delaney

So much of this story was shaped by the societal box of 1888, which is explicitly referenced every other page... I did not enjoy the lack of consistency in the characters' behaviors, and honestly, a lot happened without any sensical reasoning behind it.

2 stars for the twist.

Overall, the experience of reading this entire book vs the actual payout of the plot developments & twists was not quite worth it for me. The various ideas in The Three Body Problem are super intriguing, and the level of integration of abstract physics concepts is straight up cool. I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout.

However, the whole thing has a bizarre issue with pacing—the first third of the book felt painfully slow, while other moments that I believe were meant to be suspenseful ended up rushed. Many interesting moments are written in past tense format that makes them feel way less story-like and way more history-textbook-like. Most of the time, I just didn't know why anything was happening, and the moments that grabbed my attention were fleeting.

2.9 stars

So flowery... too flowery... I don't get the hype... I think other readers must enjoy the experience of prose formulated to be so abstract that it becomes poetic and whimsical without actually making much sense, but I do not. Boo.

P.S. I do WISH this one clicked for me; I caught glimpses of that tangible sci-fi/romance plot in the second half, but they weren't enough for me to say I enjoyed the book more than just the idea of the book.

Dune surely earned its place in the sci-fi hall of fame half a century ago—with mystical prose and a third person omniscient perspective, this reading experience was definitely unique. Usually I can't stand when the author writes so chaotically that things are overly difficult to understand, but the lack of explanation for little details actually added to the overall hazy tone of the desert planet, which I enjoyed.

I wish that alone was enough for me to rate this more highly, but my massive dislike for the protagonist, Paul, really choked out my enjoyment. After his first few actions, I questioned whether this child would become any better as a character, but he only gets worse. His attitude and entitlement led me to simply hating him. If Frank Herbert wanted Paul to come across as a bratty teenager with a god complex, he succeeded...

Even if I could get past my hang up on Paul, I have an overall sense that this world could've been so much cooler if it had true plot peaks and valleys and tangible tension throughout. I liked it but probably will not continue the series.

This was okay. The story's main idea of a man mysteriously losing steady weight without losing mass grabbed my attention, but not much else developed, and the characters were one-dimensional. The ending was also the most basic possible way out of the situation. I did find the couple moments of appreciation for life endearing.