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- 原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.com 翻译：mahat 转载请注明出处
- 论坛地址：http://www.ltaaa.com/bbs/thread-324298-1-1.html
- 英文版《三体》亚马逊书评（续2）（2014/11/11）
- 英文版《三体》亚马逊书评（2014/9/12——2014/9/30）链接在此
- http://www.ltaaa.com/bbs/thread-318173-1-1.html
- 英文版《三体》亚马逊书评（续1）（2014/10/3——2014/10/7）链接在此
- http://www.ltaaa.com/bbs/thread-318795-1-1.html
The first novel in the sensationally popular Chinese science fiction series has been translated into English for the first time in The Three-Body Problem. With the pacing of a thriller, the heart of a drama, and the intellectual stimulation of thought-provoking classic, this novel is sure to soon be as celebrated as much in the rest of the world as it currently is in China. It is rare to come across a story that is scientifically brilliant that also has a depth of character developmentand exploration that can bring the reader to tears. For this and many other reasons, The Three-Body Problem is one of my favorite reads of 2014, and a novel that I would recommend to any fan of speculative fiction who enjoys reading a novel that challenges the mind as well as entertains.
惊人畅销的中文科幻系列的第一部《三体》现已首次翻译成英语。惊悚片式的节奏，戏剧式的感性，发人深省的经典式的智力启发，注定本书很快就会像在中国一样在全世界受追捧。很少能碰到一本书不仅科学部分精彩，而且人物发展有深度到催人泪下。基于以上原因，《三体》是我的2014年最爱读物之一，并且郑重推荐给各位喜爱挑战头脑又享受思维的幻想小说迷。
The novel follows the story of two main protagonists, Ye Wenjie and Wang Miao. Ye Wenjie’s story starts in the 1960’s during China’s cultural revolution. After she is forced to watch helplessly as her father is murdered because of his refusal to renounce his scientific ideals, her life starts to completely fall apart. When years later she finds herself in danger of facing the same fate as her father, she realizes the only way to stay alive is to use her skills as an
astrophysicist to work for the Chinese government on a top-secret military project. Wang Miao’s story takes place decades later during a time when Chinese physicists are apparently committing suicide in alarming numbers. When Wang attempts to discover the reason behind these mysterious suicides, he unexpectedly comes across a game called The Three-Body Problem. Liu expertly weaves the stories of Ye, Wang, and The Three-Body problem together with the discovery of an alien civilization on the brink of destruction which plans
本书循着两位主人公的故事：叶Wenjie和汪Miao。叶Wenjie的故事始于60年代的中国文/革。在她被迫目睹她的父亲因拒绝否认他的科学理念而被害，她的人生就已支离破碎。数年后，她发觉自己有重蹈父亲覆辙的危险时，她意识到只有用到她天体物理学的知识为中国政府的绝密军事项目服务，才能保住性命。汪Miao的故事发生在数十年之后，当中国的物理学家自杀数目达到令人警觉的时候。汪尝试发掘神秘自杀案件后的原因时，不期而遇一个叫做“三体”的游戏。刘Cixin熟练地将叶、汪的故事与“三体”游戏编织在一起，最终发现一个濒于毁灭的外星文明正计划入侵地球。直到故事发展到此时，地球人分裂成敌对的两派——欢迎外星人的一派和抵抗侵略的一派，至此读者很明显能看出刘Cixin创作的科幻杰作在不同层面上的意义，将会吸引并振奋世界各个角落的读者。
Though the novel’s plot is a little slow at first, it quickly becomes incredibly fast paced and engaging. It is also a thought provoking story that blends in-depth character development and social commentary with complex scientific ideas. Liu makes the science fiction portion of the novel seem so plausible, and explains the intricate concepts behind his speculation in enough detail to make them fascinating and easy to grasp. The book’s setting also provided an educational opportunity to me, as I have not read much speculative fiction (or any kind of fiction I suppose) set in China and involving Chinese
history and culture. I also found the translator’s footnotes fascinating, as they explained a lot of the references to everyday life and history in China. I know that most people do not usually read footnotes, but I highly recommend paying attention to those in this novel, as they really deepened my understanding of the story.
