel. The remainder is a social science novel, exploring the ways in which societies and individuals react to the pending death of all the older teens and adults, desperately trying to pass on their knowledge and skills to the children, and the events that occur — and their effects on various nation’s societies and on our world generally — once the adults have died and the children are in charge.
In fact, the hard science underlying Supernova Era is improbable, if not impossible, and difficult to swallow. A near-Earth supernova would in fact be disastrous, but the likely effects would be severe damage to the ozone layer, our atmosphere, and the ocean. This is the first and largest of the novel’s improbabilities that you just need to roll with, and I had a difficult time with it. I’d be reading along and every so often my brain would interrupt my reading to ask, what about all the animals? Why aren’t there any mutations? Aren’t children’s cells actually MORE susceptible to radiation damage than adults’? (Yes, in fact they are.) But I believe the real answer is, Liu just wanted to tell a story where children have to take over the running of society, worldwide. And with that story he succeeds quite well.
In many ways Supernova Era is an allegorical type of tale. It was inspired, per Liu’s afterword, by the Tiananmen Square protests in June of 1989 and by a dream he had that same night of children marching to war under a blinding blue light. Liu compares humanity to orphans who are unable to find their parents’ hands, groping in the “endless darkness of the cosmos.” Despite a (perhaps unwarranted) optimistic conclusion, much of Supernova Era is quite grim. War is treated like an Olympic contest, with a motto of “Sharper, Fiercer, Deadlier,” a result of our videogame-influenced age. The children who lead nations display the stereotypical weaknesses of their culture: Americans are violent and inclined to escalate conflict; the Vietnamese prime minister proposes that the war games include a “guerrilla war” contest (he’s voted down by the other nations’ representatives); Japanese children kill whales indiscriminately, using depth charges.
Supernova Era lacks the intense creativity of The Three-Body Problem and is a more typical science fiction tale. It was early days yet in Liu’s writing career, and that shows. On the positive side, if you had difficulty following the REMEMBRANCE OF EARTH’S PAST trilogy, this one is much easier to comprehend. Liu spins an interesting tale here, with ample food for thought.
Initial comments: ARC received from publisher ... well, actually it's on sale as of today, so I guess it's not an ARC any longer. RC? :) Cixin Liu had such fascinating ideas in The Three-Body Problem that I'm really interested to see what he has to say in this one.
Chinese science fiction author Cixin Liu has had a successful career in China for many years, winning China’s prestigious Galaxy Award nine times. But it wasn’t until 2014, when his 2007 novel The Three-Body Problem was first published in English, that he became well-known outside of Asia. Since then, some of his earlier novels, like Ball Lightning (originally published in China in 2004), have been translated and published in English. This one, Supernova Era (published in October 2019, originally published in 2003 in Chinese, but written even earlier, in 1989) is one of Liu’s earliest works. a stand-alone novel in which a natural disaster leaves the children of Earth alone and in charge of everything, from transportation to weapons of mass destruction.
Sometime in the near future, a massive star only eight light years away from Earth, previously hidden from our view by a cloud of cosmic dust, explodes into a supernova. When the high-energy particles and electromagnetic radiation from the so-called Dead Star hit Earth eight years later, it briefly lights up the entire sky before leaving behind a rosette-shaped nebula that can be seen day and night. It also leaves a dose of radiation that, humans soon figure out, has irreversibly damaged the chromosomes of all humans over the age of thirteen, who will die in ten to twelve months. But in younger children and, apparently, all plants and animals, the damaged chromosomes will repair themselves and there will be no short- or long-term ill effects.
The first chapter of Supernova Era, which relates all of the scientific details relating to the supernova, is the only real hard science portion of the novel. The remainder is a social science novel, exploring the ways in which societies and individuals react to the pending death of all the older teens and adults, desperately trying to pass on their knowledge and skills to the children, and the events that occur — and their effects on various nation’s societies and on our world generally — once the adults have died and the children are in charge.
In fact, the hard science underlying Supernova Era is improbable, if not impossible, and difficult to swallow. A near-Earth supernova would in fact be disastrous, but the likely effects would be severe damage to the ozone layer, our atmosphere, and the ocean. This is the first and largest of the novel’s improbabilities that you just need to roll with, and I had a difficult time with it. I’d be reading along and every so often my brain would interrupt my reading to ask, what about all the animals? Why aren’t there any mutations? Aren’t children’s cells actually MORE susceptible to radiation damage than adults’? (Yes, in fact they are.) But I believe the real answer is, Liu just wanted to tell a story where children have to take over the running of society, worldwide. And with that story he succeeds quite well.
In many ways Supernova Era is an allegorical type of tale. It was inspired, per Liu’s afterword, by the Tiananmen Square protests in June of 1989 and by a dream he had that same night of children marching to war under a blinding blue light. Liu compares humanity to orphans who are unable to find their parents’ hands, groping in the “endless darkness of the cosmos.” Despite a (perhaps unwarranted) optimistic conclusion, much of Supernova Era is quite grim. War is treated like an Olympic contest, with a motto of “Sharper, Fiercer, Deadlier,” a result of our videogame-influenced age. The children who lead nations display the stereotypical weaknesses of their culture: Americans are violent and inclined to escalate conflict; the Vietnamese prime minister proposes that the war games include a “guerrilla war” contest (he’s voted down by the other nations’ representatives); Japanese children kill whales indiscriminately, using depth charges.
Supernova Era lacks the intense creativity of The Three-Body Problem and is a more typical science fiction tale. It was early days yet in Liu’s writing career, and that shows. On the positive side, if you had difficulty following the REMEMBRANCE OF EARTH’S PAST trilogy, this one is much easier to comprehend. Liu spins an interesting tale here, with ample food for thought.
Initial comments: ARC received from publisher ... well, actually it's on sale as of today, so I guess it's not an ARC any longer. RC? :) Cixin Liu had such fascinating ideas in The Three-Body Problem that I'm really interested to see what he has to say in this one.
August 2, 2022
Chinese 'lord of flies' didn't fulfil the expectations: quite boring despite author's attempt to thoroughly describe society without adults. Also in this book the propaganda of 'China being the supreme in everything' is annoyingly visible. But if you liked Liu Cixin other novels you may find this one interesting.
November 10, 2019
Let me be honest here: we need to accept one major handwavium dance move to enjoy this novel. That being said, if we just go ahead and accept the basic premise that CHILDREN under 13 are naturally resistant to catastrophic radiation exposure, or at least they'll heal up when all the adults around them die off, then we've got a pretty great early dystopian nightmare.
The nearby supernova going off, close enough to do more than annoy and far enough away to not just kill us all, is an awesome macro-scale starter for any kind of SF novel.
Ok, so after that? We've got a pretty awesome setup for a kids-rule-the-world SF worldbuilding extravaganza.
The adults tried to do everything they could to prepare these kiddos, of course, but human nature gets the best of us all.
It's PLAYTIME. The old world was BORING, after all.
It's also almost like Liu Cixin was told to write a YA novel back in 2003 and he nodded sagely, snickered under his hand, and went about writing the ultimate coming of age novel.
Only this YA went ahead and killed off the majority of humanity gave us one of the most horrific wars ever created in the spirit of fair play.
Wow.
Now what I'm saying here is: the ideas are freaking awesome, explores a ton of great avenues, and horrifies the freaking hell out of me. The characters are not all that fantastic, but this SF is very much in the spirit of old-school SF masters who want to run hard with the ball.
The nearby supernova going off, close enough to do more than annoy and far enough away to not just kill us all, is an awesome macro-scale starter for any kind of SF novel.
Ok, so after that? We've got a pretty awesome setup for a kids-rule-the-world SF worldbuilding extravaganza.
