The Three-Body Problem (The Three-Body Problem Series Book 1) by Cixin Liu (PDF)

Description

Soon to be a Netflix Original Series!An NPR Best Book of the DecadeWinner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel“War of the Worlds for the 21st century.” – Wall Street JournalThe Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China’s most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.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.The Three-Body Problem SeriesThe Three-Body ProblemThe Dark ForestDeath’s EndOther BooksBall Lightning Supernova EraTo Hold Up The Sky (forthcoming)At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Tldr: this is a good novel showing aspects of Chinese history that I never knew. The mystery keeps you curious. The sci-fi aspect is extremely light, but gets better at the end.Longer review:It’s a good book. That is true. But every review I read or watched made me expect something that this isn’t.First, what the book actually contains: 1) An enjoyable story. 2) Descriptions of Chinese history that I found fascinating. 3) An in depth depiction of a video game that seems to be written by someone who has never played video games before – almost as if it’s what someone might imagine a game is like. 4) the last 25 pages or so are where the “hard sci fi” comes in and it’s extremely enjoyable and a new concept (to me). 5) there are extremely basic concepts of computers, philosophy, and physics scattered throughout.What it is not (and what I was misled about): 1) the characters are not lacking in depth. It’s no different than 90% of other novels in existence. Perhaps it’s less than what the reviewers are used to, but that’s an issue with the reviewers, not the characters. 2) besides the last 25 pages, there are no new concepts here. Definitely no revolutionary manipulations of physics and/or philosophy to blow your mind. The vast majority of the book has only the teeniest amount of sci-fi scattered throughout, and it’s extremely light. 3) most of all, it is not the best sci-fi book or author in the past 40 years, 30, 20, or even 10. It’s a good book that is enjoyable and worth reading, but I see absolutely nothing here to earn it so much praise. I’ve read self published books that are far superior. That doesn’t take away from this book being enjoyable. Buy it. Enjoy it. But take all the praise with a bucket of salt. Enjoy the book for what it is, not for what people claim it is.

⭐Award winning Chinese science fiction author Cixin Liu has said, “Science fiction is a literature that belongs to all humankind. It portrays events of interest to all humanity, and thus science fiction should be the literary genre most accessible to readers of different nations.” I think this is true, or at least it can be. For science fiction to appeal to everyone on the planet it is necessary that its stories portray situations that are relevant to everyone, that they are written about in a way that doesn’t exclude those whose cultural or societal beliefs fall into one political camp or another, and, most of all, it requires a literate world in which everyone has enough of their basic needs met that they have time for leisure reading.We are a long way from the ideal state described above, but some books are a movement toward it. Cixin Liu’s “The Three-Body Problem “represents a step in that direction. Liu lives in the People’s Republic of China. When I think of science fiction audiences, China doesn’t come immediately to mind, but that is because of my ignorance, not reality. “The Three-Body Problem” not only won the Hugo Award after its translation into English in 2014, but it also won China’s Galaxy Award for best science fiction in 2006, the year of its publication in China. Cixin Liu has won the Galaxy Award, which I didn’t even know existed, 9 times.“The Three-Body Problem “is hard science fiction, meaning that it is literally filled with science, some of it real, much of it speculative with kernels of real science leading to wildly fantastic consequences. One of its themes is the overturning of the basic principles of modern physics, or at least the apparent overturning of them, since another theme is the deliberate undermining of belief in those principles. The underlying plot of the novel is the mutual discovery of another race in our galaxy, mutual in the sense that we discover them at the same time that they discover us.The ideas contained in this novel are mind-boggling. What appears fanciful becomes less and less so, as more science behind it is revealed, although the science too, get stretched until everything seems fanciful, but I as a reader, was never sure if it was based on realistic science or not. That’s part of the entertaining quality of the book. The extraordinary discoveries come one after another, gradually unfolding the true plot that is determining the characters’ actions.There are political criticisms in “The Three-Body Problem,” almost entirely of China’s Cultural Revolution of the 1960’s and 70’s. As such, they are a criticism of constraining science because of political or philosophical reasons. The author himself has made some political statements, almost entirely in favor of Chinese government policies, which have earned him enough suspicion in the U.S. that several Republican Congressmen objected when they heard that Netflix was creating a film version of his work. But modern Chinese politics are not an issue in the novel. Liu’s comments at the end of the English translation of the book make it clear that he hopes science fiction such as his can bring the world together.A word about character development in “The Three-Body Problem.” The early portions of the book cover several years and skip from one character to another, many of them who die. Finally, the story settles down to a small set of regular characters. Some Western critics have complained that the characters are “shallow,” which may be valid when comparing the novel to many Western ones. I suspect that this reflects a difference between Western and Eastern cultures, as well as difference between science fiction as a genre (at least old-style science fiction) and other fiction genres. Our Western mindset is to attribute the causes of a person’s behavior to elements of their personality. They are adventurous, courageous, lazy, lackadaisical, psychopathic, etc. Sociological research has suggested that many Eastern cultures tend to see the causes of behavior as due to events and circumstance or even luck, rather than to ongoing personality characteristics (it is a more vs less difference, rather than an either-or difference). Liu’s novel takes the latter approach, giving a detailed description of the circumstances leading characters to do what they do in the novel. It is not a lack of depth of characters so much as it represents a different approach to character motivation that is reflective of the overall culture of the writer. In the case of “The Three-Body Problem,” this results in the novel gradually providing the basis for different characters’ otherwise puzzling behavior by providing after-the-fact stories of what happened in their lives to cause them to behave as they do.I found this book to be absolutely intriguing and impossible to put down until I got to its end. I am eager to read the two novels that are its sequels. It is science fiction at its very best

