This Book Has Sold 8 Million Copies - Is It Good? [100 Book Challenge #77-79]

[@Bookpilled]

The full, uncut version of the Three-Body Problem review is available here: www.patreon.com/bookpilled Filmed in Bosque los Colomos, Guadalajara, Mexico.

[@AgnosticTruth]

I completely agree! I’ve seen it talked about so much I had to give it a try and immediately after finishing it, I put it up for sale on eBay and erased it from my memory.

[@rodcase1598]

Agreed. I wish I could figure out a way to completely forget the experience of reading it.

[@user-ly2ll5od1r]

@@rodcase1598 lobotomy.

[@russm2008]

Me too

[@themojocorpse1290]

He he that rant on the 3 body problem made me chuckle I knew you would hate it. Love the passionate response !You have a far more sophisticated reading palette that is is why the book of skulls and Solaris hit the spot . Keep that intensity Matt love it 🫡

[@judithtrail7079]

I am 72 years old and have been reading sci fi since I was a young girl. I find your reviews refreshing and fair and love your lists of older sci fi (ha, it used to be contemporary fiction for me). I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of Three Body Problem. In a charitable mood, I agree that perhaps the quality of writing was lost due to translation failure, but at the end of the day, it is a boring story, with really unsympathetic characters. I cannot believe its popularity, given the tendency toward laziness in readers today. Readers cannot get through Foundation, or Foundation and Empire, nor can they read Russian classics. Three Body Problem is too much work for too little reward. I tried doing an Audio book, thinking it would make the story more accessible. I fall asleep usually within 15 minutes. I don't think I will live long enough to give this novel another attempt. Keep those amazingly entertaining reviews coming!

[@atomsRnot4717]

Having some problems with insomnia right now so maybe 3BP audiobook will help.

[@tmobbomt]

You said it. The "yeah but..." response to "this book sucks" followed by its from another language, it's hard SF, it's above your head, it's the idea, and so on. These are statements from ppl who love the concept of the book in totality regardless of the final result. They are in love with the idea of a foreigner killing it in a big way. Then try to hide behind hard sf when readers don't like it. As if the readers have never read something challenging before. It was around this time when I completely stopped reading into the authors at all. The book must stand on its own without the authors prowess, for whatever reason, to hold it up. This has greatly reduced the DNFs.

[@douglasdea637]

Last week I saw a video from Vaush. He interviewed a Chinese-American guy who helped to explain what China is really like. This Chinese man mentioned Cixin Liu and the popularity of Three Body Problem. He said that Liu's politics are rather extreme, the guy is a flaming fascist. Of course Liu's political writing isn't translated or well known outside of China. That's the story he told anyway. I haven't been able to confirm if what he said is true.

[@user-ly2ll5od1r]

From the book he seems like an ultra liberal. His depiction of the future is basically a US far left wet dream.

[@MartinLewisEsq]

Liu stated he supports the internment of Uyghur people in an interview with the NYT, characterising them as crazed murderers.

[@spencerhopkinson9874]

Why would you take any content put out by the Horse King at face value?

[@jediknighthoe]

I KNEW THIS MAN WOULD HATE THREE BODY PROBLEM 🤣

[@TG-ld8hl]

I was 0% shocked that he didn’t like it at all 😂

[@thekeywitness]

Low hanging fruit

[@revelations-420]

Real recognize real... real trash.

[@TG-ld8hl]

@@revelations-420 🤣 Nice

[@user-ly2ll5od1r]

i only watched his review of dune messiah previously and I already knew he has such a garbage taste I don't know why I came here to confirm my suspicions but here I am.

[@oneotherandrew]

I tried. I really did, but I had to abandon TBP unfinished. I didn't even bother to notice how far I got, I was that bored by it. I read The Electric Forest as a teen and was blown away by it.

[@DudleyDawson]

I loved all three of the Remembrance of Earth's Past novels. I really like your channel (and have added several books to my reading list based on your recommendations) but often find that your opinions are at odds with my own. Art, music, and literature are like that though, there is something for everyone. I appreciate your criticism even if we don't always agree.

[@andreidrozd9428]

Thank you! Good to see you in good health and natural scenery looks great. Great reviews as usual. TBP is very weak book in terms of writing. It got some interesting ideas, but that doesn't save it from dullness. Also I don't think that translation is the case. For example we got plenty of books translated from Japanese and prose there is great and beautiful.

