The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu | Spoiler-Free Book Review

Hi everyone! Today I will be reviewing The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, Book 1 of the Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy. This review is Spoiler-Free. Overall, I had an absolute blast with this book. It's fascinating, captivating and compelling, while also distressing and somewhat terrifying. It is very much a hard science fiction story, but I believe Liu's storytelling skills, translated wonderfully by Ken Liu, push this to be much more than that. I hope you enjoy the review!
#booktube #thethreebodyproblem #scifi
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:57 - Plot & Background
02:57 - Pros
08:33 - Potential Cons
12:09 - Recommendation
13:34 - Overall Thoughts
Trade Cover Art for Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy done by the incredibly talented: www.martiniere.com/
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[@WordsinTime]

Reading this series feels like having every cell in your brain taken apart and put back together again 🤯

[@TallGuyReads]

I couldn't have said it better myself! I finished The Dark Forest today and my mind is in a million pieces hahaha thanks for watching!

[@Johanna_reads]

Those questions frighten me 😱! They also make me want to pick up this book! You did an excellent job setting up expectations, and I enjoyed how you made connections between this book and the Dandelion Dynasty. So excited to get to this at some point. Excellent review, Alex!

[@TallGuyReads]

Definitely! They're very distressing, but intriguing at the same time haha thank you so much Johanna, I appreciate it! Thanks for watching!

[@YourBrainonBooks]

Excellent review Alex! So glad you read it. I’m excited to see what you think of book 2

[@TallGuyReads]

Thanks Baron and thank you for the recommendation! It was right up my alley haha I definitely will be starting Book 2 asap and very excited to see what I think

[@esmayrosalyne]

I am really glad to hear that you had such a good time with this one! I generally consider myself a very character-driven reader and I tend to not really care for mathematics and science, so I have to admit that I don't think this will be the book for me. That said, your ringing endorsement of it definitely makes me curious... so I think I am going to keep it on my radar for whenever I am ever feeling up for a little challenge in my reading. Thanks for the great review ☺

[@TallGuyReads]

Thanks for the kind words Esmay! I am also usually a very character-driven reader and was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book despite them not being at the forefront of the story! It’s a very thought-provoking book that will definitely hit or miss with people, but if you do get to it I hope you enjoy it and am curious to hear what you think! Thanks for watching!!

[@esmayrosalyne]

@@TallGuyReads Hearing you say that you enjoyed this even though you are usually also a character-driven reader makes me hopeful that I could enjoy it as well! I will definitely let you know my thoughts if/when I pick it up! :)

[@Jmlisheid]

Well... Guess I have to bump this up much higher on my tbr. Great review! I definitely need to read more science fiction in general

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you! Glad I could help decide to give it a shot! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it! I agree, it’s the same with me…don’t incorporate enough sci fi compared to everything else I’m reading

[@afantasybabble6222]

Great review. Plan to pick up book 2 soon have to know what happens

[@TallGuyReads]

Thanks Edgar! Same here! From what I've heard, Book 2 opens everything up so I'm really curious to see where the story goes from here...thanks for watching!

[@safinan8008]

Like the review book, you go depth with ur review!! Happy reading to you!! 🎥🎬📖

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you Safina! Happy reading to you as well!

[@RJGibson7]

Great review Alex! This book left me with so many questions, I’m excited to get into Dark Forest 🔥

[@TallGuyReads]

Thanks RJ! Oh I absolutely agree with you there, sparked my curiosity and very much looking forward to The Dark Forest! Thanks for watching man!

[@angiethebookaholic]

One of my favourites! I listened to it on audiobook and realised that it needs to be read as a physical book and bought it! Yet to read it but the audiobook itself was so awesomely done! What I loved the most is the solid science behind the concepts explored by the plot! Definitely going to read book 2 & 3. I agree with you that this is perhaps the most impactful science fiction written ever.

[@TallGuyReads]

That's awesome to hear! So happy you enjoyed it as well. I agree that reading it definitely helps vs the audiobook although the audiobook is really well done! I agree with you on the solid science behind the concepts, that was absolutely one of my favorite parts of the book and the story structure and I can't wait for 2 & 3. Thanks for watching!

[@tempse]

Great review, Alex! I recently started a re-read of this trilogy, and I still agree that these books are amazing in terms of science, ideas, and scope. The Three-Body Problem is merely the intro to what's to come. So you're in for a ride indeed! The Dark Forest contains one of the most awesome and terrifying ideas I've ever read in a sci-fi book. Piece of advice if you haven't yet started with The Dark Forest: DO NOT READ THE BLURB!!! The edition you showed in your video contains a massive spoiler in the blurb (which is just outrageous).

