英文版《三体2：黑暗森林》书评亚马逊之二 [美国媒体]

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars"The Dark Forest" - WOW! WOW! and WOW! again!
Byferlaferlaon September 18, 2015

8/8人认为评论有用
5/5星 “黑暗森林”— 哇哦！哇哦！再次哇哦！
留自ferlaferlaon 2015年9月18日

This is not an easy book to read. The 2nd book in a 3 part trilogy the author has a sensational plot line, but he does meander quite a bit telling the story. A background in science-fiction, mathematics and computer science would be helpful for anyone attempting to read this book. It is absolutely essential that you read the "Three Body Problem" first.

这不是本很轻松的读物。这本三部曲的第二部里，作者有着绝佳的情节发展，但他用了大量的迂回手段来讲述故事。有科幻、数学和计算机科学的背景将有助于阅读本书，当然得先阅读《三体》是绝对必须的。

The plot is utterly mind expanding and his characters have to make some incredible hard choices, which may be difficult for some readers to understand. I was overwhelmed with the direction the author choose to take with his characters - Cixin Liu is definitely bold when it comes to the plot line, but once he has the proper setting fixed he will surprise you with many twists and turns. Parts of the plot you will have to suspend your preconceived notions with disbelief and if you can do that, the story line will flow pragmatically foreword. Particularly I was stunned with the choices made concerning the 7 surviving space ships after the annihilation of the space fleet. It was a necessary and correct choice for the survival of the human species.

剧情是彻彻底底的拓展心智，里面的人物必须得作出极其艰难的抉择，也许部分读者难以理解。作者选择的人物走向震撼了我：刘Cixin在剧情发展上绝对大胆，背景设定一被固化，他就用大量的一波三折柳暗花明的情节让人出其不意。有些剧情会让你不禁怀疑自己早先持有的观念，如果你做的到的话，故事情节会顺畅地向前发展。我尤其惊讶于太空舰队覆灭后那7艘幸存战舰的抉择，对于人类的存亡确实是必要且正确的选择。

This book tells a tale rich in details, a lot of it has to be plowed through, but when you come to the end of the book - you will say WOW!For hard core science fiction readers this story is an absolute must to read. I highly recommend these books to the hard core science fiction community.

本作故事细节丰富，其中不少是之前埋下的伏笔，当你读到结尾处，会不禁“哇哦”！本书对铁杆科幻粉而言是必读佳作，我强烈推荐本系列给铁杆科幻群。

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsAbsolutely a fantastic story. Immensely imaginative
Bysvchwon September 21, 2015

2/2人认为评论有用
5/5星 绝对的巨作，宽广的想象
留自Bysvchwon 2015年9月21日

Absolutely a fantastic story. Immensely imaginative. Especially love the author's deep thoughts on combining sociology and science, and his vivid presentation of the doom's day scenes. Put it on a very short list of my best sci-fi readings so far. Highly recommended. Already pre-ordered the final installation of the trilogy.

绝对的巨作，宽广的想象。尤其喜爱作者将社会学和科学结合到一起的深思熟虑，以及他将末世场景的生动展现。我将其列入我的最佳科幻的的屈指可数的名单。强烈推荐，已经预购三部曲的最后一部。

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat read
ByKarl Lembkeon September 21, 2015

2/2人认为评论有用
5/5星 佳作
留自ByKarl Lembkeon 2015年9月21日

Much more enjoyable than Three Body Problem. The author seems to be hitting her stride now, and I'm looking forward to her third book.
This is definite Hugo Award material.

比《三体》令人愉悦的多，作者似乎已经驾轻就熟，期待第三部。
绝对的雨果奖苗子。

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsNot as good as the first book in the trilogy, but a home run nevertheless!
ByCharles Icelandon September 23, 2015

1/1人认为评论有用
5/5星 没第一部好，但仍是记本垒打！
留自ByCharles Icelandon 2015年9月23日

The book has wonderful concepts, but lacks enough energy and suspense. We learn that life in the universe requires ruthlessness but can allow for love.