[@joechip4822]

If you, like me, have been reading S.F. (science fiction) for over 45 years and keep coming across a special type of enthusiastic comments and reviews, your instinct tells you in advance, that certain books are completely overrated and actually quite weak. These books often only aim to mimic much better originals and regularly focus on surface effects but are unable to recognize the true meaning and quality and character drawing of the original work. A good example from the past was "Snow Crash" by Neil Stephenson, where he attempted to surpass the style and action of William Gibson and others from the 80s - but achieved little more than stringing together one exaggerated cliché after another, making everything faster, bigger, louder and (actually not) cooler. And I had the same feeling as back then when I read what many of it's fans had to say about "The Three-Body Problem." a couple of years ago. One thing that reliably points to b.s. nowadays is the sheer size of books and trilogies etc. The authors - and unfortunately a rising amount of readers - don't grasp that BIG ideas don't require big volumes. The biggest ideas are best incubated in the small form of short stories and novellas and need to grow and unfold nowhere else than in the mind of the reader. The author who achieves this is a great one. Authors who need thousands of pages to convey a 'big' idea, on the other hand, are more likely to be penny-a-liners.

[@thesuperheroguy1]

I agree completely. I was able to finish it, but I got to the end and couldn't care less about going on to the other two books. It wasn''t quite as bad as Ready, Player One, but almost. Your description of the plot as glacial was spot on. I couldn't keep the characters straight because they had no personalities whatsoever. The book was a physics textbook thinly disguised as a novel.

[@mikewerner6906]

My wife and I had the same issues with book that you had. Can’t move on in the series.

[@alisonm3621]

I liked the Three Body Problem, and loved the Three Body Problem after I read the trilogy a second time. But you ARE NOT WRONG. Review is spot on. But I loved it. Go figure.

[@jsgiardino]

“It almost read how I imagine a John Grisham novel would read,” is my new favorite literary compliment. 😂

[@stubbsz]

This review seems about right. Not read it myself but I read _Ball Lightening_ and thought it mildly bad. There were two or three ideas that made me say." oh wow "; those moments were just about enough to keep me reading. Also enough to stop me reading TBP.

[@guillaume6761]

Translation can be a real challenge depending on the style ofnthe writer. I do not know if it was the issue with Liu's, but as a French speaker, I cannot imagine how my favourite SF book ever "La Horde du Contrevent", written in French, could be (well) translated in any other language. The work on the words and their rythm, meaningful in the story telling, and the punctuation, would be just impossible to translate. And yet. They are absolutely critical in the story telling.

[@JohnInTheShelter]

ELECTRIC FOREST, DAY BY NIGHT (also by Tanith Lee) and BOOK OF SKULLS were among the books that got the teen me into SF. I reread them as an adult and was so impressed by how well written they were, and would recommend them to anyone. Good and accurate analysis. Lee was popular in her lifetime but didn't get the acclaim she did for her style, which is as far from the evolved-pulp/Hemingway-esque straightforward-dry style of so much SF. Silverberg had a streak of about 8 books in the late sixties/early seventies that is just amazing even today for the scope and quality of the books.

[@chrisw6164]

Wow, Electric Forest. So far it’s two-for-two that got a DNF. I just didn’t find myself caring about this novel and moved on to something else. Tanith Lee was an excellent prose stylist in another book I read years ago called Dark Dance.

[@vortimer2351]

I hated it - haven't bothered with any of the other novels. I have been second guessing myself, considering it's rep, and I was reading in a bleak covid winter after a personal loss. Glad I'm not alone in my opinion.

[@stickyy_fingaas]

That's interesting, i found this trilogy to be the greatest or one of the greatest sci fi books ever. I found the concepts especially in the 2nd and the 3rd book to be literally mind blowing and opening the world to a new view of life. Tbf i enjoyed the story from the very beginning, so it was really easy for me to continue. I wanna ask you if you read the project hail mary, because it has 4.5 on goodreads, everyone says its a masterpiece, but i found it really boring from the beginning. The unraveling of alien life was interesting, but the writing was so bad i wanted to just rip the pages to pieces.

[@vortimer2351]

@@stickyy_fingaas Read it, thought it OK. No firm opinions, beyond that I felt the protagonist's personality was too close to the Martian. I find GoodReads a very useful tool for tracking what I've read, but the ratings are beyond useless.

[@stickyy_fingaas]

@@vortimer2351 i haven't read the martian but im gonna watch the movie and if i like it maybe I'll give project hail mary another shot

[@OkRake]

i liked the series but tbh i couldnt remember the first book by the time i finished it. The ideas in the later books are really neat but... yea.. getting to it might be a sludgy experience.

[@piptazo1]

I read all three. Its a lot.... But there were some cool scenes, and there was a sadness and bleakness that was remarkable. The end of the third book is also haunting- I think about it a lot. I totally get why Bookpilled doesn't like it. He makes some good points. Interesting review.

[@wrystryder2156]

I own the TBP series but haven't read them yet... but now I'm super curious how something you find so unreadable becomes so popular...?

