This is book number 1 in the The Three-Body Problem Series series.
This engaging look at first contact with aliens, set against China’s Cultural Revolution, examines what happens when philosophy, history and science meet, unlocking a corrupt civilization’s potential to take over a world. This unique, exciting work of speculative fiction will leave you clamoring for the sequel.
— Cheryl Cornwell
Earth's civilization suffers a massive existential crisis in the wake of making first contact with a faraway life form. As humanity endures the repercussions of one physicist's gutsy act, global chaos reworks geopolitics,invents a new telos of gaming, and reimagines the face of radical extremism. The first of a trilogy, The Three-Body Problem introduces one of the strongest hard scifi series of all time. Don't hesitate to begin!
— Aubrey RestifoSoon to be a Netflix Original Series!
An NPR Best Book of the Decade
Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel
“War of the Worlds for the 21st century.” – Wall Street Journal
The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.
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.
The Three-Body Problem Series
The Three-Body Problem
The Dark Forest
Death's End
Other Books
Ball Lightning
Supernova Era
To Hold Up The Sky (forthcoming)
“A breakthrough book . . . a unique blend of scientific and philosophical speculation.” —George R. R. Martin, on The Three Body Problem
“Extraordinary.” —The New Yorker, on The Three Body Problem
“Remarkable, revelatory and not to be missed.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review, on The Three Body Problem
"A must-read in any language.” —Booklist, on The Three Body Problem
"A meditation on technology, progress, morality, extinction, and knowledge that doubles as a cosmos-in-the-balance thriller.... a testament to just how far [Liu's] own towering imagination has taken him... forever into the canon of science fiction. - NPR, on Death's End
"The best kind of science fiction, familiar but strange all at the same time." -- Kim Stanley Robinson, on The Three Body Problem