本书有着绝佳的概念，但欠缺足够的能量和悬念。我们知道宇宙中生命需要无情，但仍保留有情的一席之地。

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsdeeply satisfying
ByIan Con September 24, 2015

8/8人认为评论有用
5/5星 让人深深满足
留自Ian Con 2015年9月24日

I know it sounds silly when I say reading this novel makes me feel smarter. It's not the quantum physics, the string theories, all that high concept science jazz. I won't say that I understand all those theories in a million years, but the author builds and presents those hard sci-fi theories in a formula that makes an average person (like me) feel believable. What I mean by the "feeling smarter" part is that the author's boundless imagination really stretches my mind's horizon. I still can't believe all these fascinating ideas and plot twists are presented in one novel series (and we are only 2/3 through). Liu's complete dark, cruel and heartless cosmic sociology theory is really the best explanation of Fermi's paradox I've ever heard, consider we as humans, were this close to self-annihilation merely 50 years ago at the height of the Cold War, and we are really not that different from each other as a specie! The best scene (SPOILER) from the book for me was when the entire human space fleet facing total annihilation at the hand of one single Trisolarian probe, two ships tried to escape the onslaught by sacrificing their entire crews just for the hope of saving two useful spaceships for humanity, but to no veil. the brutally horrendous graphical description of their deaths, the devastating sense of complete hopelessness,
really make those ultimate sacrifices speak in tremendous volume, what a glorious (but deep deep deeply heart wrenching) scene. I particularly appreciate the author's take on the many faces of humanity, the pessimism and optimism, arrogance and naive, suspicion and faith. Looking back at our history of thousands of years, humanity really hasn't changed, 400 years and more advanced technology sure aren't going to change much neither. Honestly I felt the ending was a bit let down, right after the climatic revelation of the dark forest theory. However, knowing that the 3rd installment is named Death's End, I can kind of guess where the story is going to turn, so I will take this seemingly happily-ever-after ending as a satisfactory plot device for the major plot twist that's coming later (matter of fact, seeing how Liu and his plot twists work, I'm almost certain of it. $hit is going to hit the fan, in a major way, in the grand finale. I am certain of it. but that's just my speculation). I agree with many other reviewers that character-building really isn't Liu's forte, the "dream girl" part is just, I can't put my finger on, does it do much to make the main protagonist a more believable/likable/more-rounded character? I don't know. But for Liu's weakness in character-building, he totally makes up for it in granderious world-building. in comparison to this beautifully dark cold world Liu built, I can totally overlook the thin characters.

我知道当我说阅读本作让我感觉自己更聪明这话听上去很傻。这不是量子物理、弦论这类高大上的玄奥科学。我觉得即使用一百万年的时间我都搞不懂所有这些理论，但作者能用让我这样的普通人都可以理解的方式创建并展现这些硬科幻理论。之前说的“感觉自己更聪明”，我的意思是作者无穷的想象力真的拓展了我思想的境界。我仍不敢相信一个三部曲系列的篇幅就能表现如此多的奇思妙想和曲折情节（别忘了才2/3呢）。刘Cixin的社会宇宙学理论极度黑暗、残酷与无情，的确是费米悖论就我所知的最佳解释。作为我们人类，在50年前的冷战高潮时离自我毁灭就一步之遥，而我们作为同一种属互相之间的差异根本没那么大。书中我最喜欢的场景（下有剧透）是整个人类舰队被仅仅一艘三体探测器全部歼灭，两艘战舰试图逃离大屠杀，牺牲全舰舰员的安危，只求为人类保住两艘宝贵的战舰。舰员之死的残忍可怕的视觉描绘，毁灭性的绝望感，真的让这种无上的牺牲发出最强音，多么辉煌（但又极度极度极度揪心）的场景啊。我特别欣赏作者对人性的多面性的看法：悲观与乐观、自大与天真、怀疑与深信。回顾上千年的历史，人性真的没什么改变，400年的未来和更发达的科技也肯定不会改变我们许多。说实在的，我对结尾有点失望，就是高潮部分对黑暗森林理论的揭示之后。但获悉第三部的书名叫做《死神永生》，我大概能猜出故事最终的转折，那我就把本书看似幸福的结局当做之后故事主要情节的伏笔需要吧（事实上，了解大刘的情节逆转的手法，我几乎十分确定。大结局里会大大地打粉丝的脸，我敢肯定尽管只是我的猜测）。我同意其他的书评，人物塑造真不是刘Cixin的强项，“梦中情人”就是，我不太明白这到底跟塑造主人公更可信/讨人喜欢/丰满的形象有多大的关系？不晓得，但刘Cixin用宏大的世界观彻底弥补了他在人物塑造上的弱点。相较他塑造的美妙的黑暗阴冷的世界，我可以完全略过单薄的人物。