[@jakefromstatefarm1405]

I am about 3/4 through series and here's my opinion. If you decide to read it, dedication is key. Read all 3, because they're getting better as I go. The writing style isn't amazing, but there's more action and more intriguing ideas as the series progresses. Just my 2 cents

[@bjornjagerlund3793]

Good to hear I’m not the only one disliking the book. I thought it was something wrong witn me, not the book.

[@Joshmosis2.0]

Be glad you spared yourself from the 2nd book. It was absolute torture. I couldn't make it to the 3rd.

[@qpqp2339]

Lmao i have special gripes with 3bp because i have a masters in physics and hearing the "ideas over craft" arguement really annoys me. Ideas are cheap and 99% the ideas in hard sci fi are flimsy or masturbatory on their own terms. BUT those ideas can be great vehicles for setting, character conflicts, themes. I will admit that i am sometimes (if not often!!!) more forgiving towards writing in science fiction but there's a limit. Lol. I also agree with what you touch on in your discussion with EF, in regards to topics often touched on in writing. The power of love isnt a unique idea but there's so many ways of exploring a familiar theme. I could read the 600th book on the power of love and still be affected, still have something new to think about. The most profound and interesting ideas in litetature arent the things you can summarize in the first paragraph of a wikipedia article. Also that cover for electric forest is insane. I dont usually care about book covers but i sure hope i run into that edition of electric forest in a used book store. first heard about the book on sfultra, which you recommended. Thanks for that btw.

[@Scott-hb4st]

"Like someone a microwaved mug of tap water and threw some unground coffee beans in it", Hilarious!

[@gosnooky]

I've read all three, and I understand where you're coming from. The first book (3BP) is a SLOG, and I admit that although I thought it was just OK, after finishing the series, I will not re-read it ever. In fact, the first third of the second book is a slog as well with some very awkward character choices that never pay off. The rest of Dark Forest and Death's End are great, even with the writing style and poor characters. It's just a trippy and cool ride, and it's not for everyone. As for the writing, I just feel there are just things we cannot understand about Chinese culture - what his target audience wants and expects and how it's discussed on Chinese social media.

[@e.matthews]

Dark Forest is... a significantly larger challenge. It has one great idea and it's in the title.

[@AwesomeTingle]

I disagree. The idea/necessity of the wall-facers is a fascinating human solution to the problem sophons present, the ultimate weapon that decimates humanity is unique in its simplicity and effectiveness/possibility, and the way the invasion is halted, essentially weaponizing The Dark Forest, are all original and fascinating ideas.

[@e.matthews]

@@AwesomeTingle I can get behind the wallfacer one, but I also found the presentation to be... silly? at times. That's on me. I unfortunately disagree with the fleet scene. (Spoilers!! for all who haven't read Dark Forest) It felt like an insult to my intelligence that not a single character brought up the Trojan Horse. I could see the disaster coming from 4 light-years away (though I assumed it was a bomb) and it broke all immersion that no one in their military command or the scientific community even broached the idea. The sequence made no internal sense and amounts to what we call an idiot plot: it only makes sense when the characters (in this case hundreds of thousands of people) act like idiots. Broke the book. I'm glad you liked it and I'm glad it exists to bring people into sci-fi. Preferences will always be different, was just so disappointed as I liked 3 Body. I'll try Death's End in a few years

[@AwesomeTingle]

@@e.matthews That's a fair point, as a reader I knew something was going to go wrong. What was interesting to me wasn't that the attack was successful, but HOW that attack was successful. I really like the droplet as a weapon concept - it's feasible, comprehensible, and unstoppable.

[@e.matthews]

@@AwesomeTingle I was waiting for there to be a rational explanation involving the use of the German wallfacer's delusion-inducing machine. It wouldn't have made operational sense, I think, but it would have explained the unearned optimism leading to them putting the entire military complex into one basket beside an unknown advanced alien artefact. Anyways, happy reading!

[@emosongsandreadalongs]

It's lovely to see you get worked up

[@j.p.lovecraft1826]

The ‘character’ is not one human. It’s the human race as a whole. How we react through the pages is the real development. It’s not about singular characters. It’s about all of us as a whole. This trilogy is top shelf. Forget literary language and lyrical word usage, that’s all pretentious poppycock. You want a story? A good story? The things books are meant for? Read the trilogy.

[@Crabdust1]

Which printing of Solaris has that amazing cover?

[@babsschloss]

I tried to make myself believe that The Three Body Problem was badly translated, rather than badly written, but then the alien 'characters' were introduced. Did the author put ANY effort into making the aliens ... alien? Apparently not. For a novel that is so ponderous and so poorly written, I can only conclude that it's a book that people feel they need to pretend they've read. I too have no desire to read the other two, which is annoying as I bought all three at the same time.

[@buddyb4343]

Three Body Problem v Pandora's Star? (As you started, I thought you might compare the two series.)

