Book of the Month: The Three-Body Problem

By Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu

Grade Levels: 8+

Cixin Liu’s is one of China’s best science fiction authors. The Three-Body Problem is the first installment in an incredible trilogy that has won multiple awards, including the prestigious Hugo Award. This is hard science fiction at its best, taking complicated theoretical physics and bringing it to life. Originally published in China, it was translated into English by Ken Liu in 2014. Since then, it has become one of the foremost science fiction novels in the world.

Liu elegantly captures some of the deepest questions in the human heart and meshes them with the analytical quest to comprehend the structure of the universe. He makes complicated physics an adventure in seeking humanity’s place in the universe.

What happens when contact is made across the universe by an alien force? What if all we know about physics is not real? Can humanity come together to reach the stars?

We follow Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist who must make difficult choices that impact the fate of the entire earth while grappling with the incongruity of the cruelty of humanity and the hope of redemption. We also meet Wang Miao, a nanomaterials researcher who must work with tough police detective and counter-terroism specialist, Shi Qiang to find the answer to humanity’s greatest threats.

Does the Three-Body Problem have an answer? Does humanity have a chance of survival? Open this book and find out!

Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20518872-the-three-body-problem