Amazing! As tedious as it may feel early on, don't give up on finishing this book. It will truly change the way you see yourself and this uni star

The first two thirds of the book was hard to get into not until the last third of the book did things start to come together. Then the earlier parts began to make sense. I then became more involved in the story. Good narration. Will go on to next book.

This is the first audiobook I've ever went out of my way to purchase. I fell in love with the Netflix series and was more than thrilled to learn about the books. Honestly this trilogy is and probably will be my ONLY reason for buying this app. 10/10 top tier

Not recommended: The bulk of the first half of this book is told in a video game world. The problem with stories set in a video game world (or dream world, virtual world, or make-believe world or whatever) is that there are no rules. Anything can happen with reason or without reason, anyone can show up, and it’s impossible to care about the characters because they just don’t matter. The author thinks it’s funny, or quirky, or interesting to mix characters from history (Pope Gregory, Copernicus, Einstein, Hitler, DaVinci) why not also include Scooby-Doo and Pop-Eye, and Lucille Ball. It doesn’t matter. The entire storyline doesn’t matter. By the time we meet the (game makers) it was too late. I could not care about them or their plight. Also: many parts of this book made me feel like I was sitting in a very boring college lecture hall. The expositionary dialogue was tedious and inane. Maybe there was something lost in the translation, I don’t know. I didn’t enjoy this book. Also, there is no resolution at the end… but I’m not going to read the other books in this series, because I simply don’t care.

Recommend read for sure. It’s captivating and thought provoking.

About the first hour into this book, I had to rebook at the synopsis. it felt as if I was reading an engineer textbook. The narrator made it a poorer read as the monotone just continued on and on. However determination prevailed and about half way through the book it began to center on characters and become somewhat interesting. This book is not for new readers or those new to audiobooks, as it would feel like a punishment reading it. For those lucky enough to make it through to Ye's and Wong's timeline you officially ascended to what the book details. as a stubborn reader, I will finish the series between the next 30 days. Those who are reading in anticipation of the Netflix series stick with it if you can it will get better for you......hopefully. I rated this three stars and the narrator 2 stars for obvious reasons.

It grabs you deeply and doesn’t let you go at all. Highly recommended

This book has been on my must read list since it came out and finally I read it. This story brings creativity to whole new level in sci-fi. Awesome story, especially if you have a physics background and the narrator is top notch.

Tedious at times, definitely written by an engineer, pacing is off, and many times it reads like a technical manual. However, there are some original ideas in here, a fair amount of deus ex machina, and most characters seem like they are all the author telling you about what is happening (like a Tarantino movie). Almost no natural dialogue, and character development really isn't here. If you are familiar with Chinese culture/history, this book is probably better.

Elegantly written

Not for me. Very flat characters and much too technical, more like a physics speculation book than a novel. The narration wasn't terrible but I didn't like the voices he did for dialogue. No idea how it won the Hugo award as it seemed to get worse as it went on. I will not be continuing the series.

favorite book and the narrator did some memorable performances

Definitely worth listening to. I didn't find this book awe inspiring. I don't agree with the whole "humans are evil and destroy everything we look at" philosophy. However I did enjoy the creative elements and especially the physics elements. This book contains lots of information that I found to be historical in nature.

What a waste of money and time. We are all bugs. Whoever wrote the synopsis for this book sure did a good sell job.

Couldn't find a convincing plot after 3 hrs. Of listening.

Loved it. Unusual story and fun concept to think about .