In a future far enough ahead for massively powerful quantum computers to exist, a nearby supernova irradiates Earth and condemns all persons over the age of 13 to die within a year, leaving children to run the world by themselves. Author Liu spins an inventive tale of how the child-world fares, moving through a succession of short-lived periods dubbed Suspension, Inertia, Candyland, and the Supernova War, all followed [no spoilers here] by the start of a transition to a new kind of existence for humanity.

When you were a child, did you ever dream of a world with no adults? What would you do if they all disappeared? Set up the worlds largest model train set? Let all the animals out of the zoo? Learn to drive a bulldozer and start knocking things down? Chinese science fiction author Cixin Liu – who’s received favorable reviews from both Barack Obama and George R.R. Martin – uses this situation for Supernova Era. A nearby supernova (Liu provides an arguably plausible explanation as to why no one has noticed the precursor star) eliminates all humans more than 13 years old. The results are interesting, not so much for the physics, but for what contemporary (the book was originally published in 2004 and reissued in light of the popularity of Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past series) Chinese thought of themselves and of the rest of the world – or at least what got past the censors. Liu’s Chinese kids are (after an initial period of fun and drunkenness) dutiful and thoughtful; the American kids are gun-crazy populists. It is a gift to see ourselves as others see us. (I note when I was 13, I was, in fact, pretty interested in guns. But I was even more interested in 13-year-old girls, a topic Liu doesn’t explore. Maybe the censors forbid it). ( )

After a supernova passes radiation over Earth, giving everyone over the age of 13 roughly a year to live, leaders of the world begin to teach the children how to run the planet without them. After the adults are gone though, the children quickly discover they don’t entirely like the way the adult world, or Common Era, was run and want to create a world of their own.

I honestly had a hard time with this book. The plot was different and started off gripping with a fascinating set up. The writing was beautiful and created this stunning world of supernova light. The first chapter describing the Supernova’s journey to Earth was so artistically written that it’s what drew me in to begin with. You can tell Cixin Liu has a passion for writing about space.

Later in the novel though, Liu’s writing became intense and lengthy. I found myself getting bored reading because two full pages were used to describe something that could have been summarized into two or three sentences. After the adults left, the story took a turn down a road that did not completely add up. The children leaders all seemed wise beyond their years and knew what needed to be done. The children had an action plan. They then decided to go a completely different way that honestly made no sense to me and left me feel frustrated.

I’m giving the book a 3 star rating based on me both loving and hating it. I both loved and hated the writing style, as well as both loved and hated the story line. It’s not 100% for me, but I’m still glad I read it and will still recommend it to lovers of Science Fiction. ( )

Unlike the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, Supernova Era has at its core a fairly simple (in theory) conceit: What would happen if all the adults disappeared? Liu engineers a supernova that causes irreparable damage to everyone over the age of 13, giving them one year to live so they can train the children. It's a little too neat, but it survives to propel the plot.

Overall, the book is a lot of fun, with less technobabble than the Earth's Past books. At only 350 pages, it largely manages to keep the action moving at a good clip. It slows down in a couple of spots, and a few things are a touch clichéd (spoiler: the American kids get their hands on all the guns). But overall, this was a good read. ( )

I love everything Liu Cixin writes. Except this. This is an somewhat interesting premise that goes off the rails as soon as the Americans get involved. Stop reading there and this is a 3 star book. Then reread Lord of the Flies instead. ( )