Remembrance of Earth's Past

Remembrance of Earth's Past #1-3

by Liu Cixin

Not only a remembrance of Earth's past but also reflection on humanity's future, the trilogy weaves a complex web of physics, philosophy and history, taking the reader from the Cultural Revolution to the heat death of universe.

By turns sombre, despairing, lyrical, and hopeful, the trilogy comprises the award-winning The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest and Death's End. Across the series, Cixin Liu asks the desperate, melancholic question of our time: will humanity reach for the stars or die in its cradle?

To celebrate the conclusion of the series, Head of Zeus are collecting the three books that have captured the imagination of readers all over the world under one volume.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, China, Novels, Collections, Audiobook

1867 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Science Fiction fan and writer.

Author also writes under Cixin Liu

Reviews

[Erik Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Remembrance of Earth's Past" is a serious contender for the greatest science fiction trilogy yet written. Astonishingly creative, daringly ambitious, staggering in scope and scale, it dwarfs the most grandiose visions of any space epic ever conceived. And yet, it is as personal and intimate as a lover's journal; tragic, deeply philosophical, poetic and cruelly beautiful. Strikingly original in plot and execution, full of mind-blowing twists, it demonstrates that there is still artistry in the world. If you are young, I would highly recommend NOT reading this trilogy yet, as it will ruin you for anything else. If I never read any science fiction again, I will nevertheless feel complete.

[Raed · Rating 5 out of 5]

How the hell do you even review a Trilogy like this !


This is my second reading of this Trilogy and It's mind-bogglingly mind-blowing!​
Seriously I don't know how to comment on Remembrance of Earth's Past, Because now I can see every detail and every little event.

Ye Wenjie, Mike Evans, Ding Yi, Frederick Tyler, Zhang Beihai, Bill Hines, Luo Ji, Da Shi, Thomas Wade …
Red Coast Base, the Earth-Trisolaris Organization, the Wallfacer Project, the Staircase Program, the Swordholders, the Bunker Project …



The first time I read The Three-Body Problem in 7 days, The Dark Forest in 9 days, Death's End in 13 days. And it was a mistakes.

Now i raed The Three-Body Problem in 5 weeks, The Dark Forest in 4 weeks, Death's End in 4 weeks .

While reading, I took hundreds of notes (more than 50 pages), I will summarize them and i will finish my review..



Zhang Beihai, Luo Ji, Da Shi, Thomas Wade

[Soham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is there to say? There are no words I could etch into stone that would do the contents of this trilogy justice. This is one of those tales that transcends itself and stays with you through life, dyed in every decision and a silent companion in all stages of the remainder of your journey through space and time.

I just hope that you too borrow a little time to go on this detour and that one day fate brings our paths together again.