[@TallGuyReads]

That’s exciting Sebastian! From what I’ve heard, everything you said is directly in line with what others have said about the Dark Forest! I am very excited to read it and will hopefully be starting it this weekend! 3BP blew my mind and I can’t wait to see what is in store in book 2. As far as the blurb goes, I definitely am not! I learned that with Book 1 because I genuinely believe that even The Three-Body Problem is best read without reading the blurb and going in blind! Thanks for watching!

[@tempse]

@@TallGuyReads Awesome! I'm excited for you to pick up the second book. And I'll definitely be around to watch your thoughts on it. Enjoy!

[@RekindledReader]

Great articulate review of a book that's been on my list for a while. Cixin Liu sounds like a very thought provoking author. I'll have to give it a try, but I'm enjoying fantasy too much right now (and maybe some sci-fantasy 😏 soon). When I'm in the mood for some hard sci-fi, this will be a priority for sure.

[@TallGuyReads]

Thanks Theo! Yeah he is certainly very thought provoking! It won’t work for some people, but I think it would hard to not find yourself at least fascinated by the ideas he’s talking about. I hope you enjoy it when you do get to to! I think I have a feeling what sci-fantasy you’re talking about haha

[@RekindledReader]

@@TallGuyReads 🤓😜

[@benjamincrowhurst5998]

Hmmm this type of book is normally not my thing at all but it sounds like my concerns/preferences were similar to yours so I think you have convinced me! Your videos just get better and better mate

[@TallGuyReads]

Thanks Ben, I really appreciate it! I think it’s definitely worth a shot, but if it doesn’t work for you, that’s totally fine. I will say though (and don’t quote me on this because I haven’t read them yet), but a lot of people have said that even if they didn’t like Book 1 as much, Books 2 & 3 blew them away!

[@benjamincrowhurst5998]

That sounds promising for where the story goes then! Cause i’m not huge on hard scientific explanations (the engineering stuff was awesome in WoS but I was almost at my limit haha) but if they serve a great purpose (like in WoS), if the story is there and the ideas are stimulating and challenging then I think i’ll love it

[@jaisandhu4966]

Great review Alex. I am very excited for you to read The Dark Forest. It is a clear jump in quality. I hope you love it as much as I did.

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you so much Jai! I am starting The Dark Forest this weekend and from everything I’ve heard, I could not be more excited! I’ll be sure to let you know my thoughts on it! Thanks for watching man!

[@BookishChas]

You sold me Alex! Not sure when I’ll get to it, but I’m adding it to my list.

[@TallGuyReads]

Yessss I'm excited to hear your thoughts on this one, Chas! Thanks for watching!

[@helene9299]

It's interesting that you talked about the story structure and how it was similar to the dandelion dynasty. Ken Liu changed quite a bit of the structure in his translation compared to Cixin Liu's original so it's not that surprising! The opening scene is actually in the middle of the mandarin version.

[@TallGuyReads]

That’s very interesting!! That definitely makes a lot of sense now! I have heard that the opening scene was in the middle of the mandarin version as well and have always thought that’s so interesting as well! I would love to be able to read this story in its original language as I think that would be fascinating! Thanks so much for watching!

[@FIT2BREAD]

Great review. I thouggt the book was good but not great, and it got me to read the sequels. Dark Forest and Deaths ends are two of the most enjoyable scifi books I have read and I'd encourage people to read on even if they weren't wild about 3body....

[@TallGuyReads]

Thank you! I have heard that books 2 and 3 take the story to a whole new level so I am really excited to get to those. I'm glad you ended up enjoying the trilogy overall though, that is exciting! Thanks for watching!

[@FIT2BREAD]

@@TallGuyReads yeah I'd say get to them sooner rather than later because they are so good. Deaths End is nothing like 3 Body...the ideas are just mind boggling and it is truly an epic.

[@TallGuyReads]

That’s what my friend Baron over at Your Brain on Books has been saying! I actually read the Prologue of The Dark Forest today so definitely going to try and read through them as soon as possible! I’m excited!

[@paulcooper8818]

In my opinion *_The Three Body Problem_* is a terrible book and waste of time on all levels plot, characters, logic... Fantasy fiction with wizards and spells has more plausible science. The book is not devoid of interesting ideas, but the horrendous execution torpedoes them.