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Reading this book is like reading a young adults comic book.
The premise is interesting but the storytelling is predictable and full of infodump. The Author tries to combine too many things together, ending up with a work that seems a patchwork of 1000 previous authors.
Overall, I give 3/5 because it is an easy novel, quick to read and it provides some good escapism. But a more demanding reader would almost certainly give 2/5

The book is extremely well written and the background in humanities of the writer clearly emerges in the description of the Teixcalaanli culture, its language, its elitist society etc… the first 30/50 pages really gripped me.

The problem was the development of the story. Slow, with VERY LONG explanations about everything… it became very heavy and unengaging. Reaching the end was indeed tough.

In conclusion, great world building and the readers with a background in history, linguistics, and humanities in general can really have a good time recognising how the Author has used the general principles of the subject to create her society.
But those who want a tight, thrilling, fast paced story should probably look elsewhere.

Not a good book. Many actions scenes, some clever ideas but that’s it. The characters are all stereotypes, the dialogues are dumb, the plot largely predictable. I was expecting way more.

Excellent book if you love Hard Science Fiction. The recount of what may happen to humanity on Mars is fascinating and every detail is researched ridiculously well. However, I found the work a bit boring and repetitive. Furthermore, some ideas about the Mars colonisation plans and it’s terraforming sound a bit dated in light of today’s state of the art.

An already heard, cliché, unsurprising story. There is nothing original or really gripping. I give 2 stars and not 1 because I think it is well written, with some moderate moments of suspance