[Dániel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story excels with some of its grander ideas and especially in its take on the Fermi Paradox. I would recommend reading it just because of this single thing, which honestly carries the whole trilogy by itself and makes it a worthwhile read. Unfortunately, the books do not excel in other areas and in some aspects, they are downright bigoted and insulting. Overall the trilogy is an extremely mixed bag. This is a spoiler review.
P.S: Liu Cixin supports the Chinese Government’s genocide of Uyghurs so if you want to read these books, I would highly recommend buying them second hand as to not support the author financially.
Spoiler ahead
The ideas:
There are some truly terrifying ideas that are communicated very well, despite being highly theoretical in some cases. Humans find out that the galaxy is brimming with all of who want to exterminate each other, as every other civilisation is seen as an existential threat. An alien civilisation invades Earth but humanity sends out a signal into space that shows their location, leading to the destruction of both the alien star system and The Solar System. This book can be truly terrifying in its implications. Another great idea is the exploration of other dimensions, and how through constant warfare between civilisations, the galaxy is actually dying as it collapses into smaller dimensions (from 10 dimensions all the way down to 2 and eventually to 0). This is such a mind-boggling concept that seems perfectly reasonable when reading the book because of Liu’s expert handling of these abstract concepts. Some other interesting ideas that only pop up in the last segment of the final book include the modification of laws of nature for warfare and the existence of separate dimensions as well as time travel through the warping of space. Unfortunately, we don’t get to explore these ideas as the trilogy comes to an end rather quickly after their brief introduction.
While these ideas are all great, they rely on some principles that Liu takes for granted and are not questioned in his book the slightest. This made it initially difficult to really get into the story, hurting the suspension of disbelief and ruining my enjoyment for the first book. What I am talking about is the assumption that all life in the universe ‘progresses’ in the same way, and this is all because science and technology is deterministic and linear. Liu operates with the assumption that intelligent beings will progress through technologies inevitably, starting with sticks and stones and ending with lightspeed spacecrafts. This is a common trope in science fiction, but with such hard sci-fi and serious engagement with abstract ideas, this was a serious issue for me to take the story seriously. This is not something which will bother most people.
The prose:
This is difficult to comment on as I have not read the book in its original language, so something is inevitably lost in translation. With that being said, the prose is also a mixed bag in this book. There are some truly beautiful descriptions of landscapes and some vivid metaphors. However, character dialogue can be very lifeless, showing that Liu does not care much for his characters. I will elaborate on this point further in a later section. The beautiful descriptions can be very jarring sometimes, as they are used to describe terrible violence not only in great detail but also in a language that attempts to make it a sight of beauty. I was grossed out after a five-page description of a million people dying horribly in a space bottle, their blood forming a red dragon or something. This occurs many times when characters meet alien artefacts and inevitably get annihilated in graphic detail.
The pacing:
The book is full of side-plots and jumping from one time to another and from one character to another. It can be sometimes difficult to follow but overall, it is not a big problem. There are some really intriguing shifts of perspective. Two of my favourites happen in the final book. One recounts a fairy tale in three long chapters which I thought was one of the best writing in all three books. The tale hides information through clever double and triple encryption and it feels really satisfying when the characters solve these mysteries. The fairy tale is also very good in its own right, I can imagine it being an actual fairy tale. Another great perspective shift happens when we follow an alien who casually sends a weapon to destroy the solar system, and we realise that the alien is just some low-level worker in a complicated bureaucratic machine, not some maniacal evil overlord. Unfortunately, not all side-plots are created equal. There are some very useless side plots which do not advance the story forward but take up so many pages. This is especially the case in the second book where we follow a character who is proclaimed to be the most loyal military person. At the end of his story it is revealed very predictably that he was the opposite and betrays the military. For a moment it seems like this storyline is going somewhere but then he promptly dies. Overall, his story could have been cut entirely spanning multiple chapters and not affect the overall plot. There are multiple less egregious examples of this, following random characters who usually just end up dying and not really accomplishing anything.
The world-building:
This is yet another mixed bag. This is mainly applicable to the second and third books in the series as the first one takes place almost entirely in the past and the present. There are some great futuristic technologies that seem very plausible and make sense in light of the events that take place within the book. Some of my favourite examples are the underground cities of the future where humans are surrounded by smart technology and screens that can appear on any flat surface. In the third book Liu introduces floating orbs in space that function as cities, and all of them quite different from each other. It was really intriguing to read about that. However, the worldbuilding falters as it seems incapable of imagining future trajectories different from the present in terms of politics. In the second book we find out that after two hundred years the nations on Earth barely changed, and the explanation given for this is that the space force became the new de facto leaders of the world, making nations obsolete. If that was the case you would imagine new ways of organising humanity would appear but Liu does not seem concerned about that. After the space force is all but destroyed, we do not even get a power struggle but the flimsy explanation that the UN gained even more authority. This seemed entirely ridiculous. Humanity is pretty much treated almost as a giant hivemind, everyone thinking the same way. Everyone in the world presumably speaks the same language even, and other civilisations are confirmed to have only a single langue as well at the end of the book. Liu often describes the feelings that everyone in the world have at a certain time period, as well as governments (who are now supposed to be obsolete but still exist for some reason) reaching unanimous decisions. Liu seems not so interested in individuals but rather humanity as a whole and mob mentality, but this does break immersion often.
The characters:
So, this is the big one. Every previous complaint could be brushed aside if the characters were engaging, complex and multi-dimensional. But that is not the case. Despite Liu making his universe 10 dimensional, his characters are only given two at best. Honestly, I have few positive things to say about characters in the entire series. In the first book Da Shi is the only likeable character, maybe because he is the only one who is not a socially dysfunctional stuck up scientist. He is also the only character who is remotely funny, or does not take himself 100% seriously. Unfortunately, in the second book he loses most of his charm, mostly losing his edge that made him so memorable in the first book. There are two main characters in the second book Ye Wenjie and Wang Miao. Ye Wenjie is reasonably well written and you mostly understand her motivations. However, her character suffers from flashback syndrome, sacrificing a coherent storyline, in favour of big reveals in the story, making her character arc in the story very fragmented and significantly less engaging than it could have been. The other main character is utterly forgettable, which even the author realised, not bringing him up again after the first book. The second book has a single protagonist Luo Ji. He is quite a complex character with a pretty decent story arc. He is quite unlikeable in the first half of the book but eventually I felt compelled to sympathise with by the end of the book. Unfortunately, none of the side characters in the second book stand out and I did not care what happened to the at all. Luo Ji returns in the third book as a sort of old mentor figure, which was fine but not particularly interesting. The third book follows Cheng Xin, whose character is subjected to many horrible things. I dedicated an entire section to her and the rampant misogyny that is present in these books which I will address later. Overall, most of the characters feel like the same person, interacting with each other through wooden dialogue. They do not have much depth and are entirely forgettable, usually dying without any emotional reaction from the reader at all. Most of the point of view characters we follow are scientist, usually men, who think rationally and accept death with grace. There is not much outward showcase of emotion, people talking calmy with each other in the face of imminent death. The panic and irrationality is reserved for the nameless masses, which comes across as weirdly elitist and derogatory. In the first book there is a meeting where some rebel humans try to help the aliens invade Earth. They explicitly say that they only accept scientists and other elites into their rank as common people are too stupid. Even though they are meant to be the villains in the story I cannot help but think that they reflect Liu’s thinking based on the story that follows.
Depiction of society:
The same problems plague Liu’s depiction of society as his depiction of characters. There is an utter lack of ambiguity and complexity in how society is organised. This is perplexing as Liu seems very interested in how humans re-organise society in the face of cataclysmic events. One great example where he pulls this off is when rogue spaceships try to escape from the Earth, and they realise that they cannot go back ever again. Captains on various ships realise that their only chance of survival is to kill everyone aboard the other ships and take their resources needed for survival in space. This was a truly haunting and very memorable episode in the second book. However, for every great example there are many terrible ones. The re-organisation of society on the ship only worked because it was small scale, only involving the decision making from a few individuals. Liu tries to recreate the same on a world scale that simply does not work. Two hundred years in the future there is perfect democracy and everyone lives a leisurely life and there is no social inequality, and people had become soft and optimistic. All this, Liu explains with humanity’s belief that they are technologically advanced enough to defeat the invading alien civilisation. This is so ridiculous, saying that the world would turn into a utopia just because people are optimistic about technological development. This stems from Liu’s belief that technology is the ultimate driving force of civilisation and it shown in this example how ridiculous that is.
The Treatment of Women:
These books are extremely misogynistic. The treatment of female characters ruined my reading experience multiple times throughout the series. It is not only women who are treated badly, one autistic scientist described as being horribly deceased and he dies a terrible death sucked in by a black hole. He is also not seen as a ‘real’ man because he never had sex with a woman. The main characters who are women doom humanity to die, starting with Ye Wenjie inviting the aliens to invade Earth and continuing with Cheng Xin who causes humanity to eventually die. Both can be seen as the biblical character Eve, Ye Wenjie taking the forbidden fruit of knowledge, the knowledge that other civilisations exist in the universe and expelling humanity from the garden of Eden. In the third book this symbolism is even more explicit, the random scientists and Cheng Xin becoming Adam and Eve, the sole couple left of humanity, living in a paradise, but again leaving it at Eve’s behest. It is up to the heroic male characters to act as damage control, prolonging humanity’s survival through ingenuity. They are ultimately powerless however at the destructive force that are women, who are incapable of having agency and making tough decisions and when they do, it literally kills all of humanity. Wow, I have never read something so misogynistic in my entire life.

[Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cixin’s Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past is a perfect and peerless narrative achievement. Not only is it the best piece of science fiction I’ve ever read, but it would also be a strong contender for my favorite story of all time. I think that giving away any major plot points or world-building features would do a disservice to anyone who might read the trilogy (which everyone should), so for this review I’ll stick to commenting only on its broad thematic implications.

I do not think it’s hyperbolic to assert that Remembrance constitutes an apotheosis in humanity’s long journey toward unlocking the scientific worldview’s vast aesthetic potential. Since storytelling has been around much longer than modern physics, we’ve had lots of time to explore the aesthetics of unscientific thinking, and spent comparatively little time applying those aesthetics to contemporary discoveries about the workings of the natural world. Every great piece of science fiction has contributed to or at least gestured toward this project, but Remembrance is in a class all its own. Somehow, Liu seems to have soaked up all the lessons from the history of this nascent genre, channeling them into a seamless blend of humanity’s ancient narrative fundamentals and the most terrifying truths of empirical reality.

Liu possesses a powerful literary voice that syncs beautifully with his deep understanding of science. These books are packed with poignant, deft descriptions of scientific phenomena and human psychology. The story often flirts with becoming overly-abstruse, but time and again Liu rolls out poetic summaries of whatever theoretical or technical ideas he is exploring, rendering them both intellectually accessible and emotionally impactful. The imaginative breadth and linguistic mastery on display here seem entirely beyond the capacity of a single writer. This is even more impressive given that the English versions of these books have all been translated from the original Chinese.

Remarkably, Liu proves capable of generating thematic and emotional continuity while flouting many aspects of traditional character development. Since the master story arc spans a mind-boggling amount of time and a huge cast of characters, it would be easy for readers to become unmoored had Liu not managed to artfully weave so many expansive ideas and personalized moments together throughout the trilogy’s 1,500+ pagecount. I’m not sure how Liu accomplished this, but can attest that the characters in Remembrance felt as flesh and blood to me as any I’ve encountered in other books.

Remembrance confronts the difficult relationship between time and survival in a way that feels both familiar and entirely innovative. It is an ironclad law of nature that every living system must organize itself to stave off the onslaught of entropy. Doing so buys the time to perpetuate the circumstances necessary for survival. In a best case scenario, perpetuation develops into proliferation and survival blossoms into flourishing, but the bedrock physical dynamics remain the same; each little victory, no matter how sweet, remains suffused with the promise of inexorable defeat.

At the human level, valuations of life and love can begin to feel insignificant when matched up against the epic insouciance of the cosmos, but the characters in Remembrance reveal an existential attitude that is neither shamefully denialist nor naively romantic. Gritty acceptance carries the day, combined with healthy doses of courageous problem-solving and raw determination. And through it all, Liu never loses sight of the fact that, even when faced with ultimate failure, the physical structure of the universe is the most magnificent piece of art humanity could hope to encounter. To understand oneself as part of that supreme architecture––even as a mere “mote of dust in a grand wind” (loc. 25353)––is to bear witness to the truth of beauty and the beauty of truth.

This review was originally published on my blog, words&dirt.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scifi asks the hard questions. What is man if there's a way to go back in time and alter history? What does it mean if you could make out with your clone? What would you do if there was a planet with worms?

Liu Cixin wants to know something else entirely: imagine you're a guy but there's a car and it goes 9.999.999.999.999.999.999.999.999.999.999.999.999.999 light years per second. And word is they're inventing new ones as we speak and they go twice as fast and weigh 0,000.000.000.0001 grams. What then, huh?

The Three Body Problem devotes way too many pages to a few potentially interesting ideas — interplanetary mutually assured destruction, complex societies adapting to external shocks in unexpected ways, cosmic accidents putting individuals in tight spots. The end of book III in particular reads like the best of Philip Pullman, genuine cosmic myth making. But Liu is so disinterested in anything happening between multiple people if not mediated by a super fast rocket that cost 1.000.000.000 earthcoins, that slogging through the story proper is just not worth it. There are aliens, but they're actually just like humans, and they can speak English perfectly, and they kill 7,000.000.000.000.000 humans by switching on the space swastika, just out of frame. The male brain is made of smooth uniform cardboard, the female form an empty husk, a personality a noun, love a checkbox, society a static tree diagram.

There's an episode in which a group of spaceships is prevented from returning to earth, forcing the crew to confront a life in service of ensuring their nth-degree descendents might, perhaps, one day reach a planet capable of supporting life, in the meantime making do with very limited resources. By sheer luck, Liu writes a thrilling short story that could stand on its own. I wish he'd done so, and credited Asimov's Foundation series in the preface somewhere — if you want your hypermacroscale civilizational space opera, you'll find it there. Don't bother with Liu's 999,999,999,999 own pages.

[Alex Kavanagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting ideas, far too long, boring/two-dimensional characters that you don't really care about, and no real ending. The Sci-Fi was good, but scattered and not often built upon. It might be cultural, but the politics and society aspects seemed like caricatures; there wasn't really a likeable character in the books, their motivations often seemed to be pure plot points. I particularly disliked the portrayal of main one in the 3rd book. Oh, and it's a slog to get through as the author seems to just like exposition over story; far too much 'tell' and not enough 'show'.

5 *s for ideas, 1* for execution.

[Olethros · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Quiere saber más de esta trilogía, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

https://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com...

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diese Trilogie ist der Knaller. Ich habe selten einen so unerschöpflichen Ideenreichtum erlebt/erlesen wie in diesem Buch. Hier wird die Wissenschaft bis zum Abwinken zelebriert. Ich bin hin und weg. Verraten werde ich natürlich nichts, die ganzen Ideen, Geschichten in der Geschichte, Querverweise usw. sind derart komplex, dass es mich fast zerreißt. Absolute Leseempfehlung!

[Will White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book series that changes you. You can't be the same after you finish reading it.

The author (and translator) did a great job of weaving extremely complex scientific ideas into the fabric of the plot. The writing was magical, and there were many unforgettable episodes. I'm not a big science fiction guy, but man, this book walloped me.

Power through the slow parts of the trilogy; the overall effect is totally worth it, and all the challenging stuff has major payoffs down the road.

[⚔️Kelanth⚔️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questa trilogia è stata un viaggio... tra le stelle e tra le pagine; quando si finisce un'opera da più di milleduecento pagine, soprattutto ora che non ho più il tempo di quando potevo permettermi di passare intere giornate a leggere, finire una storia che mi ha tenuto occupato due mesi della mia vita mi lascia sempre soddisfatto, ancor più quando ti rendi conto di aver letto una pietra miliare della fantascienza; non per nulla quest'opera ha catturato l'immaginazione di lettori di tutto il mondo. Forse è anche uno dei pochi libri di autori cinesi che ho letto.

La trilogia è composta dai seguenti libri: "Il problema dei tre corpi", "Il bosco oscuro" e "La fine della morte".

So che a breve uscirà anche la serie Netflix, se non erro, di questa trilogia. Dunque motivo di orgoglio in più per aver ultimato la lettura prima.

La trilogia "Il problema dei tre corpi" è semplicemente straordinaria, un evento letterario nella fantascienza contemporanea che ridefinisce i confini dell'immaginazione e della speculazione scientifica. Cixin Liu ha creato un universo epico che sfida la mente e incanta il cuore, offrendo una visione unica e avvincente del nostro posto nell'universo.

Il primo libro, "Il problema dei tre corpi", getta le basi per una storia coinvolgente e complessa, introducendo il lettore al misterioso messaggio alieno che sconvolge le fondamenta della comprensione umana. La trama è impeccabilmente costruita, con personaggi ben sviluppati e una suspense che cresce costantemente fino al finale sconvolgente. In questo primo libro ho trovato anche i miei personaggi preferiti della trilogia: Luo Ji, un personaggio chiave soprattutto nel secondo libro, "Il bosco oscuro". È un astrofisico coinvolto nel progetto per affrontare la minaccia aliena. La sua storia è intrisa di elementi drammatici e decisioni difficili e Shi Qiang: un investigatore della polizia cinese noto anche come "Dio Nero". È un personaggio carismatico e brillante, con un approccio unico alle indagini. Appare principalmente nel primo libro, ma il suo impatto si estende lungo la trilogia.

Nel secondo capitolo, "Il bosco oscuro", la narrazione si evolve ulteriormente, portando il lettore in profondità nel cuore dei dilemmi etici e scientifici innescati dall'imminente incontro con una civiltà aliena. La psicologia dei personaggi è affrontata in modo brillante, e la trama si snoda attraverso intricati intrecci di politica, filosofia e avanzamenti scientifici. Qui ho trovato anche i personaggi "cattivi" o antagonisti migliori: Sofone e Mike Evans.

