3 ms·

Unpopular opinion: Seems like it matches the book trilogy then.

by darthrupert 3y ago

BriggyDwiggs42 3y ago
Yeah sorry thats a terrible opinion. Did we read the same books?
- s1artibartfast 3y ago
  Matches my experience. Started with some interesting ideas and promise, then quickly became uninteresting.
- adastra22 3y ago
  I wonder if you read the same books as me.. it was pulpy trash rehashing of overused concepts with poorly thought out Deus ex machina contrivances and cardboard characters. Started off strong with the cultural revolution chapters though.
adastra22 3y ago
Not as unpopular as you think. There’s a lot of people out there who either didn’t like the book at all, or at least found the writing to be dull, unimaginative, and cringeworthy.
- geoah 3y ago
  I really have no idea how anyone could consider the books unimaginative. Dull and even cringeworthy I might be able to understand but still don't truly agree. My only issue with the books is that the characters are pretty one dimensional which is something that does pop up in the series as well. (MINOR CHARACTER SPOILERS) Luo Ji simply doesn't care, Wade is a dick, Tianming is a loner, Da shi is a hero, etc.
  - adastra22 3y ago
    By imaginative do you mean the whole dark forest game theory and such? That's all taken straight from the original SETI scientific discussions back in the 60's and 70's. It's been explored by various scientists in that context, as well as a whole slew of sci-fi authors in the intervening years. The version of the theory presented in 3BP doesn't hold water, but there have been various strengthened alternatives presented over the years. The Killing Star comes to mind, but I think also the wolves of the Revelation Space series are a good match too. Sci-fi also abounds with many other innovative answers to the Fermi paradox that make more sense than the dark forest hypothesis. Other than that I really don't know what you might take as 'innovative.' Antinatalists wanting to wipe out humanity? Done to death since Limits to Growth, The Population Bomb, and Silent Spring were released in the 1970's, albeit usually with environmentalists occupying that role. Frankly I'm tired to death of that trope. PTSD from the cultural revolution? Well other than the slew of books and memoirs on that very topic, there's also all of holocaust literature. It certainly has a very imaginative misunderstanding of the three body problem which gives the book it's title. Not only does the author completely misunderstand what it means for there to be no closed-form solution to the three body problem (it does NOT mean orbits would be chaotic), but interestingly we've actually discovered an exoplanet where the trisolan planet is in the book. And guess what? It's in a perfectly stable orbit within the habitable zone. So the whole plot gimmick that gives the book its title turns out to be a misunderstanding of undergraduate mathematics and physics by the author.
- Justsignedup 3y ago
  I couldn't get into the books. Just didn't resonate with me. 8breally enjoyed the show. The whole thing. The story stands well on its own.
- thruway516 3y ago
  I had the same opinion as you about halfway through each of the books. I'd encourage you to read them again and this time try to read them to the end. With this series, perseverance is key.
  - adastra22 3y ago
    I've read the plot summaries, and that convinced me even more I made the right decision to not finish. No book is for everyone, and these certainly weren't for me.
  - darthrupert 3y ago
    I actually read all the books and didn't hate it. But I think the most important aspect was the cultural differences from the typical western authors that I've almost exclusively read.
- more_corn 3y ago
  I’ve tried to read the stupid thing three times. I’m pretty good at suspending disbelief, but I just couldn’t.

Unpopular opinion: Seems like it matches the book trilogy then.

BriggyDwiggs42 3y ago

Yeah sorry thats a terrible opinion. Did we read the same books?

s1artibartfast 3y ago
Matches my experience. Started with some interesting ideas and promise, then quickly became uninteresting.
adastra22 3y ago
I wonder if you read the same books as me.. it was pulpy trash rehashing of overused concepts with poorly thought out Deus ex machina contrivances and cardboard characters. Started off strong with the cultural revolution chapters though.

adastra22 3y ago

Not as unpopular as you think. There’s a lot of people out there who either didn’t like the book at all, or at least found the writing to be dull, unimaginative, and cringeworthy.

geoah 3y ago
I really have no idea how anyone could consider the books unimaginative. Dull and even cringeworthy I might be able to understand but still don't truly agree. My only issue with the books is that the characters are pretty one dimensional which is something that does pop up in the series as well. (MINOR CHARACTER SPOILERS) Luo Ji simply doesn't care, Wade is a dick, Tianming is a loner, Da shi is a hero, etc.
- adastra22 3y ago
  By imaginative do you mean the whole dark forest game theory and such? That's all taken straight from the original SETI scientific discussions back in the 60's and 70's. It's been explored by various scientists in that context, as well as a whole slew of sci-fi authors in the intervening years. The version of the theory presented in 3BP doesn't hold water, but there have been various strengthened alternatives presented over the years. The Killing Star comes to mind, but I think also the wolves of the Revelation Space series are a good match too. Sci-fi also abounds with many other innovative answers to the Fermi paradox that make more sense than the dark forest hypothesis. Other than that I really don't know what you might take as 'innovative.' Antinatalists wanting to wipe out humanity? Done to death since Limits to Growth, The Population Bomb, and Silent Spring were released in the 1970's, albeit usually with environmentalists occupying that role. Frankly I'm tired to death of that trope. PTSD from the cultural revolution? Well other than the slew of books and memoirs on that very topic, there's also all of holocaust literature. It certainly has a very imaginative misunderstanding of the three body problem which gives the book it's title. Not only does the author completely misunderstand what it means for there to be no closed-form solution to the three body problem (it does NOT mean orbits would be chaotic), but interestingly we've actually discovered an exoplanet where the trisolan planet is in the book. And guess what? It's in a perfectly stable orbit within the habitable zone. So the whole plot gimmick that gives the book its title turns out to be a misunderstanding of undergraduate mathematics and physics by the author.
Justsignedup 3y ago
I couldn't get into the books. Just didn't resonate with me. 8breally enjoyed the show. The whole thing. The story stands well on its own.
thruway516 3y ago
I had the same opinion as you about halfway through each of the books. I'd encourage you to read them again and this time try to read them to the end. With this series, perseverance is key.
- adastra22 3y ago
  I've read the plot summaries, and that convinced me even more I made the right decision to not finish. No book is for everyone, and these certainly weren't for me.
- darthrupert 3y ago
  I actually read all the books and didn't hate it. But I think the most important aspect was the cultural differences from the typical western authors that I've almost exclusively read.
more_corn 3y ago
I’ve tried to read the stupid thing three times. I’m pretty good at suspending disbelief, but I just couldn’t.