THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM: BOOK REVIEW
Some science fiction novels tackle the fully fantastic: strange technologies, daring expeditions, and alternate realities. Others, like Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problem, stick closer to home. Originally published in China in 2008, the book received critical and audience acclaim. Ken Liu’s 2014 English translation won a Hugo award, becoming the first novel from Asia to do so.
Spanning decades and multiple narrators, The Three-Body Problem melds historical fiction and futuristic fantasy. It explores the real-life impacts of China’s Cultural Revolution on its scientific and intellectual life from the 1960s to the present day. At the same time, it spins an allegorical tale about an endangered alien species and the cult on Earth that will help it to take over our planet. The Three-Body Problem is a masterclass in sci-fi with a thesis, telling a complex story about the perseverance of intelligent life and the psychology of cultures in crisis.
On my ongoing quest to consume Hugo-winning novels and expand my reading outside the United States, The Three-Body Problem presented a great opportunity. I went in plot-blind but very hopeful, and it did not disappoint. The Three-Body Problem is a thoroughly inventive piece of literature, crossing genre boundaries to craft a strong thesis about human societies and their life cycles. It reframes the alien invasion — a thrilling sci-fi trope — into a bleak and existential disaster as real as civil wars and global warming. It uses high-level astrophysics and mathematical concepts as both plot devices and unique metaphors; it uses the real-life effects of China’s Cultural Revolution to inform its fictional events. The story spans many decades, characters, and political points of view. My reading was an educational and thought-provoking process. Although the plot moves at a thriller’s pace, it encourages readers to think long and hard about the theories and themes it presents.
The Three-Body Problem spans from China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960s to an impending alien invasion in the present day. Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist who loses her parents and career during the revolution, makes contact with the alien planet Trisolaris in her top-secret job as a technician on Red Coast base. Informed by the tragedies she has seen, Ye tells the Trisolarans to conquer Earth and improve it. She forms a human cult of supporters, the Earth-Trisolaris Organization, which recruits new members through a virtual reality game called Three Body. The game mirrors the struggles of Trisolaran society in a system with three suns which orbit each other unpredictably, causing devastating fluctuations in the planet’s environment. Wang Miao, a scientist in nanotechnology, infiltrates Ye’s organization through this game at the behest of world government agents. While Ye and her followers prepare to assist in the Trisolaran invasion, Wang and world leadership clamor to stop them.
The Three-Body Problem deals in large, philosophical questions. It asks what happens when societies fail, what sentient life will do to survive, and what the progress of science can create and destroy. It draws parallels between two primary scenarios: China’s political tumult during the Cultural Revolution, and Trisolaris’ environmental chaos between its three suns. It explores Ye’s unstable psychology within an ever-changing world, where her intellectual prowess and high-class background variably privilege and harm her. Liu explores human adaptability in the most extreme of circumstances. He concludes, ultimately, that life is resilient and progress is inevitable.
Large sections of The Three-Body Problem explore mathematical principles and scientific progress. The book takes its name from a real-life physics problem, which attempts to solve for the trajectories of three masses in an orbital system using Newton’s laws. The orbits are chaotic, so the problem has no closed-form solution. Much like the question of perfecting society, the three-body problem is ever-evolving and likely impossible. It forms the symbolic backbone of the entire novel. Many other physics and math principles also appear throughout the book. Liu explains them quite well to uninformed readers, often through an in-story expert, before he uses them to comment metaphorically on societal evolution.
The novel takes a hard sci-fi approach, explaining its imaginative technologies with as much detail and real-world grounding as possible. The long, in-depth explanations evoke other tech-focused works, including Andy Weir’s The Martian (2011) and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game (1985). Liu creates advanced versions of virtual reality and atomic technologies, taking science currently in development to the next level. I read far more soft sci-fi than hard, but I enjoyed Liu’s thorough approach and emphasis on relevant fields. His detail elevates the story instead of detracting; every new piece of technology supports an exciting plot point or thematic facet.
The Three-Body Problem also explores historical and sociological concepts. It describes China’s Cultural Revolution with a nuanced perspective. It explores the long-term political and psychological impacts of this period, and it examines how it stymied intellectual and scientific development. As someone who previously knew very little about this period, I’m curious to learn more. However, the book does a solid job conveying necessary information, especially given that Liu didn’t write it for a Western audience.
Ye’s story relates most directly to Liu’s theme of resilience, and she serves as the crux of comparison between China’s tragedies and Trisolaris’. The novel tells the majority of her life, from her father’s death in the revolution to her leadership of the ETO. Liu depicts Ye’s turn against humanity in sympathetic, believable strokes. She comes across less as a villain than as an inevitable product of society’s failings, and I found her far more interesting than any other character. In light of that, I wish the book had spent more time upon her. She features heavily in the introduction and conclusion, but the book’s middle section belongs mainly to Wang, who possesses fewer layers. He serves as a sort of reader proxy, unlocking the secrets of Three Body and the ETO alongside the audience. He reacts very little to the earth-shattering revelations around him, but his ignorance allows Liu to deliver exposition and build significant tension. Of Wang’s sections, I most enjoyed the ones within the Three Body game. His actions aren’t particularly notable, but the game environment is intriguing and ever-changing.
The Three-Body Problem is perfect for readers seeking genre-bending literature with pertinent themes. I’d recommend it to long-time sci-fi fans, but I could also see it converting nonfiction and historical readers to the genre. A background knowledge of physics and Chinese history would enhance the reading experience, but I wouldn’t call it necessary. As a soft sci fi fan and a humanities student, I felt that the book wasn’t for me — but it still delivered a fascinating story. I enjoyed the ride and picked up some new knowledge in the process.