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Loading... Ball Lightningby Cixin Liu
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Das Buch startet wirklich seeehr langsam. Erst etwa ab der Hälfte nimmt es Fahrt auf, ab da hat es mich dann aber auch echt gepackt. 3,5 Sterne ( ) Imaginative and compelling all the way through. It’s nowhere near as epic in scope as the three body problem, and I’d always recommend people read that series first, but this is well-imagined hard SF for people who enjoy the writer’s style. Overall, its not a great novel, with underdeveloped characters, somewhat forced interpersonal relationships, and science that is a bit too farfetched, but it’s still a fun read. Chen (we are not told his other name) sees his parents killed by ball lightning while celebrating his 14th birthday. He dedicates his life to studying this phenomenon only to find that there are plans to weaponise it. This is actually part of "The Three-Body Problem" universe, mainly taking place while the Trisolarians are watching Earth. If I'd known that I would have read it much earlier. As it is, I did find it dragged in places. What Cixin Liu does best is describing the way unknown or impossible objects and forces act upon the real world. His descriptions of people turning to ash after touching ball lightning, or of the way it moves, or even of the various weapons systems in the book (which would normally elicit revulsion from me) are concrete and beautiful. His weakest point is his characters and their interactions, which are usually either heavy-handed exposition or annoying Murakami-style examples of enigmatic people failing to connect (unless we're told they connect, despite no evidence of it on the page). What lifted [b:The Three-Body Problem|20518872|The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1)|Liu Cixin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415428227s/20518872.jpg|25696480] beyond this was the Trisolarans, the alien antagonists who were genuinely surprising and interesting in their tactical and emotional range. Ball Lightning lacks this extra spark, but it does everything else right, and unrealistic characters aren't exactly a deal-breaker for me in science fiction. Interesting sci-fi book about a scientist working to understand ball lightning, and the consequences that arise with increased understanding. Lots of focus on the speculative science behind the phenomenon, which I personally found really interesting, but I imagine would not appeal to everyone. The exploration of the ties between military and academics in research was compelling. Some of the characters were weak - I found this to be the case for the narrator, Chen. However, I overall enjoyed this book. no reviews | add a review
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When Chen's parents are incinerated before his eyes by a blast of ball lightning, he devotes his life to cracking the secret of this mysterious natural phenomenon. His search takes him to stormy mountaintops, an experimental military weapons lab, and an old Soviet science station. The more he learns, the more he comes to realize that ball lightning is just the tip of an entirely new frontier. While Chen's quest for answers gives purpose to his lonely life, it also pits him against soldiers and scientists with motives of their own: a beautiful army major with an obsession with dangerous weaponry, and a physicist who has no place for ethical considerations in his single-minded pursuit of knowledge. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)895.13Literature Literature of other languages Asian (east and south east) languages Chinese Chinese fictionLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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