Three-Body Problem

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Cixin Liu, Ken Liu: Three-Body Problem (2022, Head of Zeus)

English language

Published April 19, 2022 by Head of Zeus.

ISBN:
978-1-80328-747-8
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5 stars (1 review)

Cixin Liu's trilogy-opening novel about first contact with aliens and the clandestine struggle with them over Earth's future, and its scientific progress in particular.

7 editions

Review of 'Three-Body Problem' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

SPOILERS THO

The three-body problem in physics states that although it is trivial to model the path of two bodies (e.g. binary stars) revolving around each other, it is currently impossible to create a model that can accurately predict the future positions of three bodies around each other, as minute instabilities add up over time to create a chaotic system. This book postulates that the nearest star to the earth, Alpha Centauri, as a ternary star system, is such a chaotic system; despite its unpredictability, a race of sentient species have evolved to sentience on an immensely inhospitable planet. When they learn of the existence of Earth, and realize it is in a stable solar system with a relatively mild climate, what would such a civilization do?

The book reminds me of Carl Sagan's "Contact" (well, the movie; I haven't read the book) but goes beyond the touchy-feely aspects of …

Subjects

  • Fiction, science fiction, alien contact