The Three Body Problem, read it or watch it first?

So the Three Body Problem has been on my radar for about a decade but I've never actually gotten around to reading it. There's always been something to do first.

Recently Netfix has decided they were going to make a tv adaptation. TV adaptations are typically worse just due to real world limitations, running time restrictions and having to cater to the short attention spans of people who can't or won't read.

Generally I will read the book first, but in the case of the expanse I discovered the show first, and am now reading the books and I'm very happy with them.

So people who have read and watched, which should I do first? Do I need to read the whole series first or just the T.B.P.?

So far it looks like the best option is to read it and skip watching it, people who read the books are complaining that the latest TV series is a severely trimmed-back and dumbed-down version of the books.

Mrs NOHOME and myself are very much liking the Netflix show.

Read it. The book is fantastic. In fact, the trilogy is fantastic. It's very much a stretch if you're used to Western sci-fi conventions and tropes, but it's extremely rewarding and engaging. 

I'm only just getting into the Netflix series (as well as the Chinese version released recently, just called Three Body) and am enjoying it so far. The books, though, are great. 

Oh, don't misunderstand me. I am going to read the books. I just want to know If I should wait until I'm done to watch the show.

Read first

Watching it has been fine. Everyone is enjoying it so far. 

I'm enjoying the show so far.

In reply to AClockworkGarage :

Read the book(s) first. The show(s) will be much more sensible. 

I'm the odd person who wasn't really impressed with the book.

I found it interesting as a look at China, and what seemed like a clever way to actually critique Chinese political history.

As far as Science Fiction conventions... I wasn't terribly bothered that they were different from western ones. Rather, I thought a lot of the ideas fell apart because the author was trying to explain in a hard-SF fashion how the technologies worked that were waaaaay beyond his level of understanding. (As opposed to something like The Expanse that... when it gets beyond the level of the authors' technical expertise, just hand-waves it.)

This carried over into undermining the threat of the core antagonizing force because, their existence just didn't make *any* sense to me.

Not bad. Just didn't live up to the hype for me, and I think could have easily been a lot better.

I enjoyed it from the sake of a more direct look at how intellectuals in a different culture think than for the SF ideas it presents.

Haven't seen the show yet. I plan to watch at least one episode, but I find most Netflix originals to not be worth my time. I can see it being as bland as the book but completely missing the cultural intricacies that interested me; or doing a good job of taking the core SF ideas, and actually tightening the narrative around them.

its really fun, and introduces some interesting moral and technical discussions/probblems/plots - I have to say on the surface, it was really thought provoking.

But when I sat back and thought more about it, the first 5 episodes where they introdue the backstory and develop the main plot and introduce the twists, it basically felt like a super prolonged version of every Bond movie where the bad guy tells the protagonist about their plans for world domination while Bond is tied to a table about to be cut in half. If you break down the plot points, half of them negate themselves later in the plot.

Also, China's glaring self interest in the funding of this endevor is pretty transparent and Im not a big fan of that - its hard to look past

Well, picked it up this afternoon, just finished it. 9 hours cover to cover. Mostly positive feelings. Not too excited about them spelling out how all the "things" were accomplished at the the end of the book. 

Probably pick up the next book tomorrow.

In reply to AClockworkGarage :

Excruciating detail about how we built this computer. (I'm pretty sure that's not how any of this works.)

Zero mention of it having: sensors, propulsion, or transmitters. And my rudimentary understanding of physics indicating that sensors and transmitters would be impossible.

In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :

Did you read all three books?  I know a guy who has been raving about the books for years and was talking about the Netflix series the other day. One comment he made about the books is they definitely get better.

He had the same complaints about the first book and said it's a bit of a slog to get through. Book 2 is much better. He calls Book 3 "mind-blowing".  He also said, the Netflix series pretty much covers Book 1 and a little of Book 2 and that it also tones down some of the "Chinese history" bits. 

I have the books on my "to be read" pile... along with the Expanse books. 

Though this was about physics. 

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

I only read the first one. Reviews of the whole series... it's not off of my list, but there are a lot of things ahead of it.

I have other critiques - the characters are all wooden cutouts, and the plot seems to be a vessel of convenience to get the ideas across. Which is fine. There is a lot of that in SF. The problem for me is... if that's all you've got, your ideas had better be really compelling. If you're just going to show off how smart and clever you are, you'd better be smarter and more clever than I am, at least on the topic you're presenting.