⭐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.

⭐Having read the glowing reviews and seen the prizes this book won, I was keen to start it. I read a few pages, waiting for the brilliance to kick in, read some more, waiting for the great book to start…and it never did!To summarise the book, an eminent scientist is asked to join a global task-force fighting an unknown enemy that is making scientists commit suicide. It turns out the enemy is an alien race, invited to Earth by radical environmentalists (amongst others) despairing of humanity’s behaviour.Perhaps some of the problems are down to the translation – it was apparently done by a friend of the author rather than a professional – and perhaps some are down to the way Chinese novels are written. But in the end you can only review what you read. The major issues? First, the characters are utterly one-dimensional, interchangeable and without any kind of character development. Second, the dialogue is wooden and non-one has any kind of distinct voice. Third, the plot is simply unbelievable. It is just about credible that some humans, seeing their own species as environmentally destructive – might reach out to aliens without finding out what those aliens are actually like. But it is absurd to suggest that highly intelligent scientists around the world would be committing suicide because of strange results in their experiments. It is surely far more likely that most would be intrigued rather than despairing? Fourth, the computer game that the protagonist is drawn into makes no sense whatsoever. It is not a game in any real sense and the claims about its complexity and depth are not match in any way with the actual game as it is described. finally the action scenes are without any kind of suspense or excitement, devoid of interest and realism.In some ways, this reads like a first draft, something that would then be worked on and revised and edited and worked on some more. Perhaps after that you might end up with something half-decent, that a good editor could knock into some kind of shape. But as it stands it is just strangely bad, in just about every important way.

⭐This was a very interesting and unusual sci-fi novel, partly due to its Chinese setting and authorship and partly due to its interesting use of scientific and philosophical concepts, along with some insights into the unique historical setting of the Cultural Revolution.Like most western readers and film-watchers, I’m very used to aliens always targetting America and the heroes being American – or at a pinch, British – and it felt surprisingly fresh to watch these semi-familiar events unfolding in a Chinese context. I was almost as fascinated at the insight into normal middle class lives in modern China as I was by all the science, science fiction, and history. And I loved the fact that many of the historical, cultural, and literary references were East Asian in origin.It was the “oooh, a Chinese sci-fi novel, how intriguing,” that made me pick this up, but I can’t emphasise enough that this book has value far beyond that. The philosophy was thought-provoking and the science was head-spinning. I read a fair amount of sci-fic, but mostly the sort that’s heavier on the fiction than on the science, so I’m not sure how clever the physics here was relative to other pieces of hard sci-fi. But with a ten year-old physics A-level, I found I had to concentrate and sometimes got a bit confused, but could follow proceedings.The plot is really quite slow-burn, and for large swathes of the early and middle sections of the book, there’s relatively little action and little really even to make this feel like sci-fi, beyond a few sinister hints and some unexplained mysteries. The first few chapters in particular – set in the Cultural Revolution – are more like historical fiction with a bit of science thrown in. Which is fine by me, as I enjoy that genre too. In the middle, lots of the action occurs via a mysterious virtual reality computer game, aimed at those with expertise in maths, science, philosophy, and history. The world it portrays is disconcerting and it’s relevance to the plot in unclear – but ultimately, cleverly resolved. Towards the end, the action picks up, but it’s all still focused on earth, humans, and more-or-less realistic science, rather than anything more flamboyant. As an aside, I went straight on to the sequel, where that really isn’t the case.Much as I enjoyed the plot, setting, and ideas, the characters often felt rather thin and two-dimensional, and the conversations between them often felt quite stilted and forced. I’m not sure whether this is due to translation issues, Chinese writing conventions, or the author’s own deliberate choice or weakness. At times, it almost threatened to distract me from enjoying the novel, but that was ultimately never the case.Overall, between the slow pace, the hard science and philosophy and – more negatively – some of the characterisation and dialogue, this isn’t always an easy read. But it’s ultimately a very worthwhile, interesting, and on balance, enjoyable one, that I’d heavily recommend.

