The hype for this has been stringing me along forever and even more so since the release of the show. I’ve been hearing about The Three-Body Problem for so long and I’ve finally read it. And it wasn’t at all what I expected. Keep reading this book review of The Three-Body Problem for my full thoughts.
Summary
Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Three-Body Problem is a book that was intriguing, but not captivating. It was something I wanted to obsessively come back to, but instead it was something I enjoyed for the moment. While some of the science went above my head since it’s very physics and science based, it’s brought up in a way that makes it easy to get into. That being said, world building wise there were still a few moments that had some lingering questions. As a whole, The Three-Body Problem‘s main issue for me was the characters. They were pretty shallow in terms of development. I wanted to love them more, but I wasn’t really attached to any of them.
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The main driving force of the book is certainly the mystery of THE three body situation as well as the general alternative Earth setting. But I’m a very heavy character reader so it just didn’t hold my attention for long. The audiobook is lovely with amazing sound effects, but I just couldn’t get attached. In terms of plot, it’s certainly a slow burn in terms of the themes which build as they discuss humanity and our propensity for revenge, violence, retribution, and ambition. But it just wasn’t enough to go from interesting to obsession. Find The Three-Body Problem on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.