The Chinese history bits were actually what I found most interesting.

The Expanse is among the best science fiction I've ever read. I'd say although there are novels that stand above as better individual works, I don't think I've come a better *series* of SF novels. I would put The Expanse at the top of your to-read pile if you have any interest in SF.

In reply to Beer Baron 🍺 :

I just finished one SF book (latest in Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries series) and I'm currently reading something a bit different before diving into another SF book.  I have the entire series of books, so once I get started I know it'll be a long-term commitment.  It's a daunting number of pages when all lined up on a shelf... 

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

Eat it one bite at a time. The novels are well paced out, each bringing its major plot point to a satisfying conclusion at the end. But it is pretty engrossing, and you probably will end up wanting to finish once you start.

It is very much *not* a slog.

4cylndrfury said:

....Also, China's glaring self interest in the funding of this endevor is pretty transparent and Im not a big fan of that - its hard to look past

Can you explain this a bit more?   I have only watched about 4 episodes, and the presentation of the Chinese cultural revolutions don't seem terribly positive (!) to me.  China is generally not in the habit of admitting to any wrong doing in it's past.  Why would they fund this? 

I may be missing some "China saves the world" plot point in future episodes? (e.g. the pandering in The Martian) If so, please don't elaborate, just indicate that China is shown in a positive light or something.

From what I can see in the news, there are those watching (at least the current Netflix version) illegally (VPN) in China, and they are rather shocked to see what is depicted as happening in China back then (reality and China many times do not mix). 

Beer Baron 🍺 said:

The Expanse is among the best science fiction I've ever read. I'd say although there are novels that stand above as better individual works, I don't think I've come a better *series* of SF novels. I would put The Expanse at the top of your to-read pile if you have any interest in SF.

I really enjoyed the Expanse TV show. One of my favourites. currently reading the series with my SWIMBO. its how we end the week. Every friday after dinner we crawl into bed and read to each other, switching chapters. We manage about 4 chapters a week. We started in August, we're about halfway through the second book.

One of the unique things about the expanse is that Ty and Daniel are producers on the show. They at times used the show to "fix" things they didn't like about the book.

I'll remain spoiler free, but I prefer the show over the book for a few things: miller on eros, Draper on gaynamede. The entire weeping sonambuoust arc.

Both the show and books (so far) are great.

In reply to AClockworkGarage :

I think it's one of the best book to screen adaptations (prior to the final season), because both lean into the strengths of their respective mediums. Although the plot is generally the same, the world is so vast, complicated, and messy, that both works allow for more time and focus exploring different elements.

There are also characters I like better in different versions. E.g. Draper and Prax are better in the book. Amos and Avasarala are better in the show. Drummer is the best in both, for different reasons.

I'm split. 

In the case of anime/manga, I usually watch the anime first and then read the manga. Anime are typically shorter and leave out lots of the manga, so when I finish watching and get the itch to know more I can read the manga to get the full story.

With most other content, I like to read first before watching. Take Good Omens, for example. Reading it first meant that the twists and turns still surprised me in the book, and I was able to watch the TV show and be pleased to see how it measured up. Other times, the show or movie is severely lacking and it leads me to re-read the book in order to kinda wash my brain of it. 

For those of you that like the show, please tell your friends or family to check it out. Apparently it is under performing right now and the chances of Season 2 happening is already in doubt! I know it is still early since it just came out however other shows caught on more quickly than this one did ie One Piece or Avatar The Last Airbender. It would suck for another show to end just as quickly when it just started. Another show on Amazon that was similar was The Peripheral which did not get a Season 2 when it should have. 

I started reading a spoiler in this thread, so zipped to the end. C'mon guys. 

Anyway, I'm reading the book concurrently with watching the show. It's actually a lot of fun that way, because I feel like there are three things going on -  the book, the show, and the process of adaptation where I get in the screenwriters head a bit and see their decisions.

Welp... I just finished Death's End.

It was... weird.

That wraps up the trilogy for me. The Dark Forrest was by far my favourite.

Not sure when I'll get around to watching the show as I'm still busy being upset by Fallout, but at the very least I'm glad it motivated me to read the books.