A review by turrean
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I found the premise of the book inexplicable at first, but that feeling quickly faded as the details of the “struggle session” unfold right in the first chapter. There are some not-so-subtle parallels between the effects of Trisolaris’s anti-science campaign against Earth and the Cultural Revolution’s effects on China’s own society  that make me curious about Liu Cixin’s reputation and what Chinese schoolchildren learn about their own history. Any student of human history, however broad or narrow, can see that people have always been good at manufacturing  Chaotic Eras even in our “paradise” of a stable climate, through religion, politics, climate change, deforestation, and pollution.

I loved the parallels between Ye Wenjie and the Listener on Trisolaris who sends the warning (right down to the echo of “slender fingers.”) The use of Three-Body, the video game, as a mix of recruiting tool, an identity theft scam,  and a crowdsourcing campaign was just brilliant. 

The scientific explanations were wasted on me, as I lack the understanding to see where the “science” ends and the “fiction” begins. Interactions among humans felt a little distant, but I don’t know how much of that was due to the translation and how much is the author’s storytelling. 
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