THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM by CIXIN LIU (Remembrance of Earth's Past #1) | Spoiler-Free Book Review
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- In this spoiler-free review I discuss the Hugo Award-winning sci-fi novel, The Three-Body Problem. I am still trying to put my brain back together after this one!
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I think the 3 books get progressively better but they're all superb.
I thought book 2 had the best plot but book 3 had the best concepts. Love this series!
I was amazed how old childhoods end was when I read it, and how well it had aged. I’ve got the three body problem but never quite got round to picking it up. Excellent review, it’s certainly put it back on my radar
I completely agree, Childhood's End feels timeless! I hope you enjoy The Three-Body Problem!
People always comment about the lack of character development or depth. That’s fine. However, having read all three, I saw the whole human race as the character and the development and depth was great in that regard. Not sure if that was the original intent of the author but that’s how I saw it. There were singular characters but the real development and depth was in the human race. In this regard, character development was great in this book.
After this review I read books 2 and 3 and I would agree with you!
Great summation and video man! I sure loved those three body chapters.
Thank you! Those chapters were trippy. Loved it!
I read all 4 in the series, the first one can be a bit of a drag, the second one turns up the heat and really gets going, the third one keeps that momentem going with some big emotional swings, I cried at one point during book 3 and was shocked more than a few times, book 4 was just a constant mind blown experience for me, non stop info dumps and answers that were all extremely satisfying. I accept Book 4 as canon. During all 4 books I had to take some time off periodically as the tone got really heavy a few times but taking a few weeks off and going back did the trick for me. I havn't had an experience like this from a book before and I've ready a lot.
I have since read books 2 and 3 and enjoyed them even more than book 1. I haven’t read it, but I’m glad you liked book 4.
@@WordsinTime nice! I know a lot of people that had a hard time going past book 1, give book 4 a whirl if you want a little more. I'm sure you know it has a different writer but holy mother of god is it amazing! And the ending, oh my goodness... It's so complete & finished. I loved it.
I haven’t read any Clarke, which is one of my shames. I did just order Childhood’s End because of you though, and this one sounds interesting too! Your videos are always good. And I go the right answer to the quiz too. 😏
It’s a quick one that will give you a taste for Clarke’s writing. I hope you enjoy it! Well done on the quiz 👊
While I am excited to read The 3 body problem, I’m slightly surprised by your high 8.5 score, considering some significant drawbacks you describe in your reading experience. I recently finished Childhoods End, and that book is definitely going to stay with me. Thank you for your recommendation!
Cheers Bart! This is a book that I did have some issues with, but the high points really stuck with me. And I ended up enjoying the sequels even more!
good timing, just started reading this.
Nice! Let me know your thoughts when you finish!
I liked that character, too :) and I'm glad to see in the comments that people liked the tv series, as watching an adaptation is really tempting to me. I'm also glad to learn that the sequels are better. This review is good in pointing out the flaws. Additionally, I would personally rate the ending below the rest of the book, so my score would be lower.
That’s cool that we had similar experiences! I heard mixed reactions on the animated adaptation, and the live action seems quite popular but there’s so many episodes haha
Excellent review! So happy you bullied me into reading it 🤣
I prefer the term inspired*
This sounds very interesting! Like you I'm not the biggest fan of footnotes but if it only happens every few pages I'm fine with that. I first wanted to read this series this year but I think I have to read some other ones before I jump into this one because it sounds like hard sci-fi. I think this one is translated by Ken Liu, I love his prose in his own fantasy series the Dandelion Dynasty so that originally caught my attention.
Great review Jonathan!
Thanks Jolien! I haven’t read anything by Ken Liu but I’ve heard good things. This book might not appeal to everyone as there’s not much plot or character development but the concepts and themes will melt your brain haha
Also I did just pick up Childhoods End at Barnes and Noble. Will be a quick read this weekend! I’ve heard nothing but cool things about it
I hope you like it! It has some similar strengths but it is much shorter so there is less info dumps or exposition. There are 3 parts and I enjoyed each one more than the last.
Thanks for this review! I’ve been on the fence about this one. Some of the drawbacks you mentioned are things I’ve been concerned about, and I’ve never read Clarke, so I don’t know if it’s the style of storytelling I will like.