尽管故事情节在一开始有点慢，但很快就变得非常快节奏，十分吸引人。这本发人深省的小说包含了深刻的人物发展和复杂科学理念的社会评论。刘Cixin在本书的科幻部分的描写非常合情合理，用足够的细节解释猜想背后的复杂概念从而让读者陶醉并更易理解。本书的设定也给我本人提供了一次学习机会，因为我对发生在中国涉及中国历史文化的幻想小说（或是别的类型的小说）接触的不多。我也发现译者的脚注很吸引人，解释了许多中国的日常生活和历史的参考资料。我知道许多人通常不看脚注，但我强烈推荐关注本书的脚注，因其确实加深了我对故事的理解。
was also impressed by how lyrical and stunning Liu’s writing could be despite the fact that I was only reading a translation. The translator did a wonderful job preserving Liu’s unique voice as a writer. He manages to use his skill with prose to draw the reader in, and his blend of many disparate elements that are both intellectual and thrilling to keep the reader engaged. Liu’s passion for physics and astrophysics comes across in his writing, and it is infectious. It has been a long time since I have read a science fiction novel that engaged me and made me so excited about the subject matter. It is easy to see why Liu’s series already has a cult following in China.
我也同样对刘Cixin的作品能如此的诗情画意且摄人心魄而印象深刻，尽管事实上我读的只是译作。译者在保存刘Cixin的独特语调方面下了很大的工夫。他成功地用自己的文风吸引读者，引入了许多迥然不同但又兼具才思和惊悚的元素让读者保持关注。刘Cixin对物理学和天体物理学的热忱在他的作品了反复体现，很有感染力。我也有许久不曾读过能让我如此着迷与兴奋的科幻小说了。难怪在中国，刘Cixin的系列已有一批狂热的追随者。
Currently China is going through the same golden age of science fiction that America experienced in the 50’s and 60’s. Their modernization and rapid advancement in technology has allowed the people of China to start looking towards the future, and this change in thinking has influenced China’s literary minds as well. This translation of The Three-Body Problem has transferred this excitement for Science Fiction back to our culture, and has re-vamped a genre that many literary critics have recently started to dismiss. Liu’s story is wonderful, but even if you read it and do not enjoy it, take some time to
celebrate the fact that this novel has made a number of people who once would have dismissed speculative fiction to sit up and take notice of the genre. 2014 has been a year full of groundbreaking speculative fiction releases, and this novel in particular brings us one step closer to introducing the genre to a whole new subset of readers.
目前，中国正经历美国曾在五六十年代经历过的科幻黄金时代。他们经历的现代化和科技快速发展，让中国人开始眺望未来，同时思想转变也影响了中国的文学思维。这次《三体》的翻译把对科幻的兴奋传回到我们的文化中，也唤醒许多文学评论家近年开始摒弃的文学体裁【指幻想小说】。刘Cixin的故事是美妙的，但即使你读完后不喜欢，也值得花点时间庆祝这个事实：本书让不少曾经摒弃幻想小说的人坐下来重新关注这个体裁。2014年是幻想小说喷薄而出的一年，而正是本作将此体裁介绍给新的读者群而更进一步。
I've read the Chinese edition for the first volume before and I feel that it is really the best Chinese science fiction I've ever encountered. I order this book one month ago and it finally arrived today. It is well printed while I do expect they could include some photo illustrations like the front cover. I first read the author's postscript for the English edition near the end of the book. Here are some quotes:
我之前就读过第一部的中文版，深感是我接触到的最佳中文科幻小说。一个月前我就预定了本书，今天终于到货。印刷很精美，我特别期望他
们能包含几幅类似封面的图片插页。我先读了英文版的后记，部分摘录如下：
1. In this book, a man named "humanity" confronts a disaster, and everything he demonstrates in the face of existence and annihilation undoubtedly has sources in the reality that I experienced. The wonder of science fiction is that it can, when given certain hypothetical world settings, turn what in our reality is evil and dark into what is righteous and bright, and vice versa. This book and its two sequels try to do just that, but no matter how reality is twisted by imagination, it ultimately remains there.
1.在本书里，名为“人性”的人类遭遇一场劫难，他面对生存与灭亡时展现的所有方面都源自于我亲身体会的现实。科幻的奇迹在于，当给定某个假想世界的设定时，它能够化现实中的邪恶与黑暗为正义与光明，反之亦然。本书及两本续作正是在努力创造奇迹，但无论想象力如何扭曲现实，现实最终仍在那里。
2. I think it should be precisely the opposite: Let's turn the kindness we show toward the stars to members of the human race on Earth and build up the trust and understanding between the different peoples and civilizations that make up humanity. But for the universe outside the solar system, we should be ever vigilant, and be ready to attribute the worst of intentions to any Others that might exist space. For a fragile civilization like ours, this is without a doubt the most responsible path.
