The Three-Body Problem (Chinese: 三体; lit. 'Three-Body'; pinyin: sān tǐ) is a science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. The title refers to the three-body problem in orbital mechanics. It is the first novel of the Remembrance of Earth's Past (Chinese: 地球往事) trilogy, but Chinese readers generally call the whole series The Three-Body Problem. The trilogy's second and third novels are The Dark Forest and Death's End.
The Three-Body Problem was serialized in Science Fiction World in 2006 and published as a book in 2008. It became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China. It received the Chinese Science Fiction Yinhe ("Galaxy)" Award in 2006. A Chinese film adaptation of the same name was in production by 2015, but halted soon after.
The English translation by Ken Liu was published by Tor Books in 2014. Thereafter, it became the first Asian novel ever to win …
The Three-Body Problem (Chinese: 三体; lit. 'Three-Body'; pinyin: sān tǐ) is a science fiction novel by the Chinese writer Liu Cixin. The title refers to the three-body problem in orbital mechanics. It is the first novel of the Remembrance of Earth's Past (Chinese: 地球往事) trilogy, but Chinese readers generally call the whole series The Three-Body Problem. The trilogy's second and third novels are The Dark Forest and Death's End.
The Three-Body Problem was serialized in Science Fiction World in 2006 and published as a book in 2008. It became one of the most popular science fiction novels in China. It received the Chinese Science Fiction Yinhe ("Galaxy)" Award in 2006. A Chinese film adaptation of the same name was in production by 2015, but halted soon after.
The English translation by Ken Liu was published by Tor Books in 2014. Thereafter, it became the first Asian novel ever to win a Hugo Award for Best Novel, and was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel.The series portrays a future where, in the first book, the Earth is awaiting an invasion from the closest star system, which in this universe consists of three solar-type stars orbiting each other in an unstable three-body system, with a single Earth-like planet unhappily being passed among them and suffering extremes of heat and cold, as well as the repeated destruction of its intelligent civilizations.
The best unexpected part of this book is all the perspective shifts. The presentation of miracles, and their explanations were satisfying, and the historical descriptions of the Chinese Cultural Revolution were tantalizing peeks into what the original Chinese language version of the story was like in structure.
It's a pessimistic view of what encountering extraterrestrial life would be like, without applying the same fear and dread to the emergence of strong AI, so while it's food for thought, it's not a perspective I feel I will ever share.
Man, this was a conceptually thick book. I can't vouch for most of the science as presented, but I can say that the effort expended in incorporating that much science into a story of an impending apocalypse was impressive. I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it.
I didn't know what to expect when picking this up. I added it to my "to read"list after hearing an interview with the translator, who was talking about his own writing. Overall, I liked it. It has a lot in common with classic science fiction in style, written in a very straightforward matter and with an eye not so much on the robots and gadgets as the effect of these things. It deals with the psychological and social issues involved with technology and our attempts to find others like us in the universe. The characters are fleshed out enough to make them relatable, but this isn't the kind of writing where the character spends paragraphs contemplating fire or mooning over a love interest. It is set on the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution in China which makes the story feel authentic, and would attract anyone interested in history. I will …
I didn't know what to expect when picking this up. I added it to my "to read"list after hearing an interview with the translator, who was talking about his own writing. Overall, I liked it. It has a lot in common with classic science fiction in style, written in a very straightforward matter and with an eye not so much on the robots and gadgets as the effect of these things. It deals with the psychological and social issues involved with technology and our attempts to find others like us in the universe. The characters are fleshed out enough to make them relatable, but this isn't the kind of writing where the character spends paragraphs contemplating fire or mooning over a love interest. It is set on the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution in China which makes the story feel authentic, and would attract anyone interested in history. I will most likely pick up the sequel once translated, just to see how far the story goes, if anything.
