My Attic Connects To Other Worlds

Chapter 121: 120 Surprised! The President Becomes a Fan!

But in the end, the sales that come from being famous for being ugly are not sustainable after all.

Among the major bookstores in the United States, Wang Huan's "Three-Body Problem" led in sales in the first hour, and then gradually fell behind.

After noon, it fell behind in an all-round way.

After all, a book costs $35, which is a lot of money. Many Americans are not rich enough to be so wasteful.

Normal readers are still willing to pay for a book they like.

Therefore, Orson's "Shadow of Ender" quickly took the lead in sales, and then it was far ahead.

Charlie is undoubtedly the most concerned about sales, even more than Wang Huan.

Because this book is his biggest masterpiece since he became a branch manager. The first printing of hundreds of thousands of copies, plus the advance payment to Wang Huan, plus the money spent on hype before, is definitely not a small sum. .

Success, this is a brilliant stroke in his career.

If he lost, he would be in huge trouble.

Today the book has just been released, and his mood is like a roller coaster.

The feedback he got at the beginning was very, very good, and the sales even surpassed "Ender's Shadow", which made him not overjoyed at all.

But soon the bad news came.

The sales of "Three-Body Problem" lagged behind a little bit.

By noon, sales began to lag behind in an all-round way.

Every bookstore sent feedback.

"The sales were very strong at the beginning, but they fell very quickly. After only a few hours, they became very weak."

"In the few hours in the afternoon, the sales volume of "Three-Body Problem" was less than one-fifth of that of "Ender's Shadow."

"The sales trend is very bad, and it is getting worse. If this continues, "Three-Body Problem" will be withdrawn from the most prominent position in the bookstore."

"Mr. Charlie, I think your reverse hype has a great negative effect. Although it has gained a great reputation for this book, everyone knows it, and it makes many people very curious. One hundred thousand words a day How rotten is the book, so those who are the most curious bought this book at the first time. But this bad reputation also keeps most normal readers out of the door, and many of them I also want to buy a copy to see what the content is like. But because of its super bad reputation, countless normal readers are discouraged."

Because it concerns his own interests, Charlie is extremely concerned about gains and losses.

The whole person is like an ant on a hot pan.

Freeman, on the other hand, became much calmer, and comforted: "Charlie, I don't know what you are worried about. The quality of this book is so high that I don't worry about the market at all."

Charlie said: "I think what the owners of these bookstores said is very reasonable. Although the previous reverse hype made this book a huge reputation and everyone knows it, it also turned away countless normal readers. outside."

Freeman said: "That's because the time is too short, many people haven't finished reading it, and the reputation has not spread. Once the reputation spreads, it will definitely cause another wave of sales."

Charlie felt there was some truth to it.

However, he felt that there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand readers. He and Freeman like it, but it doesn't mean other critics will like it too.

So he hurriedly called several prominent critics.

In the United States, there is a very high-status profession, that is, the critic.

Critics of all kinds.

Food critics, movie critics, game critics, book critics, art critics, etc.

They hold a powerful voice and can even influence the market in many cases.

Therefore, the United States also has the most professional comment system in the world.

For example, Rotten Tomatoes of movies, IMDB, etc. are all very authoritative.

As for the IGN score in terms of games, it is also one of the most authoritative. (The Last of Us 2 sent a congratulatory message, just bad money haha)

"Charles, good evening, isn't the restaurant I recommended to you not bad? By the way, let me ask by the way, have you read the "Three-Body Problem" I gave you for appreciation? What do you think?"

The critic said: "Thank you for the treat, but I haven't watched it yet, because I want to watch "Ender's Shadow" and "A Clockwork Girl" first, and the "Three-Body Problem" you sent will probably come later Yes, because I need courage."

"Hi Donny, have you read the "Three-Body Problem" I gave you for appreciation? What do you think?"

"I haven't watched it yet. When I went to the bathroom today, I wanted to take a look at it, but I didn't expect to have diarrhea, so I lost interest, and it's still in my bathroom now."

Charlie called several reviewers in succession, all with consistent results.