You’re welcome Chas! I think if you’re looking for a lot of plot and character development this book might not suit you. But if you’re interested in exploring some heavy themes and concepts then it might be worth a try!
It was an amazing start to the trilogy. In for a treat with the next two books, they really were mind blowing with there science and physics and left me thinking about them for ages after finished the book
I completely agree! I have now finished the trilogy and enjoyed the sequels even more than book one! I did a discussion on my channel with Baron from Your Brain on Books and it was fun to talk about this crazy series!
@@WordsinTime saw that video got it on my watch list . Looking foward to seening what you thought of the other two books . Would be one of my top scifi books series. The other fancition novel The Redemption of Time wasn't as good as the main trilogy though
@@Kenji-Tsuyoi It’s one of my favourite series as well! I have heard mixed reactions to The Redemption of Time but I might check it out at some point.
This is a fantastical book while being deep in science fiction. Im thoroughly enjyong thie book at the moment
Awesome! I hope you enjoy the whole trilogy!
I'm very curious to read and discover why there's always a pyramid on the covers of this trilogy 🤔 and if I'm not mistaken the book will become a movie on Netflix.
I will look forward to hearing your thoughts on it! I won’t spoil anything for you. I heard the series on Netflix should come out late this year or early next year. Hopefully they do it justice!
8.5/10 is a pretty solid score. Interestingly The Dark Forest is easily the strongest of the trilogy, incredible ending. The Dark Forest>> Death's End > The Three Body Problem. Despite the hype over the TBP, most scifi focused online forums like reddit seem to rate The Dark Forest as the strongest. Personally I think the TBP was too infodumpy and not a lot actually happened. A LOT definitely happens as the trilogy goes on lol I look forward to hearing your opinion on the rest of the trilogy
Thanks for the info! I’m excited for the sequels as I’ve heard they take the series to new heights. I agree that there could have been more plot progression, so I’m interested to see where the series goes next!
@@FIT2BREAD Thanks Michael! Now you’ve really got me excited for the sequels!
Have you checked out the three body tv series? It’s so gooood
Not yet, but I’m looking forward to it! That’s great to hear that you’re enjoying it!
@@WordsinTime make sure to watch it! It’s been out for 18 episodes from Tencent
I heard about this series from a UA-cam channel called Quinn's ideas. I really want to read it, but I have never really read for fun. Would you recommend this book for someone who is just getting into sci-fi and casual reading for that matter? Great video btw
Thanks! To be honest I’m not sure I would recommend this as casual reading for getting into sci-fi, as it focuses on the science and the ideas rather than characters. I don’t want to put you off the book because I think it’s great and I think the sequels are even better. But for getting into sci-fi I might recommend trying some other books first that are a bit easier to get into such as Project Hail Mary, Leviathan Wakes, Dark Matter or Ender’s Game.
@@WordsinTime Duly noted, thank you!
@@JakeSafetyMan you should read it. it's my first sci-fi (i don't really read that much in general) and i was so into the book. Heard felt empty for a couple of days after finishing the trilogy
@@scm534 Thank you :)
I also heard of the book from Quinn's ideas. And that channel got me excited about sci-fi and I bought 8 books this year. The Three-Body Problem is the first one I read and actually the first sci-fi I read. I finished it yesterday. Btw, I am not a reader. The book is rather slow. In gets really exciting at some points, though. Btw, this video is a good review.
I have read everything by Cixin Liu. What would be the best first contact with Clark please?
That’s awesome! I will be reading the rest of this trilogy soon. In terms of Clarke books, I have read 3 of them and while they are all great, I would rank them:
1. Childhood’s End
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. Rendezvous with Rama
@@WordsinTime thanks
Liu Cixin has written more than 30 novellas, all of them?
9.5/10 for me, just needs a bit more character exposition and development. Haven’t had a novel stick with me like this since I read House of Leaves in 2005
I’m glad you loved it! Have you read the sequels? I enjoyed them even more!
I haven’t read House of Leaves but I’ve heard people love it!