[@jenniferkleffner8110]

I'm so with you in TBP.

[@dune102]

I couldn't make it past the first chapter of the book for various reasons, but really enjoyed all 30 episodes of the dramatization, particularly the interaction between the main scientist and the problem solving skills of the policeman assigned to "protect him". kzbin.info/www/bejne/aV64gGugl9d8pa8 Although there is a Netflix version of the first book on the way, I'd be surprised if it goes into the depth found in those 30 episodes which appear to be close to the book from what I understand.

[@rajikkali2381]

I opened a water exactly the same time you did, and it exploded as well. Maybe because I was nodding when you said “I absolutely hated it”. Lol

[@paznewis107]

Dude, I loved it! Both your review and all 8 milion pages of TBP, all the best from Scotland, ya bam 😂❤

[@shitmandood]

I read Three Body Problem too and I wasn't blown away either. Where did Liu sell his soul to get so much publicity buzz for this? Even an ex-President is recommending it and I have no idea why any president would. I also wondered about the writing. It seemed like he was explaining a book to me, that had a story, as opposed to being in the story and moving forward. As if you were listening to someone read a story about somebody else. Terrible writing. I liked some of the ideas it had, but it wasn't enough to make me want to read it again. If the writing is good and smooth, I will read such a book 3-4 times, even making it a yearly event that I will re-read it because of how much I enjoyed it. Take The Border from Robert McCammon. I enjoyed the way it was written so much, I read it 3 times in a row, like every year. Back-to-back I'd read The Deep by Nick Cutter and The Border by McCammon and enjoy every minute of it. After about 3 times of reading it, I know the story so well I can't really re-read them again though. I'll probably try the other two Liu books since I'll be watching the Netflix show and not sure how much that asshole DB Weiss and co is going to shit it all up.

[@gloin89]

Oh man! You have instant sub from me for this 3BP critisism. I've just finished it, and I cannot agree more with what you said. I simply cannot understand how booktube folks can include 3BP in their top ten books. 😵‍💫 On top of that, you filled my Polish heart with pride by mentioning Lem. 🥲

[@therealjojo6139]

Please read more ultra popular books because its quite entertaining to feel your rage radiating from the screen🤩

[@meesalikeu]

i knew he would hate it he has too good of literary taste.

[@remingtonjarvie5183]

Matt was trying so hard to lay out logical points while his emotions were strangling him. It's like he was trying to walk with the twin toddlers of disgust and anger clinging to his legs. 😂

[@5Gburn]

So satisfying.

[@selocan469]

Hahaa

[@georginatoland]

As someone who hated Ancillary Justice because it had lackluster characters and boring prose, I too bristled at apologists who said things to me along the lines of: “SciFi is about big ideas and Space Opera is traditionally light on character development.” To which I responded, “Nope. This book simply sucks and you all are just defending it because you have a four volume sunk cost into the series. Do not attempt your literary gaslighting on me.”

[@danielgwynne7266]

I don’t think you are being any better a person than they are, just accept you value different things

[@nathancroft]

Just coming here to say I also hated Ancillary Justice. I didn't understand the hype or recommendation of that book. But, each to their own.

[@AcmePotatoPackingPocatello]

Ancillary was impossible.

[@carolynking5470]

I agree. I didn't like Ancillary Justice either. And no way should anyone have to read the three other books in any series to appreciate the first one. I can't imagine that reading any more from the same source could redeem the abysmal quality of TTBP.

[@carolynking5470]

@@danielgwynne7266 Perhaps not, but she does have better taste. 😁

[@bfitzger2]

+1000 points for pulling off the line "then shouldn't we just be reading JSTOR". I laughed. Also points for pointing to Lem as someone who could do big ideas and great prose/stories at the same time.

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

Your imitations of your critics are always among the best parts of any video they appear in. 😂

[@davidaldinger3666]

Don’t feel bad about saying Tanith Lee is a better writer than Dick. I never felt that PKD was a great writer. He was a great idea man. He was a great storyteller but I was never been blown away by his prose.

[@AcmePotatoPackingPocatello]

PDK short stories are ok. His novels are crap....how Ridley Scott got Blade Runner out of that dreary mess of a book I'll never know.

[@LennethValkyrie]

I love TBP and I loved this video as well, lmao. It's very interesting to listen to a different opinion, and I completely agree about the writing. The characters have no personality whatsoever, but I really liked the context built around them. I think it's the first series I've read where I don't care at all about what's gonna happen with the characters 😂 It still blew my mind, especially the The Dark Forest. Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts about this!

