Three Body Problem

So, recommending books is a pretty big deal, it takes some real effort and care. But let me tell you, there's nothing quite like the feeling when someone reads a book you suggested and tells you they absolutely loved it. I had this book, "The Three-Body Problem," recommended to me by someone I didn't even know. They just messaged our blog's Instagram, and boom, there it was. I had to look it up since I'd never heard of it before, and turns out, it's by a Chinese author named Cixin Liu. I figured it probably hadn't been translated since it was new to me. But guess what? Luck was on my side, and I managed to get my hands on it. I had just added it to my reading list when, thanks to Netflix, they released the series, and suddenly it was greatly praised by everyone. Despite feeling a bit late to the party, I was so hooked on the book that I managed to finish it on the second day. Some of you might be thinking, "Why bother with the book if I've already seen the series?" Well, let me tell you, they're quite different. The plot, the details, and especially the characters, they're all kinda different in the book. So, I say give it a shot. Bottom line, I invite everyone, whether they've watched it or not, to check out my review...

The Three-Body Problem starts off by giving us a little history lesson, kinda like narrating the Chinese Cultural Revolution to us. During this time, nothing related to positive sciences was accepted, and they outright rejected teaching stuff like physics-based knowledge, claiming it was all made up by imperialist states. They even gathered the educators who dared to teach these and put them on trial in public squares. But this wasn't an average inquiry session; it was run by a pretty student violent group called the Red Nation, and whoever got questioned here was declared a traitor and punished or killed. That's where we start to hear about Ye Wenje, whose story begins with the murder of her physicist father by students in one of these squares. Knowing she's also in danger because of what happened to her father, Ye Wenje decides to join the army to escape. But soon enough, due to her eagerness to learn and maybe a bit of naivety, she gets kicked out of the army for having a forbidden book and ends up in prison. After her health deteriorates in prison, her knowledge of foreign languages and physics lands her a spot in a special research facility called the Red Coast. There, with her determination, she tries to uncover the real purpose of the Red Coast facility.

On the other side, the book takes us 40 years into the future, where scientists are committing suicide in inexplicable ways, and cases where scientists engaged in research are faced with terrifying countdowns that won't stop unless they abandon their work. Here, we meet Wang Miao and Detective Shi Qiang. Wang, a successful physicist working on nanomaterial technology, is asked to investigate the cause of these incidents. Through his research, we're taken into a universe where the seeds planted with Ye Wenje start to sprout alongside Wang. Starting off almost like a recount of China's history, this book will surprise you by suddenly delving into extraterrestrial beings, virtual realities, and advanced technologies. Believe me, you'll be quite surprised by where this book leads you.

I don't think it will take you too long to read the book, but one thing I'm sure of is that your wait to get the second book will be much shorter. It's so gripping and ends on such a cliffhanger that you might find yourself holding your breath until you start the next one. While reading, you might feel overwhelmed by the science, physics, and technical details at some points, feeling like you don't quite get it all. But I think as long as you try to grasp the overall picture and try to understand the cause and effect, you'll be okay. Also, you'll notice mentions of famous scientists like Einstein and Newton in relation to the three-body problem in the book, so I suggest paying special attention to those parts. Ultimately, "The Three-Body Problem" tells a magnificent tale about how even the fate of the world can hinge on the actions of just one person, why a society without science is doomed to fail, and how, when faced with unexplainable phenomena, people can suddenly rebuild their entire belief systems from scratch.

It was impossible to expect a moral awakening from humankind itself, just like it was impossible to expect humans to lift off the earth by pulling up on their own hair. To achieve moral awakening required a force outside the human race.

To effectively contain a civilization’s development and disarm it across such a long span of time, there is only one way: kill its science.