The Three-Body Problem Trilogy (a.k.a, The Remembrance of Earth’s Past series), by Cixin Liu / *****

It’s hard to know where to begin talking about The Three-Body Problem trilogy (officially known as the Remembrance of Earth’s Past series), a truly staggering piece of science-fiction written by Chinese author Cixin Liu and translated to English by Ken Liu and Joel Martinsen (Liu did books 1 and 3, while Martinsen did 2). A trilogy that spans literally thousands of years, deals with quantum physics, game theory, sociology, religion, space exploration, space colonization, and more, all driven by the nature of first contact with alien intelligence – there’s a lot going on in this series, and that’s before you start realizing just how much Cixin (reminder: Chinese names are traditionally written with the family name first and the given name second) truly takes on the advanced science of his ideas. And yet, when you finish it, you realize that you’ve read something truly incredible – a piece of hard science-fiction whose ambition, scope, richness, and ideas are impossible not to find yourself thinking about for days afterward.

The series begins with The Three-Body Problem, which opens during the Chinese Revolution, depicting the conflict between science and politics in stark, honest terms -a theme that the series will grapple with often, in wildly different ways. We flash forward, though, to a near future, where scientists are killing themselves for unclear reasons. What this has to do with the characters from that Revolution-era prologue, a government program attempting to reach out to the galaxy in search of alien intelligence, and a complex computer simulation of a civilization subject to bewildering rules of nature, Cixin takes his time to explain. But what becomes clear quickly is that The Three-Body Problem is, in a way, a novel about first contact, and how humanity will react to a race whose purposes for coming here may not be entirely benevolent.

If you’re thinking that all of this sounds like a basic setup for an alien invasion novel, rest assured, that is definitely not what you’re getting with The Three-Body Problem. Instead, Cixin explores the social implications of such an arrival, and deals head-on with the complex questions that it would cause. Would humanity band together in the face of this, or would our already existing divisions fracture even deeper? Would people be terrified of this advanced race, or would they be viewed as gods? And would people truly feel that humanity is worth saving, or would they welcome a race who could bring out peace, even through subjugation? These aren’t simple ideas, but Cixin makes them the meat of the book, along with advanced discussions about the alien planet, which is governed by three suns, leaving their homeworld incapable of safe habitation (the source of the novel’s title).

More than that, Cixin takes no shortcuts in his story, embracing hard science-fiction as a way of dealing with his scenario. Communication across multiple light-years, limited telescopic technology, the disconnect between human and alien intelligences, relativity, black holes – all of this is relevant to the book, and while Cixin makes it accessible, be aware, this book doesn’t spoon feed you its physics. You’re going to have to come with some willingness to think about the advanced concepts on display and ponder them, from gravitational forces to quantum computing. It’s not pure technobabble, but it’s a challenging read at times, and assumes its readers have the willingness to take on its science.

If you do, though, what you’ll get is a complex, fascinating book about first contact, one that’s not quite like anything else I’ve read in how it handles the questions that such a contact would bring about. And while it’s the first book in a trilogy, none of that keeps the book from standing on its own, leaving room for further exploration but existing as a single piece of work that’s already remarkable on its own.

But once you read The Dark Forest, the series’ second volume, Cixin’s ambition starts to come into focus. The question of first contact is settled, and the nature of the alien’s approach is known: this is to be a takeover of our planet. But how can we deal with a race so much more advanced than our own, constant surveillance by extra-dimensional forces, and fractured elements of humanity working against us?

If The Three-Body Problem was a first contact novel done as hard science-fiction, The Dark Forest is an alien invasion novel, albeit one in which the actual invasion is still many, many years away. It’s the first time Cixin starts using hibernation to leap through decades and even centuries, spanning huge chunks of time as humanity changes and evolves in the face of an arrival which will change everything. As humanity struggles to find ways to either defend itself or show that it means no harm, the race has to deal with its own fears of inevitable defeat or a desire to retreat from the only planet we’ve ever known.

