The first two books of Cixin Liu's trilogy, translated from the Chinese: The Three Body Problem and The Dark Forest are excellent science fiction, and I look forward to the final book Death's End that is due for release in a couple of weeks.
Reviews likely contain spoilers, so avoid them if you plan on reading the books. After reading the pair of books, I've read a few of the reviews that show up in the first page of Google search, and generally agree with them, so I won't burden the world with yet another review. What to expect from the books, though? The general portrayal of characters is weak, like in Asimov's early fiction, but the science fiction imagination on display is absolutely top-notch. The author has to bend a little some well-known physics to make his plot work, but unless you are an insufferable purist, it shouldn't matter. The Dark Forest sufficiently closes out the story that I don't feel compelled to read the third book to get closure, but rather to see what further worlds of imagination the author creates.
Reviews likely contain spoilers, so avoid them if you plan on reading the books. After reading the pair of books, I've read a few of the reviews that show up in the first page of Google search, and generally agree with them, so I won't burden the world with yet another review. What to expect from the books, though? The general portrayal of characters is weak, like in Asimov's early fiction, but the science fiction imagination on display is absolutely top-notch. The author has to bend a little some well-known physics to make his plot work, but unless you are an insufferable purist, it shouldn't matter. The Dark Forest sufficiently closes out the story that I don't feel compelled to read the third book to get closure, but rather to see what further worlds of imagination the author creates.