I haven't watched it yet, I have to watch "Ender's Shadow" and "A Clockwork Girl" first.

Next, Charlie kept refreshing the American Reading Social Networking website, wanting to see the comments above.

an hour after release.

There are comments on Wang Huan's "Three-Body Problem".

Rubbish, rubbish! This Chinese novel is rubbish, and reading it is a complete waste of time.

Immediately following the second comment.

I really can't imagine that a book can be so bad.

The third comment: This is a novel written with 100,000 words a day, which is simply tarnishing literature.

Next, the negative reviews kept coming.

Dozens, hundreds.

All of them are bad reviews, and they are very extreme bad reviews.

The ratings are all the worst one star.

Charlie knows that there are many extremists in the United States. These people have not actually read the book, but because they hate Wang Huan, they can't wait to write negative reviews.

Not a single valid comment so far.

But this situation is really unfavorable. This website is still very authoritative. Many readers will read the ratings here before buying books. If the ratings are very low, they will usually give up buying.

Especially those authoritative critics that Charlie cared about the most, none of them came out with a single comment.

After about six hours.

The first truly authoritative review came out, a well-known critic in Los Angeles, but it was not The Three-Body Problem but Ender's Shadow.

This book is still wonderful, and it is written about the stories of Ender's comrades in arms. He met the expectations of readers and greatly exceeded them.

Rating is 4 and a half stars.

Then the second authoritative comment came out.

With a deep understanding of the human condition, Card expresses his insights in a way that is astonishing.

Then, a third authoritative review appeared.

"Ender's Shadow" is destined to be sought after by card fans, because the big battle in "Ender's Game" ends too suddenly, and readers cannot clearly see the outline of the space war about the survival and extinction of a race , and "Ender's Shadow" has made up for this shortcoming.

All in all, a series of reviews on "Ender's Shadow" are very positive and excellent.

Most of the current ratings are between four and five stars.

The score is around 8.8 points.

………………………………………

No matter how anxious Charlie was, it was useless.

Because the critics must come in order, first watch "Ender's Shadow", then rest your mind and watch "A Clockwork Girl", and finally watch "The Three-Body Problem".

Just like those food critics and coffee critics, they have to rinse their mouths with water after tasting.

Charlie had also seen Ender's Shadow.

To be honest, he thinks it's very good, but... it's just very good.

It's not very good, let alone stunning.

It's just a sequel.

There is no breakthrough in the story, nor in the conception.

Not to mention how surprising it was.

But Orson Scott Card is too famous, he is almost a godfather figure in the science fiction world, and he has been famous for decades, so critics have to give him face.

Paul's "Wind-Up Girls" review also came up next.

A work full of infinite surprises, full of mystery and sense of fate.

Some people commented that it is full of cyberpunk feeling and full of unparalleled imagination. Believe me, this is the best work of this year, almost none of them.

Third comment: Maybe I'm presumptuous to say this, but I think "Wind-Up Girl" surpasses "Ender's Shadow". The story in it is so amazing, and the world in it is so fascinating.

Paul should be cheering victory.

Charlie can clearly see that these authoritative critics' comments on "The Clockwork Girl" are much more sincere, without so much politeness, and the feeling full of surprises completely overflows the paper.

Even Charlie thought so.

"A Clockwork Girl" was very, very good, and he definitely felt that it was far superior to "Ender's Shadow."

Another true masterpiece has arrived.

If it was an ordinary time, Charlie could not wait to express his reading experience on the reading social networking site, and commented on "A Clockwork Girl" with the utmost praise, because as a spectator, he can be completely objective.

But not now.

He's a stakeholder, and even seeing "Wind-Up Girls" get huge critical acclaim just makes him feel anxious.

In this way, he kept scrolling through the reading social network until the evening.

He hadn't slept well for two nights in a row.

"Charlie, have you forgotten something?" His wife's voice came from the room.

What did you forget?

oh? It seems that the wife is ovulating recently?

Are you going to do your duty again?

However, as a successful person, it is inevitable for him to taste different seafood.

It is inevitable that there is some powerlessness.

"Honey, you go to bed first, I'll come over when I'm done working for a while." Charlie said.

