I’m a little late here, but I adored this book. If I were to change something, I would’ve introduced Aïda much earlier in the book. Either have her interact with Dube while rotating in from the swarm, or even replace the Arkie pickup scene in the tiny country on earth with picking up Aïda. If he tweaked the pacing, parts 1 and 2 could’ve been it’s own book, maybe leaving off a little more optimistically, then writing a few sequels 5000 years later. I would love to read more in this series.
Great review, and I think I agree with many of your criticisms. The book is amazing, and the mid section, I literally could not put the book down all night as he went through the "big ride" sequence to its culmination. It did feel like the perfect ending at this point. While I do agree that the final third is not as strong as the first two, I really do appreciate it being there. I'm just really happy that we got to see these ideas develop and get an idea of what this future could have played out as. The third part really does feel like a semi-sequel, and I like it in that context. However, I just finished the book last night, and I do have to say that the ending was quite frustrating. But honestly, how could it have culminated in a way that thematically made sense when the third act was so different than the first two?
Thank you! Having a definitely love/hate relationship with Neal Stephenson's work, getting everything laid out (and yet without spoiling) is exactly what I needed for this book. I've gone from absolutely not wanting to read it to at least pondering the possibility of reading it. I appreciate it, as always. :)
Quality review: brief but dense, pragmatic. How come this channel has so few subscribers? (PS: your way of talking reminds me of John Billingsley, which is a compliment in my world.)
Thanks very much! I do try to make my points without rambling in a review, which might come from cutting my teeth doing written reviews. Appreciate the notice! And of course, you can always help with sub boosting, just by talking up the channel on appropriate forums. (Reddit, etc.)
As a long time Neal Stephenson fan, who is not a major Hard science fiction buff, I have to say that actually enjoyed the final third more than the space stuff. I *loved* the space stuff, it was totally gripping, and especially once Julia appears... when it takes a break from being just a text book on orbital mechanics, and becomes a women's prison movie. But the far future was when the book came alive for me in terms of what I most value in Stephenson, which is putting a bunch of people together on some sort of quest and having them talk about philosophy. Although, to be fair, this is essentially what the whole 'first counsel of the seven eves' is, right. I totally missed the quest of the seven races setting off from the tavern, but I don't know how. Thank you for pointing this out. Maybe Neal is warming up to write a fantasy book next? That would be awesome. But I'm afraid what I really want is for him to write the next instalment of this story... but have a bad feeling that's not what's going to happen. I am still totally glad the book didn't end at the two thirds mark... that is what I would have called a cliff hanger.
yesmissjane I actually liked the final third myself - which is why I would have rather seen it get its own novel, to allow Stephenson to flesh it out even more fully and give those characters the room to breathe and grow they deserved.
SFF180 I guess you're right. From everything I've heard him say in the lead up to the release, this is an idea he has been trying to sell for years as a video game or something, and he finally sat down and wrote it more than anything just to get it out of his system, so maybe he was just done with it. But there is so much room for the stuff in the final third to stretch out... not just the politics, and the resolution of what ever is happening as the book concludes, but the stuff about Moiran epigenetic shifting... that was such an interesting idea, but it just kind of gets thrown in!
I'm right there with you on the blatant division on this book. Almost as if when the narrative said ....and they will be known in history as the Seven Eves....the novel could have ended it and would have been PERFECTION. Still, those last 300 pages though feeling a bit tacked on, felt a good coda.
Thanks or sharing. I really like the way you worded the the description of the Spacer society: "Their political divisions line up with the personal antagonisms that the individual eves have with one another." That encapsulates the biggest problem I had with the third section, the worldbuilding just didn't make much sense from a sociological perspective. It's almost as if Stephenson took a sociobiological angle (that is, how our genes affect our behavior) and cranked it up to 11.
