I read Three Body Problem last year after learning about “The Dark Forest” concept (as an answer to Fermi’s paradox) after spending way too much time of Reddit! It was the first fictional treatment of China I’d ever read from a Chinese author, so I can’t tell if it’s weird because Cixin Lou is writing from a different literary heritage, or because he’s just a super weird dude. It feels like it was written with emotions turned far down, almost to mute, and drowned under a buzz. A recitation of history by a distant and slightly confused observer...which in retrospect means maybe it was written by a Trisolaran? I just had that thought and now I need to re read, or read book three (I finished just the first two books, mostly driven by curiosity about the ending).
The emotional distance does give it some punch though. There’s a lot of sadness and poignancy.
The concept and exploration of ideas are very cool, and the insider perspective on the cultural revolution - that was wild. Don’t know if it’s accurate or not but that was the first piece of fiction I’ve read about that subject, and it very closely paralleled the life of Xi Jinping as recounted in the Economist podcast on that topic (The Prince).
I read Three Body Problem last year after learning about “The Dark Forest” concept (as an answer to Fermi’s paradox) after spending way too much time of Reddit! It was the first fictional treatment of China I’d ever read from a Chinese author, so I can’t tell if it’s weird because Cixin Lou is writing from a different literary heritage, or because he’s just a super weird dude. It feels like it was written with emotions turned far down, almost to mute, and drowned under a buzz. A recitation of history by a distant and slightly confused observer...which in retrospect means maybe it was written by a Trisolaran? I just had that thought and now I need to re read, or read book three (I finished just the first two books, mostly driven by curiosity about the ending).
The emotional distance does give it some punch though. There’s a lot of sadness and poignancy.
The concept and exploration of ideas are very cool, and the insider perspective on the cultural revolution - that was wild. Don’t know if it’s accurate or not but that was the first piece of fiction I’ve read about that subject, and it very closely paralleled the life of Xi Jinping as recounted in the Economist podcast on that topic (The Prince).
I want a book review if you finish it!