But in the next minute, he was grabbed by his wife and pressed on the bed.

Next, the wife scolded angrily.

"Please give me an explanation, why do you have a wound there?"

Charlie trembled, "It was a mosquito bite."

"Do you think I'll believe it? You scum." His wife slapped her across the face.

All in all, Charlie was in a terrible mood.

……………………………

Charles, a famous American critic, just finished reading "Ender's Shadow", and then spent a few hours writing a review of several hundred words.

This should be considered a task, these comments will be published on Times Book Review, and then published on the reading social network.

To be honest, Charles is a little disappointed in "Ender's Shadow".

No surprises, did not meet expectations.

Sure, it's still a fantastic book, but... not enough.

With the name Orson Card, people's expectations are too high.

Therefore, it is not enough to be simply wonderful, and it cannot surprise people.

But even so, they still have to give praise in the comments, because it is wonderful after all, and the other party's status in the world is very high.

But these hundreds of words of comments are a bit insincere, and they belong to forced praise.

Writing a review like this is exhausting.

He is not young, so at ten o'clock in the evening, he will go to bed.

Usually before going to bed, he would find a book to read at random, and fell asleep after reading it.

At this time, he found "Three-Body Problem" next to the bed.

To be honest, he didn't want to watch it.

He was over seventy years old, long past the age of curiosity.

Knowing that a book is bad, he won't touch it.

But this is also a task. This is a book sent by Random House, and the basic review task still needs to be completed.

It happened to be a bad book, and I fell asleep after reading it.

"Okay, okay, let me see now, how bad the content written in a day with 100,000 words will be."

The famous critic Charles began to open this "Three-Body Problem".

After reading the first chapter, he was slightly taken aback.

Although this first chapter does not have any sci-fi content at all, it is about the unfortunate experience of the heroine in a special period.

But it's not bad at all.

Although it is an English version, it is very smooth to read without hindrance.

It's not as bad as imagined, and it's not a messy combination of countless words.

Next, look at the second chapter and the third chapter.

rely on, rely on, rely on...

Terrible, Charles, who is in his seventies, looks more and more energetic.

From entering the Red Bank base, until the earth civilization is blocked, and then to the world of the three suns.

Totally mesmerizing.

So... so... so pretty.

In the beginning, Charles also maintained his identity as a critic, reading and criticizing.

But later.

He had completely forgotten that he was a critic.

Forget it, be a reader first, and a critic second.

Just like that, he leaned his back against the head of the bed and read page by page.

It will be twelve o'clock soon.

Read another page and go to sleep.

Read three more pages and go to sleep.

Go to sleep after reading this chapter.

Go to bed at three o'clock.

In this way, the critic in his seventies read chapter after chapter.

at last……

Read it all in one go.

To be precise, I finished the first one.

After reading.

He suddenly lost.

anything else? anything else?

This book is obviously not over yet.

The Trisolaran civilization has completely blocked the earth's technological civilization, and the Trisolaran fleet has already set off to destroy the earth.

The end of the earth is coming.

At this critical moment, you actually ended it?

What about the rest?

Charles looked at the time, and it turned out to be seven o'clock the next morning.

Oh my God?

I, an old man in his seventies, actually read all night.

Then he realized that his waist was sore and his back ached, but he couldn't wait to take out his mobile phone and dialed Charlie directly, and he asked for the following manuscript.

But no one answered Charlie's phone, and he was still fast asleep.

Despite staying up all night, Charles wasn't sleepy at all, and the urge to comment was racing through his head.

So, he simply didn't sleep, went directly to the desk, and began to write reviews for "The Three-Body Problem".

This time is different from commenting on "Ender's Shadow", he is really full of the urge to tell, there are too many things to say in his mind, so he has to think carefully about how to say it.

How to write this comment, because this book surprised him too much and gave him a huge impact.

……………………………

Charlie was greeted by a piercing ringing of the phone.

"I'm very sorry Charlie, our bookstore group couldn't put "The Three-Body Problem" in the most prominent position, and we're going to take it down, because its sales are indeed very, very pessimistic."