[@user-ly2ll5od1r]

I will not accept Da Shi slander. Also the characters are still a trillion times better than anyone from Asimov's or any other dozen classic american sci fi authors (and those always get a pass because 1-dimensional boring bad characters and asimov is such an ingrained concept in society that nobody cares anymore). I read the foundation trilogy less than 2 months ago and the three body problem trilogy over 2 years ago and at least I remember Da shi, Luo Ji, Chen Xin, AA, Tiamming, Wang, Ueid, Ye Wendjie, Del Rias, Thomas Wade, Zhang Beihai etc. I don't remember ANYONE from foundation apart from Mule.

[@greywaren621]

​@@user-ly2ll5od1r Da Shi ❤❤❤ He was so perfectly cast in the Chinese series.

[@rickwrites2612]

The Dark Forest concept is cheap and makes no sense. No forest, ecosystem, hunter, etc. works that way, nor did human societies when finding ec other, even the most aggressive. It's AN idea, but there doesn't seem to be any reason for why it's used as the basis and context for the world in this book.

[@user-ly2ll5od1r]

@@rickwrites2612 It makes enough sense that real astrophysicists accepted it as a plausible theory.

[@Koooles]

I find that most sci fi has bad character writing. It's almost a staple of the genre.

[@Fringeko]

I can't tell you how much I look forward to your videos! They are so refreshing and enjoyable to watch. Lately I've been trying to get out of addiction to social media and have noticed I struggle to sit through vidoes but I have no problem putting things down and just taking time to watch what you put out. Appreciate the uploads and look forward to more :)

[@captaingrumbletummies869]

If I knew how to create a gif, my first would be of you doing the Spirit Halloween spooky skeleton dance. Thank you for the lulz

[@Caliburnius]

For the record, I hated the whole thing. Didn't bother to waste my time on it after 1/2 of the first book. Stink, stank, stunk. I'm with you 100% I watched the videos of that guy who was so jazzed by it, also. Still stunk. (Quinn's Ideas was the channel, I think.) Anyway, the slipcase looks good on the shelf, so there's that. 😆

[@dionysianapollomarx]

Quinn is great, but I don’t think he’s read Blood Music and Niven. Which is a shame. He’s still not as great in his reading palate.

[@bogroll1881]

100% agree with you on 3 body problem - I made it through to the end through sheer bloody mindedness but ultimately I thought it was utter garbage, amazing what can now win an award.

[@carolynking5470]

Exactly right! I never feel that I can give a valid evaluation of a book unless I read the whole thing. I have seldom regretted the time I spent reading a book as much as I did with this one. A total waste of time and mental energy.

[@winc06]

Well, hip hip hooray on 3 Body Problem. Finished that tedious, pallid, uneventful and colorless book. Can't call it a story. Decided I would not subject myself to more of that writing and passed on the subsequent volumes too.

[@Gruso57]

I agree with a lot of the criticisms. After finishing I also felt that it was overhyped. I too, hate the "big idea, no prose" response for SciFi. Point them to Leguin and they will see that isn't true. I was lukewarm on this book and the only reason I will probably read the next few is because of buddy reading. The only group I think this is for are the readers who enjoy philosophy.

[@zachzackzak]

Love philosophy hated TBP, so idk who the book is for lol

[@Gruso57]

​@@zachzackzakI also love philosophy and saw the moral dillema with the nihilistic approach liu took in regard to the first contact. It gets explored more in book 2 to great extents so I should say its more prevalent in the sequels

[@steve4562]

What a relief! I thought at first you were going to say you *liked* Three Body Problem. I couldn't even get through the first book and felt maybe I just didn't get it. BTW I followed your recommendation and read A Fire Upon The Deep...excellent! I'm now deep into your #1 rated novel Blindsight and so happy to discover it. I've had to look up countless terms and it's not easy but the story and characters make the effort worth it. A vampire commander? So cool.

[@MrSinnerBOFH]

100% same. And also really liked A Fire Upon The Deep.

[@baptistejanin9615]

Have you tried A deepness in the sky, by Vernor vinge ? A great book

[@MrSinnerBOFH]

@@baptistejanin9615 I concur. What a great book

[@adamek0020]

Finally, someone who has the same opinion on this book. Writing sucks, characters suck, action is boring, almost non existent. Read it in Polish, so does every translation suck and in exactly the same way, according to the defenders of this thing? I've seen a couple minute videos on youtube about the actual three-body problem that were more gripping and had more character than this book.

[@pattube]

Bookpilled: "Solaris is like drinking the finest, the best, most artisanly roasted and prepared cup of coffee of your life, and Three-Body Problem is like someone microwaved a mug of tap water and threw some unground coffee beans in it and handed it to you." (5:35) 😅

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

I'm so glad you made this video, it means I don't have to make the one I was planning about this book. Life is too short to read the obviously overrated bestsellers of Genre SF, when far better books lie neglected for decades. It's like building a record collection- would you really do it based on what gets to number 1 in the singles charts? Endure the brickbats, my friend (I know you will).

