I bought and read the books because I watched season one on Netflix, and simply couldn’t tolerate not knowing what that joke meant, and why the Trisolarans wanted to kill the one Wallfacer so badly. I mowed through the books in about a week, and enjoyed all three books.

There are profound events, and the scope of the story becomes absolutely grand over the next two books, with some scenes and events that are now seared into memory.

But I was one hundred percent enthused and sold on the books before they arrived, based on the ideas that captivated me in the Netflix show.

The escalation and stakes go up considerably, but if you weren’t feeling the first book, I’m not sure if you’d enjoy the other two.