I just finished reading the first book in this series. It's the first time I've read about a civilisation were the smallest unit has no soul or individuality at all. All other stories I've read or watched, regardless of genre, have had individuals that go through doubt, regret and many other things along the way.

I have read about other real life contacts with them, where the author often has insight into how inhumane and strange their society is due to their lack of individuality and self awareness. I recognized the themes, such as how the three red guards had no remorse and just kept repeating how the past is the past. In the first few pages of the book. there was a list of character names (ding dong ching chu and things like that) but I think that was a mistake, because it tricked the reading into looking for individuality that just wasn't there.

The book also had a bunch of stuff about aliens, but I didn't pay much attention to it since it was much more interesting to read about how weird and screwed up the Chinese are. They murder each other in the most brutal ways for having thought the wrong thought.