Like 3 years ago, it is conceptually a good book, fascinating actually but the writing style is so robotic and don’t get me wrong, but for me at least, it was at first a little disorienting to follow Chinese names.
I had to push through to finish it.
A month and a half ago I started reading again, something light, Murderbot diaries, follow it with Project Hail Mary, then All Tomorrows. The first one very short, fast paced, PHM not that short but very entertaining, it kept me glued to the page, the All Tomorrows, not my cup of tea but short and somewhat bizarre.
People kept telling me The Dark Forest was better than TBP, with my reading slump over, I decided to give it a try.
With the 3 first books I read every second I had free, I finished them in two weeks, started TDF almost a 3 weeks ago and I’m starting to feel like I felt with The Three Body Problem made feel before, a little bored and like I have to push through.
I don’t like books that I don’t feel compelled to read and feel more like a chore. Anyways, rant over.
You and I had very similar experiences with the Three Body Problem. What was interesting for me was I finished it and thought it was a strong middle of the road book - not amazing, but not terrible. I started the Dark Forest right after it and ended up returning it to the library and noting that I’d come back. I feel like the writing quality is the same in TDF, but now that I know the big reveal from book 1, intrigue just isn’t as satisfying.
The big reveal of book one is small potatoes to the subsequent books. If you’re expecting the trilogy to work within the paradigm of the first books ending, you might be pleasantly surprised. People’s mileage varies on how impactful the other developments are. Personally, I found the expansion of ideas to be really delightful, even if the plotting was flawed.
The writing quality never went up.