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 starsBona fide awesome sf stuff
Bysemajremrafon September 24, 2015

4/4人认为评论有用
5/5星 真正的科幻力作
留自semajremrafon 2015年9月24日

Absolutely loved both books, the dark forest perhaps even more than 3 body - one of the best modern sf reads out there, I'd give it 6 stars if I could :)

完全喜爱这两本书，《黑暗森林》或许比《三体》还更好，《三体》已经是现代科幻最佳之一。可以的话我想给6星。

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 starsGenuinely interesting take on aliens
ByJohnon September 24, 2015

0/3人认为评论有用
3/5星 事关外星人的有趣好书
留自Johnon 2015年9月24日

I like how different of viewpoint an author for a culture so different from mine can come to such an interesting conclusion about the world around him. I really like the analogy about the galaxy and universe being a dark forest, or a dark cave of ignorance, and the dangers fraught with revealing your presence.

我喜欢与我文化背景完全不同的作者的完全不同的视角得出的关于作者所属世界的如此有趣的结论。我真的喜欢这个将银河系和宇宙比作黑暗森林或是蒙昧的黑暗洞穴的譬喻，暴露自身的存在会招致重重危险。

There seemed to be some plot aspects that could be ironed out, and the story seems to be a little all over the place, but I chalk it up to the difference in story telling evolution between Chinese and Western cultures. Good book, and I'm looking forward to the third in this series.

有些情节部分似乎可以多作熨烫妥帖，故事似乎有点散乱，但我归咎于中西文化间写作方式发展的差异性。好书，期待系列的第三部。

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 starsDisappointing
ByPeter Deeon September 24, 2015

0/5人认为评论有用
3/5星 令人失望
留自Peter Deeon 2015年9月24日

Disappointing. The rickety wooden plot telegraphs the central denouement from a hundred pages away. There is much more expository bloat, and all the female characters are embarrassingly (to my western viewpoint) submissive, subordinate, and paper-thin. At one point there is a description of an unplanned (human) interstellar voyage, and unfortunately one cannot help but to compare it with Robinson's Aurora, released this year, a superior book that meticulously describes why this Would Not Work. Ken Liu's absence is felt as well--he did an amazing job with 3Bod. Not a horrible book but surely not a Hugo winner.

令人失望。嘎吱作响的老朽情节在一百页的地方就透露出最终结局。充斥着太多的说明，所有的女性角色（就我的西方观点看来）都是顺从的、次要的及单薄的，让我不自在。在书中某处有关于非计划的人类星际航行的描写，不幸的是某人忍不住就要拿今年出版的罗宾逊的《极光》与之相比，后者优于《黑暗森林》，细致描写了星级航行不可行的原因。同样能体会出刘Ken的缺席，《三体》翻译的太好了。本作不算糟糕但肯定无法获雨果奖。