The Three-Body Problem

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"With the scope of Dune and the commercial action of Independence Day, this near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple-award-winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Gateway submitted by Fevvers - STAR473 on June 30, 2015, 3:24am After reading The Three-Body Problem, I will be looking for translations of more of Liu Cixin's work, including the follow-up books to this one. There was a lot covered in this novel - the Chinese Cultural Revolution, virtual reality, physics and metaphysics, not to mention the outright science fictional aspects - but it held together. It turned out to be a much quicker read than I expected at first.

It was a little bit confusing and overkill having footnotes from both the author and the translator in this edition, but they were occasionally smoothly helpful.

Deep submitted by Jacob Kauppi on July 12, 2016, 12:02pm The thing that struck me about this book was that along with a really good science fiction story it provided a different perspective on China and Chinese culture. The look at some of the events that happened in China during the cultural revolution from the Chinese perspective is really quite different from the one that I was taught. To talk about the actual fiction aspect of the story for a moment its good. The premise is interesting and it presents fun challenges. The translation was well done and did not interfere with the story at all.

Intense submitted by laurenverity on July 6, 2018, 7:43am This book kept me awake a few nights--talk about existential angst and dystopia! The descriptions of the Cultural Revolution were really interesting and I liked the translation a lot. Many of the books I've read translated from Chinese read stiffly (just because it's hard to translate some sentiments into English), but this one was smooth and the footnotes helped a lot. Highly recommend, but beware, it gets a bit depressing at points.

Intriguing novel, some narrative bloat submitted by FordAlpha on July 14, 2018, 9:12pm The translator did well with this novel; the English text reads smoothly, yet retains a flavor of its Chinese origin. The translator's footnotes are helpful with historical and cultural references and are unobtrusive. The settings are vivid and (most of) the characters are dynamic and complex. I learned much about modern Chinese history (the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath). The science-fiction premise is intriguing. My major criticism is that the taut, suspenseful narrative of the first two-thirds of the novel--which parses out information on a strictly need-to-know basis--gives way by the final quarter to a bloated information dump, with excess exposition that reads at times like the author's backstory notes-to-self rather than a structured, edited, polished composition. Also, the tightly considered physical-science aspects devolve into some fantastical speculation that doesn't best serve the story. Still, I'm eager to read the sequel.

Expansive Throwback Science Fiction submitted by Meginator on July 11, 2019, 8:51pm If you’re coming to this novel without knowing much about it, by all means try to avoid the book jacket, as it contains a huge spoiler that, while it doesn’t ruin the narrative by any means, does cut into some of the book’s initial suspense. What surprised me most about this novel is how expansive it is, as it draws on various scientific disciplines, philosophy, and Chinese history to put a unique spin on a familiar sci-fi trope. Liu Cixin does tend to prioritize the relevant scientific principles over characterization, making the book feel like a bit of a throwback, but the main players have just enough distinguishing characteristics to keep readers engaged; and, anyway, this was always intended to be a novel of big ideas rather than deep characterization. Despite several flaws, including a wonderfully archaic Villain Monologue, I had difficulty putting the book down, and ultimately I think it successfully creates that sense of wonder so intrinsic to large-scale science fiction such as this. Of course, as someone who is not Chinese and who cannot experience the book in its original language, I’ll never know what I’m missing, but Ken Liu’s translation does flow smoothly and is easily approachable for Western audiences (even if he does go slightly overboard on some of the footnotes). Throwback though it is, the book has plenty of appeal for modern audiences and it’s a good ride.

Thought-provoking and fast-reading submitted by jakecarlin on August 31, 2019, 2:40pm This was one of the few books I've read over the past few years that I flew through in just a matter of days. It's a science-fiction book at its core, but it brings together elements from other successful literary styles.

There's tinges of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" where new twists every few chapters keeps you interested in reading more.

There's some "cyberspace" happenings that allude to some old-school writing by William Gibson. And there's plenty of conspiracy and government coverup plot happening as well.