2.我认为应与现实所为背道而驰：让我们将展现给天外的善意还给地球上的人类成员，在人类不同的族群和文明间建立信任和谅解；但对于太阳系外的宇宙啊，我们更需警觉；作好最坏的打算，面对太空中存在的异鬼；这是毫无疑问最负责任的途径，对如此脆弱的文明之于人类。
Well, at last, I hope all of you who's going to pick up this book enjoy it~
总之，希望大家能拾起本书欣赏之~
You read the description for The Three-Body Problem and you think that what you’re going to be getting is a standard alien invasion story where the only thing to set it apart from so many others is that it happens to take place in China. If you go into this book with that preconception, then prepare to have your mind blown by an outstanding intelligent story of discovery and humanity that goes far beyond any justice I can do it here. But nevertheless, I’ll give it my best shot and try to review this book properly.
你看了《三体》的简介，觉得这是一本标准的外星入侵小说，唯一不同点仅是发生在中国。如果你带着这个先入之见开始阅读本书，那就准备好被这本优异的智慧之作震撼吧，它表现的新事物和人性远非我能在此完整展现。尽管如此，我尽我所能恰当评论。
The story starts in the past, with China in turmoil as society shifts and old ways are discarded in favour of revolution. Ye Wenjie has lost so much: her family, her home, and eventually, her freedom. But the circumstances that follow these losses, combined with her intelligence and education, place her in a prime position to influence the future of humanity, as well as become privy to secrets from far beyond the reaches of our world. Decades later, Wang Miao stumbles across bits and pieces of a scientific conspiracy that leads him slowly down the same road, and to a video game known as Three-Body, ostensibly set in a fantasy world with real-world historical elements thrown in for flavour, in which time runs in unpredictable Chaotic Periods and Stable Periods and discovering the secret behind them is the key to the survival of an entire civilization.
故事始于过去，中国陷于社会动荡，人们抛弃旧俗转向革命。叶Wenjie失去了许多：她的家人和家庭，还有自由。但这些失去之后的境遇，加上她的才智与所受教育，将她放在了影响人类未来的重要位置，也触到了远离我们这个世界的秘密。数十年之后，汪Miao偶遇科学阴谋的蛛丝马迹，渐渐将其引入到一款叫做“三体”的电子游戏，表面上游戏设定是掺入真实世界历史元素的幻想世界，该世界里不可测的乱纪元与恒纪元交替出现，揭示其背后的秘密是整个文明存亡的关键。
There’s so much to this novel that you very quickly realise that it’s not just going to be a quick read. It deserves taking time on, and it brings up plenty of thought-provoking concepts in science and philosophy that are explained in ways that don’t require years of field training to understand. Liu understands that not every reader will be familiar with every concept and so makes sure that characters appropriately explain their contributions and ideas. Ken Liu’s translation notes help with this, too, allowing the reader greater cultural and linguistic context that can’t really be addressed in the main text. The result is very impressive, more so for the fact that it’s a translated work, which I find often lose a little something in the translation.
本书内容之丰富，让人很快意识到本书不是快餐读物，值得细细品味。本书带出了不少发人深省的科学哲学概念，却又无需读者经年累月的专业知识就能理解。刘Cixin明白不是每个读者都熟悉所有概念，而让书中人物恰如其分地解释各自的作用和理念。刘Ken的译注也很有帮助，能让读者掌握正文不能阐述的文化和语言内容。结局令人印象深刻，尤其在于本书是译作，而通常我认为译作总会少了点什么。
To say that Liu’s style of writing is first-rate almost does it a disservice. It’s damn near poetic, insightful and reflective, and the commentary on science and politics is enough to ignite the spark of discovery and learning in even the most jaded of readers. The way he writes, and the beautiful translation by yet another Liu, makes you feel that answers and understanding are within reach, even to questions that haven’t been asked yet. He approaches things as though the reader may be ignorant but not incapable of learning, presents a mystery with enough twists and turns to keep you entertained as well as making you work for the answers you get, and does wonders with grey morality. The Three-Body Problem isn’t a book to be read, but a book to be experienced.