This is the first bad news.

Then, more and more bad news followed.

More and more bookstores have removed it from the most prominent position.

Because the sales volume is really bad, falling behind "Ender's Shadow" and "A Clockwork Girl" more and more.

And he found out that his wife had run away from home.

Hell, not a single thing is going right.

He didn't brush his teeth or wash his face either, he made himself a big pot of coffee and came to the computer desktop.

Opened the reading social network again.

The score of "Three-Body Problem" is still very low, only 3.1 points.

"Ender's Shadow" is 8.3 points.

"A Clockwork Girl" is 8.8 points, an amazing score.

At least for now, "Three-Body Problem" is far behind in terms of ratings and sales.

And there seems to be no hope of catching up.

This result is really disappointing.

Could it be that he really lost his eyes? Or is your taste different from the public?

But "The Three-Body Problem" is really an amazing work.

Charlie clicked on the comments in the reading social network, and then he found that the comments here were extremely polarized.

It's either five stars or one star, and the other 2, 3, and 4 star ratings are almost completely absent.

Soon, he saw an authoritative comment.

Here is the comment of the famous critic Charles:

The most complicated alien invasion story I've ever read. It's learned, it's playful, and it makes you wrestle with the whole big problem.

It's also the best sci-fi I've read so far.

I have read so many books that I have almost lost the ability to distinguish good from bad.

Once any hobby becomes a job, it is extremely painful. I'm like a food critic who has lost his sense of taste and can only make up my own feelings.

But last night, like a teenager, I stayed up all night and finished reading "The Three-Body Problem".

I just read less than 10,000 words, like finding a diamond in a pair of glasses.

This one-of-a-kind, incomparably brilliant diamond.

Even if this diamond is red, it is not the same as the diamond we normally see.

But...his red color makes him look even more eye-catching and precious.

This is the best sci-fi book I've read this year, bar none.

This is also the best novel I have read this year, bar none.

……………………………

The book review of the famous critic Charles is like a clarion call.

Next, a steady stream of favorable comments about "The Three-Body Problem" appeared.

"The reason why I bought it is really to know how bad it is. But I really didn't expect it to be so wonderful, completely beyond my imagination, I think any sci-fi fan should not miss it , or you will regret it."

"I've finished reading it, I read it all night, but I still can't sleep, my mind is full of all kinds of fantasies, and I even went crazy and bought an astronomical telescope on Amazon. I bought this book It cost me $35, but the telescope cost me $1,500, and I thought I was crazy."

"I haven't watched Ender's Shadow yet, and I haven't watched The Clockwork Girls, but I don't plan to watch them for a long time. My mind is already occupied by The Three-Body Problem, and I'm going to Watch it a second time, a third time."

"Random House, I remember you guys. You shamelessly lied to me. This is obviously the best work of this year, maybe the best science fiction work in the past few years, yet you tell me it's a piece of rubbish."

"Those who gave one star, have you really read this book? If not, please take back your ridiculous thoughts, your behavior has shamed your character."

"Against one star, everyone who has watched "Three-Body Problem" will give it five stars, because it is really excellent, full of unparalleled imagination, and has an incomparably profound description of human nature."

As a result, more and more five-star reviews appeared on the reading social network.

Then, more and more authoritative critics also finished reading the "Three-Body Problem".

This world is so strange.

Before watching "Ender's Shadow", they were full of very high expectations, but after watching it, they felt nothing more than that.

Before watching "The Three-Body Problem", they were already mentally prepared to try shit, and the result was an infinite surprise.

This contrast has further inspired the praise of "Three-Body Problem".

Next, on the reading social network, in the reading sections of various newspapers.

A growing number of articles by many authoritative reviewers.

Almost all positive reviews.

All praises.

And just three days after the book's release.

There is a super celebrity who publicly said on a TV show: "The Three-Body Problem is the most imaginative science fiction novel I have read recently. It has inspired me and I can't wait to shoot one. It’s a sci-fi movie, the novel is so amazing, I really want to make it.”

This person is Hollywood's box office king, super director James.

But this is just the beginning.

