Maalt saadetakse kosmosesse raadiosignaale maavälise eluga kontakti saamiseks. Üks signaal jõuab väljasuremisohus tsivilisatsioonini, kes alustab ettevalmistusi Maa koloniseerimiseks. Samal ajal tekib Maal kaks koolkonda: need, kes usuvad, et maaväline elu muudab maapealse paremaks, ning need, kes arvavad, et peatselt saabuvad võõrad tähendavad inimkonna hukku.
Osa teose tegevusest leiab aset kultuurirevolutsiooni aegses Hiinas ja teine osa olevikus. Raamatu kaks peategelast on Ye Wenjie ‒ insener, kes töötab salajases sõjaväebaasis 1970ndatel, ja Wang Miao ‒ nanotehnoloog, kes töötab tänapäeva Hiinas. Kui Wang Miao lugu kulgeb olevikus ja kronoloogiliselt, siis Ye Wenjie lugu tuleb lugejani kildude kaupa.
Hiinas ja mujal maailmas tunnustatud kirjanik Liu Cixin seob osavalt kokku Hiina ajaloo ja ulme, põimides teaduse, sotsioloogia ja ajaloo omavahel ühtseks tervikuks. Tegemist on hariva ja huvitava teadusulmeteosega, mis paneb mõtlema tõsistel ja aktuaalsetel teemadel. Cixin on mitmekordne Kehuan Shijie Yinhe (Hiina Galaktika) auhinna võitja, raamatu „Kolme keha …
Arthur C. Clarke’i ja Hugo auhinna laureaat.
Maalt saadetakse kosmosesse raadiosignaale maavälise eluga kontakti saamiseks. Üks signaal jõuab väljasuremisohus tsivilisatsioonini, kes alustab ettevalmistusi Maa koloniseerimiseks. Samal ajal tekib Maal kaks koolkonda: need, kes usuvad, et maaväline elu muudab maapealse paremaks, ning need, kes arvavad, et peatselt saabuvad võõrad tähendavad inimkonna hukku.
Osa teose tegevusest leiab aset kultuurirevolutsiooni aegses Hiinas ja teine osa olevikus. Raamatu kaks peategelast on Ye Wenjie ‒ insener, kes töötab salajases sõjaväebaasis 1970ndatel, ja Wang Miao ‒ nanotehnoloog, kes töötab tänapäeva Hiinas. Kui Wang Miao lugu kulgeb olevikus ja kronoloogiliselt, siis Ye Wenjie lugu tuleb lugejani kildude kaupa.
Hiinas ja mujal maailmas tunnustatud kirjanik Liu Cixin seob osavalt kokku Hiina ajaloo ja ulme, põimides teaduse, sotsioloogia ja ajaloo omavahel ühtseks tervikuks. Tegemist on hariva ja huvitava teadusulmeteosega, mis paneb mõtlema tõsistel ja aktuaalsetel teemadel. Cixin on mitmekordne Kehuan Shijie Yinhe (Hiina Galaktika) auhinna võitja, raamatu „Kolme keha probleem“ eest pälvis ta maineka Hugo auhinna romaanikategoorias.
„Kolme keha probleem“ on Hiina tuntuima ulmekirjaniku Liu Cixini triloogia „Mälestusi Maa minevikust“ esimene osa.
We haven't read the other books in the trilogy. How to describe? Liu has a very pessimistic perception of humanity and the nature of the universe. Not only does it science what kind of beings might evolve in a three-body solar system, but he also engages the Fermi Paradox, a very pessimistic theory about intelligent life. Be prepared to deal with frustration and disappointment.
That said, it is an important book and should be read.
Imaginative and thoughtful "hard" science fiction. Fingers crossed that Netflix will do a good job with the series. The setting in China was interesting. Some parts were excellent, while others were a little tiresome (e.g., some of the military/police conversations), but I enjoyed it quite a bit overall. The chapter with Newton, Von Neumann and the human-formation computer was a fascinating and humorous highlight for me.
Spannend aufgebaut mit verschiedenen Handlungssträngen, die sich irgendwann zusammenfügen. Technische / physikalische Grundprinzipien auch für mich als Laien verständlich dargestellt. Und die Frage nach dem "First Contact" mit all ihren Implikationen wurde toll beackert.
Zusätzlich erfährt von noch etwas über die jüngere chinesische Geschichte.
The first few chapters had me darting to and from Wikipedia to help add some context to a story that is deeply set in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It',s a triviality to call the story complex, a mystery than unfolds through the book. Be warned this is the first in a trilogy and a very much sets itself up this way, which was a little frustrating in the last few chapters.
Es el primero de una trilogía. Me ha gustado, aunque hay algunas cosas "científicas" que me han parecido muy simplonas.
De cualquier forma, estoy leyendo el segundo, y creo que también leeré el tercero.
Lo recomiendo.
