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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Probably shouldn't have watched the TV show first. Also I felt like I was missing a lot of cultural context through the translation.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Before I read The Three Body Problem, I thought - like most people - that character is the most important component of a good story. The world and ideas can be as interesting as you like, but without compelling and realistic characters, I won't enjoy reading it.
Well, Three Body Problem proved me wrong. It takes what I used to think of as necessary prerequisites for a good book and flips it on its head.
The Three Body Problem is not a book - or series - which concerns itself much with having realistic charactes. It's not a character driven book at all. At times, the characters even feel two-dimensional, like stand-ins for concepts rather than fully fleshed out people. This is by design. This is a high-concept book series about big ideas, and the ideas are really the star of the show. Characters are there to serve the ideas. Often, characters represent concepts: if there is a problem that is central to the story, two characters might represent different solutions to or ways of thinking about this problem. The point isn't to write complex characters with rich inner lives; it's to discuss big ideas with cosmic ramifications.
Some might not like this way of writing, but I really enjoyed it. It harkens back to older styles of Sci-Fi, such as Asimov, which were similarly more focused on ideas than character.
That being said, there were actually some great characters in this book. Da Shi quickly became one of my favorite characters that I've ever read. He is some combination of Dr. House -- surly but uber-competent, so that people are forced to begrudgingly listen to what he has to say, even if they dislike him -- and Columbo -- discheveled and perpetually underestimated by the elite, and yet consistently the smartest person in the room. He stole every scene he was in.
I also loved the video game chapters. Liu has a talent for blending sci-fi and fantasy by embedding smaller fantasy stories inside of his larger sci-fi world -- something that shows up again in later books. The 3body game chapters were a fascinating mystery, as well as an enjoyable way to fit dense philosophical discussion into the narrative in a way that didn't feel shoehorned in.
Well, Three Body Problem proved me wrong. It takes what I used to think of as necessary prerequisites for a good book and flips it on its head.
The Three Body Problem is not a book - or series - which concerns itself much with having realistic charactes. It's not a character driven book at all. At times, the characters even feel two-dimensional, like stand-ins for concepts rather than fully fleshed out people. This is by design. This is a high-concept book series about big ideas, and the ideas are really the star of the show. Characters are there to serve the ideas. Often, characters represent concepts: if there is a problem that is central to the story, two characters might represent different solutions to or ways of thinking about this problem. The point isn't to write complex characters with rich inner lives; it's to discuss big ideas with cosmic ramifications.
Some might not like this way of writing, but I really enjoyed it. It harkens back to older styles of Sci-Fi, such as Asimov, which were similarly more focused on ideas than character.
That being said, there were actually some great characters in this book. Da Shi quickly became one of my favorite characters that I've ever read. He is some combination of Dr. House -- surly but uber-competent, so that people are forced to begrudgingly listen to what he has to say, even if they dislike him -- and Columbo -- discheveled and perpetually underestimated by the elite, and yet consistently the smartest person in the room. He stole every scene he was in.
I also loved the video game chapters. Liu has a talent for blending sci-fi and fantasy by embedding smaller fantasy stories inside of his larger sci-fi world -- something that shows up again in later books. The 3body game chapters were a fascinating mystery, as well as an enjoyable way to fit dense philosophical discussion into the narrative in a way that didn't feel shoehorned in.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
I was not smart enough to read this book but thought it was well crafted
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Masterfully written, masterfully translated, really fun & engaging. I really appreciate that it feels distinctly Chinese, despite not being about China specifically. Personally, I'm not a big fan of hard sci-fi, so I didn't love how in-the-weeds about science and technology this book got, but it redeemed itself by being very well-written with an interesting plot & themes. The ideas of the limits of science, the inherent chaos of the universe, while not overly explored were maybe my favorite bits. However the whole thing was pretty great.
Really interesting read. I thoroughly enjoyed it but i want to just give two warnings or things to think about before reading: 1) if you, like me, like to have background knowledge of the setting then read up on the Chinese cultural revolution if you don't really know anything about it. The footnotes explain a few details of it but I personally would have liked to know about the revolution beforehand. 2) get ready for all the physics jargon. My science knowledge is mostly in biology and anatomy so most of the physics stuff was confusing.
Those two things aren't complaints however i hope that this can help someone prepare themselves to read it so they can get the full experience.
Those two things aren't complaints however i hope that this can help someone prepare themselves to read it so they can get the full experience.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes