This is book number 1 in the The Three-Body Problem Series series.
In the midst of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a young scientist sends a message into the cosmos that brings a desperate, far more advanced civilization hurtling toward the Earth, and humanity begins planning for a Doomsday Battle that won't happen for four hundred years. There are a million reasons to love Liu's storytelling in this first book of his Three-Body trilogy, but his ability to keep the pace and tension humming while also keeping the aliens almost entirely off-stage utterly blew my mind.
If I had the Neuralyzer from "Men in Black" or if I could "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" one sci-fi trilogy from my memory, it would be this. From the opening of the first book, one cannot imagine the distance--both spatially and temporally--that will be traveled by the close of the third. A singular reading experience.
— MaxThe inspiration for the Netflix series 3 Body Problem!
WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
Over 1 million copies sold in North America
“A mind-bending epic.”—The New York Times • “War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Fascinating.”—TIME • “Extraordinary.”—The New Yorker • “Wildly imaginative.”—Barack Obama • “Provocative.”—Slate • “A breakthrough book.”—George R. R. Martin • “Impossible to put down.”—GQ • “Absolutely mind-unfolding.”—NPR • “You should be reading Liu Cixin.”—The Washington Post
The Three-Body Problem is the first novel in the groundbreaking, Hugo Award-winning series from China's most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu.
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 by Cixin Liu
Ball Lightning
Supernova Era
To Hold Up the Sky
The Wandering Earth
A View from the Stars
Praise for the Three-Body Problem series:
"Wildly imaginative."—President Barack Obama
“A mind-bending epic.”—The New York Times
“Absolutely mind-unfolding. . . . a science-fiction epic of the most profound kind.”—NPR
“A breakthrough book . . . a unique blend of scientific and philosophical speculation, politics and history, conspiracy theory and cosmology.”—George R. R. Martin
"Liu Cixin's writing evokes the thrill of exploration and the beauty of scale. . . . Extraordinary."—The New Yorker
“[Liu turns] technically complex and existentially dreadful ideas into books that are impossible to put down.”—GQ
“A fascinating novel of ideas."–TIME
"The best kind of science fiction, familiar but strange all at the same time."—Kim Stanley Robinson
"Remarkable, revelatory, and not to be missed."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Fans of hard SF will revel in this intricate and imaginative novel."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”—Wall Street Journal
“Liu’s picture of humanity’s place in the cosmos is among the biggest, boldest and most disturbing we’ve seen.”—Los Angeles Times
“Provocative.”—Slate
“A gripping and haunting sci-fi mystery.”—Cosmopolitan
"A must-read in any language."—Booklist