I'm not thoroughly familiar with science fiction as a genre, but I'd imagine this is pretty quintessential hard science fiction. That means that quite a lot of text throughout the novel is devoted to explaining the scientific realities behind the events of the narrative. For example, entire chapters are devoted more or less to detailing the physical minutiae of how messages might be transmitted between Earth and alien civilizations.
In the case of this novel, hard science fiction also means substantially less attention is given to the development of characters and the drama between them. Indeed, I found the book somewhat reminiscent of my experience with Isaac Asimov, where all the important characters are STEM academics and the only interesting thing they could imagine talking about is science in one form or another. So don't expect a very compelling drama from this novel or particularly deep or complex characters. With …
I'm not thoroughly familiar with science fiction as a genre, but I'd imagine this is pretty quintessential hard science fiction. That means that quite a lot of text throughout the novel is devoted to explaining the scientific realities behind the events of the narrative. For example, entire chapters are devoted more or less to detailing the physical minutiae of how messages might be transmitted between Earth and alien civilizations.
In the case of this novel, hard science fiction also means substantially less attention is given to the development of characters and the drama between them. Indeed, I found the book somewhat reminiscent of my experience with Isaac Asimov, where all the important characters are STEM academics and the only interesting thing they could imagine talking about is science in one form or another. So don't expect a very compelling drama from this novel or particularly deep or complex characters. With maybe one exception (the character Ye Wenjie) the stakes of this narrative are all practical, not emotional or relational.
But there is (in my mind) a very clever plot in here. The author does a great job of leveraging a variety of concepts and technologies from various STEM disciplines as plot points and narrative developments, both breakthroughs and setbacks for the protagonists. There's also a fascinating layer of 20th century Chinese history that overlays and informs the narrative. But this is neither a thriller nor a romance, so don't expect some pulse-pounding climax at the book's end that will leave you breathless.
I have a degree in a STEM field (computer science) so I may be biased in this assessment, but I thought the book was pretty readable insofar as the science is presented and detailed. But detractors are not wrong to call the writing in general both dry and wooden. I can't tell if it's a authentic reflection of the original author's personal style or perhaps indicative of Chinese prose generally, but in either case this book's writing is far from poetic.
Bottom line, if people are uncertain that they'll be able to get through this book, the only advice I can offer is this: if & when you find yourself struggling to get through a heavy passage detailing scientific minutiae, not only is the novel not going to "get better" from there, but passages such as those are themselves a great part of why this book's fans love it so much. So pull that ripcord early if you find yourself struggling to enjoy yourself; you'll know if this novel is for you pretty quickly. Even those who do enjoy it might be tempted to line up a romance or other drama-rich novel as a chaser.
Review of 'El problema de los tres cuerpos' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Empecé con muchas ganas este ganador del Premio Hugo de 2015. Ciencia ficción "hard", de una cultura un tanto exótica para mí como la china, y con aplauso unánime de la crítica, prometía mucho. Y no es que sea una mala lectura ni mucho menos, pero me ha acabado decepcionando bastante.
Se dice que el autor está muy influido por Asimov, Clarke y similares, y la verdad es que sí: la trama contiene muchos elementos que podían haber sido originales en los años 60, pero que desde luego hoy en día no lo son, al menos en Occidente. El personaje principal es bastante plano; los secundarios, que tenían mimbres para ser interesantes, acaban resultando estereotípicos; el hecho de que la novela acabe en un "continuará" (es el primer libro de una trilogía) no ayuda tampoco a la redondez de la trama.
En otros aspectos donde se ven influencias de otros …
Empecé con muchas ganas este ganador del Premio Hugo de 2015. Ciencia ficción "hard", de una cultura un tanto exótica para mí como la china, y con aplauso unánime de la crítica, prometía mucho. Y no es que sea una mala lectura ni mucho menos, pero me ha acabado decepcionando bastante.
Se dice que el autor está muy influido por Asimov, Clarke y similares, y la verdad es que sí: la trama contiene muchos elementos que podían haber sido originales en los años 60, pero que desde luego hoy en día no lo son, al menos en Occidente. El personaje principal es bastante plano; los secundarios, que tenían mimbres para ser interesantes, acaban resultando estereotípicos; el hecho de que la novela acabe en un "continuará" (es el primer libro de una trilogía) no ayuda tampoco a la redondez de la trama.
En otros aspectos donde se ven influencias de otros autores, los extraterrestres, lejanos y enigmáticos pero a la vez muy humanos, me recuerdan poderosamente a los de Los Propios Dioses; el juego de realidad virtual no puede menos de sonarnos a Ender... Pero todo ello con menos fuerza que las referencias originales.
Curiosamente, donde me parece que el libro se vuelve más vivo y brillante es en sus regresiones sobre China, la Revolución Cultural y su evolución posterior. Quizás es simplemente por mi desconocimiento sobre el tema, pero los capítulos centrados en ese tema se me hicieron mucho más interesantes.
El libro se lee bien, entretiene y es de lectura ágil, pero esperaba algo más. No sé si continuaré con los otros dos libros de la trilogía, tocará pensarlo.