Infine, il terzo libro, "La fine della morte", offre una conclusione epica e avvincente a questa straordinaria trilogia. La storia raggiunge il suo apice, risolvendo misteri e svelando verità che lasceranno il lettore senza fiato. La prosa di Liu è affilata come sempre, con riflessioni filosofiche che spingono il lettore a riflettere profondamente sulla natura dell'esistenza e sull'infinita vastità dell'universo. Qui ho trovato i personaggi che mi sono piaciuti meno, su tutti: Cheng Xin e Ai AA.

Alcune note dolenti, per essere del tutto sincero: nonostante il suo indiscutibile fascino, va notato che in alcuni punti la narrazione si dilunga eccessivamente, rallentando il ritmo della storia. Il primo libro, introduce un concetto affascinante e crea un'atmosfera di suspense che tiene il lettore incollato alle pagine. Tuttavia, alcuni passaggi dettagliati e discussioni scientifiche possono sembrare prolungati oltre il necessario, interrompendo il flusso della storia principale. Nel secondo libro, la trama si complica ulteriormente, portando avanti una narrazione intricata e coinvolgente. Tuttavia, ancora una volta, alcune parti della trama sembrano estendersi troppo, forse al di là della necessità, contribuendo a un senso di prolissità che può distogliere l'attenzione dalla trama principale. Anche nel terzo libro, mentre la trilogia raggiunge la sua conclusione epica, alcune sezioni sembrano indulgere in dettagli e spiegazioni che potrebbero essere accorciate senza compromettere la comprensione della trama.

In generale, la trilogia "Il problema dei tre corpi" è un capolavoro di creatività e intelligenza, una lettura che affascina e stimola la mente. Cixin Liu si conferma come uno dei maestri della fantascienza, offrendo un'opera che rimarrà incisa nella memoria dei lettori per lungo tempo dopo aver chiuso l'ultima pagina. Sinceramente era dai tempi di Asimov che non leggevo un'opera così intensa e pregna di Fantascienza con la "F" maiuscola e ci vorrà del tempo per farla sedimentare e apprezzarla veramente.

Se ami la fantascienza che ti spinge a pensare e ti trasporta in mondi straordinari, questa trilogia è assolutamente da leggere.

[Yifei Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great trilogy. Mind-blowing and life-changing! And IMO 3>2>1 so if you feel book 1 is so-so, please at least give book 2 a try!

Lots of people complain about the lack of characters' development and that's true, but personally, I don't think it weakens my reading experience. Liu's writing style focuses on the big picture: tech-socioeconomic development and epic chronicles. While everyone has different tastes, I really don't think we should stick to just one paradigm. Just like nobody would complain about the eccentricity of Ulysses as long as we're impressed by the work.

BTW just wanna tell the people who read Chinese literature the first time: Liu's writing style is also controversial in China, but hate it or not, please don't misunderstand it as the general Chinese literature style. There are as many genres in China as in the west.

[YJ Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Staggering scale, both in time and space, yet a deeply intimate and personal story of three main characters who bore witness to earth’s history. How the different threads of the book (especially the fairy tales in book 3) tie together thrills me at every knot.

Wasn’t impressed by the second book’s translation, but the lyrical quality of Ken Liu’s translation of the first and third book transcends the Chinese original.

[Simon Kenneth John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mind-blowing in scope; human and accessible in tone, pace (rather quick, but manageable), and overall writing. I highly highly recommend this trilogy hailing from a Chinese master of science-fiction.
Myself, discovered this gem after consulting a former-President Barack Obama reading list of 2016.. he also seemed to have liked it.
Enjoy!
S.

[Jon Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these books and would highly recommend them. I think the best way to read them is knowing nothing about them, and warn people looking through reviews here that many contain spoilers.

For those who are going to read a bunch of reviews here anyway I will only add:

I would especially advise against taking anyone who has an obvious political axe to grind with this author seriously. Though note the author does play with western/Abrahamic mythology (I wonder if he read a Chinese translation of Milton? Could it possibly have been any good??). Some people might not like what they see when they look at the stories told by their own culture reimagined by someone outside of it. Like looking at oneself in a carnival mirror. Can really ruin the ability of some people to understand what the author was trying to say I guess.

And: these are science fiction stories in the classic tradition of exploring big ideas on a cosmic scale. They are not exactly character driven, that's not the point. But the characters are much better than a lot of people say. I found many of them very sympathetic and memorable.

[Michael Lloyd-Billington · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are absolutely no words for how utterly dreadful & execrable this entire trilogy is. Seriously, if a presumptuous & idiotic 12-year old with the intellectual & moral evolution of an Ayn Rand were to endlessly spew his presumptions, it could never, ever be worse than this. There are really no words for how completely this entire trilogy fails on every single level -- science, philosophy, psychology, alien culture, narrative, dialogue ... literally every single aspect of this series is barren beyond expression. Seriously, in all my years of reading, I have never encountered a book in any genre that failed so completely, and it is beyond my powers of conception that any thinking person considered this other than tragic. Would give this negative stars if possible....

[Jose Manuel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Esto no es literatura. Llevo leyendo ciencia-ficción desde los 70, cuando todavía no se le llamaba así (eran "novelas de anticipación"). Esto es otro nivel.
Es una serie de ideas interesantes, que cabrían en un relato, presentadas de cualquier forma; unas veces mediante diálogos forzados y absurdos, otras por un narrador aparentemente omnisciente típico de la tercera persona.
El nivel es de redacción de colegio.
Personajes planos (casi parecen el mismo, excepto el policía del libro 1), diálogos prescindibles...
No entiendo por qué tiene tanta fama esta serie de novelas. Son tantos los errores que se podría escribir un libro enumerándolos. No voy a perder el tiempo apuntándolos, ya he perdido demasiado forzándome a mi mismo a terminar este despropósito.

[Matt Herman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Liu Cixin has made some pretty deplorable comments regarding the treatment of the Uyghurs in China recently. For this reason, I would not want to support him any further as an author and hope that this review can act to discourage others from supporting the author.

Also, knowing this, there is no reason to give Cixin the benefit of the doubt regarding sexism in his writing. I had thought it was more about his awkwardness with writing about general human interactions, but now I think it's safe to assume that it was misogyny.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best SciFi series that I've read. The story kept unfolding throughout the novels and kept me interested the whole way. Yes, there were some dry sections, but this is hard sci-fi and provided useful info. Highly recommended.

[Igor Harb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sci-fi masterpiece, on par with works of Asimov, Clarke, Herbert and Le Guin. The first two books have more interesting characters, but the last one goes places hithereto unimagined.

[Kartoffel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meisterwerk!

[Hunnapuh Xbal · Rating 5 out of 5]

He tenido poco contacto con la literatura china, ha sido una literal desconocida para mi, sobre todo en los apartados de Ciencia Ficción, ya no se diga en la literatura clásica de este pais-continente.
Es bastante curioso que entre más se acerca uno a China, más se da cuenta de que no es una cultura diferente a la nuestra, es casi una civilización diferente a la nuestra, tienen una riqueza histórica, cultural y artística tan inconmesurable como su nación.
Del autor, Liu Cixin, me di cuenta que existía cuando vi la película de Netflix «La tierra errante (The wandered Earth)», una super producción China que fue todo un éxito comercial, ahí supe de que era basada en una novela de Liu Cixin, pero hasta ahí llegó mi curiosidad.
Hace poco mi primo me comenttaba de un libro que había leído y que le parecía buenísimo, se titula «El Problema de los tres cuerpos» y es una trilogía que recién finalizó Liu Cixin, así que buscando el primer libro, me encontré con la trilogía completa y la compré ya que estaba a un precio excelente y tenía además un buen descuento en su versión Kindle, y me salió mucho más barato el paquete de los tres libros virtuales, que cualquier otra modalidad.
Esta reseña la voy a ir alimentando poco a poco con cada tomo e inicio con la primera que es el problema de los tres cuerpos.

