SFF

The Three-Body Problem

by Cixin Liu
Tor. (Three Body, Bk. 1). Nov. 2014. 336p. tr. from Chinese by Ken Liu. ISBN 9780765377067. $29.99; ebk. ISBN 9781466853447. SF
COPY ISBN
During China's cultural revolution of the 1960s, a woman who is a political undesirable finds purpose at a secret military base that is sending signals into space to communicate with an alien culture. Years later, a video game called Three Body may hold the key to what those aliens want from Earth, and a physicist gets pulled into a worldwide effort to prepare for their arrival.
VERDICT This 2006 Chinese best seller finally gets an English translation from Nebula and Hugo Award winner and author Ken Liu. Along with the unusual setting, the novel includes a lot of discussions of high-level physics (sometimes helpfully couched within the video game), as the aliens come from a world with three suns and the unpredictable motions of the trisolaran system threaten their continued existence. It's not an easy sell to Western readers, but the translator provides helpful footnotes explaining the unfamiliar historical and cultural references. Fans of hard sf likened to the work of Arthur C. Clarke will look forward to the rest of the series. [See Eric Norton's sf/fantasy feature, "A Multiplicity of Realms," LJ 8/14.]
Reviewed by Megan M. McArdle , Oct 15, 2014
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

MEDIA

Signal to Noise
by Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
FICTION

Daughter of Chaos
by Webb, A.S.
FICTION

Shadow of the Eternal Watcher
by Mendoza, Josh
FICTION

The Watermark
by Mills, Sam
FICTION

Death of the Author (Deluxe Limited Edition)
by Okorafor, Nnedi
FICTION

The Sea Eternal
by Robin, Emery
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?