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Seveneves

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"Seveneves" by Neal Stephenson is a science fiction novel that starts with the sudden destruction of the moon, leading to catastrophic events on Earth. The book follows humanity's struggle for survival as they plan to escape to space by building a Cloud Ark centered around the ISS. The story delves into intricate technical details, orbital mechanics, and the challenges faced in preserving a sliver of humanity. The narrative is divided into two parts, with the first focusing on the immediate aftermath of the disaster and the second part jumping 5000 years into the future, exploring new characters and genetic determinism.

Characters:

The characters exhibit varying degrees of complexity, with earlier sections highlighting strong, relatable female figures, while the latter parts feature more archetypal representations.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is thorough and technical, often prioritizing detailed scientific explanations over character development and engaging narrative.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot follows humanity's struggle to survive after the moon blows up, detailing both the immediate catastrophe and its long-term consequences on civilization.

Setting:

The setting shifts from a modern Earth on the brink of disaster to a space-based civilization that has evolved over millennia.

Pacing:

The pacing varies widely, with an engaging start that becomes sluggish and uneven in the latter parts, disrupting narrative flow.
An amateur astronomer in Utah was the first person on Earth to realize that something unusual was happening. Moments earlier, he had noticed a blur flourishing in the vicinity of the Reiner Gamma form...

Notes:

The story begins with the moon blowing up without warning and for no apparent reason.
The narrative revolves around humanity's desperate effort to survive after the moon's destruction.
The moon's destruction leads to a meteor storm called the Hard Rain that will make Earth uninhabitable for 5,000 years.
Characters in the book include parodies of real-world figures like Neil deGrasse Tyson and Malala Yousafzai.
The plot explores the social dynamics and politics of a group of people living in space after Earth is rendered uninhabitable.
Only a handful of women are left after the catastrophe, who are tasked with repopulating humanity.
The book is divided into three distinct parts, with a significant time jump of 5,000 years in the last section.
There is a mix of technical jargon, which some readers found tedious, making it a heavier read than expected.
The book addresses themes of genetic engineering, race, culture, and survival.
The title 'Seveneves' refers to the seven women who become the ancestors of the new human race.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Triggers and content warnings for Seveneves include existential themes, loss of life, complex scientific explanations, and some minor violence.

From The Publisher:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Reamde, and Cryptonomicon comes an exciting and thought-provoking science fiction epic-a grand story of annihilation and survival spanning five thousand years.

What would happen if the world were ending?

A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.

But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . .

Five thousand years later, their progeny-seven distinct races now three billion strong-embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.

A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.

Ratings (134)

Incredible (34)
Loved It (36)
Liked It (36)
It Was OK (18)
Did Not Like (9)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (322):

Read It (129)
Currently Reading (2)
Want To Read (150)
Did Not Finish (9)
Not Interested (32)

7 comment(s)

It Was OK
6 days

880 pages isn't a bad length on a book however the audiobook went on forever. Listened to 2.0 speed most of the time but found myself loosing interest in it and struggleing to find motivation to pick it back up. The story wasn't bad though but think I would have liked it more if I had read the physical book instead

 
Loved It
1 month

Hay que empezar por el principio: Parece que Stephenson sea incapaz de hacer un libro corto, aunque para eso coja lo que podrían haber sido fácilmente 3 distintos y los junte en uno, que es lo que pasa aquí, o lo que pasó en Anatema. Esto sería un problema si no fuera porque cada una de las 3 partes tiene la suficiente diferencia en personalidad y estilo para que no te canses de leerlo.

Sobre la historia, se basa en la destrucción de la Luna, y como consecuencia, la destrucción de toda la vida en la tierra. A partir de ahí, narra los intentos de la humanidad de preservar todo lo posible de cara a una futura vuelta a la superficie. Hasta aquí bien, ciencia ficción con un nivel tecnológico cercano y fácilmente asumible, pero en la tercera parte es donde llega el choque: pasamos a 5000 años en el futuro, directamente a la recolonización de la tierra.

Una pega que le podría encontrar al libro, es la poca profundidad que le he encontrado a los distintos personajes, porque parece que lo más importante es el medio en el que están (que también, porque es la base de la trama) y que los personajes están allí porque alguien tenía que haber.

 
Incredible
2 months

Neal Stephenson is such a libertarian. He probably took his advance for this book in Bitcoin.

But I don't care, because he is also a genius and I just love the way he thinks.

Seveneves (which besides being a beautiful palindrome is also a great title that I can't really comment on because spoilers) starts with the end of the world. The moon is broken into pieces by an unknown Agent, and astronomers all over the world immediately begin to predict the fallout. It turns out, in two years the fragments of the moon will fall into the Earth's atmosphere and destroy the planet. It may not be inhabitable again for five to ten thousand years. So, thus begins the space adventure part of the story. Nations work together to send seasoned experts and young people representing all parts of the globe, along with genetic samples in digital form, to keep humanity alive in space with a hope of one day returning. Stephenson does a great job of balancing the human, political side of things (which usually leads to disaster because: libertarian) with the scientific, engineering problem-solving side of things (which sometimes leads to disaster because: space is hard). I am not a scientist so I can't speak to his accuracy, but the detail is impossible to fault. This book is basically Apollo 13 (a movie that is referenced often in the text) on steroids. Life on the International Space Station-turned-Ark is a constant problem, because life is so hard to sustain in space.

This is the first two acts of the book; in the third act, survivors return to earth, bringing the technology and cultural baggage they have developed with them. This section is brief, and could honestly have been an entirely separate book; but it does a good job of circling the reader back to the beginning, of reminding us of the characters we loved and lost in the first two acts.

Also, this is my first encounter with the word "Asp-hole," and I found it delightful.

 
It Was OK
3 months

3.5 stars

4 stars for Parts I & II

3 stars for Part III

[No unmarked spoilers, but some discussion of the book's structure ahead]

My biggest criticism of this book was that it was unbalanced in terms of:

Pacing - The second arc (Part III) was like an underdeveloped parasitic twin attached to the much healthier, independent first arc (I & II). Stephenson's trademark infodumps stop being fascinating science lessons and instead seem like Scotch tape being used to hold the plot together. It would have been much better if the book ended after Part II and Stephenson had instead built Part III into a full-fledged sequel. I think it also could have been interesting to have the second arc interwoven with the first instead, in a sort of "how we got here" way.

Scienfic rigor - One of my favorite things about the first arc was the emphasis on accurate physics. However, Stephenson does not do the same due diligence when it comes to biology. While pages are dedicated to explaining the particulars of orbital mechanics, hugely speculative biology conceits are semi-handwaved in a few sentences. Unsurprisingly, Stephenson thanks about 20 people in the acknowledgments for consulting with him on the physics, but not a single one for consulting on the biology.

 
Did Not Like
5 months

None of the characters are distinct, it reads like Stephenson plagiarized a first year student's physics notes and then still scoffed aloud and said "don't you know who I am?" when he published it.

 
Loved It
9 months

Bold and ambitious

 
Incredible
10 months

I finished this book in roughly a weekend. The first time I picked it up I honestly think I read for 8 hours straight. My favorite piece of science fiction, by a mile.

 
 
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