说刘Cixin的写作风格是一流的，简直就是在帮倒忙。它真特么就是诗意的，富有洞察力的，让人深思的。对科学和政见的评述，让即使最倦怠的读者都能燃起探究和学习的火种。他的写作手法，加上另一个刘的优美翻译，甚至是尚未提出的问题都让人觉得答案触手可及。他探讨的事物或被读者忽视但并非无法学习；他展现的谜团足够曲折，让人一边享受一边追寻答案；他以灰色道德观【非黑即白的二元道德观的反义词】创造奇迹。《三体》不是拿来读的，而是拿来体会的。
his is a book that can appeal not only to fans of hard sci-fi but also to those who prefer more social sci-fi, such as myself. It walks the fine line between the two, pulling bits from either side and combining them into a brilliant story that gives your mind a workout without leaving you feeling like half of the story just went over your head. After reading The Three-Body Problem, it’s no surprise to hear that the book has won multiple awards and that the author is a well-known sci-fi author in China, and indeed should be better-known here too! It’s one that sci-fi fans can’t afford to miss!
这本书不仅迎合硬科幻粉丝也能迎合偏好软科幻的群体，比如我。本书在两者之间游刃有余，将两者各取一部分组成这部旷世奇作，让你的思维得到锻炼，而不会有脑海里过了半本书的感觉。读了《三体》之后，毫不奇怪本书能荣获多项荣誉且作者成为中国知名的科幻作家，也应该在这里变得更出名。科幻粉不容错过！
Liu Cixin, one of China’s most popular science fiction authors, is making his US debut thanks to Tor Books‘ publication of The Three-Body Problem. Originally published in China in 2007, Liu’s novel is the first in a trilogy (the next installment, The Dark Forest, will release in July 2015) and the first Chinese science fiction novel to be translated into English, thanks to the efforts of Ken Liu.
感谢TOR出版社出版《三体》，让中国最畅销的科幻作家之一的刘Cixin开始了他的北美首秀。刘的该作于2007年在中国初版，是三部曲的第一部（下一部《黑暗森林》将于2015年面世），也是首部翻译成英语的中国科幻小说。
The Three-Body Problem is a work that unfolds across time, beginning in the late 1960s at the height of China’s Cultural Revolution. After witnessing the murder of her father by revolutionaries, Ye Wenjie finds herself politically tainted, yet useful to the new hierarchy of command. As an astrophysicist, she possesses skills that make her suitable for work at the Red Coast Base, a secret installation that she’ll never be able to leave and that has spawned much speculation and rumor.
《三体》这部作品跨越时空交替展开，故事始于60年代末中国文/革高潮时期。在目睹了父亲被文革小将所害后，叶Wenjie明白了自身的政治污点，但仍能为一个新的指挥体系所用。作为一名天体物理学家，她掌握的技能正适合红岸基地，一处她无法活着离开且诞生了许多可疑传闻的秘密军事设施。
In the present (or, at least, very near-future), Wang Miao, a nanotechnologist, is enlisted to infiltrate a cadre of cutting-edge scientists and learn their secrets. What he finds, instead, is an ominous layer of secrecy that has left several other scientists, including Wenjie’s daughter, dead. Along the way, he stumbles upon Three Body, a virtual reality simulator depicting the end and rebirth of civilization on a world surrounded by three suns. The conflicting gravity fields and the ebb and flows of the planet’s orbit inevitably leads to disaster, and the game’s participants are challenged to find and exploit a pattern in the chaotic three-body problem.
在当下（或至少是近未来），纳米技术学家汪Miao被军方征入以渗透进一群顶尖科学家核心群中并探究其秘密。他发现一个不详的秘密已导致包括叶Wenjie的女儿在内数名科学家的死亡。他顺藤摸瓜而偶然发现了“三体”，一个虚拟现实模拟游戏，描绘了一个被三个太阳围绕的世界里的文明的终结与重生。冲突的恒星引力场造成该行星无序的运行轨迹，不可避免地导致灭顶之灾，而游戏参与者的挑战在于找到一个混乱的三体问题的解决模式。
Liu presents a science fiction story that is grounded in modernity and physics, fully utilizing the aspects of “science” alongside his fiction. The narrative thrust is largely cerebral, as well as political, and constantly engaging. He has a skillful hand in layering the many mysteries at the book’s core, and pulls all the various threads together for form a complete whole by book’s finish.
刘出品的这部扎根于现代和物理学的科幻故事，完完全全用到了科学的各方面。叙事推进上既理性又有政治性，不间断地抓住读者。他很有技巧地将许多神秘事件分布在书中的关键点，然后在结尾处将所有线索汇总而勾画出总体轮廓。
While the book’s description bills this novel as an alien invasion story, it’s really not until late in the game that the plot dovetails toward that revelation. It’s clear that this ingredient will play a larger role in the other two installments, but for now it’s a simmering plot point that helps to really blow up the novel in the third act. I’ve seen some marketing that claims this book has the “commercial action of Independence Day,” but that’s really not the case. The
Three-Body Problem is a far more subtle and nuanced work that favors a slow-boil approach, rather than attempting to be a run-and-gun actioneer. As for the aliens themselves, what we learn of them is pretty magnificent and I can’t help but think that their evolutionary tract must have been pretty damn innovative. Their scientific savvy is mind-blowing, although Liu is able to relate the real-world high-level physics supporting his plot in easily digestible chunks.