All-in-all, an excellent first book to the Trilogy.

bad submitted by gogo on June 5, 2021, 9:15pm bad

Three-body problem submitted by maywang on June 26, 2021, 12:46pm Good book! Those who said otherwise don't know what they are saying. Recommend it very much!

This is the Ultimate Great READ submitted by kath on July 11, 2021, 10:05pm I had to look up so many details about the China, Chinese history, and physics! but so worth it. this book is so, so good. I am waiting for book two! Great story and great character development. Hard science and fiction to challenge the mind.

ss submitted by GioMuzique on July 25, 2021, 1:31pm a little bit confusing

Interesting submitted by kathscot on August 5, 2021, 4:06pm Interesting extension of a mathematical problem to an interstellar level with interesting insights into Communist Chinese history and thought. Looking forward to reading the second book.

An all-time favorite submitted by mlmchale on August 11, 2021, 3:12pm I adored this think-y hard sci-fi novel and it served as a brilliant introduction to a now favorite author. Highly recommended if you love science fiction.

Great sci-fi submitted by lqwang on August 25, 2021, 9:39am This is a fun sci-fi novel, and the series gets better and better!

Disappointing submitted by rdb78 on August 26, 2021, 10:48pm This didn’t live up to all the positive reviews I’ve seen.

The initial depictions of the cultural revolution were interesting, but from there it devolved into a tedious tale I couldn’t really get into. The characters, other than the smoking detective, were fairly one-dimensional and rather morose. Definitely no smiles among this gang! Even the shocking plot developments didn’t seem that shocking, because the characters didn’t seem particularly realistic.

I would say the book was strongest away from the science-fiction elements, which bordered on silliness. I wouldn’t describe it as hard sci-fi, which usually tries to ground a story in more realistic technical firmament.

The only conclusion I can draw is that the hype for this book was targeted at the airport bookstore audience.

Imaginative and Dense submitted by jacks404 on June 11, 2022, 1:40pm This book is really interesting and the ideas in it are exceptional but there are quite a few portions that focus on physics and math. It was fairly easy to speed read through the denser parts to get to the good stuff. I went on the read the full trilogy and was not disappointed.

Hugo Award winner submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 11, 2022, 10:41pm No wonder this was a Hugo Award winner! What an outstanding story, a mystery slowly unfolding with deliberate pacing and outstanding science. I loved the non-Western framework, as well as the existential question of “how would people change with the mere confirmation of alien life?” This is three outstanding books in a row, all completely different from each other. How lucky am I?

Scifi done well submitted by bookasaurusray on July 27, 2022, 10:13am I think this, and the rest of the series, are some of the best scifi I've EVER read. The books are well structured, and even though its hard scifi, it's still really easy to understand. I highly recommend.

Great Book submitted by berger_d on June 10, 2023, 7:21am I really enjoyed this book. It served up a combination of interesting SciFi and unfolding mystery and really kept me riveted.

4.5/5 submitted by Noight on July 6, 2023, 9:42pm This book was amazing!!!! I loved the plot twists and the explanatory writing style for the scientific parts, which made them even more intriguing. This is definitely now one of my favorite books, but I just felt like it was lacking a bit in character depth

Slow burn at first but it all comes together! Wow! submitted by bahr on July 20, 2023, 7:36am At first the book seems to have many separate threads but they all come together to a brilliant end. You will rush to read the next in the series after finishing this one.

wow, a ton of reviews already. Good book, just started it. submitted by Tassos on October 28, 2023, 7:08pm The book was recommended by a friend and colleague at UM, a member of the US Academy of Engineering no less, and so far it has not disappointed me. It is SO MUCH BETTER than the ABSOLUTE CRAP that passes for scifi in both books and movies. I hope it continues to not disappoint.

The account of the horrors of the cultural revolution in CHina in the 60s, 2with illiterate kids (red guards) parroting attacks on... SCIENCE, and actually killing distinguished academicians, is particularly horrific, and reminiscent of the Inquisition and the burning of heretics, scientists and alleged witches in the Middle Ages

Unfortunately I stopped reading the book at around one-quarter of its pages and then somebody else requested it, so I will have to return it tomorrow and borrow it again later.