Saturday, January 23, 2021

Book Review: The 3 body problem

I recently finished reading the book: The 3 body problem by Liu Cixin, translated into English by Ken Liu. 


Its been one of the most intellectually challenging books I've read in recent times, and definitely the best science fiction I've read since I finished the Dune series. 

The fundamental plot revolves around 2 themes: An alien civilization looking to resettle given its unique cosmological disadvantages, and the human civilization on earth being looked down upon by fellow humans for its violence and disdain. What I found most interesting in the book were 

  • The initial storyline around Cultural Revolution and the excesses that it entailed, which is something unique as given Liu's inclinations, these can only be read as very general descriptions.
  • Weaponization of so many futuristic technologies, such as broadcasting of signals through stars, nanowires, satellite bursts through EMP etc.
  • The storyline around proton unfolding and Sophons is again very imaginatively told, and it helps even laymen like me understand what would the concept look like in practise
  • The 3body game and the V-suit are definitely something that will serve as inspiration to future generations of game designers as well as inter-galactic explorers
  • The idea of aliens as gods, the analogy of bugs, and how human-alien interaction may change existing societal structure is thought provoking.
That said, I found some premises of the narrative not upto the mark - such as the excessive environmental vigilantism, silence on the excesses of previous eras and human efforts to compensate for them, and further feel the scenes around violence are not well written. 

Nevertheless, the book is a must read for any space enthusiast. Overall rating: 5/5 

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