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story_steve 's review for:
The Three-Body Problem
by Cixin Liu
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.