The Three-Body Problem

Reviews

1. 

   Josh Mauthe – July 23, 2024

   A first contact novel unlike any other
   It’s hard to know where to begin talking about The Three-Body Problem trilogy (officially known as the Remembrance of Earth’s Past series), a truly staggering piece of science-fiction written by Chinese author Cixin Liu and translated to English by Ken Liu and Joel Martinsen (Liu did books 1 and 3, while Martinsen did 2). A trilogy that spans literally thousands of years, deals with quantum physics, game theory, sociology, religion, space exploration, space colonization, and more, all driven by the nature of first contact with alien intelligence – there’s a lot going on in this series, and that’s before you start realizing just how much Cixin (reminder: Chinese names are traditionally written with the family name first and the given name second) truly takes on the advanced science of his ideas. And yet, when you finish it, you realize that you’ve read something truly incredible – a piece of hard science-fiction whose ambition, scope, richness, and ideas are impossible not to find yourself thinking about for days afterward.The series begins with The Three-Body Problem, which opens during the Chinese Revolution, depicting the conflict between science and politics in stark, honest terms -a theme that the series will grapple with often, in wildly different ways. We flash forward, though, to a near future, where scientists are killing themselves for unclear reasons. What this has to do with the characters from that Revolution-era prologue, a government program attempting to reach out to the galaxy in search of alien intelligence, and a complex computer simulation of a civilization subject to bewildering rules of nature, Cixin takes his time to explain. But what becomes clear quickly is that The Three-Body Problem is, in a way, a novel about first contact, and how humanity will react to a race whose purposes for coming here may not be entirely benevolent.If you’re thinking that all of this sounds like a basic setup for an alien invasion novel, rest assured, that is definitely not what you’re getting with The Three-Body Problem. Instead, Cixin explores the social implications of such an arrival, and deals head-on with the complex questions that it would cause. Would humanity band together in the face of this, or would our already existing divisions fracture even deeper? Would people be terrified of this advanced race, or would they be viewed as gods? And would people truly feel that humanity is worth saving, or would they welcome a race who could bring out peace, even through subjugation? These aren’t simple ideas, but Cixin makes them the meat of the book, along with advanced discussions about the alien planet, which is governed by three suns, leaving their homeworld incapable of safe habitation (the source of the novel’s title).More than that, Cixin takes no shortcuts in his story, embracing hard science-fiction as a way of dealing with his scenario. Communication across multiple light-years, limited telescopic technology, the disconnect between human and alien intelligences, relativity, black holes – all of this is relevant to the book, and while Cixin makes it accessible, be aware, this book doesn’t spoon feed you its physics. You’re going to have to come with some willingness to think about the advanced concepts on display and ponder them, from gravitational forces to quantum computing. It’s not pure technobabble, but it’s a challenging read at times, and assumes its readers have the willingness to take on its science. If you do, though, what you’ll get is a complex, fascinating book about first contact, one that’s not quite like anything else I’ve read in how it handles the questions that such a contact would bring about. And while it’s the first book in a trilogy, none of that keeps the book from standing on its own, leaving room for further exploration but existing as a single piece of work that’s already remarkable on its own.To explain this series is a difficult challenge, to put it mildly. This is a series that spans a huge amount of time, deals with advanced scientific concepts in complex terms, grapples with rich philosophical and political ideas, debates questions without easy answers, and gives you a scope that can be daunting. It’s a story of alien invasions, yes, but one in which the action sequences we’re so used to are replaced with existential dread, a rethinking of our own lives, and a fear of the unknown that’s hard to quantify. It’s also the story of people caught up in these times, trying to give themselves a good life while never forgetting the larger questions of their era, and juggling their own fears with fears for humanity. In other words, it’s what hard science-fiction is great at – thoughtful questions, big ideas, and speculation, all of which change the way you think about the world.This series is a truly incredible achievement, one that honestly left me a bit staggered and reeling as I attempt to think about it all, but one that I love all the more for what it accomplishes. If you’re a hard science-fiction fan, or simply someone who loves dealing with the complex ramifications of common ideas, this is a must read series. I’ve never read anything like it in my life, and I’m a richer person for the ideas it’s inspired me to think about.

2. 

