Not sure why I didn’t rate this at the time, but I think it’s because I ended up remembering what made the trilogy so engaging and now (having had more life and philosophical experience) enjoying the deeper story. 

Loved it! Was a bit worried it was going to have all sorts of problems being an old 'classic', but it was a really intriguing story, told in an enthralling way, and will definitely stick in my mind. 

Points deducted for a few small points and for the very last bit

where the Zealander's sticky substance is allowed to kill everyone

as it seemed a bit contradictory. 

I just wasn't as interested in this story as I was in the first one. 

I wish there had been more to the corals, and that we had spent more time with them during the first expedition. Maybe I was bored with the Earthling conflict stuff and just wanted more weird things.

Overall really good though! 

Unlike others (mostly on Goodreads) who didn’t like the book, I actually liked the fact that we got glimpses/novellas of different times - it meant we understood the people a little better as we understood where they came from. 

I had recently read The Ruins and Eden so I wasn’t looking for a plant horror book, which is good because this isn’t one. (And seems to be another reason people didn’t like it) 

Also, some people seemed to be bored by the plant science - I actually loved it and I think having read it as an audiobook really helped.

It was fine, if a little outdated in terms of how the characters were treated and in the imagination of a future world, but was a decent enough read

Good, interesting, would make a great movie

Not a huge fan of the audiobook narrator though 

Loved it!!

So much crying. Did I just forget how horrible the situations were or is it just hitting me extra hard due to the amazing narration by Tatiana Maslany? 

So I tried to read it as a printed book but I didn’t get very far. Eventually I was looking for a new audiobook to read and this came up and that was a good decision. I think I enjoyed it more than most because I signed up for the 16 hours and didn’t expect much.

I loved hearing about the backstory of the games. I hated Coriolanus, which is to be expected, but I think there were some things there could have been done better - a different audiobook reader? More craziness? Idk.

Excited to re-read the original trilogy now with this new backstory.

——
3 Dec: a YouTube video about this book came up and it made me really appreciate the philosophical discussion of Locke vs Hobbs theories of people and society, plus Lucy Gray being a nod to a poem by Wordsworth, and gave it an extra 1/3 star (rounded down to 4.25)

I’d give it more, but the whole period where he is in the district felt longer than it needed to be, especially since we know he must come back at some point as he becomes president. Maybe it was just an issue with pacing.

There was an interesting point made by one youtuber that some of those pacing problems (I’m glad the games were boring action wise, not to change that) could have been solved by giving us Lucy Gray’s point of view - it actually would have really worked with the title, and through her we might have learned more about the old world. 

I loved that it was a very gay story and that the characters felt different and interspersing.

It was mostly good, however the middle really lagged and could do with an edit. However, I love what the book did and I am so happy to have read it.