I was actually waiting for you to review this book before I go and buy it. I couldn't stand another major disappointment in one year (...ahem... Ishiguro). Great review! Thank you! Btw...could you include a link for Book Depository too? for us scattered round places where Amazon(.whatever) charges in gold to ship
I was actually very surprised to see a 4 star review. I was personally somewhat disappointed with the book. I have to preface by saying I've never read Neal Stephenson before but I have read Stephen Baxter and I'm used to his penchant for infodumps. This book takes the infodump to a completely new level to the point where it just becomes a slog to get through. There were parts that I feel just needed to be pared down a bit. The other major issue is that while this book is heavy on science it's fairly light on fiction... meaning the characters are for the most part fairly weak. First of all you have characters who are obvious stand-ins for real life people (such as in this case, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Elon Musk), and secondly only a few of the other main characters were anything approaching interesting. I think Stephenson must be the reincarnation of Olaf Stapleton as it felt like I was at times reading one of his voluminous infodumps disguised as sci-fi novels. The best part of the book to me was clearly at the point when the human race was down to the 8 women and the discussions about how to continue the species.... great work there. The 5000 year jump after that was not so great. It felt like a completely different book. I do like your epic fantasy analogy because that's what the book essentially became after that. I do have to admit the Moiran race was interesting, kinda like a hard sci-fi version of a Time Lord from doctor who (and there was a character in the second part named Doctor Hu I loled at that as well). The ending was plain awful... it just ended... If only Stephenson just ended the book at the meeting of the eves and did a whole new book expanding on the future human races.
Joseph Fernandez thanks for this. I really like Baxter but really have to be in the right headspace to start with one of his books. I think I might be the same for Stephenson. Anathem was my first Stephenson book The first third or half I kept wondering why I kept reading it, but by the end I was engrossed and really happy I persevered. Same happened with Crypto. With a bit of time since reading it, has Seveneves gelled for you?
This is not the "hardest of hard science fiction." This is bloat. It is a long-winded, tedious, repetitive pile of pages that promises far more than is paid off. A decent editor would have removed at least 1/2 of the ponderous prose, especially since so much of it is simply repeating, in various degrees of excruciatingly dull detail, what has already been written earlier in the book. This book is a waste of reading time. The title is painfully obvious before you even start reading it (if not, you are NOT an observant person). The payoff is not worth the plod. Reading Seveneves has guaranteed that I'll never pay money for another Neal Stephenson book.
I’m a little late here, but I adored this book.
If I were to change something, I would’ve introduced Aïda much earlier in the book. Either have her interact with Dube while rotating in from the swarm, or even replace the Arkie pickup scene in the tiny country on earth with picking up Aïda. If he tweaked the pacing, parts 1 and 2 could’ve been it’s own book, maybe leaving off a little more optimistically, then writing a few sequels 5000 years later. I would love to read more in this series.
Totaly agree - 1&2 should have been book 1 , and 3 should have been twice as long and thus book 2
Great review, and I think I agree with many of your criticisms. The book is amazing, and the mid section, I literally could not put the book down all night as he went through the "big ride" sequence to its culmination. It did feel like the perfect ending at this point.
While I do agree that the final third is not as strong as the first two, I really do appreciate it being there. I'm just really happy that we got to see these ideas develop and get an idea of what this future could have played out as. The third part really does feel like a semi-sequel, and I like it in that context. However, I just finished the book last night, and I do have to say that the ending was quite frustrating. But honestly, how could it have culminated in a way that thematically made sense when the third act was so different than the first two?
Thank you! Having a definitely love/hate relationship with Neal Stephenson's work, getting everything laid out (and yet without spoiling) is exactly what I needed for this book. I've gone from absolutely not wanting to read it to at least pondering the possibility of reading it. I appreciate it, as always. :)
Quality review: brief but dense, pragmatic. How come this channel has so few subscribers?
(PS: your way of talking reminds me of John Billingsley, which is a compliment in my world.)
Thanks very much! I do try to make my points without rambling in a review, which might come from cutting my teeth doing written reviews. Appreciate the notice! And of course, you can always help with sub boosting, just by talking up the channel on appropriate forums. (Reddit, etc.)
The only Neal Stephenson book I got into was Snow Crash, but it sounds like I'll have to check this one out!
Somebody can explain to me, from where come the Canivals?...it was a separate ship?....
Looking forward to reading this one.
As a long time Neal Stephenson fan, who is not a major Hard science fiction buff, I have to say that actually enjoyed the final third more than the space stuff. I *loved* the space stuff, it was totally gripping, and especially once Julia appears... when it takes a break from being just a text book on orbital mechanics, and becomes a women's prison movie. But the far future was when the book came alive for me in terms of what I most value in Stephenson, which is putting a bunch of people together on some sort of quest and having them talk about philosophy. Although, to be fair, this is essentially what the whole 'first counsel of the seven eves' is, right.
