Right, like the main character, who is a scientist, is just playing a videogame most of the time. And he literally sees a countdown timer that no one else sees but the urgency to save himself just doesn’t exist for some reason.

Yeah I read The Redemption of Time. It’s a little cringey at times and reads like fanfiction you might see on AO3 but I still think it was a fun read. I would certainly not consider it to be canon though.

Honestly I agree with a lot of your criticisms. The first book is mostly just setting up the story for the next two. I always forget the first book is mostly a murder mystery because the other two books lean in such a different direction.

The main character doesn’t really do anything for the story. It feels like the plot happens around the main character and nothing would’ve changed without them. Fortunately every book has a new main character and the one from the first book is never mentioned again. Personally I think the characters are much better written as the series goes on.

I am big fan of the series so I’m pretty biased when I recommend to try the second book, but if you have to force yourself to read a book then it’s probably just not for you.

Just finished up Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and am starting up The Stranger by Albert Camus.

Three Body Problem is so good. I would highly recommend reading the 2 sequels when you finish. It only gets better after the first book!