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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   3580 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for April 21, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Don't try to force yourself to read them if you aren't enjoying it. Maybe it is something in the old writing style that doesn't agree with you. I remember when Dan Brown was all the rage and I really wanted to like the books but... I only managed read Digital Fortress to completion and I hated it. There are so many other books and authors out there to read. I might be getting back into reading the Three Body Problem trilogy again, I needed a break after the first book since it gave me a bit of existential angst.

I might be getting back into reading the Three Body Problem trilogy again, I needed a break after the first book since it gave me a bit of existential angst.

Unfortunately I think that the trilogy goes down in quality with every successive entry. The Three Body Problem is amazing, on par with the classics imo. The Dark Forest is still good, but not as brilliant as the first book was. Death's End is... not that good. It's not awful, but it's not particularly good either. I wouldn't say to not finish the series, but I would say to not necessarily expect the same level of brilliance to keep up.

I hear you about the existential angst though. Those books are so depressing. If I learned anything reading the series, it's that Cixin Liu really needs a hug.

I hear you about the existential angst though.

I haven't read "The Three Body Problem" yet, so idk if I'm talking about a similar feeling, but Charles Stross' "Palimpsest" put me into a very strange state of mind closer to the end. It begins as a straight up rewrite of Asimov's "The End of Eternity" (which Stross freely admits) but then goes elsewhere.

Actually what he really needs is to be pinned down in the playground and have his nipples twisted, for tricking me into reading that terrible fanfic with his endorsement.

Actually I'm just about to start Dark Forest, hoping it won't disappoint too much. I've heard a lot of people weren't happy with the different translator.

I thought the different translator was fine. It's a bit different, yeah, but it's not bad or anything.

I was a kid when I read his books, and I actually took the claims of technical and scientific accuracy seriously at the time. On reflection, the sheer stupidity of the depiction of things like encryption just makes me cringe. Magically self-reassembling cryptography anyone?

I think the only novel that somewhat holds up is the one set in the poles, the whole intrigue bit about fabricated discoveries was pretty cool, if nothing else.

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