91 reviews for:

三体全集

Cixin Liu, Ken Liu

4.45 AVERAGE

adventurous medium-paced

Wow, what a ride. Where to start? This trilogy is the most in-depth, creative, comprehensive description of space theory I’ve ever read. Every sentence is a piece of the puzzle that provides a complete picture by the end. The interweaving of the stories is truly remarkable.

As others have stated, it can be hard to follow at times with its overly descriptive English translation and slow start to each book. Just know going into it that you cannot skim these books since all the nuanced details matter.

There are also comments about the lack of character development. I disagree. When you’re painting a picture of the cosmos across 16 billion light years, the characters are but a speck of dust in the great universe.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fairy tale and “Singer” chapters of “Death’s End.” The children’s book metaphor provides a level of understanding in the principles of physics any reader can understand. When you get to Singer, bookmark that chapter, so you can go back and reread it when you finish. I found it quite profound on my third or fourth pass through.

Finally, I share the same sentiment as the majority of the reviewers here in stating this is the best science fiction I’ve ever read. I do not think any future writing about space theory will ever top this trilogy… unless I go into hibernation and wait for a new era to emerge where the universal laws of physics have changed, been manipulated, or are weaponized.
challenging informative medium-paced
adventurous dark reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Great framework
adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging
mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
challenging dark reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

If there’s such a thing as speculative non-fiction, this is it.