[@Bookpilled]

Thanks Steve. Hope you still review it, I'm curious where your thoughts about it align with mine.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@Bookpilled Hey Matt - well, Graham and I were both going to read it and discuss, but I'd been so put off by my reading of 'The Wandering Earth' some years back and the fact that my instinct said to me "This will suck," (and it's rarely wrong) that it may never happen, but we'll see. At the moment, your policy of 'stick to the old stuff' is one I'd advise keeping to. There is so little of any real literary merit once you get past the early 90s and...well, I could go on and on! Take care, my friend!

[@salty-walt]

@@outlawbookselleroriginal @Bookpilled Like Matt, I'd like to hear you opine upon it as well, but I can *also* say "Truly, truly I say unto you; We hath suffer-ed that you mayn't have to." It is a potentially clever exposition machine in search of a book & a half baked mystery (abandoned part way through for a third rate Bond-ish action set-piece ending tacked on) and a front heavy prologue about the Cultural Revolution does not a book make. (Unless you are a 20 something who never learned about the Cultural Revolution who thinks this stuff was original.) There's like 5 pages after the action set piece resolves where the characters "see something in the sky" which had the potential for greatness - in a 20 - 50 page short story. A few cool images or idea hooks early on. That's it. CAVEAT LECTOR!!

[@salty-walt]

@Bookpilled @Outlawbookselleroriginal If we are trying to save you from over-rated zeitgeist novels of poor construction and lack luster execution then avoid "Station Eleven" while you are at it, a YA made for TV adaptation in slow moving prose. Read boring post apocalypses like "On The Beach" or "Alas, Babylon" first, not because they are better, but at *least* because they were classics. Actually, never-mind that, they are also slow, and boring skip all three.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@salty-walt I've read them all, the Frank and Shute many decades ago. Never again!

[@tim.mooney]

Your comments about TBP were very timely for me. I bought the paperback trilogy a couple months ago based upon its wild popularity, only to discover that like the Wheel of Time in the fantasy genre, being highly regarded by the *modern* masses might actually mean it's complete garbage. I'm most of the way through the 2nd book, and if anything, the Dark Forest is worse than TBP. I don't see myself finishing the series, even though I bought all 3 books. I only discovered your channel a few weeks ago by accident, but I really enjoy your content. I've added a lot of sci-fi books to my wish list, based upon your comments and review. Best wishes.

[@markusk2289]

😂 only saw the first 39 seconds till now, but it would have surprised me to hear anything else. I wonder what is going on with this book. I saw the Quinn’s Ideas videos on this and just from that I could not believe the book could be any good. The more videos I watched the less I could believe it was worth reading. Got the audiobook and so far… terrible. Waste of an audible credit.

[@rightcheer5096]

Aside from that hit of unpleasantness, what did you think of the actors, MISTER Lincoln?

[@JeffB-SFJ]

This is perfect timing. I'm approaching the middle of "Book of Skulls" and felt my attention waning. Now, I'm motivated to finish. Thanks!

[@slst3phan]

I discovered you channel a few weeks ago, and I'd like to say thanks for all of the great suggestions for lesser known authors. I've always enjoyed sci-fi and fantasy books, but it's nice to get some suggestions for different books.

[@lunarman9363]

I didn't like it either (three body probelm). For me, it felt like a slow set-up for cosmic horror (physics no longer works! all our assumptions are now out the window! It's all beyond us! what happens next?), which I was cool with despite the characters being cardboard, that then pivots into the kind of space opera that's more interested in expounding on the author's (not actually profound at all) philosophical musings. Frankly, it reminded me of Heinlein in this regard (not a compliment...), and the love/hate thing with readers is reminiscent of this also. I started the second book just to see how it progressed, and got bored/annoyed half way through and gave up.

[@oberstul1941]

yay, another 3bp hater - hi5, mate! Cheers!

[@tylertheleper8468]

I mean...Ready Player One was the #1 Sci-Fi novel for a bit.

[@user-yg6ki7ou2y]

Haven't read that. Is it that bad?

[@seanicus100]

@@user-yg6ki7ou2y It's a very poor ripoff of Snowcrash only the writer makes the plot *entirely* about his personal obsession over 1980s culture (especially 1980s youth culture). IT is very, very cringy to read, almost like a bad fanfic. Also, much has been said of his characterization of women. There's actually a whole podcast named after the book, 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back, which reviews famously terrible books.

[@databloom70]

I'd like to add The Martian. God, what a dry slog that was...

[@Landshark23]

you should be able to find excerpts from RPO online fairly easily. they’re truly astonishing

[@palchristianandersen9086]

The 2010s was a pretty bad decade. It was like someone put reddit in charge of all culture for a bit.

[@seanmchugh840]

Having lived in China I could've saved you some trouble there...

