Book Review: "Supernova Era" by Cixin Liu
*Spoiler alert!*
The Supernova Era was a complicated read for me. On
the one hand, I think it was as thought-provoking as Liu’s previous works, such
as The Three Body Problem, but that the characterization was superficial
and the book’s timeline a bit muddled. That’s why my rating is at 3.5 stars. It
got rounded up to 3.5 for the story’s conceptual framework.
A massive star eight light years from Earth—practically in our stellar neighborhood—ends its life in a powerful supernova, transforming into a neutron star. In the process of the supernova, the star sends an intense jet of radiation that ends up hitting Earth and messing a bunch of things up.
If you recall from your biology classes, radiation is bad for living things, damaging the DNA. The fact of Earth’s magnetosphere protects us from most of this harmful cosmic radiation and helps keep our atmosphere from being stripped away. Two particularly important things we need to live, aside from water and food.
(I felt bad for the astronauts orbiting Earth
outside the protection of these atmospheric layers. No, this super dose of
radiation didn’t give them superpowers like the Fantastic Four. Unfortunately,
they die quickly and serve as canaries in a coal mine. Lots of dying canaries,
unfortunately.)
In any case, the supernova radiation is a hefty dose—what
makes it past the protective layers of Earth’s atmosphere is a radiation dose
that’s enough to kill off all the adults on Earth within a year. All that’s
left is children, 13 years old and under, who are more resilient and heal
faster. Their DNA damage can be repaired more rapidly than the older adults.
Before all the adults succumb to what is known as the
“Supernova Sickness,” the children are given over the course of a year a very
rigorous crash course in all of human knowledge, from running a power plant to
statesmanship. You know the saying: “The children are our future.” That’s
literally the premise Supernova Era is based on.
“All you need to understand right now is this: the world isn't what it used to be.”
Frankly, when the world transforms into the “Children’s World,” things get very weird, sinister, and terrifying. Politics became all about playtime—although I found some of the geopolitical dynamics humorous analogs—and war becomes just another game. The continent of Antarctica becomes a potential Eden, as the climate is changing rapidly and rendering many areas eventually uninhabitable. (Basically, a world war happens and is literally refereed like the Olympics to determine who gets the biggest dibs on Antarctica.)
The cavalier way the children view weapons as just more advanced toys is terrifying, although I think they come together in the terrible aftermath of their wargames in recognizing how terrible war is (hopefully that sticks).
“I really can’t keep it up anymore,” Huahua said.
“No one’s doing any better,” Specs said lightly.
“It’s not the same. This is impossible!”
“Think of yourself as a computer. You’re just cold hardware, and reality is just data. Accept your input and perform your calculations. That’s how you keep it up.”
Here, the exploration of children’s psychology, combined
with the trauma of all their caregivers dying and then expecting them to take over
the reins of civilization itself, is fascinating and sobering in equal parts. To
me, The Supernova Era is a better take on Lord of the Flies, even
if the characters aren’t as well developed as I would like and some of the
timeline gets confusing, especially in the book’s epilogue.
Overall, an intriguing premise that is executed imperfectly.
Happy reading!
--BookOwl
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