El problema de los tres cuerpos – Liu Cixin – 2006

Es la primera novela de la saga y ganadora de varios premios chinos y ganó el premio Hugo cuando se tradujo al Inglés en el 2014.
Trata sobre una puesta en la práctica del famoso y viejo «Problema de los tres cuerpos» que se supone que surge a raíz de los estudios de Charles-Eugène Delaunay quien analizó y teorizó entre 1860 y 1867 sobre el comportamiento del Sol, la Tierra y la Luna al interactuar orbitalmente sus respectivas masas, gravedades y movimientos, lo que en suma es una aproximación bastante exacta al problema y que se convirtió en un tema de estudio para físiscos y matemáticos que dio como resultados, avances en los temas de teorías del caos. como bien lo expresa uno de sus estudiosos más dedicados:

El azar no es más que la medida de la ignorancia del hombre, reconociendo, a la vez, la existencia de innumerables fenómenos que no eran completamente aleatorios, que simplemente no respondían a una dinámica lineal, aquellos a los que pequeños cambios en las condiciones iniciales conducían a enormes cambios en el resultado.
Henri Poincaré

Con esto como contexto, entremos en la novela: OJO ALERTA DE SPOILER


En plena revolución cultural China, Ye Zhetai, profesor y físico astronómico, es llevado a una «sesión de lucha», emulando la descrita por Anne F. Thurston, en «Enemigos del pueblo» sobre el profesor You Xiaoli, y al no ceder a las humillaciones, es asesinado ante la masa enardecida, por las jovencísimas Guardias rojas que lo tenían cautivo, todo por mantener firmes sus posturas científicas, Ye Wenjie su hija ve como su padre es públicamente humillado y luego asesinado, su madre para mantenerlas con vida reniega de su esposo. La joven que tambien tiene desarrollo como científica, es degradada socialmente y transferida a un proyecto secreto como asistente técnico de segunda categoría, que se vuelve indispensable por sus habilidades y conocimientos, poco a poco va adquiriendo importancia y le dejan cierta libertad por la necesidad que tienen de su experticia, despues sabe que están transmitiendo mensajes a otras civilizaciones como estuvo de moda en los sesentas y se le ocurre usar al sol como antena reflectora, con lo que amplifica la señal que envía y esta llega cuatro años despues a un sistema de tres soles, cuya civilización vive un infierno de eras caóticas combinando etapas de destrucción total por calor abrasador, muerte por frío extremo y pequeñas pausas de tranquilidad, que sin embargo no inhiben el desarrollo de una civilización científica y técnicamente más avanzada que la nuestra, que ya descartó establecer predictibilidad de sus condiciones astronómicas y decide que la única salida es migrar, el mensaje es recibido por un monitor extraterreste que sabe lo que hará su civilización si se da cuenta de la existencia de otros planetas que puedan albergar vida inteligente y contesta que dejen de transmitir porque el planeta tierra corre peligro de ser invadido y si envían más mensajes, tendrán las coordenadas precisas y la distancia exacta, pero Ye Wenjie que es la única que recibe el mensaje por ser su trabajo similar al del operador trisoliano, por todo lo que ha sufrido, se siente decepcionada con la raza humana. y decide enviar un mensaje en dirección del sistema Alfa Centauri que más o menos dice: «Vengan, yo les ayudaré a conquistar este mundo, nuestra civilización no es capaz de resolver sus problemas, necesitamos de vuestra fuerza.» La civilización Trisoliana, recibe este nuevo mensaje, calcula la distancia gracias al tiempo que tardó en ir y venir la señal, prepara un plan de conquista, envía naves que viajan a un décimo de la velocidad de la luz en una expedición que tardará como cuatrocientos años en llegar. En la tierra se funda una organización que apoya la destrucción de la raza humana, reclutada entre gente desencantada con la humanidad, pero con gran poder económico, político y social, se descubre la conspiración y se logra desarticular parte de la organización, obteniendo mucha información precisa, que incluye el conocer que los Trisolianos han enviado computadoras cuanticas a espiar la tierra, basadas en dos protones disparados a la velocidad de la luz que se desdoblan unidimensionalmente y son capaces de cubrir cada rincon del planeta e inhiben todo desarrollo teórico de la física, anulando cualquier experimentación con aceleradores de partículas que si pueden ser manipulados por estas computadoras cuánticas o «sofones» en un intento por evitar que en cuatrocientos años los terrícolas alcancen un grado de desarrollo científico que les haga frente. Pero hay una pequeña diferencia entre los terricolas y los trisiolianos, estos últimos no tienen órganos de transmisión de pensamiento externos, (boca, gestos, etc.) y toda comunicacón la hacen directamente de su mente, es decir todo lo que piensan es lo que transmiten en longitudes de onda visibles para ellos por lo que no son capaces de ocultar pensamientos o mentir.

Sus aliados terrestres tratan de explicarles los conceptos de mentira, astucia, traición, etc. y tras largo tiempo logran comprender esta característica humana y sus consecuencias, lo que les causa terror. La tierra se comienza a prepararse para una batalla que seguramente perderán dentro de cuatrocientos años.


La novela por momentos hace giños a Isaac Asimov, a Ray Bradury le toma prestado el poético y casi mítico lenguaje y la grandilocuencia parece que es de Tolstoi, pero eso sería pensando que esa sea la literatura que Cixin haya leído como influencias, porque desconozco realmente la literatura china y no dudo que tengan sus propios referentes literarios de igual o mejor nivel que los mencionados.

Ya comencé la segunda novela y veremos que pasa. por el momento 5 estrellas.

El Bosque Oscuro – Liu Cixin – 2008

Leer la primera parte de la trilogía, que no se llama "El problema de los tres cuerpos" sino "El recuerdo del pasado de la Tierra", tomar la segunda fue muy fácil, porque en donde quedó resulta apremiante ver como se desarrollan los hechos.
La novela comienza con una extraña y medio aburrida introducción que tiene que ver con hormigas, cementerios y gente platicando, pero que resulta ser indispensable porque da las claves para el resto de la saga.
Por ratos se pone como novelón romántico, por ratos rebosa poesía, Asimov siempre está presente, pero también se advierte algo de Frank Herbert, porque creo que Cixin bebió de estas fuentes en algún momento.
Leyendo otras reseñas, veo que critican el excesivo detalle personajes, situaciones o tecnología, pero es que al final es literatura y quienes están acostumbrados a las trepidantes novelitas adolescentes post apocalípticas, si lo encontrarán endemoniadamente aburrido, pero esta categoría de lectores niños no menoscaba la calidad de la novela, por más que la critiquen y se ve en la enorme popularidad que tiene al grado de que políticos muy influyentes la han aclamado.
Malditos chinos, todo lo que hacen lo hacen bien, fue lo que exclamé al terminar la primera y lo mantengo con esta segunda entrega.