[@DavideMana]

I fully agree about Lee and Dick (and Kavan!) And really, anything by Tanith Lee - be it SF, fabtasy or horror - is a great read.

[@DenianArcoleo]

You're not a voice crying in the wilderness. It's objectivelly bad on most fronts.

[@AwesomeTingle]

there's no such thing as "objectively bad" when it comes to art.

[@DenianArcoleo]

@@AwesomeTingle Sure there is. Poor writing, wooden characters, incomprehensible narrative. That's objectively bad in my mind. If your view is true than a urinal is as great a work of art as Leonardo's Madonna of the rocks. It isn't.

[@AwesomeTingle]

@@DenianArcoleo who is the arbiter that decides writing is "poor?" What is the "objective" standard? Additionally, why couldn't an artist use those very traits you list as negative as a critique of artistic tropes themselves (welcome to the world of modern art). Art is a deeply personal, deeply human medium. It's not a road that can be measured in kilometers, or a rock that can be weighed on a scale. It can only be judged and critiqued subjectively, through each person's individual lens. Art is necessarily a subjective medium, and it's reductive to try and force it onto an objective platform. It's completely fine for you to personally define bad art as having those characteristics - but that is not an objective definition, as there can be no objective definition.

[@DenianArcoleo]

@@AwesomeTingle I completely understand your argument, it's the one that has been the principal view since fairly early in the 20thC. The problem is that it gives the same cultural weight to the ramblings of a five year old in story-writing class as it does to The Brother Karamazov.

[@headlessspaceman5681]

Dawn by Octavia Butler, Blood Music by Greg Bear, The Genocides by Thomas Disch, Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Bros., The Mote in God's Eye by Niven/Pournelle, were all fantastic. Also Lucifer's Hammer by Niven/Pournelle was excellent but I can't remember if you recommended that one? I never would have read any of those until watching a few of your videos and you're batting a thousand so far. Super impressive. I have a few more of your recommendations lined up yet, but I just wanted to thank you for all of those! Have you read anything by Jack McDevitt? I just read The Engines of God and it was very serviceable. It is the antidote to the mess that was Alien Prometheus, in so far as it deals with real archaeology and real scientists investigating ancient space cultures and ancient ruins on distant planets in a way that is scientifically realistic and also with a narrative that is logical yet compelling. Somewhat reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke without being derivative of his work or style.

[@tillabakos2248]

Ken Liu's treatment of the original is regarded by Chines speaking critiques to be substantial. The original is deemed by many one of the most amateurish, horrendously bad text ever written.

[@friendlyone2706]

I tried reading 3 Body Problem, and could not get past page 100. I am a compulsive book finisher and could not go further. I skipped pages, and delved in further on ...and did so again...To call the author "influenced by Arthur C Clarke" is an insult to Clark, whose imagination engaged me from the first sentence.

[@benriley6716]

Three Body - Yes! And you beat me to the punch with this video. It's pedantic, over bloated, simplistic drivel. With an ending to the series you can see coming from a 1,000 light-years out. I think normal book reviewers (and a lot of readers) moved the goal posts on this one for two reasons. 1 - It's a foreign author. And, 2 - the positive review it received from president #44.

[@Tokayd13]

LOL, I've listened to your reviews of Three Body Problem (here and on Patreon) 3 times now. I appreciate your extreme dislike of this book - a book that I found dull as dirt. I find the hype inexplicable.

[@timmclain375]

Agree completely on Three Body Problem, and on everything I've read, or tried to read, by Cixin Liu. Major disappointment.

[@drzaius844]

TBP sucked worse than most books I’ve read. Cardboard cutout characters that didn’t make noise. The premise is a physics equation. Seemed derivative at times of Solaris but the comparison is too complementary of TBP to really be mentioned so forget I even said that.

[@dreamofempire2114]

I agree with everything you said. 3BP has poor prose, dull characters and plodding plot. The next books in the series aren’t any better. I wouldn’t bother with them.

[@Phoenixzs1012]

Opening the video I was very afraid that you were going to like it (Three body problem). Thank god I am wrong! :D I found the characters so flat that in the end, I thought they can all die I don't care :). This review made my day :D

[@Grimm44]

I saw the Chinese Netflix TV show of this book and it's very boring I don't think I'll be readings this

[@ryanodoherty4090]

I had the exact same reaction to this book as yourself. I was bored stiff through most of it, I agree the writing is terrible, especially the dialogue - just awful.

[@michaelschue22]

Yeah, TBP REALLY sucks - translation or not. It gave me a headache and eventually I threw it against the wall.