⭐Have been a sci-fi reader since I was a kid, and I am familiar with some, if not most of the ‘hard science’ in this book as well.Its just not very well written.From the characters, trough the story and all the way to how the plot is being advanced….its just not very good. The setting is quite interesting, and the idea is decent/good as well, but anything after the game sequences in the book is just….awful, lacking, and poorly written.Maybe its the translation, but I doubt it. Way too many instances where characters simply explain their entire personality and motivation directly to you, as if the author is breaking the third wall in the most basic way imaginable.”I always was a lazy boy but was also super intelligent without giving it a second thought but I never could be bothered to apply myself but then I decided to go to the monks where the head monk was super smart too and gave me an epiphany that motivated me to start working on this thing that is super important for the plot and then this woman found my half-burned notes and figured out instantly that I was working on this giga-complex problem and as it turns out this is very important to her as well so she got me out of the buddhist temple and we got marred even though I am practically dead inside and dont care about these things and now she threatened to kill me’Literally wat.It would’ve been fine if this was just single occurrence, but at least two other characters are done in the same manner and it is just painfully bad and cringe-worthy.Don’t bother. Hugo award my arse

⭐This book impressed me in a number of ways. Firstly it was hard to put down once I started. Also, because the author is Chinese and the narrative set in China, I found that in addition to embarking on great odyssey in Sci-fi , I was getting images of Chinese culture and mysticism which was for me both unexpected and welcome. Much of the first half is set in or around the Cultural Revolution and the influence of these times on some of the academics in the sciences is telling.As the story unfolds the complexity deepens culminating in the bewildering realisation that we have already been infiltrated. The descriptions of the alien technology and capability are truly mind bending and fascinating! Hard Sci-fi encapsulated.This translation in to English has a postscript by the author where he reveals a little of his personal history and what draws him to the genre. This is a great addition and helps explain some of the socio-political and psychological aspects of the book.There is also a translator`s postscript. Likewise this is a really good idea for a translated work such as this. I am always a little wary when reading translations and this postscript outlines precisely what I feel and helps to address this issue.

⭐Remembrance of Earth’s Past #1: This book won the 2015 Hugo Award for Fiction despite being originally published in Chinese/Mandarin(?) in 2006! How good does a book have to be to sweep all before it at the Hugo’s nearly a decade after being first published? Well. It would have to be a book as good as this one! Nanotech engineer Wang Miao is more or less compelled to infiltrate what appears to be a secret cabal of scientists, compelled by a secret military(!) alliance between NATO, the USA and China! While undercover Wang gets absorbed with the online-immersive game ‘The Three Body Problem’ a game that seeks to build civilisation in a chaotic world with three suns! It begins to dawn on Wang and his betters, that this game might be much much more than it seems!A book that starts with one of the key character’s Cultural Revolution trauma leading to them being exiled to a scientific research base, a base set up to reach out to possible intelligent life in the universe, was in itself astounding, interesting and uber page turning, until I realised that that was the backstory and just the opening salvo of what I feel beyond doubt will be the greatest speculative fiction / science fiction series I’ve read since Dan Simmons’ The Hyperion Omnibus. This book takes a frank and honest look at the traumatic impact of the Chinese Cultural Revolution on the science community; what could happen to ‘real police’ forced to serve under authoritarian regimes; how science would most likely reach out to the stars; how the modern world breeds apathy; and most of all beautifully using real and theoretical physics to illustrate questioning the rationale that far advanced extraterrestrial intelligent life would necessarily be any more enlightened than humankind!What I can only really say is just read it. Page for page the most innovative, awe inspiring, far reaching, outrageous take on hard science/speculative fiction I’ve ever read, a book that dares to bring science itself to the front of storytelling and making it the biggest ‘character’ in the story, and somehow doing it so well! One. God. Damn. Fine. Five Star Read.

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