The Three Body Problem Trilogy

A few months ago, Reason Magazine reviewed a remarkable new work of science fiction, The Three Body Problem, by Cixin Liu, and translated from the Mandarin Chinese by Ken Liu.  The premise is that we are not alone:  another advanced civilization, approximately 4 light years away from us, needs help.  With one sun, we’re OK.  Even a binary star system would be stable.  But three suns – the three bodies – is inherently unstable.  The aliens of Trisolaris, as they end up being called, need a better place to live.

The catch is, while they might prefer to take our planet and enjoy the stability of our sun, don’t expect them to share.  Nope, it means GAME OVER for us here on Earth.  Or does it? 

Fortunately for the narrative, we manage to develop hibernation technology, so many major characters can survive for several centuries.  Unfortunately for us, the Trisolarans have much better technology which they’re not inclined to share with us.  Much of the story is a back-and-forth of conflict, negotiation, cooperation, and disputes between the two. 

Not only that, there are still MORE civilizations out there.  And you can bet – you can assume – they are irredeemably hostile to us.  Indeed, they consider us to be cockroaches to be squished out of existence without a second thought.   That is, if they ever learn of our existence….

“Trilogy” means that the fun and excitement of The Three Body Problem continues in The Dark Forest (book 2 of the trilogy) and finally Death’s End (book three).   Thanks to the aforementioned hibernation technology, many of the same characters continue over the centuries.

This being a Chinese story, most of the characters are Chinese.  Of the non-Chinese characters, there are quite a few important ones, but they are tangential.  Does it compromise the story?  Not at all, mainly because it’s been translated into English – with a few footnotes as necessary.  Given the scale and scope of the story, the specific nationalities are not really important.  When the entire human race faces extinction – in fact, the entire Solar System - why do we care what our passports say?

Many of us take psychoactive drugs.  Many of us don’t.  Of those who don’t, and who know those who do, we are content to enjoy their experiences vicariously.  Many of these experiences are captured in musical form, such as Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, and other such psychedelic bands.  Actually, virtual reality looks like the best way these days to do so, but I haven’t seen it reach that point yet.  In written form, it’s often comic books (e.g. Dr. Strange, which was my favorite) or science fiction.  Up until now, I considered Philip K. Dick to be the strangest, most psychedelic of the science fiction authors.  Indeed, LSD and other drugs were common elements of his stories.   But PKD now has a major competitor, a worthy heir, in the form of Cixin Liu.  While the first two books are certainly strange, it’s the third book (Death’s End) where things get extremely strange.  If it’s possible to actually trip on a book, this comes as close as you can to that.  On the other hand, PKD includes some pretty twisted humor and sarcasm, which are absent here.  But the two are mutually complimentary rather than exclusive.

By the way, The Three Body Problem is being made into a movie, in China.  It’s due to be released in 3D, sometime in 2017.  If anyone sees the trailer, please let me know.