The adults tried to do everything they could to prepare these kiddos, of course, but human nature gets the best of us all.
It's PLAYTIME. The old world was BORING, after all.
It's also almost like Liu Cixin was told to write a YA novel back in 2003 and he nodded sagely, snickered under his hand, and went about writing the ultimate coming of age novel.
Only this YA went ahead and killed off the majority of humanity gave us one of the most horrific wars ever created in the spirit of fair play.
Wow.
Now what I'm saying here is: the ideas are freaking awesome, explores a ton of great avenues, and horrifies the freaking hell out of me. The characters are not all that fantastic, but this SF is very much in the spirit of old-school SF masters who want to run hard with the ball.
November 3, 2019
Few years back, I kept hearing about Lord of the Flies being a masterpiece, so eventually it made its way on my reading list. It turned out to be a disappointment and to this day, I still don’t know why it is so praised.
Supernova Era is pretty much Lord of the Flies in a different setting. Except for a couple of brilliant ideas, ones which I recognized being later developed masterfully in The Three-Body Problem, I’m sorry to say that the book was a tedious read for me.
I would have liked the focus on technology and the development of the existent AI/virtual world with the help of children’s ideas, but instead the focus was on the political side and its games of power. My imagination failed me to see as possible all those children taking their roles as presidents, prime ministers and generals of war.
If you plan to read it, my suggestion is to read the author’s epilogue first; you will understand the writing reason behind the novel and maybe you’ll enjoy it more.
However, I’m glad I read it; having now read all Liu Cixin’s translated works in English, I could see how his skills improved with each of his works to culminate with the masterpiece that is Remembrance of Earth's Past.
Supernova Era is pretty much Lord of the Flies in a different setting. Except for a couple of brilliant ideas, ones which I recognized being later developed masterfully in The Three-Body Problem, I’m sorry to say that the book was a tedious read for me.
I would have liked the focus on technology and the development of the existent AI/virtual world with the help of children’s ideas, but instead the focus was on the political side and its games of power. My imagination failed me to see as possible all those children taking their roles as presidents, prime ministers and generals of war.
If you plan to read it, my suggestion is to read the author’s epilogue first; you will understand the writing reason behind the novel and maybe you’ll enjoy it more.
However, I’m glad I read it; having now read all Liu Cixin’s translated works in English, I could see how his skills improved with each of his works to culminate with the masterpiece that is Remembrance of Earth's Past.
October 10, 2019
Whoa...I haven't read such an obvious piece of propaganda since probably the Cold War. Written by a Chinese author, it's obviously very clear whose side he is on (even in this SciFi world). Here are some examples: Chinese children leaders are wise, smart and are thinking about the future, while the children leaders of the other countries act just like children; It's the "evil" America that starts Global War Games, but it is the Chinese children that end it! Another example (and considering the history between Japan and China it's the one that really stood out to me) - it's the Japanese children that are eating a whale alive (literally, chopping off pieces of meat while it is still breathing), but it's the Chinese child that saves a cat in a dangerous snowstorm (anyone heard of Yulin Dog Meat Festival? Anyone?). I also found it very funny leaders from China (who is the world's worst polluter in real life) are demanding actions from international community to protect natural resources.
The novel is also very male centered and chauvinistic. There are only TWO female characters: one of the three Chinese leaders (who is always second if not third to her male comrades) and the other is a girl who was originally US Secretary of State, but was eventually elected US President (and only because she looks like Shirley Temple). The very first time we see new US President she is very busy - filing her nails and plucking her eyebrows. Really? Couldn't help yourself there, could you Mr. Liu Cixin?
On top of that, there were SOO many issues with the actual story. NONE of it made ANY sense whatsoever, despite the insane amount of scientific info dump!
Oh, and the best part - this piece of garbage is blurbed by Barack Obama as "Wildly imaginative". LMAO, why I am not surprised that he would say that?
The novel is also very male centered and chauvinistic. There are only TWO female characters: one of the three Chinese leaders (who is always second if not third to her male comrades) and the other is a girl who was originally US Secretary of State, but was eventually elected US President (and only because she looks like Shirley Temple). The very first time we see new US President she is very busy - filing her nails and plucking her eyebrows. Really? Couldn't help yourself there, could you Mr. Liu Cixin?
On top of that, there were SOO many issues with the actual story. NONE of it made ANY sense whatsoever, despite the insane amount of scientific info dump!
Oh, and the best part - this piece of garbage is blurbed by Barack Obama as "Wildly imaginative". LMAO, why I am not surprised that he would say that?
May 8, 2020
I am appalled.
And also bored.
But mostly appalled.
And also bored.
But mostly appalled.
June 12, 2021
this was literally like that episode of fairly odd parents when all the parents disappeared lol it was so much fun
January 7, 2023
First, thanks so much to Tor Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
Supernova Era was originally published in 2003 in Chinese, and is now being translated into English! This book presents a rare case for me in which it's obvious how much the author loves space and technology and it becomes contagious. His descriptions are long, thoughtful, and sometimes intense!
Essentially a supernova blast occurs and the radiation is enough to eventually kill off the entire population of Earth......except kids aged 13 and under can heal their chromosomes. How do you hand a whole planet off to kids? How does their society develop? Are they playing war games or trying to claim a continent? Plus, holy cripe, think of all the fallout once the adults die and things start fluctuating!
Liu does a brilliant job with these questions and more in this novel. Some parts have long, drawn out explanations of sciencey things that made me tune out, but his writing is phenomenal. The only thing that threw me off was the epilogue, what the cripe was that? Were they on the moon? Who was writing it? I'm going to just forget I read it
The majority of Supernova Era happens in the present tense, although there are some notes where it mentions future historians, and the epilogue confirmed that the book was a bit of a historical document... but again I found the epilogue entirely confusing.
I definitely recommend the book for all sci fi fans, it releases on 10/22!
Supernova Era was originally published in 2003 in Chinese, and is now being translated into English! This book presents a rare case for me in which it's obvious how much the author loves space and technology and it becomes contagious. His descriptions are long, thoughtful, and sometimes intense!
Essentially a supernova blast occurs and the radiation is enough to eventually kill off the entire population of Earth......except kids aged 13 and under can heal their chromosomes. How do you hand a whole planet off to kids? How does their society develop? Are they playing war games or trying to claim a continent? Plus, holy cripe, think of all the fallout once the adults die and things start fluctuating!
Liu does a brilliant job with these questions and more in this novel. Some parts have long, drawn out explanations of sciencey things that made me tune out, but his writing is phenomenal. The only thing that threw me off was the epilogue, what the cripe was that? Were they on the moon? Who was writing it? I'm going to just forget I read it
The majority of Supernova Era happens in the present tense, although there are some notes where it mentions future historians, and the epilogue confirmed that the book was a bit of a historical document... but again I found the epilogue entirely confusing.
I definitely recommend the book for all sci fi fans, it releases on 10/22!
September 7, 2023
A lot more thought went into concept than execution.
An end of the world that leaves children in charge of everything (and the horror that would involve) has been done before and of course we have Lord of the Flies (and many, many other books dealing with a child driven society as a stand-in for social collapse).
The problem is that this novel doesn't spend much time dealing with events emotionally. It's busy spinning its wheels in the mud and discussing ideas instead of developing characters.
The biggest emotional events in the book feel ineffectual. Billions die and children everywhere lose their parents. A culture of scarcity disappears. But it's barely given a second to register before we get back to Candyland and super computers and video game societies. We hear about these events but we don't feel their impact. It's reported on like the news. And I feel that was intentional, but it also takes a lot of the sting out of the novel.
