Book No. 56 of 2020
Whew, what a book; I have trouble describing it (and feel like a lot of other people have done a much better job doing so). I’m left in awe of both Cixin Liu (the author) and Ken Liu (the translator), and feel very dumb—the story pulls you through some really high-level (to the layperson) physics concepts, melding the theoretical with reality to the point that you’re not sure where the line is.
This book combines so many disparate-seeming themes and details and concepts—Chinese history and the Cultural Revolution, theoretical physics (you will have to wrap your mind around proton computers and the 11th dimension), virtual reality, the philosophical question of whether the human race is good—into one seamless story that, at times, is incredibly difficult to put down. (I was up until two in the morning last night, totally hooked.)
Similar Reads
The role of virtual-reality problem solving in the story reminded me very strongly of Ender’s Game.
A lot of the concepts about dimensions and protons reminded me of Ken Liu’s two short story collections: The Paper Menagerie and The Hidden Girl.
The combination of Chinese history and physics in the story reminded me very much of Little Gods by Meng Jin.