Next, America's super-rich, technology tycoon also wrote on his blog: He freed me from the economic, social, and scientific books I have read recently, which made me feel relaxed and happy. To those book club members I've been with, I'm sorry to bother you with sharing this book this weekend.

Afterwards, the famous screenwriter who had won several Grammys wrote in the newspaper: This is a very unusual book, a unique stew containing scientific and philosophical conjectures, politics and history, conspiracy theories and cosmology . Kings and emperors from Chinese and Western histories come together in a dreamlike game, while cops and physicists deal with global conspiracies, murders and alien invasions in the real world.

Hideo Kojima, the godfather of Japanese games, wrote on his blog: I read "The Three-Body Problem" in one sitting. People think of "God Hunting", "The End of Childhood" and "The End of the Endless River".

The final climax is the visit of the French president to the United States.

A reporter filmed that when he was staying in the hotel, he was holding a book in his hand, which could be seen from the spine of the book.

This book is "The Three-Body Problem". Has even the President of France become a reader of this book?

Thus, the whirlwind of "Three-Body Problem" officially swept through.

This whirlwind is much more violent than the other world.

In another world, this book was published in foreign countries almost in obscurity. After winning the Hugo Award, it became really popular. The final sales volume was more than 20 million copies, but the overseas sales volume was only 1.5 million copies.

However, in this world, because of the crazy hype before the release, plus Wang Huan's personal influence, plus the reputation of challenging the United States, the battle of the century in the literary world.

So the repercussions were much, much stronger.

And it broke out completely in a very short period of time.

It became an instant phenomenon.

Not only did it have a huge effect in the cultural world, but it also went out of the circle directly.

On Amazon.com, the reviews are getting higher and higher.

The ratings here are absolutely real, because you can only evaluate this book after you have bought it.

The score is an astonishing 4.9 points.

At this time, although Amazon has turned to a comprehensive e-commerce business, selling books is still the main business.

The score of "Three-Body Problem" ranks among the top among all books.

On Amazon, The Three-Body Problem outscored Ender's Shadow and A Clockwork Girl.

On the reading social network, the ratings of "Three-Body" were very low at the beginning, all of which were one star.

But the following scores were completely overwhelming.

Countless five-star ratings immediately crushed one star.

It first surpassed "Ender's Shadow" and rushed to 8.5 points.

At this time, "A Clockwork Girl" has fallen to 8.6 points.

Next, it only took less than a day.

The score of "Three-Body Problem" directly rose to 8.7 points on the reading social networking site.

And "Clockwork Girl" has fallen to 8.5 points.

So there is a very strange phenomenon, the ratings of "Ender's Shadow" and "A Clockwork Girl" are declining.

After "Three-Body Problem" has surpassed the two, it is still rising, and it will soon be the best.

……………………………

As I said before, the second battle of Wang Huan's conquest of the United States, this battle of literature, depends on the three rankings.

Reading social network rankings, New York Times book sales rankings, New York Book Review rankings.

Now the results of the first list appeared, and the score of "Three-Body Problem" on the reading social network surpassed the other two books and won the victory.

The most authoritative of these three lists is the New York Times sales list.

This is the key to deciding the outcome.

But for this ranking, Charlie doesn't dare to have too much hope for the time being.

Because the fermentation of word of mouth will take time.

In the sales rankings in the first week, they should lose.

"Ender's Shadow" should be number one, and "A Clockwork Girl" should be number two.

And "Three-Body Problem" should be the third place.

Soon, the New York Times bestseller list came out.

The results were different from Charlie's predictions.

"Ender's Shadow" did take first place, but "The Three-Body Problem" came in at No. 2 and "A Clockwork Girl" came in at No. 3.

On this most authoritative ranking list, "Three-Body Problem" temporarily lost.

But Charlie is in no hurry, because the amazing word-of-mouth effect has just begun to explode.

………………………………………

Note: The first update will be delivered, I will lie down for a while, and the next update will be updated at 11 o'clock.

Dear benefactors, do you still have a monthly pass? The pastries are updated by 14,000 every day, and I really tried my best. Please everyone.