It's a very interesting thought experiment and if you go into it wanting exactly that and nothing else, I think you'll find it engaging. But as a story, it lacks decent plotting, characters and just movement.
Like I said, it's a great idea stuck in the mud. 5/10
An end of the world that leaves children in charge of everything (and the horror that would involve) has been done before and of course we have Lord of the Flies (and many, many other books dealing with a child driven society as a stand-in for social collapse).
The problem is that this novel doesn't spend much time dealing with events emotionally. It's busy spinning its wheels in the mud and discussing ideas instead of developing characters.
The biggest emotional events in the book feel ineffectual. Billions die and children everywhere lose their parents. A culture of scarcity disappears. But it's barely given a second to register before we get back to Candyland and super computers and video game societies. We hear about these events but we don't feel their impact. It's reported on like the news. And I feel that was intentional, but it also takes a lot of the sting out of the novel.
It's a very interesting thought experiment and if you go into it wanting exactly that and nothing else, I think you'll find it engaging. But as a story, it lacks decent plotting, characters and just movement.
Like I said, it's a great idea stuck in the mud. 5/10
August 9, 2019
The adults are wiped out by a cosmic event that results in the Lord of the Flies on a planetary scale. Liu uses some hand-wavy logic to explain how only the adults were affected by the supernova, which is rather uncharacteristic of his writing. Normally he goes into dissertation-level detail behind the science of major events. Scientific realism is his brand, so it it was a surprise to see that lacking. The story does have some interesting plot points and a few unexpected turns, but overall it's rather boring. Out of all the Liu's stories that I've read, this one is mostly written from a larger macro perspective, which gives it a sterile and detached feel. There's very little character development or backstory. Liu goes into great detail describing the child war games, but I ended up skimming most of that because I didn't care. Overall, this is my least favorite Liu book/story. Maybe the premise would've severed better as a short story or novella instead of a 350 page book?
March 11, 2021
4.0 Stars
Let me acknowledge that the premise of this book requires a level of suspension of disbelief. I also think readers need to go into the book with the understanding that children are pretty much sociopaths and would make absolutely terrible leaders. I actually one quite a bit and thought the epilogue really added to the story. I would recommend this one to the right reader.
Let me acknowledge that the premise of this book requires a level of suspension of disbelief. I also think readers need to go into the book with the understanding that children are pretty much sociopaths and would make absolutely terrible leaders. I actually one quite a bit and thought the epilogue really added to the story. I would recommend this one to the right reader.
February 4, 2020
I hope no one judges Liu by this. It's hard to believe that it's the same author whose major award-winners I've read. This one stinks on ice.
Liu's afterword says that the first draft was written "thirty years ago" -- which forces us to assume that he wrote the Afterword in 2019 for this edition, and the first draft was 1989. He's 26 then.
DNF at page 210, and from what I've seen I bailed at just the right time, before it got really silly and racist and anti-American -- to go along with the already-displayed sexism and sloppy writing. And I say that as a person who has NO use for the US gun culture.
We start with a bit-of-a-stretch-but-still-plausible idea that a supernova could kill all the adults (slowly, by radiation poisoning) while leaving the still-developing-thus-more-resilient kids. The adults have 10-12 months to teach the kids EVERYTHING. Which apparently includes jet piloting, operating nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, gourmet cooking for the White House, air traffic control, army and police skills, how to run a power system, ... plus a lecture of the importance of feeding everyone with no explanation of how they managed to DO it.
The first crisis is solved by [minor spoiler warning] have the city computer system suddenly go mega-AI knows-all-sees-all, which is odd because nothing of the sort is mentioned in later pages.
Why did I stop? Well, around page 205 I made some notes.
Guests arrive in formal evening dress. POTUS is in a tweed suit. Is that careless, or a cheap shot at America (note: I'm Canadian, I *like* cheap shots at America -- jk, jk)
They have China arriving late because "an Email error missed countries beginning with C." Oh, come ON. How would that error happen?
The Formal Meal is just as adults would do it -- so presumably it's galettes of asparagus in a reduction of fiddleheads and beetroot, a salade niçoise, a couple of Chateaubriands and some lobsters, all prepared by a 12-year-old chef.
But now POTUS wants ice cream [how did Liu know, all those yers ago?], and of course they have barrels of it ready.
AND AT THE SAME TIME these kids are slugging back whiskey and brandy. No one thinks that's a bad idea. None of them spit it out and go, "JFC in a sidecar, what IS that stuff?"
They're going to choose a Queen for UK based on prettiness. FFS. The same kids who are trusted with the nuclear codes and know how to do air traffic control.
Now they're arguing about nuclear carriers and missiles. Wait, I thought they voluntarily gave up their nukes a few pages back.
Punches are thrown. Davey, who's 12 or 13, shouts, "What're you calling me? Hegemonic?" FFS, does this guy know any children? Most ADULTS have never used that word.
Then we meet the Americans, all packing, and shooting things just for fun. There are strong hints that we're going Lord of the Flies now. I'm out.
But again I say, Three-Body Problem was great.
Liu's afterword says that the first draft was written "thirty years ago" -- which forces us to assume that he wrote the Afterword in 2019 for this edition, and the first draft was 1989. He's 26 then.
DNF at page 210, and from what I've seen I bailed at just the right time, before it got really silly and racist and anti-American -- to go along with the already-displayed sexism and sloppy writing. And I say that as a person who has NO use for the US gun culture.
We start with a bit-of-a-stretch-but-still-plausible idea that a supernova could kill all the adults (slowly, by radiation poisoning) while leaving the still-developing-thus-more-resilient kids. The adults have 10-12 months to teach the kids EVERYTHING. Which apparently includes jet piloting, operating nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, gourmet cooking for the White House, air traffic control, army and police skills, how to run a power system, ... plus a lecture of the importance of feeding everyone with no explanation of how they managed to DO it.
The first crisis is solved by [minor spoiler warning] have the city computer system suddenly go mega-AI knows-all-sees-all, which is odd because nothing of the sort is mentioned in later pages.
Why did I stop? Well, around page 205 I made some notes.
Guests arrive in formal evening dress. POTUS is in a tweed suit. Is that careless, or a cheap shot at America (note: I'm Canadian, I *like* cheap shots at America -- jk, jk)
They have China arriving late because "an Email error missed countries beginning with C." Oh, come ON. How would that error happen?
The Formal Meal is just as adults would do it -- so presumably it's galettes of asparagus in a reduction of fiddleheads and beetroot, a salade niçoise, a couple of Chateaubriands and some lobsters, all prepared by a 12-year-old chef.
But now POTUS wants ice cream [how did Liu know, all those yers ago?], and of course they have barrels of it ready.
AND AT THE SAME TIME these kids are slugging back whiskey and brandy. No one thinks that's a bad idea. None of them spit it out and go, "JFC in a sidecar, what IS that stuff?"
They're going to choose a Queen for UK based on prettiness. FFS. The same kids who are trusted with the nuclear codes and know how to do air traffic control.
Now they're arguing about nuclear carriers and missiles. Wait, I thought they voluntarily gave up their nukes a few pages back.
Punches are thrown. Davey, who's 12 or 13, shouts, "What're you calling me? Hegemonic?" FFS, does this guy know any children? Most ADULTS have never used that word.
Then we meet the Americans, all packing, and shooting things just for fun. There are strong hints that we're going Lord of the Flies now. I'm out.
But again I say, Three-Body Problem was great.
December 28, 2020
5/1o
Había leído criticas bastante flojas sobre esta novela, pero a pesar de ello me lancé a leerla, ya que Cixin Liu me ha ofrecido mucho entretenimiento en los últimos años. Y solo puedo decir tras finalizar la lectura, que razón tenían las críticas, y añadiría que en algunos casos se quedan hasta cortas.