[@TheRevilocean]

YES. 🤣

[@YourQueerGreatAuntie]

As ever, I deeply love your negative reviews!!! I really enjoyed the Three Body Problem and its sequels, but also get your points. I was also very skeptical due to the hype, but surprised myself by getting into the ideas (yes, not the prose or characters!). Also very intrigued by the Lee and Silverburg titles - you are my go-to recommender of under-appreciated but exceptional literature. And I can't thank you enough for the gorgeous, peaceful shots of Guadalajara! Balm of hurt minds....

[@AlisterSmithGuitar]

A waded through that whole damn thing wait for the goodness to kick in. Never happened. It's terrible.

[@paniofvetfac1987]

you are absolutely right! This book is bad and so are the other two books in the series. There is a section in the second book about an imaginary lover which had nothing to do with the story or the progression of the character and it just went on and on and on I just wanted to kill myself.

[@timmcdonald9873]

I read like the first 30 something pages of it and it was so bland. I couldn't even get to the interesting stuff yet, I was so bored

[@friedrichmann4628]

I read it in German.The most dull and boring piece of SF i ever read. I have no clue what the hype is about.

[@OllieJonsson]

I agree one hundred percent. In purely literary terms, all three books are horribly written with stultifying prose and clumsy structure. Some neat ideas but it doesn't make up for it by a long shot how crappy everything else is.

[@civoreb]

Just go read Dinosaur Beach by Keith Laumer to make you forget TBP 😂

[@dylanTOP5ALIVE]

Lol not the barack obama review! what a weightless review at that. Clearly chinese state sponsored media

[@MichaelRay-he4bb]

Well, I guess I'll read Electric Forest before I read 3BP. 😂I read The Book of Skulls about a month ago. I'd never actually read Silverberg before and was kinda blown away. Specifically one monologue from Eli while they're in Chicago I believe.

[@travisporco]

Ah, man...sorry you hated it...I thought it was interesting and different.

[@LarryKnipfing]

I disliked it, too. I kind of wondered if the translation was a big part of the problem. It felt stiff and awkward. On another note...you're still wrong about Heinlein. There are 3 or 4 of his books that I absolutely love...lol!! Yes, some are so-so, but that's probably true for how we react to most writers.

[@markphillips7538]

OMFG thank you! I have tried to explain my hate for the Three Body Problem and people just gave me "the look." I liked the first character and her life and then the second POV came in and I hated everything about being in their head. The game environment felt so clumsy like a mocking version of Snow Crash (which I also didn't really love). I just didn't care enough to continue reading. Ended up giving it to a used bookstore to get it away from me.

[@SpiritSinnerOfficial]

I wish I could like this video more than once. TBP is terrible

[@FretboardToAsh]

11:45 Surely you can't be suggesting that people with opinions we may disagree with could actually be capable of voicing those opinions in an eloquent manner.

[@rhclark6530]

i completely agree with you on the Liu series, and I read all the books. I wish I could get the the time back. Some of the sci-fi tech ideas were interesting. The Dark Forest idea may well be true, but its not his and what it looks like in this series is pretty dopey. That 1970ish Silverberg stuff is great. It will survive.

[@zardoz_the_great]

You're right and you should say it. Absolutely terrible book.

[@thebrokenorder]

I agree, I never got behind the idea that the "big ideas" can make up for poor writing and a lack of plot. There are plenty of author's who can do both (such as LeGuin and Vernor Vinge). I choose "soft" sci-fi with great writing over hard sci-fi with bad writing every time.

[@MattMcQueen1]

I also don't get it - why do people like Three Body Problem. I have the other two books, and haven't read them - I got them together, as well as the audiobooks, because everyone and his dog said good things about them. The other books may be amazing, and I might never find out. I doubt that they will suddenly make the first book an incredible read.

[@aniketsanyal5586]

Excellent video! As I've said before for some strange reason I am now MORE interested or at least intrigued to read my copy of TBP (never read Cixin Liu, only familiar with Ken Liu's lovely short stories and fantasy novels). But returning to the point here, this video review was genuinely entertaining and instructive, jumping straight into your thoughts with critique as sharp and barbed as ever. *Your point on hard SF homework of big ideas vs. literary/literature merit/considerate prose along with that JSTOR journal article example was so SPOT ON. Great stuff

[@chriswright9096]

Don't read it! Just dont!

[@dionysianapollomarx]

Don’t listen to other guy. You can read it and make up your own mind.

[@donaldb1]

Feeling kind of relieved. If you had enjoyed _The Three Body Problem_ I would have had to seriously reconsider my own reaction. But now I don't feel like I'm only person in the world who didn't like it. Forced to find nice things to say about it I would say that I thought the early part of the book, set around the cultural revolution, was involving to some degree. And the main idea explored was a novel one, at least to me. But I can't add much to your criticisms. I too found it boring, with dull characters, and poorly written in ways that I didn't feel like I could blame on the translation. And the endless exposition was extremely painful (worst video game ever!)