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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.

That was my first thought after finishing the first novel in the trilogy. This second book didn't change that much in my thinking. It's still okay, I liked some aspects, such as the whole 'Wallfacer' idea, but it still had a few very weird subplots, that just seem so out of place. The whole romantic subplot made me cringe, it reminded me of mail order brides. The feelings, decisions and personality of the woman in question are unimportant. Maybe that's a cultural thing but there were so many pages about this whole thing and it's just weird.

The whole idea of the dark forest is interesting, the droplet was also a good part. I wish he put more time into the characters and the story, not just into the science. That's the thing, I remember most of the science, but the characters are all very much replaceable.

In the end, I can't recommend this book. It's not bad, but there are so many better sci-fi books out there. It's good to see some non-American sci-fi authors out there, but that doesn't mean we have to blindly praise this one. It's like pumpkin spiced latte: It's fun to have something different once in a while, it's not bad, but on it's own, it's not that great.

I will read the last book, just to get it over with. Maybe it's gonna turn this whole ship around, but I don't have any high hopes. I still don't get why so many people recommend this book.