Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

26 reviews

pipn_t's review against another edition

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dark 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? No

2.0

I disliked this book a lot.  There was unnecessary gore.  There was not much characterization, so the reveal of one antagonist had no meaning.  There was only one woman who was a main character, the rest were side characters with no personality.  It was militantly pessimistic about human nature and society to the point where I wondered why I should root for the main characters at all.  The plot made little sense, and the book ended suddenly, like it just got cut off mid book rather than any plot points wrapping up.  I don’t know about astrophysics, but considering some basic details regarding glasses and eye health were not right, it made me a little bit question whether some of the more science things were right or not also.  
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mdiffer's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Old-school, hard sci-fi. 
Might not be everybody's cup of tea.
Expect a little more character development than Asimov or Clark... but not much. Characters are mostly one-dimensional. And that's ok, because this a story about big ideas. It's plot-heavy and a little dry at times with technical details. But I enjoyed the book and finished it quickly. For me, this was a page-turner.  
I enjoyed the mystery plot and premise. It was nice to read something from a non-western perspective and history.
Characters navigating life in China during and after the Cultural Revolution were especially fascinating and heartbreaking. The end was abrupt and posed a subtle yet terrifying cosmic horror premise. What if a hostile invader could stunt our scientific progress?
 
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lesejaguar's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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cloud_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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homakp's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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coolfijiwater's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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jojo50's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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jessthanthree's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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imaginary_space's review against another edition

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challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I will have to eye-read this again to form a final opinion, so take this with a grain of salt. I had to rush through the book because I could only lend it for 7 days, not my usual reading speed. But I definitely liked it enough to want to read it again, more slowly, to let all the concepts sink in and mull them over in my head.

What I liked:
  • It started very strong, the Revolutionary Struggle Session really got to me.
  • All those sweet Cosmic Horror elements and moments.
  • I was very engaged in the ideas presented. They are interesting, out there and yet believable. Great combination.
  • I wanted to know how the story would progress. 
  • Loved how the Three-Body-Problem and its eventual revelation was incorporated into the story.
  • The computer chapter.
  • The Adventists. I get them.

What I didn't like:
  • The pacing constantly switched between fast and slow, which made for a somewhat incoherent experience.
  • It had its lengths.
  • There was so much exposition, which is not completely unavoidable in a book like this, I guess. But as the book progressed, it got more and more and towards the end there was just so much of it I couldn't sit through another chapter of somebody explaining something to somebody else.
  • The aliens
    are very similar to humans
    , not very believable. But maybe it will be explained in one of the next books.

I am definitely going to read the 2nd book in the series.
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becksusername's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I was so intimidated by this book, but once I got started I was immediately sucked in and found it not only very readable, but incredibly thought-provoking. I feel like I'm smarter for having read it. And I can't wait to get my hands on the next two books!
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