Liu Cixin's work reminds me of Asimov, in that the concept science fiction is really really engaging but the characters are little more than conduits. In this one, there's a character who is supposed to be highly accredited in both physics and philosophy... but at one point in the book, he says he's going to engage in a philosophical exercise only to just explain quantum physics. Latter, this supposed philosopher says;
"[life is insignificant] from a physics perspective. The form of matter movement known as life has no more meaning than any other movement of matter. You can't find any new physical laws in life, so from my standpoint, the death of a person and the melting of an ice cube are essentially the same thing."
Maybe it's just how it was translated, but what we're told about the character and how he actually acts doesn't really line up.
Also, if I had a nickle for every time a woman in a Liu Cixin novel brought about apocalyptic destruction on humanity, I would have 15¢. It's a weird trend, not sure how to unpack that.
ok at least there are women, unlike with asimov lmao
Foundation has a woman main character in the second book, that's practically a record for Asimov!
this is Susan Calvin erasure
Asimov wrote about women. And their ripeness.
CW: pedo shit
it's... weird having that paragraph precede such a smooth introduction to a matrilinear culture. Makes me kinda wonder, is this him purposefully highlighting the regressive views held by the point of view character? Or is that giving Asimov too much credit?
yikes
That time Asimov wrote a whole book about sexually trimorphic aliens because his publisher demanded some sex was a pretty good bit though.