The Three-Body Problem spans multiple decades and characters, but it zooms in on Ye Wenjie and Wang Miao, two scientists in the very near future. Wenjie is an astrophysicist, while Miao is a nanotech engineer, and he's been swept up in a virtual-reality, online video game called Three Body that's so deeply metaphysical, it's begun to resemble a cult.
《三体I:地球往事》(后边简称《三体》)这本书里前后跨了好几十年,人物角色众多,但它的视角却锁定在叶文洁和汪淼身上。在不久的将来,他俩是科学家——叶文洁是一名天体物理学家,而汪淼则是一名纳米技术工程师,他被卷入了一款名为“三体的网络电子游戏。其中的虚拟现实场景极为玄妙,渐渐变得犹如一门宗教。
Either of these premises alone would be make for a rich SF novel, but Cixin Liu is only getting warmed up. By the time the book hits its peak, it's unveiled a conspiracy thatspans solar systems — one that not only threatens to alter the human race, but the very building blocks of physics that we've evolved to understand.
以上这些前题中的任何一个都可造就一本内容丰富的科幻小说,而它们仅是刘慈欣这本小说中的热身环节而已。此书在达到高潮之际,向读者揭晓了一场遍布太阳系的阴谋。这场阴谋不仅会威胁到人类种族的安稳,还将彻底颠覆人类在进化过程中悟出的物理科学原理。
This hard SF is full of lovingly lengthy passages of technical exposition about everything from quantum mechanics to artificial intelligence. But Cixin Liu supports all of that brain twisting theory with empathetic characters and a strong action-thriller backbone.
在这本硬科幻小说中,作者好心地为科技博览做长段阐释,从量子力学再到人工智能。而刘慈欣创造出引人共鸣的诸多人物,并营造惊悚动作片的浓郁氛围,来展现所有这些烧脑的理论。
For all its universal appeal, The Three-Body Problem is set against a specific backdrop, one that most English-language readers only know from a distance. Many of its major points hinge on the knowledge of Chinese history and culture — and while Ken Liu's translation is clear, tasteful, and lyrical, there's a lot of exposition to chew on. It's worth every ounce of effort. The book's well-earned suspense hinges on moral dilemmas thatresonate far beyond its nationality or even its heady, abstract physics.
《三体》这本书老少皆宜,其设定在一个特定的背景下,因此大部分说英文的读者不为熟知。书中的许多重点建立在中国的历史与文化基础上——不过刘宇昆的英译本脉络清晰、耐人寻味而又韵律十足。其中许多表述值得读者花上些功夫细细品读。书中所展现的道德困境远远挣脱了民族,甚至是那令人头晕的抽象物理知识(的束缚)。
At what point does science become dogma, and what point does that same dogma become religion? Cixin Liu doesn't pose that question so much as let it play out in a sweeping drama that risks the highest stakes imaginable. If The Three-Body Problem (and the next two books in the series, whose translations are in the works) helps bridgethe gap between Eastern and Western SF, it will have performed a great duty for the literary world.
在何时科学成为教条,又是何时那教条会发展成宗教信仰?刘慈欣并没有提出这样的问题,他只是让问题本身在这场恢弘磅礴的舞台大戏中粉墨登场。如若《三体I:地球往事》(《三体》系列的后两部也在被英译)能帮助拉近东西方科幻小说的距离,那么它将在文学界担负起巨大的责任。
上一篇: 关于埃菲尔铁塔,你不知道是十件事
下一篇: 外媒为吐槽叫好:蜂拥观烂片是好事?
国内英语资讯:Chinas Su-35 fighter jets, J-20 stealth jets to maintain airspace safety
体坛英语资讯:Iran defeats China 3-0 in Asian Volleyball Championship
这些年,春节已经走出国门,各国都在跟我们一起过年[1]
Mother’s Love 妈妈的爱
体坛英语资讯:Namibia ready to host ICC Cricket League Division 2 tournament
让欧美人羡慕不已的单眼皮,用英语该怎么说?
英语美文:相互理解,才能一起生活
花样滑冰比赛服为什么大面积采用肉色
体坛英语资讯:Watzke vows to hit back at striking footballers in Dortmund
国际英语资讯:U.S. Congress passes sweeping budget bill to end brief shutdown
国内英语资讯:Spotlight: Xis envoy makes fruitful S. Korea trip on Winter Olympics, peninsula situation
国际英语资讯:Gas tank explosion kills 8 in Bolivian carnival
为什么情人节爱心不是心脏的形状?
日本花滑选手冬奥会上演“冰上的尤里”
英国与欧盟达成新“脱欧”协议 多个政党说“不”
体坛英语资讯:Super Bowl advertising campaign a boon for Aussie outback tourism: government
体坛英语资讯:DPRKs cheering squad crosses inter-Korean border to S.Kroea for Winter Olympics
哈里王子的爱情故事要拍成电影!
国际英语资讯:Dozens of Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers
体坛英语资讯:The African Volleyball Championship starts to take shape
体坛英语资讯:IOC decision on Russian athletes shameful: Russian PM
国内英语资讯:China, Indonesia agree to better synergize development strategies
国内英语资讯:Chinese state councilors visit to U.S. conducive to bilateral cooperation: spokesman
国际英语资讯:Interview: Chinese investments could boost Panamas agricultural sector
为什么贝嫂的外号是Posh?原因你绝对猜不到
体坛英语资讯:Inter Bratislava scores win in basketball Champions League Qualifiers
国内英语资讯:China brings over 68 mln people out of poverty in past 5 years
国内英语资讯:Chinas cranes to promote Namibias port construction
日本花滑选手冬奥会上演“冰上的尤里”
英国新法:没收说不清楚的财富 打击全球腐败