Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : Tor, 2018.
Description
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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member quondame
A well paced science fiction novel with some strange interpretations of quantum and uncertainty effects. I don't think observation works the way it does in this novel in a sort of abstract way. The pace works well with the material with only a bit of drag, but the agency of the young major Lin Yun
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seems way beyond any sense, especially with general dad. A real treasure appears on pg 153 - Diaoyutai State Guest House. All those vowel vastly outnumbering the consonants. Show Less
LibraryThing member jefware
Like the collapse of the probability function into the tast of gunpowder tea.
LibraryThing member santhony
I recently read Cixin Liu’s science fiction Three Body Problem trilogy, and was pretty much blown away. The second book in the series, The Dark Forest, may be the finest science fiction work I have ever read (and I’ve read hundreds). I was anxious to read more of his work and purchased a
This novel, while recently translated into English, was actually written prior to the Three Body Problem. The subject is the atmospheric phenomenon of ball lightning and a group of researchers and military personnel that study it, capture it and attempt to weaponize it. I found the early parts of the novel to drag somewhat, but then advance strongly to a powerful ending.
The story has a good amount of highly technical language and theories concerning quantum mechanics, which are obviously over the head of almost anyone reading the book, however the author does a masterful job of making the story readable and understandable, without the necessity of a graduate level degree in physics. Cixin Liu is a fantastic story teller and a master in the field of science fiction.
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collection of short stories as soon as I found it. Overall, it was a good read, just not up to the level of the trilogy. This novel, while recently translated into English, was actually written prior to the Three Body Problem. The subject is the atmospheric phenomenon of ball lightning and a group of researchers and military personnel that study it, capture it and attempt to weaponize it. I found the early parts of the novel to drag somewhat, but then advance strongly to a powerful ending.
The story has a good amount of highly technical language and theories concerning quantum mechanics, which are obviously over the head of almost anyone reading the book, however the author does a masterful job of making the story readable and understandable, without the necessity of a graduate level degree in physics. Cixin Liu is a fantastic story teller and a master in the field of science fiction.
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LibraryThing member brakketh
The story of a scientists quest for understanding the ball lighting phenomenon. Really great world building and fascinating characters.
LibraryThing member rondoctor
Another good book by Liu. Worth reading, but sometimes gets a little pedantic. Discovering Cixin Liu's science fiction has been a high-point of my recent reading experiences. If you haven't read his books, now is a good time to begin.
LibraryThing member jdayrutherford
Not worth reading. I loved the Three body problem.
Poor English translation also.
Poor English translation also.
LibraryThing member johnclaydon
A hard slog.
LibraryThing member TobinElliott
Got halfway through this, thought, this reads like an electrical textbook with dialogue, and decided I'd had enough.
Obviously an author in love with the science part, but let the humanity slip away in dispassionate prose.
DNF.
Obviously an author in love with the science part, but let the humanity slip away in dispassionate prose.
DNF.
LibraryThing member dualmon
Good, but not crucial
Subjects
Awards
Seiun Award (Nominee — 2023)
NPR: Books We Love (2018)
Language
Original language
Chinese
Original publication date
2018-08-14
Physical description
384 p.; 25 cm
ISBN
0765394073 / 9780765394071