Esta especie de Señor de las Moscas futurista, el mismo autor reconoce que se basó en la famosa novela de Golding, no hay por donde cogerla. Lo único reseñable es la idea de partida, que si me gustó y me tuvo entretenido el primer tercio de la trama, a partir de que los niños se quedan al cargo, bufff, no tengo palabras para explicarlo. Trama sin sentido, un estilo narrativo espeso, personajes absurdos y para rematar un final demasiado abrupto.
Se nota y mucho que está fue una de las primeras obras de su autor, creo que leí que la escribió en el 89, por lo que ha llovido mucho. Gracias a dios el autor chino evolucionó muy bien y nos ofreció cosas muy interesantes y alejadas de esta novela.
No la recomiendo salvo para grandes fans del señor Liu y la verdad que ni con esas creo que disfrutes.
Había leído criticas bastante flojas sobre esta novela, pero a pesar de ello me lancé a leerla, ya que Cixin Liu me ha ofrecido mucho entretenimiento en los últimos años. Y solo puedo decir tras finalizar la lectura, que razón tenían las críticas, y añadiría que en algunos casos se quedan hasta cortas.
Esta especie de Señor de las Moscas futurista, el mismo autor reconoce que se basó en la famosa novela de Golding, no hay por donde cogerla. Lo único reseñable es la idea de partida, que si me gustó y me tuvo entretenido el primer tercio de la trama, a partir de que los niños se quedan al cargo, bufff, no tengo palabras para explicarlo. Trama sin sentido, un estilo narrativo espeso, personajes absurdos y para rematar un final demasiado abrupto.
Se nota y mucho que está fue una de las primeras obras de su autor, creo que leí que la escribió en el 89, por lo que ha llovido mucho. Gracias a dios el autor chino evolucionó muy bien y nos ofreció cosas muy interesantes y alejadas de esta novela.
No la recomiendo salvo para grandes fans del señor Liu y la verdad que ni con esas creo que disfrutes.
October 23, 2019
What a interesting & intriguing plot. A star in space burns out & causes catastrophic damage on Earth, the most devastating being that everyone over the age of 13 will die, leaving the entire world to be ran by children.
Now I cannot comment on the science part of this novel with relation to the Dead Star that travels to Earth that creates the supernova event, or the explanation of the event damaging the DNA of those over the age of 13. Suspension of disbelief is important to me when reading because books bring you into world where anything is possible and this is one of those novels.
The adults are left to teach the children as much as they can about everything from driving to running the power station to running the government. The one thing that took me out of the story a bit is that I felt the kids dialogue didn't sound a lot like how 11 & 12 years old would talk, but then again, they did get thrown into becoming adults quite soon. I think maybe the fact this is a translated novel might be another reason.
What the adults imagine the world the children will run is a world of peace & harmony. And we soon find out what really happens if children were left in charge of running the entire world.
I really enjoyed this book. Sci-fi is not my usual genre, but it was an entertaining read & the plot was unique. I found myself wanting to read more about the children's world & how they continue to progress when it ended.
*Thank you to BookishFirst & Tor/Forge Books for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.*
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Now I cannot comment on the science part of this novel with relation to the Dead Star that travels to Earth that creates the supernova event, or the explanation of the event damaging the DNA of those over the age of 13. Suspension of disbelief is important to me when reading because books bring you into world where anything is possible and this is one of those novels.
The adults are left to teach the children as much as they can about everything from driving to running the power station to running the government. The one thing that took me out of the story a bit is that I felt the kids dialogue didn't sound a lot like how 11 & 12 years old would talk, but then again, they did get thrown into becoming adults quite soon. I think maybe the fact this is a translated novel might be another reason.
What the adults imagine the world the children will run is a world of peace & harmony. And we soon find out what really happens if children were left in charge of running the entire world.
I really enjoyed this book. Sci-fi is not my usual genre, but it was an entertaining read & the plot was unique. I found myself wanting to read more about the children's world & how they continue to progress when it ended.
*Thank you to BookishFirst & Tor/Forge Books for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.*
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June 15, 2020
This book was very odd until the end, when it became infuriating.
In the beginning, when I was reading the opening about how the entire world had come together in the face of the supernova dooming everyone over thirteen to a slow death, I was confused. I read The Three-Body Problem a couple years, so I certainly didn't expect an optimistic, sunny take from Liu. What was going on, that all these countries were laying down their differences to hand over the world to their children and usher in a global era of peace and prosperity?
It was a fake-out. That's what it was.
Alright, I actually really liked the reveal that once the children really knew there were no more adults to rely on, everything fell apart. That was an excellent twist, but it was part of what really bothered me as I went further on in the book, which is that it's really a series of disconnected events that would have been better as a series of short stories. The adults set up the new world, and then all of them, all over the world, leave one day in the middle of the night to go to secret underground bunkers to die. Then the children panic, and it turns out that China has a human-level AI dedicated to managing the country as well as a full-immersion VR network that every child in the country can simultaneously connect to. This never comes up again after the chapters where it's the focus. Part of the book is about how America has descended into almost-lawless anarchy, and then there's a war game in Antarctica--literally a game, with scoring and everything, and also hundreds of thousands of deaths--and a country exchange game, where entire country populations just trade territory with the other.
Supernova Era takes the stance that children are mostly amoral monsters who require a firm guiding hand to lead them in proper moral behavior, and it's very hard for me not to take a nationalist reading of the text. Especially later on, when Vaughn, the American supergenius--each country has one, which I guess is the limit specified by the Geneva Convention--arrives in China and talks about the "air of antiquity" there, which definitely plays into the "five thousand year civilization" myths the CCP tells about China. The Chinese children who inherit the country, Xiaomeng and Huahua and Specs, all start out as sober, broadminded, foresighted twelve-year-olds who lead the country with a clear and sober wisdom, always looking toward the future. The people need the firm guiding hand of the leadership, after all. They certainly can't be trusted to govern themselves! I mean, look at those Americans and the chaos in their country! You want to avoid that, don't you?
In that, the book joins so many old sci fi books in not really having characters, but mouthpieces for viewpoints that react to events. No one has an interesting arc or changes in any meaningful way. Other than "the genius"--Vaughn for America, Specs for China--most of the other characters in leadership are basically interchangeable. And that's why the last part of the book bothered me so much. In the ending, during the country exchange game, in turns into a comparison of American and China, where America is a young country of immigrants with no deep national identity and China is the glorious land of five thousand years of civilization, and can the Chinese really thrive and prosper if they are taken from their ancestral homeland? The American children, of course, are rabid about their refusal to allow the Chinese children to take anything from their homeland with them to America, for sinister-but-unelaborated-upon reasons. I wrote elsewhere that " 'Blood and Soil' doesn't sound any better in Chinese," and that's inflammatory, but this is pretty much straight CCP propaganda about how everyone in the Chinese diaspora who isn't loyal to China is betraying their ancestors and their people, which affects real people in the real world. And since Liu supports the Xinjiang concentration camps, I'm not interested in extending him any benefit of the doubt.
But even besides the ending, the book is disjointed and no part of it is satisfying. It's like a collection of short stories, all of them separated, and neither of which ends. The war game in Antarctica ends and one-sixth of the participants die and the consequences are never discussed. The AI in the Candyland era never does anything afterward, and there seem to be no long-term consequences of the children all stopping their jobs for a month. The children all agree to the country exchange game and after the a bit of nationalist rhetoric...it literally ends as the American and Chinese migration fleets pass each other in the ocean. The whole book came to nothing and every individual part of it also came to nothing. It's a fractal of pointlessness.
