{"id":77827,"date":"2015-07-17T13:48:35","date_gmt":"2015-07-17T12:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/?p=77827"},"modified":"2015-07-17T13:48:35","modified_gmt":"2015-07-17T12:48:35","slug":"the-three-body-problem-by-cixin-liu-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/reviews\/the-three-body-problem-by-cixin-liu-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu book review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>If you have<\/b> some kind of physics background, then you may be fooled into thinking that you understand just what <em><strong>The Three-Body Problem<\/strong><\/em> is all about from its title alone: a class of problems, with one set surrounding three particles. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">This could be a difficult read for the layman, but it\u2019s not necessary to understand this preface before reading \u2013 there\u2019s an intricately written piece of hard science fiction regardless. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">Originally penned in Chinese by Cixin Liu, <em><strong>The Three-Body Problem<\/strong><\/em> is a sedate, no-thrills novel that was a bestseller in China before being translated into English. It begins with the story of Ye Wenjie, a university student who watches her father being beaten to death by the Red Guards. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">The first few chapters can be a bit difficult to get through, but Cixin Liu\u2019s use of historical fiction brilliantly meshes with a meticulous passion for scientific fact, as well as details in predated technology. It\u2019s also helped by the translator, Ken Liu, who provides the Western audience with useful notes explaining the intricacies of Chinese history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">And once it pushes into the life of Wang Miao and his entry into the videogame (of the book\u2019s title) <em><strong>The Three-Body Problem<\/strong><\/em> decades later, the story takes a turn \u2013 becoming a Cold War spy thriller that sets it apart from other sci-fi novels. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">You\u2019re never sure where Cixin Liu will take you, and at times there are certain <em><strong>X-Files<\/strong><\/em> qualities to the quirks surrounding Wang Miao\u2019s life. But despite the dipping in of other genres, not once do you forget the core themes: quantum mechanics and a quest for the truth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><span class=\"s1\">It is hard science fiction at its finest, and fans will appreciate the superb attention to detail that drives this constantly evolving and impressive series. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find out what we thought of the English translation of The Three Body Problem<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":77828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":false,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":""},"categories":[1624,8],"tags":[4596],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Three-Body-Problem-by-Cixin-Liu.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scifinow.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}