Profoundly brilliant, Death's End is the stunning conclusion to a science fiction trilogy that has held me in its thralls. It will undoubtedly rank as my favorite of all time, unlikely to ever be surpassed.
What a journey it has been. When I think back to what I expected when I first started the series, it certainly wasn't this. Or rather, what was in my head was so small in scope, so limited in thinking, it was only a tiny fraction of what this eventually turned out to be. There was no way my imagination could've ever prepared me for this.
The sheer audacity of the ideas in here and how far Liu Cixin took them throughout this series, I stand in absolute awe. Not only is he telling a story, but he also tackles some of the most fundamental questions of the universe and existence, questions that have puzzled scientists for all time, and he manages to weave a cohesive framework to examine and explain them.
Liu Cixin's style when it comes to unfolding the plot works particularly well here. He takes something fairly complex and makes it easy to grasp by the end. He would leave hints early, then come back again and again to poke at them with examples. Along the way, I would think to myself, where is this possibly going? Then when he finally gets to the explanation, it's a complete eureka moment. Every puzzle piece slots in perfectly, and the groundwork he's laid up till then makes the whole thing easy to understand.
There's a part of my brain that constantly craves novelty. When I'm reading, I just want new, new, new. And this book delivers by the boatload. Just when I've got a handle on what's going on, another development will happen that completely throws me for a loop. Then I'll have to rejigger my thoughts all over again. And this just kept happening, over and over. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
I have to mention the fairy tales in here. Seriously, is there nothing this author can't imagine and write? Anytime there's an opportunity to have a story within a story, I'm a huge fan. And the fairy tales in here are so creative and compelling in their own right. They completely work as standalones, but then to see how they fit within the framework of the larger story is absolutely astounding. If Liu Cixin ever gets in the business of writing fairy tales, I'll be the first in line.
At its heart, what makes this series so riveting is that it feels like it's real. It very much reads like a historical account of human history. And to achieve that effect, the science in here is true to what we understand today. There's no handwaving, no hoping that the reader will just forget about it and move on, if only the author could pull enough wool over their eyes. Instead, every clue laid out eventually fits into the big picture and is thoroughly explained, and that makes for an extremely satisfying read.
When you think about it, very few books contain truly innovative ideas. The few that do are so unique as to be transcendent. They offer entirely new, never before seen or heard or thought of concepts put together in ways as to delight and astound and transfix. This trilogy is that. Reading it has been the experience of a lifetime.
Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!
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