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Amazon Plans Blockbuster TV Series Based On Chinese Sci-Fi Trilogy 'The Three-Body Problem' (medium.com)
hackingbear writes from a report: Amazon is reportedly likely to earmark $1 billion for a television series (Warning: source paywalled, alternative source) based on the ultra-popular Chinese science fiction trilogy The Three Body Problem. The American video subscription service will likely acquire the rights to the Yugo-winning, extremely popular trilogy of novels written by Liu Cixin and produce three seasons of episodes. The rights to the trilogy are currently owned by Lin Qi, the chairman of Youzu Interactive, a Chinese developer and publisher that typically focuses on online and mobile games.
Just when you'd think everything on the small/big screen would suck forever. The announcement that they're making the Martian came as I still had vivid in my mind the book, so with this trilogy.
And this is really, really, really good for a series - and I mean for people with attention spans longer than 30 seconds. The book(s) just don't seem to end - in a very good way. I did have quite a few times the sensation that things are winding down and "this is it", nope - here comes more. And more. And more.
I don't read much sci-fi any more, but I like to think I at least know of the major authors. I've never heard of this person, or series,
Then you live under an SF rock. It was/is a major bestseller.
Or even that Chinese sci-fi was a thing.
There is about 2 times as many Chinese as Europeans and USians combined. They probably have a good dose of everything we know of ;-). This was one of the rare cases of a breakout into the West.
Anyone can comment on what they thought of it, or what the basic premise is, given TFS doesn't say anything about that? I presume it takes place beyond Earth, given the title.
I only read the first part ("The Three-Body-Problem"). It basically has three main strands of action - one set during the Chinese cultural revolution, one in the here and now, and the third describing an alien civilisation in what is hinted to be the Alpha Centauri system. Since this is a ternary star system, movement of the alien's planet is chaotic, and they have to deal with alternating periods of (hard to predict) stability and wildly fluctuating climate, destroying all or most of their civilisation over and over again. The aliens are communicating with Earth, and most of their story is told via parables in a video game.
It is an impressive read, and certainly different from much western SF - in a good, or at least interesting way.
Stephan
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It is hard to describe what is about without giving out major spoilers. It starts with something about first contact, earth politics, cold war, early space exploration stuff, virtual reality and goes to more than "sky's the limit". The plot for each of the books is easy to find and skim through but I strongly recommend you just go and read the books, they are available in English from all the usual places, including in digital form (and even audiobooks).
If you liked any of Greg Bear, Heinlein/Clarke/Asimov, Peter Hamilton, Joe Haldeman, Hal Clement - just get the books and enjoy them without any spoilers. Highly recommended. There might be especially at the beginning and in the first book parts you don't care about - just hang in there. The pace is changing quite a few times and everything is well explained. And I was so sad when it was over (not to say the end was sad just that I dreaded that there isn't anything more coming).
It will be interesting to see if Amazon tries to change the setting to the west. The novel deals with events that are well known in China but which most people in Amazon's markets have never heard of. Plus, there is a reluctance among TV execs to have a Chinese lead with a cast of Chinese actors.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Normally I'm pretty uninterested in the issue (particularly with Animes, where generally the original Japanese audience isnt that concerned by it). But this would be a mess if reset into the west. Part of what makes the book so interesting is just how different the chinese world of the protagonists is. The opening chapter set during the cultural revolution would make no sense at all in america or europe. Even eastern europe had a pretty different experience with Stalin than china did with Mao.
See the "Sad Puppies" story. SF Fandom has diverged into factions: a "Literary" faction (which sometimes refers to itself as 'Trufandom'), which currently pretty much controls the Worldcon, the Hugo Awards, and the Nebula Awards, and a "Spaceships and Rayguns" faction (notionally, the Puppies. There are two major factions in the Puppies as well). It's getting to the point that the two factions have different cons, different preferred publishers, and distinct communities. The split is also fairly ideological, with the Trufen faction trending left, and the Puppy faction trending right
Quick guide:
Cons:
Trufen: WorldCon, Wiscon, ReaderCon
Puppies: DragonCon, LibertyCon, RavenCon, LTUE
Publishers:
Trufen: TOR, Orbit
Puppies: Baen, Castalia
Awards:
Trufen: Nebulas, Hugos
Puppies: Dragons
This is not an all-encompassing list. There are also favored blogs and associated communities. . .