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Liu Cixin’s sci-fi masterpiece, the Three-Body Problem trilogy, gets a mind-boggling fanfic sequel
- The Redemption of Time, by Baoshu, transports Liu’s characters into a new universe
- The book can be interpreted in many ways, not least as a love letter to the novels that inspired it
Reading Time:5 minutes
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The Redemption of Time
by Baoshu
Head of Zeus
3.5/5 stars
There are many ways to classify Baoshu’s debut novel, The Redemption of Time: a sequel, a paraquel (to quote Baoshu himself), a pastiche, an homage. But whichever way you turn, you always meet its inspiration: Liu Cixin’s science-fiction masterpiece, The Three-Body Problem .
The background is told by Baoshu himself in what proves to be a necessary introduction. He was a cítie, meaning “magnets”, punning Chinese shorthand for “diehard fans of Liu Cixin”, and above all his classic Three-Body trilogy, also known as “Remembrance of Earth’s Past”.
James Kidd is a freelance writer based in Oxford, Britain. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Literary Review, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The National, Time Out and The Jerusalem Post among others. He hosts the This Writing Life podcast (thiswritinglife.co.uk), featuring interviews with writers such as Hanya Yanagihara, David Mitchell, Amit Chaudhuri and Meena Kandasamy, and co-hosts Lit Bits (litbits.co.uk), named by The Observer as one of its top three literary podcasts.
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