It’s not as if The Three-Body Problem wasn’t already ambitious, but The Dark Forest is on a whole other level, dealing with interplanetary fleets, lightspeed travel, quantum computing, and more, watching as they evolve over huge swaths of time. But more than that, the novel is a deeply philosophical one, discussing the nature of life in the universe, questions about human nature and how we react in the face of threats, how we work together (or not), and game theory in how we try to handle uncertain intentions in allies and foes alike. Indeed, the central metaphor that gives the book its title (which doesn’t arrive until near the novel’s end) is a stunning one that helps you understand that what Cixin is writing about isn’t just this particular alien invasion, but about the nature of all life in the universe and how we attempt to define ourselves in the face of reality.

That Cixin does this while, again, mixing in such a compelling story (focusing especially on the “Wallfacers”, a small group of people tasked with covertly planning humanity’s resistance against the invasion) is nothing short of remarkable. The Dark Forest builds beautifully off of the questions and ideas raised in The Three-Body Problem, but turns them into something else entirely, changing the questions from “how do we initially react” to “how would we redefine ourselves in the face of such news”. Far from suffering from any sort of “middle book syndrome,” The Dark Forest is incredible, engaging with incredible concepts but never neglecting the human characters that anchor its massive scope nor the ticking clock at its story’s core.

And then, along comes Death’s End, the series’ final volume, and everything changes again. Because if the first two volumes were about how we come to terms with the fact that we’re not alone in the universe, the final volume is about what it’s like to realize that you – and every other civilization that’s ever lived – are limited in your time, and might one day have no choice but to end?

Once again using the previous book as a launching point, Death’s End takes on the uneasy stalemate we were left with, but watches as things shift quickly out of control in the exact way the end of The Dark Forest feared they might. Just like the others, Death’s End is undeniably the final part of this saga, but it feels like its own book, giving us another new central character and a very different tone, one that finds itself wondering which is more important: survival or morality? And as usual, Cixin doesn’t believe in easy answers.

Spanning even more time than the other books, Death’s End unfolds on an epic scale, as humanity tries to find a way to prevent itself from being viewed as a threat by the rest of the galaxy. But is the sacrifice worth it – in other words, is safety so important that we should cripple ourselves as a race? Do we escape and leave our planet behind, setting out as nomads across the galaxy? Or do we try to intimidate others, showing that we’re not to be messed with? Death’s End deals with these questions as it has in the other novels, diving into the science, the game theory, and the objections, and giving readers the sense that sometimes, there are no easy answers to be given.

Indeed, what’s so compelling about Death’s End is the main character, who takes choices that so often feel like the wrong ones for a situation – I often found myself almost screaming at her for being wrong…and yet, you understand why she’s doing them, and can almost agree. Where do we draw the line between survival and being a monster? What’s acceptable to do in order to save ourselves? And does it truly matter, on a large enough time scale?

Over the course of Death’s End, Cixin draws all of the series’ various threads into focus thematically, making it clear that this is a series about recontextualizing our place in the universe and how we would react to that. But he’s done so, once again, by focusing on a small group of characters, advanced and thoughtful explorations of science and philosophy, and a story that’s engrossing on both the macro and micro level. And while the series comes to an appropriately complex, epic ending, I love how even to the end, Cixin makes it equally about the larger questions and about these characters and the choices they have to make – and their own emotional stakes as well.

To explain this series is a difficult challenge, to put it mildly. This is a series that spans a huge amount of time, deals with advanced scientific concepts in complex terms, grapples with rich philosophical and political ideas, debates questions without easy answers, and gives you a scope that can be daunting. It’s a story of alien invasions, yes, but one in which the action sequences we’re so used to are replaced with existential dread, a rethinking of our own lives, and a fear of the unknown that’s hard to quantify. It’s also the story of people caught up in these times, trying to give themselves a good life while never forgetting the larger questions of their era, and juggling their own fears with fears for humanity. In other words, it’s what hard science-fiction is great at – thoughtful questions, big ideas, and speculation, all of which change the way you think about the world.

This series is a truly incredible achievement, one that honestly left me a bit staggered and reeling as I attempt to think about it all, but one that I love all the more for what it accomplishes. If you’re a hard science-fiction fan, or simply someone who loves dealing with the complex ramifications of common ideas, this is a must read series. I’ve never read anything like it in my life, and I’m a richer person for the ideas it’s inspired me to think about.

Amazon: The Three-Body Problem | The Dark Forest | Death’s End