What’s something that you feel like you should like, but for some reason can’t get into, no matter how many chances you give it?
For me, it’s The Three Body Problem. It should be right up my alley from everything I’ve heard about it (especially the second book, which looks at the Fermi Paradox and the Great Filter!), but for the life of me, I can’t get past the first chapter at all. I even tried reading it in another language to see if it was the translation that kept me from getting into it, and nope.
Seconding Red Rising. I managed to finish the first book, but throughout nearly the entire book it felt like a fantasy rather than a science fiction. They are in a science fiction setting, but then intentionally remove all technology or futuristic elements for almost the entire story. From what I am told the rest of the books continue this similar theme somehow despite no longer being in the extremely specific situation of book 1.