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 Three-Body Problem

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TSkhew
post Jun 13 2015, 08:24 PM, updated 9y ago

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Just finished this sci-fi from a Chinese author, Liu Cixin; never heard of him until I read Ken Liu's Grace of Kings, who is the English translator of this Chinese sci-fi. I must said this is definitely one of the most mind-blowing sci-fi I have read in recent years. (apart from Blindsight by Peter Watts though it lacks the epicness compared to Three Body)

While the characters may not be enticing (as I am a sucker for well-written character), the plot is so intriguing that I can't wait to get to the end. Well... the final part was so astounding and jaw-dropping; definitely, made me google for the theory behind it as I am not well-versed in that. And I assure you this is definitely not another story using Einstein's general theory of relativity (see last year's Interstellar).

It is definitely a deserved Hugo winner this year if it wins.



jess7
post Jul 22 2015, 03:25 PM

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so what is the title of the book would you recommend? i rarely read scifi, haven walk down that book isle section yet.
TSkhew
post Jul 23 2015, 02:07 PM

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QUOTE(jess7 @ Jul 22 2015, 03:25 PM)
so what is the title of the book would you recommend? i rarely read scifi, haven walk down that book isle section yet.
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The title is as per the name of this thread. However, I should warn you that this book belongs to 'hard' sci-fi category, meaning that you will need to have some layman's knowledge of modern physics to appreciate some of the ideas explored in this book.

Also, if you have not read many sci-fis, then you probably wouldn't find this one eye-opening as you will not have much basis for comparison.
jess7
post Jul 23 2015, 06:55 PM

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QUOTE(khew @ Jul 23 2015, 02:07 PM)
The title is as per the name of this thread. However, I should warn you that this book belongs to 'hard' sci-fi category, meaning that you will need to have some layman's knowledge of modern physics to appreciate some of the ideas explored in this book.

Also, if you have not read many sci-fis, then you probably wouldn't find this one eye-opening as you will not have much basis for comparison.
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orait, thanks for the heads up, will tag this book as to want to read first then!
any basic sci-fi novels to recommend noob like me?
TSkhew
post Jul 24 2015, 11:02 AM

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QUOTE(jess7 @ Jul 23 2015, 06:55 PM)
orait, thanks for the heads up, will tag this book as to want to read first then!
any basic sci-fi novels to recommend noob like me?
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There are plenty of great sci-fi literature out there, too many for me to recommend. You can start with the classics from renowned authors like Heinlien, Asimov, Jack Vance, etc. As for me, I started with the Hyperion cantos by Dan Simmons; it was great then, but my taste became more refined as I read more.

The recent great ones that I have read are The Martian by Andy Weir, The Expanse series by James SA Correy (they are making this into a TV series btw), Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, and Blindsight by Peter Watts.
jess7
post Jul 31 2015, 04:56 PM

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QUOTE(khew @ Jul 24 2015, 11:02 AM)
There are plenty of great sci-fi literature out there, too many for me to recommend. You can start with the classics from renowned authors like Heinlien, Asimov, Jack Vance, etc.  As for me, I started with the Hyperion cantos by Dan Simmons; it was great then, but my taste became more refined as I read more.

The recent great ones that I have read are The Martian by Andy Weir, The Expanse series by James SA Correy (they are making this into a TV series btw), Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, and Blindsight by Peter Watts.
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okay, thanks for the recommendations, will try Hyperion first!
TSkhew
post Sep 3 2015, 01:20 PM

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The Dark Forest, is the continuation of this brilliant sci-fi trilogy that began with Three-Body Problem [Hugo winner this year]. And it doesn't disappoint.
The amount of mind-numbing and jaw-dropping moments have not decreased from book 1 to 2.

A quick recap: the 1st book setups the invasion on Earth by the Trisolaris civilisation, whose technological/science level far surpassed ours.
However, due to distance and physical limitation, the invasion would not arrive till 400 years later. In the meantime, the research into fundamental science of Earth was held in lockdown by the Trisolarians to prevent humanity from achieving technological level that can rival them.
Fundamental science is deemed as the most important branch of science here since everything derives from it. It's the study of
deep structure of matter ie. particle physics and quantum mechanics. So how do you lockdown the science of another civilisation to ensure that their technological advances are stunted ?
What followed is the single most mind-blowing moment that I have ever read:
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «


What can humanity do in face of such odds ? This is all dealt with in the 2nd book. Unlike many other sci-fi novels with the same theme, here we have 4 centuries to prepare for the invasion. What unfolded were many plans; some insane, most desperate, and all of them tended to be clouded by defeatism. To show you how ridiculous or desperate or insane some of the plans are, here is one of them:
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «


While I think the author did a good job in envisioning the socio-economic and geo-political impacts of these plans, this book, just like the 1st one,
is weak in characterisation and its dialogues were not quite realistic. Nevertheless, the ideas and concepts made it worthwhile and they are not baseless.

The end was quite satisfying and the book was indeed aptly named The Dark Forest! The title of this book is related to the solution to the invasion. The solution wasn't subtle as they were already hinted many times, starting in the Prologue itself but I couldn't figure out how it matters. In the end, the explanation was
very well thought of. It is based on 2 axioms of the cosmic sociology which says "Survival is the primary need of civilisation" and "Civilisation continously grows and expands but the amount of matter in universe is fixed". Baffled ? Read it.
NOTE: Maybe Fermi's paradox is finally answered.

Book 3 the finale of this series will be out Jan next year.



believe92
post Aug 27 2017, 11:13 AM

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Resurrecting this topic - having completed the trilogy, including the latest Death's End, I do have to say this book series is truly a gem. The journey of thought and the scenarios of speculation inspired while reading - an experience to behold.

I hope we can find more Malaysians into sci-fi books like this and start a discussion!
Key_Locker99
post Oct 31 2017, 06:33 PM

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I finished all 3.. the last part was too long. Boring.
jrrsim
post Apr 30 2018, 10:24 AM

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I really loved this series and the concepts it went into..

the last book was mindblowing on a different level and into imaginative theories that are plausible..

wonder if this book will inspire more Elon Musks in Asia like the Star Wars and other Sci Fi books have inspired so many Ang Mors.

 

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