Such a promising premise that was squandered.
In the beginning, when I was reading the opening about how the entire world had come together in the face of the supernova dooming everyone over thirteen to a slow death, I was confused. I read The Three-Body Problem a couple years, so I certainly didn't expect an optimistic, sunny take from Liu. What was going on, that all these countries were laying down their differences to hand over the world to their children and usher in a global era of peace and prosperity?
It was a fake-out. That's what it was.
Alright, I actually really liked the reveal that once the children really knew there were no more adults to rely on, everything fell apart. That was an excellent twist, but it was part of what really bothered me as I went further on in the book, which is that it's really a series of disconnected events that would have been better as a series of short stories. The adults set up the new world, and then all of them, all over the world, leave one day in the middle of the night to go to secret underground bunkers to die. Then the children panic, and it turns out that China has a human-level AI dedicated to managing the country as well as a full-immersion VR network that every child in the country can simultaneously connect to. This never comes up again after the chapters where it's the focus. Part of the book is about how America has descended into almost-lawless anarchy, and then there's a war game in Antarctica--literally a game, with scoring and everything, and also hundreds of thousands of deaths--and a country exchange game, where entire country populations just trade territory with the other.
Supernova Era takes the stance that children are mostly amoral monsters who require a firm guiding hand to lead them in proper moral behavior, and it's very hard for me not to take a nationalist reading of the text. Especially later on, when Vaughn, the American supergenius--each country has one, which I guess is the limit specified by the Geneva Convention--arrives in China and talks about the "air of antiquity" there, which definitely plays into the "five thousand year civilization" myths the CCP tells about China. The Chinese children who inherit the country, Xiaomeng and Huahua and Specs, all start out as sober, broadminded, foresighted twelve-year-olds who lead the country with a clear and sober wisdom, always looking toward the future. The people need the firm guiding hand of the leadership, after all. They certainly can't be trusted to govern themselves! I mean, look at those Americans and the chaos in their country! You want to avoid that, don't you?
In that, the book joins so many old sci fi books in not really having characters, but mouthpieces for viewpoints that react to events. No one has an interesting arc or changes in any meaningful way. Other than "the genius"--Vaughn for America, Specs for China--most of the other characters in leadership are basically interchangeable. And that's why the last part of the book bothered me so much. In the ending, during the country exchange game, in turns into a comparison of American and China, where America is a young country of immigrants with no deep national identity and China is the glorious land of five thousand years of civilization, and can the Chinese really thrive and prosper if they are taken from their ancestral homeland? The American children, of course, are rabid about their refusal to allow the Chinese children to take anything from their homeland with them to America, for sinister-but-unelaborated-upon reasons. I wrote elsewhere that " 'Blood and Soil' doesn't sound any better in Chinese," and that's inflammatory, but this is pretty much straight CCP propaganda about how everyone in the Chinese diaspora who isn't loyal to China is betraying their ancestors and their people, which affects real people in the real world. And since Liu supports the Xinjiang concentration camps, I'm not interested in extending him any benefit of the doubt.
But even besides the ending, the book is disjointed and no part of it is satisfying. It's like a collection of short stories, all of them separated, and neither of which ends. The war game in Antarctica ends and one-sixth of the participants die and the consequences are never discussed. The AI in the Candyland era never does anything afterward, and there seem to be no long-term consequences of the children all stopping their jobs for a month. The children all agree to the country exchange game and after the a bit of nationalist rhetoric...it literally ends as the American and Chinese migration fleets pass each other in the ocean. The whole book came to nothing and every individual part of it also came to nothing. It's a fractal of pointlessness.
Such a promising premise that was squandered.
March 17, 2021
3.5/5
No sé que acabo de leer ni cómo sentirme al respecto. Es cierto que el libro que menos me ha gustado de Liu Cixin que he leído hasta la fecha, pero también es el más antiguo de los que he leído y se nota, sobre todo en la prosa y en la estructura de la historia.
La estrella muerta estaba escondida de la humanidad y solo supimos de ella cuando murió como una supernova afectando los cromosomas humanos. Esto tuvo como consecuencia que los mayores de 13 años murieran y el mundo quedara en manos de los niños.
La comparación es inevitable, así que partiré por ahí. Liu es de mis autores favoritos, todas sus historias me han afectado en mayor o menor medida, pero siempre destaca su inteligencia no solo científico-matemática sino que social y antropológica. Este es el libro más antiguo que he leído de él pues es del 2003 y es evidente en la prosa del autor, como dije, y en la estructura de los eventos que van sucediéndose. Sin embargo, mantiene algo muy propio del autor que es el usar la ciencia ficción para hablar de los humanos y llevarlos a los extremos. Hay muchos libros juveniles que hablan de mundos sin adultos, pero este es el más aterrador que he leído hasta la fecha. Queda en evidencia la violencia nata y la poca percepción que se tiene a esa edad, la poca importancia que le dan a la vida y a ciertas cosas que para nosotros, como adultos, nos parecen vitales. Quizá recuerda más a algunos relatos de La tierra errante por el tono satírico detrás, más que a Recuerdos de una Tierra pasada.
Es difícil cuando un autor escribe desde la perspectiva de un niño porque suelen subestimarlos, ese es el mayor motivo por el que suelen no gustarme ciertas historias middle-grade. Escribir todo un libro de un tema así de interesante a través de los ojos de un niño es difícil, por eso me pareció astuto que lo hiciera por medio del formato histórico, como si leyéramos un archivo antiguo. Me gustaban los momentos con fragmentos de relatos de personas adultas recordando ciertos momentos vividos en las etapas que fuimos conociendo.
La verdad nunca me paré a considerar cómo sería un mundo de niños, y si bien cultura influye mucho y acá solo vemos niños chinos y estadounidenses, me parece un desarrollo de lo más racional (dentro de la irracionalidad de los mismos niños). La forma en que van cambiando las motivaciones de los niños y sus necesidades, pero también van aflorando distintos aspectos de sus personalidades porque las situaciones los obligan a enfrentar antes del tiempo normal muchas cosas. En resumen, nunca creí que un mundo me asustaría más que el nuestro, pero lo hace. Me aterra el mundo de los niños, me aterra la completa ausencia de lógica (de lo que para mí es lógica, como adulta, para ellos no tiene por qué serlo).
El libro es frustrante a niveles que no pensé que lo sería, la mayor parte del tiempo terminaba mirando el techo, porque no me cabía en la cabeza las decisiones que tomaban. Claro que en el contexto me parecía lógico que las tomaran, pero a mi yo adulta la frustraban. Y para cuando las decisiones se vuelven más drásticas (sobre todo las que vienen de USA) más me asustaba, porque al parecer lo único que asusta más que los gringos son los niños gringos con el poder de los adultos.
El fondo del libro es lo que me parece brillante y lo que me hizo pensar mucho, lo que no terminó de convencerme fue la forma. Ciertos personajes no terminaron de funcionar conmigo como Vaughn o Gafitas, tenían cierto potencial que nunca logramos ver por completo. Mientras que otros, por lo general femeninos, estaban ahí de adorno como Bennett y Xiaomeng. Aunque siendo honesta no suelen ser los personajes de Liu los que marcan sino que el conjunto de todo lo que muestra, sus historias funcionan más a nivel de cómo reaccionan las sociedades que los individuos.
