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The Three-Body Problem, the first book of Cixin Liu’s “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy, tells the story of humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization. Through the book’s three plotlines, readers experience the tragedy of the Cultural Revolution, the cycles of an alien civilization simulated by the mysterious “3body.net,” and an unexplainable scientific phenomena that drives scientists to commit suicide. The story traverses space and time; it is a masterful combination of Chinese history and modern science.
The English version of The Three-Body Problem, which, thanks to translator Ken Liu’s efforts, manages to retain the same voice as the Chinese original. While reading the original version would typically be the most authentic, author C. X. Liu himself endorsed K. Liu’s English translation because of the changes that were made when translating the book. In an unusual move for a translator, K. Liu moved a major section, a flashback to the Cultural Revolution, from the middle to the beginning of the book. When he asked C. X. Liu about the adjustment, the author revealed that this was the book’s original structure. However, due to the politically charged nature of the Cultural Revolution, C. X. Liu had placed the flashback in the middle of the book instead.
Although the writing is stellar, I highly recommend this book for the brilliant ideas that C. X. Liu showcases. The great science fiction classic, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, is remembered for its novel ideas like the “Three Laws of Robotics.” Likewise, The Three-Body Problem is a testament to C. X. Liu’s scientific background, where he proposes some remarkably creative solutions to the titular “Three-Body Problem” from orbital mechanics. This one novel contains enough ideas for an entire series, and readers will constantly be left mulling over the feasibility of different propositions.
This book and the rest of the series not only focuses on scientific ideas — C. X. Liu incorporates profound philosophical questions about the nature of science and the universe as well. For instance, he proposes the “Dark Forest” solution to the Fermi Paradox, a question regarding the existence of extraterrestrial life and why humanity has yet to encounter any. C. X. Liu’s The Three-Body Problem leaves readers in awe of the possibilities in our scientific future while simultaneously questioning if the laws of physics are an illusion based on the induction fallacy, which is the misuse of specific instances to support a generalized claim. Additionally, for more politically-inclined readers, humanity in the book can be interpreted as the West and the aliens as China.
The Three-Body Problem is a masterpiece of scientific fiction. It surprises readers with ideas that could appear in a research paper, but C. X. Liu chose to include them in this well-told and engaging story. This book is best for readers who look up to the stars and are left wonderstruck by how tiny we are compared to the universe; you will never see the stars in the same way again after reading The Three-Body Problem.