   Joe Karpierz – July 23, 2024

   I’m told there is a lot of great science fiction being produced in non-English speaking countries
   I’m told there is a lot of great science fiction being produced in non-English speaking countries. Like most readers my age, I grew up on stuff that was written in the United States, and occasionally Great Britain, by white males. That’s just the way it was back in those days. I’m guessing that most readers in the U.S. today still default to reading English language novels written by English speaking writers. We are typically not exposed to fiction from other countries and cultures, and even if a book is translated into English, we need to be made aware of that book before we’ll pick it up and read it. I honestly can’t tell you how many translated science fiction and fantasy books are sitting on bookstore shelves waiting to be purchased and read. Short of looking at every last one of them – and I’m not going to do that – I don’t know how I would find out.But in 2014, a book from whom I understand is arguably China’s most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu, received the translation treatment by Ken Liu (no relation), and was published by Tor. Before the book started getting some advance notice from folks in the field (I heard about it for the first time on The Coode Street Podcast last year), I’d never heard of Cixin Liu. I *had* heard of Ken Liu. Ken Liu is one of the most talented short fiction writers in the field today, with multiple Hugo awards already under his belt, as well as a Nebula, among others. However, I know absolutely nothing about the book translation process and how well the resulting work represents the original. Thus, I’ll talk about what I do know, which is the story.And what a story it is. It’s a throwback to 70s science fiction, a first encounter and alien invasion story all rolled into one (and that’s not even true, since it’s the first book of a trilogy, the second of which, THE DARK FOREST, hits our shores this year, translated by Joel Martinsen). It’s got science – lots of science – and a bit of what looks like hand wavium going on at one point (until I started reading some articles in a magazine that were discussing something similar to what the hand waving was about – I think). It’s grand in scope, has some terrific ideas, and really can make us stop and think about whether we’re all alone out here.The story begins during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and uses it as a launching pad for all that goes forward. A young woman, who sees her father killed during the revolution, is assigned to a military base in a remote part of China. The more time she spends there, the more she becomes trusted, and eventually she learns the true nature of the project – to send signals into space to contact alien life. The young woman, Ye Wenjie (thank goodness for the list of characters at the beginning of the book), learns of a way to amplify the signals that are being sent. She sends a signal into deep space – and hence the trouble begins.Over the course of the book we learn about the Trisolarans, an alien race that lives in a planetary system that has three suns. Trisolaran society is dying because of those three suns. Cixin Liu comes up with the clever idea of the Three Body game, wherein players are challenged to find solutions to the Three Body Problem (hence the name of the book) by interacting with characters from history in societies that keep dying off because of the unpredictability of the cycles of the three suns. (I should note that there really is something called the Three Body Problem; from wikipedia: In its traditional sense, the three-body problem is the problem of taking an initial set of data that specifies the positions, masses and velocities of three bodies for some particular point in time and then determining the motions of the three bodies, in accordance with the laws of classical mechanics (Newton’s laws of motion and of universal gravitation).). The Three Body game is more than just a game – it is a gateway into a group of people who are working together to plan for the coming of the Trisolarans.I don’t want to give too many more details, as I could start getting into spoiler territory, and I think the rest needs to be discovered by the reader. What I can say, however, is that book not only chronicles how and why this group of individuals came together, but it also explores how the Trisolarans plan to come to earth to take over. Yes, it’s a hostile takeover, and there are no financial personnel involved, although this is where the hand-waving comes in and, in reality, I don’t mind it in the least. Whether a super-intelligent computer can be made by unfolding a proton into two dimensions is not the point. Just thinking about the possibilities of being able to do that is the point, and indeed in a larger sense has been how science fiction has gone about its business since the field began. You know, “wow, wouldn’t it be neat if we could do THAT?”.The other thing I enjoyed about this book is the peek it gives to the reader into Chinese civilization around the time of the Chines Cultural Revolution going forward. Granted, it is just a peek, but I’d never given much thought to political, military, and academic life as well as the social status one acquires depending on who and where one was at any given time during that period of Chinese history.With regard to the translation, as I stated earlier, there’s not much I can say about it. It’s hard to be able to judge how well a book is translated when you don’t know the original. I *can* tell you that I’ve enjoyed Ken Liu’s writing style when I have read his short fiction, and I think that style comes through here. I can tell it was a good, fast paced, and interesting read. I was never bored, and actually looked forward to reading the footnotes as I was reading the main text. I did NOT have same eagerness while I was reading JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORELL.If foreign language science fiction is like this, I need to read more. Even if it’s not, I do look forward to the remaining two books in the trilogy, andhopefully there will be more translations of Cixin Liu’s work coming our way in the future.

3. 

   Ariel W – July 23, 2024

   This book is a mind-bending journey through science fiction! I was hooked from the first page, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. The story is complex and thought-provoking, exploring themes of alien contact, human nature, and the nature of reality itself. The writing is beautiful and the characters are well-developed. I especially loved the way the author seamlessly blended science and fiction, creating a truly believable and immersive world. If you’re looking for a challenging and rewarding science fiction read, I highly recommend The Three-Body Problem.

4. 

   Fernando Gami̱io РJuly 23, 2024

   Es una novela alucinante y compleja

5. 

   John Difool – July 23, 2024

   This is a great book, if you like ‘hard science fiction’. It reminded me a bit of Asimov – although the writing is totally different of course. Some of the ideas are really innovative and thought provoking. After reading it (and watching the Netflix series) I had to get the other two books in the trilogy. So far (as it is often the case with trilogies) the first book is the best. A few details (like some plot devices / twists esp. in the second book) may not always work well, but all-in-all 5 stars for me.

6. 

   Michel V. – July 23, 2024

   Chinese schrijver: de namen in het boek zijn verwarrend want lijken enorm op elkaar chang, wang weng chin ling, chi