Como dije al principio, el libro es más parecido a algunos de los relatos de La Tierra errante que a sus otras obras, porque se centra en ser una especie de sátira, un mundo gobernado por niños con sus propios defectos y críticas a la forma "adulta" de hacer las cosas. Acá prima ese tono de humor negro y crítica social, por eso no sabía cómo iba a terminar y me sorprendió mucho. Desde lo que sucede después de la guerra hasta el epílogo, no me esperaba nada de eso. Porque dentro de todo deja ver cierta esperanza en el mundo de los niños que el libro parecía desmentir y casi burlarse de los adultos que creían que todo sería mejor.
La era de la supernova más que novela de cifi es un experimento social en el que los niños tienen que hacerse cargo del mundo, vemos las etapas por las que van pasando y el cómo poco a poco descubren que no pueden vivir en una copia del mundo adulto, pues ellos se rigen por otros principios. Una historia con humor negro, cruel y llena de interrogantes interesantes.
No sé que acabo de leer ni cómo sentirme al respecto. Es cierto que el libro que menos me ha gustado de Liu Cixin que he leído hasta la fecha, pero también es el más antiguo de los que he leído y se nota, sobre todo en la prosa y en la estructura de la historia.
La estrella muerta estaba escondida de la humanidad y solo supimos de ella cuando murió como una supernova afectando los cromosomas humanos. Esto tuvo como consecuencia que los mayores de 13 años murieran y el mundo quedara en manos de los niños.
La comparación es inevitable, así que partiré por ahí. Liu es de mis autores favoritos, todas sus historias me han afectado en mayor o menor medida, pero siempre destaca su inteligencia no solo científico-matemática sino que social y antropológica. Este es el libro más antiguo que he leído de él pues es del 2003 y es evidente en la prosa del autor, como dije, y en la estructura de los eventos que van sucediéndose. Sin embargo, mantiene algo muy propio del autor que es el usar la ciencia ficción para hablar de los humanos y llevarlos a los extremos. Hay muchos libros juveniles que hablan de mundos sin adultos, pero este es el más aterrador que he leído hasta la fecha. Queda en evidencia la violencia nata y la poca percepción que se tiene a esa edad, la poca importancia que le dan a la vida y a ciertas cosas que para nosotros, como adultos, nos parecen vitales. Quizá recuerda más a algunos relatos de La tierra errante por el tono satírico detrás, más que a Recuerdos de una Tierra pasada.
"¡La civilización no avanza movida por el arduo esfuerzo humano, sino por su pereza!"
Es difícil cuando un autor escribe desde la perspectiva de un niño porque suelen subestimarlos, ese es el mayor motivo por el que suelen no gustarme ciertas historias middle-grade. Escribir todo un libro de un tema así de interesante a través de los ojos de un niño es difícil, por eso me pareció astuto que lo hiciera por medio del formato histórico, como si leyéramos un archivo antiguo. Me gustaban los momentos con fragmentos de relatos de personas adultas recordando ciertos momentos vividos en las etapas que fuimos conociendo.
La verdad nunca me paré a considerar cómo sería un mundo de niños, y si bien cultura influye mucho y acá solo vemos niños chinos y estadounidenses, me parece un desarrollo de lo más racional (dentro de la irracionalidad de los mismos niños). La forma en que van cambiando las motivaciones de los niños y sus necesidades, pero también van aflorando distintos aspectos de sus personalidades porque las situaciones los obligan a enfrentar antes del tiempo normal muchas cosas. En resumen, nunca creí que un mundo me asustaría más que el nuestro, pero lo hace. Me aterra el mundo de los niños, me aterra la completa ausencia de lógica (de lo que para mí es lógica, como adulta, para ellos no tiene por qué serlo).
"Apreciar el valor de la vida requiere una gran experiencia vital. Para un niño, la vida no tiene ni de lejos la misma importancia que para un adulto. Por eso me parece tan raro que los adultos siempre asociasen a los niños con la bondad, la paz y todo lo positivo"
El libro es frustrante a niveles que no pensé que lo sería, la mayor parte del tiempo terminaba mirando el techo, porque no me cabía en la cabeza las decisiones que tomaban. Claro que en el contexto me parecía lógico que las tomaran, pero a mi yo adulta la frustraban. Y para cuando las decisiones se vuelven más drásticas (sobre todo las que vienen de USA) más me asustaba, porque al parecer lo único que asusta más que los gringos son los niños gringos con el poder de los adultos.
El fondo del libro es lo que me parece brillante y lo que me hizo pensar mucho, lo que no terminó de convencerme fue la forma. Ciertos personajes no terminaron de funcionar conmigo como Vaughn o Gafitas, tenían cierto potencial que nunca logramos ver por completo. Mientras que otros, por lo general femeninos, estaban ahí de adorno como Bennett y Xiaomeng. Aunque siendo honesta no suelen ser los personajes de Liu los que marcan sino que el conjunto de todo lo que muestra, sus historias funcionan más a nivel de cómo reaccionan las sociedades que los individuos.
"Como buen estadounidense, se rige por la máxima de no hacer nada cuyo coste pueda superar el beneficio. ¡Esa es su principal debilidad!"
Como dije al principio, el libro es más parecido a algunos de los relatos de La Tierra errante que a sus otras obras, porque se centra en ser una especie de sátira, un mundo gobernado por niños con sus propios defectos y críticas a la forma "adulta" de hacer las cosas. Acá prima ese tono de humor negro y crítica social, por eso no sabía cómo iba a terminar y me sorprendió mucho. Desde lo que sucede después de la guerra hasta el epílogo, no me esperaba nada de eso. Porque dentro de todo deja ver cierta esperanza en el mundo de los niños que el libro parecía desmentir y casi burlarse de los adultos que creían que todo sería mejor.
La era de la supernova más que novela de cifi es un experimento social en el que los niños tienen que hacerse cargo del mundo, vemos las etapas por las que van pasando y el cómo poco a poco descubren que no pueden vivir en una copia del mundo adulto, pues ellos se rigen por otros principios. Una historia con humor negro, cruel y llena de interrogantes interesantes.
"¡Haced que la locura se adueñe del mundo!"
January 7, 2021
Generally, I like Liu Cixin's books very much. Not so generally, though -I'm quite baffled by this one.
More or less, all his books have these common grounds: very fresh, huge, ideas and quite average character development. Supernova Era, on the other hand, seems to be quite similar to Lord of the flies (cannot neither confirm, nor deny, I haven't read this book but quite a lot of other reviewers made this point, so I guess it must be valid). And the characters - that's what baffled me the most. I'm still unsure, if he handled them brilliantly and made them terrifyingly accurate (a 5* experience) , or it had been a total failure (a 1* experience).
I cannot disclose too much without spoilers, but I tend to think that it was a failure. Sure, no one can accurately and logically predict, how the world of kids would behave if all the adults and teenagers died out in a space of a few months. Still, I am pretty sure that 13-14 year old teens are mature enough to understand that war games with live ammo and grenades and, well, NUKES are NOT a good idea. Also, I am pretty sure that adults would not just orderly board the bus and leave to die somewhere in the caves without even properly saying goodbye to their kids. Liu here thinks otherwise, though.
I have to admit, I did like this book, but it has some serious flaws and since I'm still unsure about that 5* or 1* experience, an average of 3* seems just about right.
It is probably my less liked creation by Liu Cixin, but if you are able to accept the main idea (Everyone above 13 years old dying due to supernova), this book still could surprise you.
More or less, all his books have these common grounds: very fresh, huge, ideas and quite average character development. Supernova Era, on the other hand, seems to be quite similar to Lord of the flies (cannot neither confirm, nor deny, I haven't read this book but quite a lot of other reviewers made this point, so I guess it must be valid). And the characters - that's what baffled me the most. I'm still unsure, if he handled them brilliantly and made them terrifyingly accurate (a 5* experience) , or it had been a total failure (a 1* experience).
