A review by bsparks2112
The Redemption of Time: A Three-Body Problem Novel, by Baoshu

challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

For me, this was a case of trying not to let expectations get too high, but in the end this was still a letdown. As an "elevated" fan-fiction release, sanctioned by the author of the actual Three-Body Problem trilogy but held as an interesting side-story, I wasn't sure what to expect; what presents itself here is mostly exposition and dialogue that attempts to fill in some of the gaps left in certain characters' arcs in the main trilogy. It's an interesting approach, and it does have some neat ideas, but it's largely just long conversations where characters explain things to each other, and the quality of the writing isn't up to the task of making that a compelling read. It's not terrible, and I always tend to give some lenience to translated works when it comes to things like how natural the dialogue sounds, but there's not a lot that stands out either. Most of the high-concept ideas contained here are borrowed or extrapolated from Cixin Liu's main work, with a few creative spins (and a neat twist at the very end, I admit) but not a ton of originality or thrilling happenstance. I don't fully regret reading it, and it's short page count helps in this regard, but it certainly doesn't rise to the level of the trilogy that inspired it.