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.
Oh…come on. I really liked the trilogy on the whole. But that’s due to the strength of its ideas and despite the weakness of its dramatic structure. Gilding the lurching pace of the plot with the phrase “no dramatic hooks” is generous at best. Saying these paper thin characters benefit from “no hyper personalized traits” makes me almost think you’re being tongue in cheek.
You’re right that those elements didn’t guide the story. Instead, “get from idea A to B to C to…” guided the story. Fortunately, the ideas are good! But if I were to reread, I’d probably skip the first book (maybe save a chapter to refresh my memory) and half the rest.
I think some character tropes that guide some stories are exaggerated and reused to extend of being more outlandish than the ideas/concepts behind the worldbuilding. It’s like not being able to get behind the idea that not everyone “thinks in words”. Sometimes story does not need a character that refuses to consider that their feelings do not matter.
Anywhoo, I coincidentally started reading trilogy from the third book and liked it the best. First two are just not that fun.
I get it. I do actually think the “paper thin characters” can be a positive for some (me included). If you only like strong characters and character driven stories, it of course isn’t, and that’s fair.
However, part of the reason I like science fiction is the idea-drivenness and oftentimes strong characters get in the way of that. I genuinely don’t see how Trisolaris could have worked with more of a character-focused writing without becoming an entirely different book.
And, well, a lot of people would probably have preferred that version, but I wouldn’t have, personally.