La tierra será invadida en cuatro siglos los trisolarianos vienen a conquistar el planeta con su tecnología y conocimiento superior al punto en que en las últimas comunicaciones simplemente tratan a los humanos de simples insectos, tienen conocimiento total de todo lu que hagan o digan gracias a los "fosones" No obstante, aún faltan cuatro siglos para el arribo de esta raza de extraterrestres, quienes se han encargado de espiar muy de cerca a los terrícolas gracias a los increíbles “sofones” o "fosones", (mi edición dice Sofones, pero en otros lados leo Fosones, no se cual será la correcta, aunque en inglés leo "sophons"), computadoras cuánticas ndimensionales del tamaño de dos protones que al desdoblarse en sus diferentes dimensiones pueden incluso cubrir la tierra.
La primera escena plantea una poética analogía al final del primer libro, con una hormiga que transita por una lápida donde están labradas letras o símbolos de un nombre y es testigo involuntario de una conversación entre Luo Ji, astrónomo que ha terminado devenido en sociólogo con Ye Wenjie, la astrofísica por quien se origina toda la historia, que hablan sobre la posibilidad de que Luo Ji inicie una nueva área de investigación o ciencia, la sociología cósmica, lo que es esencial para el argumento.
Se plantean cuatro premisas y conceptos sobre las que el resto de la historia Transcurre.

1. La necesidad primordial de toda civilización es la supervivencia
2. Aunque las civilizaciones crecen y se expanden, la cantidad total de materia del universo siempre es la misma
3. Existe una Cadena de sospecha
4. Toda civilización tiene en momentos críticos una Explosión tecnológica

La organización terrícola-trisolariana continúa con vida a pesar de los éxitos obtenidos con la destrucción del portaviones y la obtención de información clave, además la investigación teórica esta inhibida en sus elementos experimentales y la certeza de la superioridad tecnológica de los Trisolianos es desmoralizadora lo que obliga al mundo a tomar medidas desesperadas.
Como saben que toda actividad humana está siendo monitoreada y transmitida al enemigo, se sabe que los trisolianos no pueden mentir y por lo tanto no son capaces de tener astucia, de modo que lo que no se dice, no lo saben.
Basados en esta cualidad humana crean el concepto de "Vallados" que son cuatro humanos con toda la libertad económica, política, militar y moral para hacer y pensar un plan secreto con el cual detener a los enemigos.
Estos "Vallados" son:

Frederick Tyler - alto funcionario gringo ex algo de defensa, especialista en flotas y guerra aérea.
Rey Diaz – La continuación de Maduro en Venezuela una mezcla de Hugo Chávez y Gadafi con esteroides, obsesionado con las bombas nucleares
Bill Hines – Neurocientífico inglés, empeñado en convertir a la humanidad en los Mentat de Dune (léanse Dune por favor).
Luo Ji - astrónomo y sociología ¿cósmico?, que es con quien inicia el libro.
La organización Trisoliana por su lado crean entre sus filas a los desvalladores, personas cuya misión es descubrir de forma precisa los planes de los vallados para dejarlos obsoletos y acabar con cada intento de resistencia del planeta ante los invasores.
Cada uno de ellos urde plan que refleja su personalidad y especialidad, a excepción de Luo Ji quien pide una casa de lujo en una montaña para vivir con un su amor imaginario que posteriormente se hace realidad en un giro muy exagerado y sin fundamento, pero en resumen no hace absolutamente nada más que beber y soñar.
Cada uno comienza a preparar su plan, pero el primer vallado en "caer", es Tyler a quien su vallado se le aparece de pronto y le dice que a descubierto su plan secreto que es tratar de engañar a los trisolianos con una falsa deserción de la flota suicida que ha estado preparando. Saberse descubierto es demasiado para Tyler que termina abandonando todo y matándose luego de visitar a Luo Ji.
El segundo vallado que entra en contacto con su desvallador es Cháve... digo Rey Díaz, quien al verse frente a su desvallador, lo ataca salvajemente casi hasta matarlo, pero su desvallador alcanza a descubrirle que con sus bombas, lo que pretendía es destruir la tierra provocando que el Sol reaccionara a un ataque nuclear expulsando fuego y radiación solar que abrasaría la tierra y a los Trisolianos en una loca venganza final. Termina siendo arrestado por atentar contra la humanidad.
Hines por su lado logra crear un "acondicionador mental" para implantar seguridad en la victoria a los soldados, lo que plantea otros dilemas éticos y no prospera.
Solo Luo Ji no hace nada mas que vivir la vida, hasta que le quitan a su esposa e hija y las ponen a hibernar para ser despertadas al momento de la batalla final, lo que lo obliga a trabajar y en una desenfrenada carrera arma el solo una especie de desquiciado muro de defensa con las bombas de Díaz que a todas luces es un error y termina siendo destituido y expulsado.
Solo al final, al borde de la tumba y dispuesto a matarse revela su plan, que detiene en seco a los Trisolianos en un "Deux ex Machina" bastante original que deja en suspenso la conclusión de la trilogía.
En paralelo a la labor e historia de los vallados están las acciones de Zhang Beihai, uno de los oficiales de la fuerza espacial que está siguiendo su propia agenda para cumplir un plan que nunca está del todo claro y que no tiene que ver con los vallados, pero sí con la supervivencia de la humanidad y desemboca en otro punto álgido de la trama.
El concepto desvelado en el primer libro de que el universo es en realidad un bosque oscuro en el que todas las civilizaciones deben esconderse para no ser descubiertas, so pena de su aniquilación resulta magistralmente manejado en esta segunda parte, de ahí su nombre.



Es de hacer notar que, así como la primera novela nos cuenta mucho de ese oscuro período de China llamado "La Revolución Cultural" en esta se advierte un fuerte conocimiento de la geopolítica mundial y de la sociología de las masas, sobre todo con los cambios en las percepciones de la masa conforme el tiempo arroja luces y sombras sobre determinado personaje o hecho.
Los héroes de ayer pasan a villanos hoy, para ser reivindicados mañana en un ciclo interminable que se mueve según la idiosincrasia de la masa navega en el tiempo.
Leerse la tercera parte, será mucho más apremiante, ya me volvió adicto la historia.