I cannot disclose too much without spoilers, but I tend to think that it was a failure. Sure, no one can accurately and logically predict, how the world of kids would behave if all the adults and teenagers died out in a space of a few months. Still, I am pretty sure that 13-14 year old teens are mature enough to understand that war games with live ammo and grenades and, well, NUKES are NOT a good idea. Also, I am pretty sure that adults would not just orderly board the bus and leave to die somewhere in the caves without even properly saying goodbye to their kids. Liu here thinks otherwise, though.
I have to admit, I did like this book, but it has some serious flaws and since I'm still unsure about that 5* or 1* experience, an average of 3* seems just about right.
It is probably my less liked creation by Liu Cixin, but if you are able to accept the main idea (Everyone above 13 years old dying due to supernova), this book still could surprise you.
December 1, 2020
No te pierdas la reseña completa aquí
Lo que realmente me fascinó de esta obra es cómo el autor toma algunos elementos que son esenciales en nuestra sociedad actual, y los utiliza para ilustrar la evolución de este mundo infantil. Parece que la dimensión social o sociológica es algo que puedes encontrar en varios libros de Cixin Liu, y esto funciona perfectamente con la ciencia ficción.
Lo que realmente me fascinó de esta obra es cómo el autor toma algunos elementos que son esenciales en nuestra sociedad actual, y los utiliza para ilustrar la evolución de este mundo infantil. Parece que la dimensión social o sociológica es algo que puedes encontrar en varios libros de Cixin Liu, y esto funciona perfectamente con la ciencia ficción.
March 16, 2021
Ну нет, это совсем какой-то литературный алиэкспресс
November 30, 2019
5/10 - Dudaba entre 2 y 3 estrellas.
El problema de que Cixin lleve años sin escribir nada nuevo es que se publican sus primeras obras y las leemos después de disfrutar de sus historias mas recientes y elaboradas.
Aunque tiene un inicio y un planteamiento interesantes, la historia se pierde en ramificaciones un poco absurdas y termina de una manera abrupta y muy poco satisfactoria.
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/20...
El problema de que Cixin lleve años sin escribir nada nuevo es que se publican sus primeras obras y las leemos después de disfrutar de sus historias mas recientes y elaboradas.
Aunque tiene un inicio y un planteamiento interesantes, la historia se pierde en ramificaciones un poco absurdas y termina de una manera abrupta y muy poco satisfactoria.
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/20...
November 18, 2019
Es casi el más flojeras de los que he leído de Cixin, tiene algunas cosas curiosas pero hay que hacer varias suspensiones de la credulidad. El tema es que estalla una super nova, llega la radiación y las roscan todos los adultos, todos desde los 14 para arriba y los de 13 en menor porcentaje, para abajo se salvan todos. Po fale, primera suspensión, que lo mismo es así pero suena raro de cojones.
Luego en un momento dado los adultos hacen traspaso de funciones y se van, pero es que coño se comportan como adultos de 60 70 años, que pasa con los jóvenes de 14, 15, etc.
Cosas curiosas el ordenador cuántico y el tema del mundo virtual me pareció lo más interesante. Por lo demás los personajes de cixin normalmente no suelen ser la repera y aquí pasa lo mismo no te llegas a encariñar mucho con ellos.
En resumen una especulación de que pasaría si desaparecen los adultos y se queda en un mundo de niños. Por cierto desde el principio sabes que se salvan así que ese aliciente tampoco lo tienes. Porque se va narrando desde el futuro y se ve claramente desde el principio del libro. Esta entretenido pero en comparación con otras obras de cixin, menor, o al menos a mi me lo ha parecido.
Sería un poco superior a las 2 estrellas, pero como en Ball Lightining le puse 3 y me pareció mejor pues dos tienen que ser.
Luego en un momento dado los adultos hacen traspaso de funciones y se van, pero es que coño se comportan como adultos de 60 70 años, que pasa con los jóvenes de 14, 15, etc.
Cosas curiosas el ordenador cuántico y el tema del mundo virtual me pareció lo más interesante. Por lo demás los personajes de cixin normalmente no suelen ser la repera y aquí pasa lo mismo no te llegas a encariñar mucho con ellos.
En resumen una especulación de que pasaría si desaparecen los adultos y se queda en un mundo de niños. Por cierto desde el principio sabes que se salvan así que ese aliciente tampoco lo tienes. Porque se va narrando desde el futuro y se ve claramente desde el principio del libro. Esta entretenido pero en comparación con otras obras de cixin, menor, o al menos a mi me lo ha parecido.
Sería un poco superior a las 2 estrellas, pero como en Ball Lightining le puse 3 y me pareció mejor pues dos tienen que ser.
October 22, 2019
What can I say about Supernova Era?! I mean I could talk all day about a book like this one! The type of book that you kind of feel sorry that is a translation because of your lack of knowledge when it comes to foreign languages. For a book like this one is worth learning a new language. Specially when you know the author has so much potential to surprise you and surpass his present success! I’m not looking to spoil it for anyone! So I’m not going into any details!! I will just keep praising the book on all bookish platforms that I know off! And I hope he will sign books somewhere driving distance to me! Would love to meet and listen to a brilliant imaginative mind as his! Please do buy the book!
January 18, 2020
I'm 0/2 on Cixin Liu. Something about his style of writing people just really didn't with for me, they aren't human in any way I can relate to.
September 10, 2019
This is the first time I’ve read a Chinese novel translated into English. The original Chinese book was published in 2003, though it was written even earlier. Thirteen years later, English readers are getting a chance to enjoy it. This is a very well written and translated book.
A very interesting thought experiment on how the world might be if a cataclysmic event wiped out almost all humanity. This event leaves just children alive. I find it hard to believe that children would think and talk the way the leader children do. I almost wish this story had been told from the point of view of adult aliens observing Earth’s struggle with a world run by children.
The author is a pretty intense science fiction writer, going into great detail about the science he used in his story. I felt my eyes glaze over a few times but right when I was about to stop reading, the story got interesting again. Though, I could have a used a little less of the complicated science and more story.
Although this is an extremely well written and translated book, the story never grabbed me. I wasn’t really invested in it and could have easily walked away at any point.
ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
A very interesting thought experiment on how the world might be if a cataclysmic event wiped out almost all humanity. This event leaves just children alive. I find it hard to believe that children would think and talk the way the leader children do. I almost wish this story had been told from the point of view of adult aliens observing Earth’s struggle with a world run by children.
The author is a pretty intense science fiction writer, going into great detail about the science he used in his story. I felt my eyes glaze over a few times but right when I was about to stop reading, the story got interesting again. Though, I could have a used a little less of the complicated science and more story.
Although this is an extremely well written and translated book, the story never grabbed me. I wasn’t really invested in it and could have easily walked away at any point.
ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
August 10, 2018
Boring…Extremely boring…Why did I waste time reading this book…
The theme ia good though, I don't like it because I don't like to read children's book and this book is about the children's world - only children.
The theme ia good though, I don't like it because I don't like to read children's book and this book is about the children's world - only children.
March 15, 2021
3.5
Sinceramente fue difícil darle una puntuación a este libro. Tiene un planteamiento interesante que si bien no se atiene a las ciencias exactas, da paso al tema más importante del libro ¿Cómo se desarrollaría una sociedad en la que solo existen menores de trece años? Así que a través de las páginas vemos como se desarrolla esta suerte de experimento social en el que los adultos, enfrentados a la inminente muerte, tratan de dejar todo en orden para sus predecesores, niños que de un día para otro deben especializarse y atenerse a un futuro en el que serán la única fuerza motriz del planeta.