尽管本书的简介将本书宣传为一本外星入侵的小说，但直到三体游戏的末尾才将故事情节楔入该预示。很明显，该元素将在之后的两部里占重要位置，但就目前来看只是尚在酝酿中的情节点，只在第三章有了爆发。我见过本书是“《独立日》般的商业动作片”的一些市场宣传，但真的不靠谱。《三体》远为细致微妙，需小火慢炖，而非一部跑轰的动作片。而就外星人方面，我们能了解到的已相当震撼，我不禁认为他们的进化轨迹是相当革新的。他们的科学见解是令人震撼的，而且刘Cixin能将故事情节里的现实世界中高级物理知识变得通俗易懂。
In fact, I found the strongest elements of this novel to be on its scientific and (mostly) Earth-based foci. As an American reader with an interest in both science and history, I was truly fascinated by the political machinations that dogged these characters, particularly Wenjie, and which shaped their approaches to science and their world. This intersection of politics and science is a topic Americas would do well to pay keen attention to, particularly in light of science-denying politicians, like Lamar Smith and James Inhofe, garnering positions of power. The focus on China’s Cultural Revolution and
how that would shape a first-contact scenario was a very refreshing break from the presentation of similar material shaped by largely democratic, English-speaking countries. While I felt a bit of tonal similarity to British sci-fi author, Alastair Reynolds, the cultural forces informing their works are nicely dissonant.
事实上，我觉得本书的最强元素在于着眼于科学和地球。作为一个对科学和历史都感兴趣的美国读者，本人着实喜爱困扰书中人物尤其是叶Wenjie的政治阴谋，重塑了书中人物的科学观世界观。这种政治与科学的交融是美国人应该重点关注的，尤其是否定科学而又追权逐力的政客们如Lamar Smith和James Inhofe。对中国文/革的关注以及其如何促成了第一类接触【与外星人直接接触】的设定，是让人耳目一新的小憩，有别于英语母语民主大国塑造的类似情况的设定。同时我也觉得与英国科幻作家Alastair Reynolds有调性相似，他们两人作品中的文化阻力产生了一种美妙的不和谐感。
The only real problems I had with the story were a rather bland set of characters, but the thriller-like momentum of the plot itself kept the story moving briskly despite not having a solid protagonist to really latch on to or worry about. Wang is bit too stiff and lacks any really strong elements of characterization. As I said earlier, this is largely a cerebral effort, but it lacks a lot of heart. There were also several instances where the dialog felt a bit stiff and stilted, with characters frequently going into long-winded monologues, but perhaps something was simply lost in translation. In the end, though, these are minor gripes that are far outweighed by the sense of mental excitement and enjoyable brain-games the novel carries.
我认为仅有的问题是一堆寡淡的人物角色，尽管没有真正意义上的值得关注和操心的主人公，但情节自身的惊悚片般的劲头推动了故事快步发展。汪本身太僵硬缺乏人物塑造性。如我前文所述，本书非常理性，但太缺少感性。有许多情况产生的对白显得生硬不自然，人物经常陷入絮叨的独白，但可能部分是译文的原因。最后，尽管有些许抱怨，但瑕不掩瑜。
Overall, I found The Three Body-Problem to be a solid work and a wonderful introduction to a terrific writer. I was truly delighted with the way Liu developed his plot and the follow-through he exhibited in unraveling the scientific quandaries of this first-contact scenario. As the first in a trilogy, it promises enough scope and an epic scale, along with a spectacular thoughtfulness, to keep me eagerly awaiting the remaining two titles. I really need to know how the rest of this series plays out!
总之，我认为《三体》是一部扎实的作品，是了解一位优秀作者的美好引荐。我对刘Cixin的情节展开的手法和他展现出的在揭示第一类接触时的科学窘困的坚持不懈而感到由衷欣慰。作为三部曲的第一部，本书预示了史诗般的规模，以及叹为观止的深思熟虑，能让我渴望期待余下两部。我太想知道该系列剩余部分的走向了！
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|Archiver|手机版|小黑屋|Chobits-Angelic Heart-天使降临
发表于 2014-11-13 15:09:27
发表于 2014-11-15 06:54:22