Originally Published in Chinese (2006) by: ‎Chongqing Press
Published in English (2014) by:Â Tor Books
Language:Â English
Book Review: The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
You ever have one of those moments where you’re just reading and completely lose track of time? I had one of those last weekend when I started The Three-Body Problem. I meant to just read a few chapters before bed but ended up reading late into the night! It tells the story of humankind’s first contact with an alien civilization, and let me tell you, this book sure had me on the edge of my seat.
It opens with a really intriguing anecdote set during China’s Cultural Revolution. The main character, Ye Wenjie, witnesses her physicist father being tortured and humiliated by the Red Guards. This tragic event sets her on a path of revenge that ultimately leads to mankind’s first contact with an alien race. Right from the start, you get a sense of the human drama and complex political landscape that make the sci-fi elements feel so grounded.
The book is told from multiple perspectives, but a big part of the mystery is trying to figure out Ye Wenjie’s connection to events happening 400 years in the future. Seeing the far-reaching consequences of her actions kept me constantly questioning and theorizing about her role. The story does this really cool trick of blending Chinese history with cutting-edge physics theories to craft an eerily plausible first contact scenario. Usually in alien invasion stories, you know the aliens are the enemy. But here, their three-body problem makes their motivations and behaviors completely unpredictable. Never have alien invaders seemed so alien!
I also really appreciated how the book uses its sci-fi premise to comment on deeper philosophical questions around humanity’s place in the universe. The main characters debate topics like the Fermi paradox, the drake equation, and what contact with a more advanced alien race might truly mean for our civilization. Some of the cosmological theories went over my head if I’m being honest, but it was super interesting to get different perspectives on big existential questions. At its heart, the story is about what it means to be human in a vast, unknowable cosmos.
My one main critique would be that, at times, the scientific explanations did weigh things down a bit. I’m more of a story and characters person than a physics buff. Some readers might find those info dumps overwhelming. But overall, the epic scope of the narrative more than made up for those slower moments. The audiobook format in particular really pulled me in with its full-cast production.
I will say, some parts were genuinely unsettling in a way that’s rare for science fiction. Usually, alien invasions involve laser guns and spaceships blowing up. But here, the aliens employ such abstract, physics-based weaponry that our technology seems useless. And the way their chaotic three-body system makes their behavior unpredictable? Nightmare fuel. Gave me a new appreciation for just how vulnerable Earth truly is.
Seeing our humanity at the mercy of such vastly superior aliens also brought up interesting discussions around free will versus determinism. Are we truly in control of our own fate, or are we just players in some grander cosmic game with rules we’ll never understand? The book doesn’t really provide answers so much as present thought experiments. Which I think is what great sci-fi should do—pose big questions without pretending to have all the answers.
All in all, I can’t recommend The Three-Body Problem enough if you’re into hard sci-fi with philosophical/existential undertones. It packs epic scope into a relatively compact package and left me itching to discuss all the mind-blowing ideas. The story sticks with you too – I kept finding myself daydreaming about those eerie situations and unsolvable problems. Definitely one of the most imaginative and thought-provoking first contact tales I’ve come across.
I was excited to hear they were turning it into a Netflix series, but from the trailers, it seems like they’re focusing more on the action/invasion plotlines over the deeper mysteries and ideas I loved in the book. No adaptation is ever going to capture all the subtle details and scope of an intricate novel. Hopefully, they at least do the cosmic scale of the story justice visually. Fingers crossed, it brings some new fans to Cixin Liu’s incredible work. Either way, I can’t wait to revisit this epic saga in my head all over again!