by Cixin Liu
(As far as I can tell, it’s pronounced “Tsih shin loo”.)
I don’t usually read science fiction, and I have no recollection what brought me to this story. I do enjoy reading Chinese authors; so I probably came across some tempting description, like “futuristic Chinese Lord of the Flies.”
The premise is – well, a futuristic, Chinese “Lord of the Flies”, caused by a supernova that destroys the chromosomes of everyone over 13, gradually killing them, leaving Earth in the hands of children.
I was most swept up in the first third or so of the book that focused on China, and the immediate aftermath of leaving the children in charge. An extremely brief period of normalcy, followed by chaos, more normalcy, then laziness, rebellion, and giving up… just when the 13-year-old leaders think they’ve hit upon a way out, we switch focus from China to the global arena.
Then things get nightmarish and violent. I thought the book gave short shrift to the role of girls in the Supernova Era. They would be half the population and I can’t see them going along with the war games and such. I also didn’t get how the ending jumped from Point A to Point B.
Tytania 