No obstante, a veces seguir un modelo que funcionaba para otros no es lo adecuado, sobre todo si hablamos de niños, quienes poseen capacidades y habilidades únicas de su edad, una bendición y maldición a la hora de gobernar, y el libro nos pone en diferentes escenarios.
Disfruté mucho de la primera mitad del libro, en esta hay un componente psicológico y social muy fuerte, no obstante hacia la segunda mitad dónde se están implementando más ideas de los niños se pierde un poco el norte de la narración, en cierta forma tiene sentido debido a la naturaleza imprevisible de este nuevo mundo con menos población, con las necesidades básicas cubiertas, sin adultos, sin motivación ni guía, no obstante se da un salto a lo absurdo que es un tanto desconcertante y las cuestiones prácticas que se podían ignorar al inicio en pos del desarrollo de la trama ya no se pueden obviar.
Cixin Liu, siendo quién es, nos da un libro que es una tragedia y una comedia, un libro que no se toma demasiado en serio a sí mismo y que solo pretende teorizar en base a un suceso inaudito, el final más que cualquier cosa nos demuestra que solo era un ejercicio de ingenio pensar en las infinitas posibilidades sin subestimar a los niños por ser niños.
Fue una lectura entretenida, pero como muchos señalan, no lo mejor del autor.
Sinceramente fue difícil darle una puntuación a este libro. Tiene un planteamiento interesante que si bien no se atiene a las ciencias exactas, da paso al tema más importante del libro ¿Cómo se desarrollaría una sociedad en la que solo existen menores de trece años? Así que a través de las páginas vemos como se desarrolla esta suerte de experimento social en el que los adultos, enfrentados a la inminente muerte, tratan de dejar todo en orden para sus predecesores, niños que de un día para otro deben especializarse y atenerse a un futuro en el que serán la única fuerza motriz del planeta.
No obstante, a veces seguir un modelo que funcionaba para otros no es lo adecuado, sobre todo si hablamos de niños, quienes poseen capacidades y habilidades únicas de su edad, una bendición y maldición a la hora de gobernar, y el libro nos pone en diferentes escenarios.
Disfruté mucho de la primera mitad del libro, en esta hay un componente psicológico y social muy fuerte, no obstante hacia la segunda mitad dónde se están implementando más ideas de los niños se pierde un poco el norte de la narración, en cierta forma tiene sentido debido a la naturaleza imprevisible de este nuevo mundo con menos población, con las necesidades básicas cubiertas, sin adultos, sin motivación ni guía, no obstante se da un salto a lo absurdo que es un tanto desconcertante y las cuestiones prácticas que se podían ignorar al inicio en pos del desarrollo de la trama ya no se pueden obviar.
Cixin Liu, siendo quién es, nos da un libro que es una tragedia y una comedia, un libro que no se toma demasiado en serio a sí mismo y que solo pretende teorizar en base a un suceso inaudito, el final más que cualquier cosa nos demuestra que solo era un ejercicio de ingenio pensar en las infinitas posibilidades sin subestimar a los niños por ser niños.
Fue una lectura entretenida, pero como muchos señalan, no lo mejor del autor.
March 8, 2024
I still don't know is Liu Cixin is my favourite sci-fi writer, but I do think his speculative fiction work is simply the best. A round of applause for all his novels and short stories, but in particular Supernova Era 👏
That said if someone has never read anything by Liu Cixin I probably wouldn't recommend starting with this one. It's somehow simultaneously quite similar to his other works and also very, very different. And in this case I don't know that the differences play into his strengths as a writer, not really. I enjoyed it, but it was an odd one that could definitely rub some people up the wrong way.
The premise is this - there's an enormous supernova that drenches Earth in enough radiation to kill pretty much everyone. The only people who survive are those aged around 13 and under. The adults of Earth scramble to 'hand over' the reigns of Earth. Everyone trains their children in their own specific trade, whether it be as simple as driving or delivering letters, or running thermonuclear power plants. The next world leaders are chosen, and then the 'adult era' (known as common era in the book) passes with an enormous epoch clock filled with lights that represent the last adults alive flickering off. But the children aren't really equipped to run the world in the same way the adults did. There's massive population shortages and the world is suffering such disastrous climate change that many cities are flooded. Every country's leaders begin to buckle under the pressure.
The book is written as a sort of oral history. A close up of the Chinese world leaders are interspersed with quotes from kids living through the era. The book, in my mind, is broken up into three clear sections:
1. The common era, the adults scrambling to train the children
2. The immediate aftermath of the children's era
3. The 1 - 3 afters after the children's era
It's a little more nuanced than this, but in terms of broad 'vibes', I think that applies.
A lot of people have described it as a sci-fi "Lord of the Flies" but I don't think that's strictly accurate. It's less about kids ganging up on each other and becoming savage, it's more about international politics. This book essentially asks "what if international politics was run by children", and it's about how kids deal with disasters and cooperate on an international level. It's about the politics of "fun" and "play", and what a kids' idea of an ideal society might look like.
Since I'm a student of International Relations, I loved it. It was also really interesting reading a book like this from the perspective of a Chinese author, given all the stereotypes of other countries' kids. Those American kids with their , and those British kids with their .
Again yeah, I don't know that I recommend it (I'd sooner point people to read To Hold Up the Sky if they want to dip their toes into this author's work), but I did really enjoy it nonetheless.
That said if someone has never read anything by Liu Cixin I probably wouldn't recommend starting with this one. It's somehow simultaneously quite similar to his other works and also very, very different. And in this case I don't know that the differences play into his strengths as a writer, not really. I enjoyed it, but it was an odd one that could definitely rub some people up the wrong way.
The premise is this - there's an enormous supernova that drenches Earth in enough radiation to kill pretty much everyone. The only people who survive are those aged around 13 and under. The adults of Earth scramble to 'hand over' the reigns of Earth. Everyone trains their children in their own specific trade, whether it be as simple as driving or delivering letters, or running thermonuclear power plants. The next world leaders are chosen, and then the 'adult era' (known as common era in the book) passes with an enormous epoch clock filled with lights that represent the last adults alive flickering off. But the children aren't really equipped to run the world in the same way the adults did. There's massive population shortages and the world is suffering such disastrous climate change that many cities are flooded. Every country's leaders begin to buckle under the pressure.
The book is written as a sort of oral history. A close up of the Chinese world leaders are interspersed with quotes from kids living through the era. The book, in my mind, is broken up into three clear sections:
1. The common era, the adults scrambling to train the children
2. The immediate aftermath of the children's era
3. The 1 - 3 afters after the children's era
It's a little more nuanced than this, but in terms of broad 'vibes', I think that applies.
A lot of people have described it as a sci-fi "Lord of the Flies" but I don't think that's strictly accurate. It's less about kids ganging up on each other and becoming savage, it's more about international politics. This book essentially asks "what if international politics was run by children", and it's about how kids deal with disasters and cooperate on an international level. It's about the politics of "fun" and "play", and what a kids' idea of an ideal society might look like.
Since I'm a student of International Relations, I loved it. It was also really interesting reading a book like this from the perspective of a Chinese author, given all the stereotypes of other countries' kids. Those American kids with their , and those British kids with their .
Again yeah, I don't know that I recommend it (I'd sooner point people to read To Hold Up the Sky if they want to dip their toes into this author's work), but I did really enjoy it nonetheless.
September 14, 2020
It's closer to a 3.75 for me. I think I expected it to be more of a hard scifi and not the political/dystopian story it was. It's a fascinating story nonetheless. The first third of the book was bleak as hell, and then it felt like a different kind of book entirely in the last two-thirds. I still enjoyed it, but keep the above in mind if you plan on reading it.
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