“The Three-Body Problem” by Liu Cixin (Spoiler-Free Review)

Synopsis: 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.

I’ve been sitting on this review for a few days now as I’ve been struggling to gather my thoughts on this book. While my views on Three Body are positive on the whole, I do see why some people don’t find it their cup of tea.

For one, the story is certainly more plot orientated than character-driven. If you’re looking for a novel that dives deep into the human psyche, you won’t find it here. That being said, I think some reviewers are being unfair when it comes to these characters. I, personally, found Wenjie, the physicist that grew up during the Cultural Revolution, to be a compelling protagonist. Some complain she isn’t easy to root for considering her actions later in the novel, but that’s not the point of her character. Given all she has been through, it’s easy to see why she would develop a Nihilistic bordering on sadistic view of humanity. If I grew up in a society that was so ridiculously oppressive it bordered on parody and witnessed my father being murdered by insane ideologues, I would probably have a pretty dim view of the human race as well.

Wang and the other characters aren’t as developed in comparison, but I wouldn’t call them “boring” per say. While I would have liked to see more characterization from Wang in particular, I still know enough about him to root for him as he tries to get the bottom of all the weird events happening in his life.

The plot itself is interesting, although what you see on the tin is pretty close to what you get in the finished product. There aren’t too many twists and turns in the narrative, unfortunately. Regardless, I found myself enjoying the ride, especially the parts that take place during the Cultural Revolution and Wang’s play-through of the Three Body video game. I will say, however, I had to put down the book a few times to nurse my throbbing head as some of the subjects they delve into are…complicated.

Yes, I know, it’s a science-fiction novel. But as someone who has no background in either physics or computer science, I struggled with certain passages. The author obviously has a veneration for science and I can respect how he was able to turn his passion into a work of literature. That being said, if you are like me and are a terminal English major, you will likely struggle with these parts.

As for the factions that develop as a result of the proof alien’s exist—the Adventists and the Redemptionists—I thought they were pretty believable considering the discourse I’ve seen online regarding extraterrestrials and how humanity should choose to engage with them.

Random tangent, but I’ve never understood the school of thought that insists aliens would have the slightest bit of interest in helping us improve as a species. Intellectuals insist that extraterrestrials—being more advanced than us—would have a higher moral compass than humans. However, in my experience, the smarter a species is the greater its potential for cruelty. If you are having a good day, don’t google what chimps do to infants of warring tribes, or what dolphins do to orphaned orcas.

Speaking of the aliens, I confess I wasn’t a fan of their inclusion. I won’t delve too deeply into the details to avoid spoilers, but I thought it would have been much more effective narratively speaking to keep a cloak of mystery about them until later in the series. They would come across as more intimidating, upping the stakes and creating a stronger sense of dread as humanity’s time draws to what appears to be an inevitable close.

Final Thoughts:

The Three-Body Problem, while not a perfect book, is certainly one worth reading for anyone that is hankering for an interesting, substantial science-fiction story.

7.8/10