@@WordsinTime just cracking open Dark Forrest today, glad to hear I have good times ahead!
House of Leaves definitely isn’t for everyone, but you should try it
@@CaffeineAndMylanta did you finish all three books?
@@scm534 yes I did finish all three last summer. Enjoyed all of them, I think Dark Forest is my favorite.
I have Baoshun’s fan-fiction sequel The Redemption of Time but haven’t read it yet, working on some other books first.
The TV series from Tencent is out! It is great so far, absolutely recommend
Awesome! I’m excited to watch both the live action and animated adaptations!
@@WordsinTime I would recommend watching the TV series rather than the animation series as a book fan
I am a big Aurther C Clark fan and liked the Rama Series the best...Also Larry Niven with the Ring World series and all the spin off stories. I don't read them I listen to them on audio books in the car while traveling and commuting. Often wonder why neither of these series have ever been made into movies. I do however see lots of the ideas these guys came up with in modern Sci-Fi movies like the small ring world in the movie Elysium. Thanks for the reviews.
Clarke is great! I have only read one Niven book so far, but agree they were both very influential on modern sci-fi!
I liked the first one enough but DNF’d the second. But if you loved it, I know you’ll like the second no doubt. I think by the end of the story I was actually just more interested in learning about the TBP then jumping into the second book.
I can kind of relate as after I finished I went and watched some videos on the actual three-body problem. It definitely has some flaws but the scientific and philosophical concepts hooked me in enough to want to read more!
Hii
Can You recommend best sci fi movies and shows for a 15 years old
Films:
Back to the Future
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
The Martian
Arrival
Edge of Tomorrow
TV:
Firefly
Stranger Things
Upload
Battlestar Galactica
Futurama
@@WordsinTime Thank You
For those who haven't watched this brilliant fan movie : ua-cam.com/video/2QYwGIdYm2w/v-deo.html
This is awesome, thanks for sharing it!
I really enjoyed the story but the 60% confusing science talk was hard to get thru
I agree that the story could have been delivered in a more exciting fashion, but luckily I was interested in the science and it didn’t slow the pacing down too much for me. I’ve heard more happens in the sequels so I’m excited to see where it goes next!
@@WordsinTime yes I've heard the second gets better... And I don't mind the science but I don't understand any of it cuz like im not a theoretical physicist
@@burge2695 Haha same
I read this book and I have to admit that I wasn't charged by it. Very little character development with really far fetched concepts that don't work. Like a lot of Chinese sci fi movies...all show and no real substance or depth. (Wandering Earth, etc)
The book is definitely more focused on the concepts than the characters.
I am mystified as to why this book gets awards and high ratings.
While it does contain some interesting ideas, it fails in execution, really, at every level.
Pro-Tip 1: If you are getting stuck on the "hard science", just don't worry about it, 'cause it's not important.
Just blow through the endless pages of pointless exposition, you gain nothing by trying to understand it.
Pro-Tip 2: If you are annoyed by anything in the first 50 pages and think "maybe it will work itself out" --- it won't, it only gets worse.
I found parts of it dry but I thought the concepts were really interesting. But I get that if those didn’t work for you, the other aspects might not be strong enough to make up for it.
It definitely did feel like a bunch of things were googled and dumped and then later there was an attempt to string it together with the skeleton of a story. Meanwhile the characters didn’t even get a skeleton….they barely exist at all.
Same. I'm reading the book now, having variously heard really positive things. But it doesn't live up to the hype. I honestly don't get it.
The premise of finding out an alien species is on its way to get us is a good one. But the execution is poor. The Three Body Problem game is, frankly, stupid. And the way he portrays the ETO is pretty ridiculous too. I was expecting a measured, intelligent book but it's more like Dan Brown does sci fi.
Expect sexist tropes
In the sequels? That’s disappointing to hear. Hopefully that doesn’t detract too much from the story and ideas.
@@WordsinTime In the dark forest specifically. I did like the Dark Forest in general, but how he treats women as objects is terrible and brings his work down multiple pegs IMHO.
@@spitbleach That’s disappointing. The first book didn’t focus that much on the characters, but it did have some decent female characters. That’s a shame about The Dark Forest.