[August Zhen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t read sci-fi for ages. It used to be my favourite genre, still remember my childhood years sitting in the tiny primary school library. Haunted by the vision of getting into one good middle school, I might permit myself sometimes some freedom by immersing into a totally exotic and alien world. I hunted for the newest “sci-fi world” magazine in thirst. Now I found out Liu is one of the famous writers for that magazine I read then. I probably have come across his short novels along with many other excellent writers 8 years ago… ok, this past made this book bring some sentimental and nostalgic tang.
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First- sentimentally, reading the novel felt like standing by one cliff. You are staring at the bottomless abyss of darkness. You stared, you felt cold. You were terrified.
I had similar feelings when reading the Arcadia-standing alone at the coastline of wildness. the shortish life and the flaming death.
I recalled reading Manfred. When Manfred summoned the spirits of Alpes and asked for “self-oblivion” The spirit replied: “we are immortal, and do not forget. We are eternal, and to us the past is as the future, present.”
He replied: “will death bestow it on me?”
Manfred is not a sci-fi, maybe these spirits are suspected of higher dimensional creatures I know not. But the philosophical essence might be alike: we mortals, doomed to be die, yet know not the future nor when the tickling ends, is always staring at that cliff.
But is it just about personal life and death?
Why is the darkness terrifying? Because it does not only engulf you, it engulfs your grave and your epitaph and everyone who might read your epitaph. The whole human species is falling-once from its birth to its inevitable death. Revolutions and reforms are like swimmers in the river- the direction will never be changed- every fest has its end.

So after finished, I recited Manfred’s lines for a dozen of times. Is not the unpredictability and one-directional movement that made the being feel it exist? (Ok that’s too meta-physical) Give life to the time.

Good point: I love his writing style. The colors are striking and vivid. The analogy and metaphors are pretty apt. I was frequently impressed by the grandiosity he deciphered in the most common trivialities (when he likens the struggling ants with human beings), and the approachability in the most spectacular scenes (the simile between the space ship and the ancient cliffs with human caves). It is hard to imagine how he made those unexplainable chains between two wholly different concepts and aroused the universal sensation of sublimity. As an aestheticist and escapist who seek literature as my heavenly refuge, I would give him 5-star simply for that.

I also love how he employed politics and sociology to model the human society and this cosmic “clashing of civilizations”. They appear to me like an IR realism model with divisions much more deeply carved. The dark forest theory and the deterrence part is amazing. It’s like a chronology of real history. He even pointed out the Zeitgest changes according to the “interstellar relations”. The hard scientific part which I can only 70% understand (I AM a physics lover and I may understand more if I made that attempt… But I just want to see how the story develops and I confess I didn’t comprehend them very well). But I can tell it is hard scientific and fairly sound based.

The characters are also impressive. I actually discussed that with my friend Carol. I personally presume they are metaphorical archetypes rather than real human beings. Liu personally agreed that they are “tools”. You could tell from their Chinese Name: Luo Ji stand for Logic, Cheng Xin stand for kind heart and humane virtue. Zhuang Yan to Luo is like a conceptualization and culmination of human love: which is unreasonable, religious, artificial, and even fake (there are suspects that Zhuang was hired by UN to be his Muse and Eros). Liu is implying this when some officer said “love is a concept” to Luo Ji. He uses Goethe’s saying that “I love you and it has nothing to do with you”. I also doubted Luo’s love is narcissistic by its essence. He created this apostle of femininity as a refuge for his emotional turbulence. He extended his love to the physical matters like Red Wine, the Fireplace, the Eden-like utopia, even that mythological picture. When he said “I could have accompanied you more” before his death, with teary eyes, he said this to Mona Lisa- not to Zhuang. Liu has made it explicit: Zhuang’s melancholy was not a given female character, but ironically caused by Luo and the mission she carried (I almost felt the pleasure of retaliation when he knew the truth that she was sent on purpose). She left him and was long lost in the history. He is saying to the picture, to every surrounding matter that aroused his nostalgic and sweet sensation, and indirectly-to himself. This figure stands for a woven dream, but for which humans could willingly sacrifice and crucify themselves, making the most playful chevalier one martyr. Sorry I write this part beyond the length, cuz I have similar wooden cottage in my mind. I have similar lover sat by the fireplace, Like Milton said “Came vested all in white, pure as her mind”. Thus I can resonate with this poetic symptom, and of course, absolute human absurdity!

Apart from the religious conceptualization of Love, I also feel there is the relationship between Zhuang and Luo realizes the utopian pursuit of human being- a non-language communication and unity. It is philosophical here- the humans’ limits of perception is constrained by language. The more we tried to accurately portray the world or communicate, the more we ended up producing rough distorted outlines. With such a fluid tool, we can never understand each other nor can we understand the universal laws. But what is interesting here is that Zhuang and Luo achieve this non-linguistic communication. Their hearts were echoed by almost supernatural force, their thoughts were delivered through expression in the eyes. Sorry, Don Juan, but it is exactly what Don Juan did after he met Haidee. They don’t know each other’s language; they are living in one barbarian island far from any civilizations. Their love is unconditional. Therefore, we can see this paradox in the relationship: on the one hand, it is purely absurd, self-centric, narcissistic, and all about concepts. On the other hand, it is free of language and social convention, abandoning any tools of communication, that is real inter-personal and Romantic (with Capital R)

I guess Cheng Xin’s role is the reflection of both human virtue and hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is not the opposite to humanity, for the latter is fundamentally unrooted and eerily vulnerable to paradoxical moral choices. She can represent most leaders- for the causes of her failure are the same of the failure of most leaderships. The informational asymmetry (she barely knew the dimensional attack), the irrational idolization her followers that she couldn’t stop and eventually tying her mind on to the blind wheel , the conscience when she was supposed to execute cruelty (Machiavelli is giggling), and her self-righteous narcissism. Whether virtue is selfishness needed longer philosophical debate. But we can see clearly which side Liu is taking. He mentioned many times how Cheng found herself the centre of universe with all stars rotating around her; how she was tempted by her image of being the sword keeper. Liu has made the judgement that her pursuit of virtue and humanity is partially narcissistic. This is not an issue in a peaceful society as we judge people not by motivation but by consequence. Her achievement would be praised, if not in the time of revolution and a crisis more serious than a thousand revolutions. Do we need raison d’ Etat? Do we need to be as cunning as a fox and as cruel as a lion? Pragmatically, Liu took the classic realism side: this unreflective unreserved quest for virtue is fatal. Believe me or not, she reminds me of Robespierre. Of course, the latter is more tragic and culpable than her. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

Lastly, the patriarchal part. Gosh, I’m not a PC gal. I’m not saying Liu is a sexist, evidently he is not and sexist is too reductionism. What interests me is to read against the grain, to read according to the text and identify the gender entrenchment from the semantics and symbols. So, to begin with, I understand this book is serialized in the newspaper, targeted at a minor group of readers, who might be dominantly male. The author needs some spices to hook his audience as well (every author does!) That explains why some characters are very comedian and some are modelled out of cliches. Females were all slimy and so on. But there are still two critiques I would like to make.

First one is extracted from the discussion between Carol and me. If Zhuang, this sorrowful tender female, is intended as a metaphoric epitome of femininity, it will be of great literary value and nothing more to be said. The problem is that there should be a distance between the archetype and the realistic person. What counts as an archetype? The first character that came to my mind is Don Juan’s Haidee. She came to Don Juan like a fairy of childish purity and female charisma. As it happened after shipwreck in one uncivilized island, it is easy to see the underlying ironies and metaphorical meanings. The author of Don Juan successfully isolated Haidee in the ocean of metaphors, shrouded his idealized womanhood in the mythology of literature and philosophy. However, Carol is correct to point out that the same distance is lacked in Liu’s work. Zhuang is too true-to-life in fulfilling the popular image from the patriarchal perspective. The author did make some reflections, which are not adequate to let his readers realize the absurdity and artificiality of this character.