I totally missed the quest of the seven races setting off from the tavern, but I don't know how. Thank you for pointing this out. Maybe Neal is warming up to write a fantasy book next? That would be awesome. But I'm afraid what I really want is for him to write the next instalment of this story... but have a bad feeling that's not what's going to happen. I am still totally glad the book didn't end at the two thirds mark... that is what I would have called a cliff hanger.
yesmissjane I actually liked the final third myself - which is why I would have rather seen it get its own novel, to allow Stephenson to flesh it out even more fully and give those characters the room to breathe and grow they deserved.
SFF180 I guess you're right. From everything I've heard him say in the lead up to the release, this is an idea he has been trying to sell for years as a video game or something, and he finally sat down and wrote it more than anything just to get it out of his system, so maybe he was just done with it. But there is so much room for the stuff in the final third to stretch out... not just the politics, and the resolution of what ever is happening as the book concludes, but the stuff about Moiran epigenetic shifting... that was such an interesting idea, but it just kind of gets thrown in!
Not to be too spoilery, but Kath Two/Kathree - well, I just wanted more time.
I'm right there with you on the blatant division on this book. Almost as if when the narrative said ....and they will be known in history as the Seven Eves....the novel could have ended it and would have been PERFECTION. Still, those last 300 pages though feeling a bit tacked on, felt a good coda.
Ron Howard is announced to direct the movie
Thanks or sharing. I really like the way you worded the the description of the Spacer society: "Their political divisions line up with the personal antagonisms that the individual eves have with one another." That encapsulates the biggest problem I had with the third section, the worldbuilding just didn't make much sense from a sociological perspective. It's almost as if Stephenson took a sociobiological angle (that is, how our genes affect our behavior) and cranked it up to 11.
I was actually waiting for you to review this book before I go and buy it. I couldn't stand another major disappointment in one year (...ahem... Ishiguro).
Great review! Thank you!
Btw...could you include a link for Book Depository too? for us scattered round places where Amazon(.whatever) charges in gold to ship
tricky Tanya I will look into Book Depository. Don't really know much about them.
I was actually very surprised to see a 4 star review. I was personally somewhat disappointed with the book. I have to preface by saying I've never read Neal Stephenson before but I have read Stephen Baxter and I'm used to his penchant for infodumps. This book takes the infodump to a completely new level to the point where it just becomes a slog to get through. There were parts that I feel just needed to be pared down a bit. The other major issue is that while this book is heavy on science it's fairly light on fiction... meaning the characters are for the most part fairly weak. First of all you have characters who are obvious stand-ins for real life people (such as in this case, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Elon Musk), and secondly only a few of the other main characters were anything approaching interesting. I think Stephenson must be the reincarnation of Olaf Stapleton as it felt like I was at times reading one of his voluminous infodumps disguised as sci-fi novels. The best part of the book to me was clearly at the point when the human race was down to the 8 women and the discussions about how to continue the species.... great work there. The 5000 year jump after that was not so great. It felt like a completely different book. I do like your epic fantasy analogy because that's what the book essentially became after that. I do have to admit the Moiran race was interesting, kinda like a hard sci-fi version of a Time Lord from doctor who (and there was a character in the second part named Doctor Hu I loled at that as well). The ending was plain awful... it just ended... If only Stephenson just ended the book at the meeting of the eves and did a whole new book expanding on the future human races.
Joseph Fernandez thanks for this. I really like Baxter but really have to be in the right headspace to start with one of his books. I think I might be the same for Stephenson.
Anathem was my first Stephenson book The first third or half I kept wondering why I kept reading it, but by the end I was engrossed and really happy I persevered. Same happened with Crypto. With a bit of time since reading it, has Seveneves gelled for you?
300..pages..? uh.. I"M OUT.
THIS WAS TERRBLE
This is not the "hardest of hard science fiction." This is bloat. It is a long-winded, tedious, repetitive pile of pages that promises far more than is paid off. A decent editor would have removed at least 1/2 of the ponderous prose, especially since so much of it is simply repeating, in various degrees of excruciatingly dull detail, what has already been written earlier in the book.
This book is a waste of reading time. The title is painfully obvious before you even start reading it (if not, you are NOT an observant person). The payoff is not worth the plod.
Reading Seveneves has guaranteed that I'll never pay money for another Neal Stephenson book.