In my journey around the world through books this year, my third stop was China. The book I selected to read was The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu and translated by Ken Liu.

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This book was highlighted as a cross between Dune and Independence Day and I would say it lived up to both of those! Definitely a science fiction thriller, the storyline includes quite a bit of in-depth information about science and computer science. Having worked for my dad when I was younger translating Fortran, Pascal, and other languages did help to have some background knowledge when the storyline leaned in that direction. The science understanding was beyond my knowledge a few times, however, I was able to fill in the gaps easily.

I do have to say that my dad would have LOVED the computational theory (and scientific theory) of The Three Body Problem. As a social studies teacher, I was easily able to follow the plot when it was placed in historic settings.

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Saying that, let me jump into a little bit of the storyline (without any spoilers)…

The storyline gets it’s start in the Cultural Revolution period in China. The reader is quickly introduced to the horrors inflicted upon professors and scientists. One of the main characters (Ye Wenjie) is sent to work in the mountain regions cutting trees. In the same region is a secret military project which you soon find out is tasked with making contact with civilizations not located on Earth. That project combined with an unusual video game that can only be played by intellectuals with a “thinking outside the box” mindset provide the main backdrop for the ensuing plotline. As the story continues the reader is introduced to different factions who want outer space visitors to come to Earth (very similar to sects in a religion).

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Liu does a fantastic job of giving you background and building the characters while also interweaving their stories. I truly fell in love with Ye Wenjie (astrophysicist), Wang Miao (nanomaterials researcher), and Shi Qiang (police detective). I found myself rooting for the protaganist AND the antagonist!!! Along the way, the translations provide needed background and information to relate the language to the timeperiod.

Quotes that I’m still thinking about:

Is this all there is to my life? … Yes, this is all there is. All that you have in this life is the endless loneliness in the tiny space of this [place].

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Existence is the premise for everything else.

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This is the first book in a trilogy and even though I’m moving on to another country, I have a funny feeling I will be finishing the series. As I MUST know what happens next…..

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But for now… I’m on to Tonga with Simon Michael Prior and The Coconut Wireless: A Travel Adventure in Search of The Queen of Tonga (South Pacific Shenanigans). With the recent massive volcano in that region, I felt it appropriate to learn more.

Stay tuned…