Just a few pages remaining now, would've finished it, but kid got a book from his school library, and wanted me to read it too, so reading Gangsta Granny by David Williams.

What about all of you? What have you been reading or listening to lately?

There's a Midyear Bingo check-in post, do take a look. Even if you haven't started this year's Book Bingo, you can still join, as there are ~~still 6 months remaining~~ only ~~5~~ ~~4~~ 3 months to go!

For details, you can checkout the initial Book Bingo, and it's Recommendation Post . Links are also present in our community sidebar.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] sharkfinsoup@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Three Body Problem is so good. I would highly recommend reading the 2 sequels when you finish. It only gets better after the first book!

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Honestly, I'm 85% of the way through it, and the whole thing has been an absolute slog.

I'm really not getting what people see in it. For me it feels a lot like old Isaac Asimov scifi; great ideas, really cool big concept stuff, but absolutely flat characters and uninteresting prose. The main character is just a whiteboard for other characters to explain things on. Every other character is utterly forgettable apart from Ye Wenjie, who gets the bulk of the development but is, backstory aside, largely ancillary to the plot.

And the structure and plotting just kind of fall apart once you get the main reveal. Like, there's some degree of interesting mystery at first, but then it just builds to a big meeting where a bunch of random people explain the plot to each other for the benefit of the main character and the audience. And then we're very hurriedly introduced to a another antagonist so the book can have an ending.

[–] Patch@feddit.uk 1 points 11 hours ago

I agree. I enjoyed it, sort of, but not enough to match the hype. It's a clunky, stumbling book that rides heavily on its core mystery.

It actually put me off reading the sequels for a long time, but I did eventually get round to it, and I'm glad I did. They're both far better reads. The second book in particular is very good; and the third is gloriously strange.

[–] sharkfinsoup@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Honestly I agree with a lot of your criticisms. The first book is mostly just setting up the story for the next two. I always forget the first book is mostly a murder mystery because the other two books lean in such a different direction.

The main character doesn't really do anything for the story. It feels like the plot happens around the main character and nothing would've changed without them. Fortunately every book has a new main character and the one from the first book is never mentioned again. Personally I think the characters are much better written as the series goes on.

I am big fan of the series so I'm pretty biased when I recommend to try the second book, but if you have to force yourself to read a book then it's probably just not for you.

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I'm literally still reading the first book, and I also also forgot it was a murder mystery, because the book forgot too. Like, the entire premise of the plot just withers on the vine. I know that at this point I have the answer, but characters don't even really react to this in any way. Like, you'd think the whole "scientists committing suicide" thing could have been used as a ticking clock to give more urgency to the plot, but it really just gets forgotten about by everyone involved.

[–] sharkfinsoup@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Right, like the main character, who is a scientist, is just playing a videogame most of the time. And he literally sees a countdown timer that no one else sees but the urgency to save himself just doesn't exist for some reason.

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

Also his family are just sort of... There? Like, his interactions with his wife are some of the most pathetic shit I've ever read. She pops into existence for one scene and then just ceases to matter after that.

[–] dresden@discuss.online 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Actually, many of the comments here mention that it's a slog to get through. Apparently it does get better.

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

Good to know I'm not going crazy.

[–] RangerJosey@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There's apparently a 4th book by a different author that was given the approval of the original author.

[–] sharkfinsoup@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yeah I read The Redemption of Time. It's a little cringey at times and reads like fanfiction you might see on AO3 but I still think it was a fun read. I would certainly not consider it to be canon though.