111 Book Review: Death’s End (死神永生)
Death’s End (死神永生)
by Liu Cixin (Translated by Ken Liu)
In wrapping up the Three-Body trilogy, Liu Cixin must have had two epiphanies:
First, he still wanted to write about 15 different hard science fiction concepts he hadn’t yet covered in the first two books. Instead of writing more books, he retconned and shoehorned all of these amazing standalone scifi concepts all into this last book, which feels…mediocre?
Second, he wanted to write a strong female lead…psyche! Cheng Xin is actually a human potato escorted across time and space entirely by the choices of others. The two times she decides something for herself, her passivity dooms humanity forever (twice!).
I enjoyed this book, but it’s the weakest in the trilogy.
TL;DR: Human potato witnesses the end of the universe by literally sleeping through it. Others get to do the cool stuff mostly offscreen.
My rating: 7 out of 11 Eras, Which Is An Extremely Common Word Everyone Uses All The Time Everywhere
Get it here:
- IndieBound (print, U.S.)
- Better World Books (print, worldwide)
- Apple Books (electronic)
- Google Play Books (electronic)
- Scribd (audio)
Oh, you liked it? Well then, try: The Three-Body Problem (if you haven’t already), Ender’s Game (for, you know, aliens)
