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3 body problem is solid so far, into second episode

Blogger at ribbonfarm.com, running summerofprotocols.com, host of /gloom ☀️

Benedict Wong is inspired casting for Shi

I realized why this story feels so fresh to those raised on Anglo SF. It imagines a universe that’s arranged without regard for human convenience or inconvenience. The big elements just have their own logic to which the human stories are subordinate.

Or even alien convenience. Warp drive, hyperspace, time travel are just convenient devices for scaling human stories. A 3BP or a sophon or a dark-forest logic are kinda indifferent to life. They weird the stories rather than scale them. Fictional physics that just scales ordinary stories or superpowers heroes is stale.

Speaking of weirding premises I also liked the first episode of the new Doctor Who with the knot-theoretic aliens. Wasn’t entirely cashed out but great idea.

More world-weirding premises plz. 

Anglo SF typically just turns humans into gods. Weirding SF twists humans into pretzels.

Finished. Solid through the end though a bit expository towards the end. But good for efficiently skipping a lot of pipe laying. I only read the first book and summaries of the other two. I’m glad they’re compressing and entangling plot lines across all 3 books.