Reviews

Ball Lightning by Cixin Liu

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mrbear's review against another edition

4.0

Imaginative and compelling all the way through. It’s nowhere near as epic in scope as the three body problem, and I’d always recommend people read that series first, but this is well-imagined hard SF for people who enjoy the writer’s style. Overall, its not a great novel, with underdeveloped characters, somewhat forced interpersonal relationships, and science that is a bit too farfetched, but it’s still a fun read.

bruwin546's review against another edition

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medium-paced

4.0

bedwinnjamin's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Coming from the Three Body Problem, this book just really wasn't for me. The character and the plot felt a bit pigeonholed. I couldn't really get behind the main character as he didn't feel like a real person. I know it's fiction, but his antics were really breaking my immersion because I just couldn't connect with him. Three body problem works because the characters and time-scale are vast, but this falls apart in my mind because it's so specific and local. Instead of him just being a scientist, he's an obsessed person.

heidi_mcj's review against another edition

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4.0

Interesting. Very detail oriented but interesting.

vaum's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious

3.0

fishky's review against another edition

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4.0

I don't know why I always forget, but Cixin Liu is funny and weird as fuck. The scientific language can make it seem very smart, measured etc but when you get down to it, this is a ghost story that led to racing thoughts, existential read and a resigned exasperation with the role of the military in scientific exploration. Also, I can't stop reading about ball lightning. I hope that people who like books like Dark Matter give books like these more of a chance in the future.

ccollard58's review against another edition

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4.0

I always enjoy Cixin Liu because his stories come from the very different viewpoint of mainland China. The cultural perspective is usually odd and often a little surprising, prompting be to try to read up on the cultural revolution or the latest goings-on there.

That aside the characters here are quite engaging and I really enjoyed their discussions. Refreshing and fun in many ways.

The science was interesting as well, although i found the "macro atomic" explanation pretty implausible, but hey, it's science fiction. and outside of that premise the rest of the science was very grounded and rational.

Ball Lightning is not as far-reaching in scope as the three-body series. Liu explains in the afterward that he felt the smaller story was in keeping with the "invention story" pattern that was dominant in Chinese scifi at the time and would be better accepted domestically. I think the great success of three-body shows otherwise though.

Anyway, this book was ultimately a little sad and wistful in it's final result but in a way that I still enjoyed.

Read this for a breath of fresh are in the scifi genre. Definitely worth it.