Another critique is less political but literary- some characters’ behaviors are not justified. It appears to me that each character is the embodiment of their idea and faith without hesitance or inner conflicts. The flatness of protagonists might be necessary in such a historical chronology and epic novel. But certainly, some characters are less humane than others. I could sense the artificial brush stroke in their reaction and how they are serving the plot.

It is, I agree, illegitimate to purpose corrections from political and moral view. For aesthetics is moral-free. However, if writers want to do the job of the god- if they want to create something, they should not stoop to the prevailing social discourses that are produced by the current transient and unjust power hierarchy. These discourses are not self-conscious language- they are cants. Doctor Johnson mentioned this point that when you say “I feel sorry about the weather” you do not really feel pity- it is not a meaningful sentence but a posture to show your compliance with the social manner- language is formatted and degenerated into futile devices. You give up thinking and creating and accuracy. You are repeating those cants that are circulating by the authorities and subjects to the power structure. That might be the daily routine of a citizen but should never be the job of an author. What if, just imagine , as our only telescope to perceive the world, lost all its vitality? Liu depicts the ladies in one stereotype way, the fatherhood, militaristic familial patriarchy is frequently mentioned. I spotted no distance nor irony nor reflection in these portrayals- the author invited the readers to identify with the text rather than observing or doubting the phenomenon. Anyway, it might look like a tangent but I feel it’s necessary. To conclude: when the writer uses language to reinforce the given power hierarchy and dominant discourse subconsciously or consciously, their creativity is in danger. They yield their freedom of thinking and reflection to the repetitive cants. They are becoming one radio passively incepting the white noise of their age.

Cliches and sentimentality are two primary characters of poets, which shall be forgiven. Profit is legitimately to pursue. There is nothing wrong to entertain your readers using the most fashionable wits and jokes. The poem, according to Virginia Woolf, is actually a bargain between the poet and the time she lives in. But bear in mind the power of the language. Some cliches are more dangerous than others as they are confirming the power structure, which implicates realistic oppression. Burke is right: “Human mischiefs derive from words”. A writer, an orator, a politician, any media workers, possessing both the maneuvering talents and publicity, should always be cautious not abusing the power of words.

(omg I feel I’m speaking on behalf of Byron’s ghost)

Overall, I will give a 5 out of 5 rate. Highly recommend. This book is beyond my expectation (which is already quite high before reading) and worth every reputation.

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling. Bought the sequel.

There is a 30 episode Chinese series based on this first book in the trilogy on Amazon Prime, I loved every minute of it. Watch this one, not the American remake. Hopefully a series from book 2 will come out in 2025.

[Angie Woodmansee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve now read this trilogy four times, and am set to reread it again. I keep coming back to it because nothing I’ve read makes me feel the way these books do. One time I was outside in the mountains and away from light pollution, staring at the stars. I tried to explain to the person with me how I felt so small and insignificant, and how the feeling was powerful and also really good. That’s exactly the feeling these books give me, sitting out on a starry night and being reminded of my place in the universe. So no spoilers here, but it’s the greatest sci-fi series I’ve ever read, and you should definitely read it.

A note from the author: “As a science fiction writer who began as a fan, I do not use my fiction as a disguised way to criticize the reality of the present. I feel that the greatest appeal of science fiction is the creation of numerous imaginary worlds outside of reality. I’ve always felt that the greatest and most beautiful stories in the history of humanity were not sung by wandering bards or written by playwrights and novelists, but told by science. The stories of science are far more magnificent, grand, involved, profound, thrilling, strange, terrifying, mysterious, and even emotional, compared to the stories told by literature. Only, these wonderful stories are locked in cold equations that most do not know how to read...Through the medium of science fiction, I seek only to create my own worlds using the power of imagination, and to make known the poetry of Nature in those worlds, to tell the romantic legends that have unfolded between Man and the Universe.”

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can be said.....just kept for some moment speechless after finishing the last page of the last book. It was a long read, but really.......there is nothing compared to this series in the scientific genre in the world as per my read. It will be very less to even give review to the book collection considering what a unique journey it was. The enriching thing was the details. At the first book the concept seemed very common , but as it gradually went it makes someone to think deeply about our surroundings. The second book followed with similar awe but again brought the human nature in a very unique way, less seen normally in science fictions. And the third one.......just can't make this in words as it took a long time to absorb what the writer was trying to say and practically can't help myself to be agreed with his logics more. And if someone thinks he knows what meant by time travel seeing todays other movies or books, boy he is for quite a shock how it is executed here. I just couldn't anticipate even 2 pages sometimes what was going to happen. This is a unique collection of our time and i was let behind to be in the reader league of this saga after 10 years of it's publication, i wish i had it early in my memories. A must read and a new writer in the favourite (probably the best for me) has been added.

[JJacy1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

That’s it?

This is my review for all three books; It’s been a long time since I’ve had such mixed feelings on a book(s).

First the good stuff; Descriptions of places and people are for lack of better words, “lavish.” Characters and their feelings are deeply explored and they themselves have a huge sense of complexity and depth. They evolve and change and it’s great that way.

The bad; pacing is terrible. Maybe a spoiler of sorts so don’t read more- for a series of books that span “all” of humanity’s timeline so very little happens. Or what happens is a burst of really important epic moments and then a lot of “quiet contemplation” for those involved. Book 1 had 2 key events, book 2, had 2 and book three had 1 and then and ending, of sorts.

So I’m torn by the fact I read them and am glad I read them, but I am not an active proponent for reading this, at least not to general audiences. I say read it is you like “hard science” depictions of time/space and philosophical ruminatings on what is time and space. I say avoid if you like space opera or sweeping stories, and books filled with action.

[Marc Willson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest science fiction trilogys ever written that is being made into a Netflix series. Cixin Liu recently said, “I have the greatest respect for and faith in the creative team adapting The Three-Body Problem for television audiences,” he said in a statement. “I set out to tell a story that transcends time and the confines of nations, cultures and races; one that compels us to consider the fate of humankind as a whole. It is a great honor as an author to see this unique sci-fi concept travel and gain fandom across the globe and I am excited for new and existing fans all over the world to discover the story on Netflix.”

[Iziur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rushed and with some character issues but still brilliant

I would say out of the three, this installment seems the most unstable. Some parts seemed rushed (especially the last portion where it seems the author had several ideas that would have comfortably given the reader a fourth book), others I could have read and reread as the story takes its time to be deliciously enjoyed. Some characters flowed from worn-out clichés to interesting rounded personalities.

Still, as part of the trilogy and the end of it, it remains brilliant.

[Micah Hackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best science fiction I have read

The genius and creativity of this series is a true treasure. Unlike any other contemporary science fiction being written today, this is pleasure to read from start to end. Beware, the beginning of the first novel is perhaps a bit tough to get through because it is rather confusing. Hang in there, if you need encouragement, because it’s worth it.