Hard Science Fiction at its best.

The best writer currently writing in the Hard Science Fiction genre. Thought provoking ideas in each story.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Hard slog

These are hard stories to get into and besides some flowery language bordering on poetry, there's very little new here or written better elsewhere. It was an experience, no more.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Beautifully written short stories

This was my first voyage into the world of Liu Cixin, and it most certainly will not be my last.

I will admit that I skipped a few of the stories in this book as they were not to my taste, but the others were so good that the five star rating is very much deserved. They are exquisitely written, and the Chinese cultural style is much softer on the mind than its Western counterparts. I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of this book; particularly ‘The Contraction’ and ‘Mirror’.

Bruno Roubicek’s style of storytelling takes a bit of getting used to at first, but I firmly believe he was the perfect voice to convey the softness and intellect of these stories, and the author’s writing style. A very fine performance indeed.

Three Body Problem - here I come!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Some bizarre stories, some dull, some okay.

Deeply unusual. Well written but unengaging, I soon found this book a chore and the narrator had a really dull, slow delivery. I won't be reading more from this author.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Interesting ideas, but stilted writing style makes it a little dull to listen to

I know I’m in the minority with this, but something about Cixin Liu’s writing style (or the translation of it) makes some interesting concepts feel like a drag to listen to

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

I think this is a 2 1/2 sort of thing

Decidedly mixed bag here. I'd forgotten this was a collection of short stories going on and was pleasantly surprised to find myself engaged with the first couple. The variation from the standard Western world voice is a nice break.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Probably good stories ruined

The narration of these stories is hopeless,

Very slow and flat with no energy put into the story narration at all.

Ruined the stories for me.

The stories, I suspect, are very good but I cannot go further with this horrible narration.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

A mixed bag

I really enjoyed some of these stories but others dragged quite a bit. I enjoy 刘慈欣's way of viewing the world on a very small and very large scale simultaneously.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Cixin Liu at his very best

I can’t say enough how good his writing is. Deep thinking, accurate and beautifully crafted. The narrator’s voice is sufficiently unique to be able to convey the Chinese origin of these exquisitely translated expositions of advanced scientific thinking with real people talking

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Enjoyable science fiction short stories

Listened to this following completion of the three body problem series, whilst not as good there are some really good stories, some okay ones. It was interesting to see the author toy with different science fiction ideas and thought experiments. You could the creativeness and style that went into creation of three body problem series.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!