A review by geraldinerowe
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

A fascinating look at humankind in a story about contact with an extra terrestrial civilisation, against a backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution and its aftermath. The idea's fascinating, but I found the structure of the story arc a little jagged. This might be to do with the translation - translator Ken Liu adds an interesting afterword about striking the right balance between making the text more familiar to a western audience and keeping the flavour of the original. I also struggled with some of the class attitudes. I'm yet undecided as to whether I'll read the others in the series. The story is far from over so it would be a bit like leaving a book partly read, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to continue.
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