Ms. Hen Reviews The Three-Body Problem

 

The Three-Body Problem

Cixin Liu

2006, 2014 

Tor Books

Translation from Chinese by Ken Liu

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel simply because she heard it was a good book. She wants to try to read more contemporary science fiction.

This novel is about a woman in China named Ye Wenjie who discovers a way to communicate with aliens. She learns from the aliens that they are coming to take over Earth, and she is relieved because she doesn't like humanity, and what it has done to the planet, and its people. A game is invented to show people what the planet the aliens that are taking over are like called The Three-Body Problem. 

This novel starts with the backdrop of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. During that time intellectuals and educated people in China were sent away or reprogrammed to be followers of communism. A lot was lost during this time in China. The characters live in fear of what the government would do if they retaliated. Some Westerners find out that Ye Wenji communicated with the alien planet, Trisolaris, and start a group that is preparing for their arrival.

Ms. Hen liked this book, but it is very heavy on the scientific descriptions. Ms. Hen is not quite adept at understanding science, she mostly likes science fiction for the ideas that the genre presents, and the possibilities. Even so, she enjoyed this book.

This novel is a realistic portrayal of what would happen if people on Earth communicated with aliens. Some people would be excited, and some afraid, and some would be in awe. A lot would not believe that people on Earth would have the ability to communicate with extra-terrestrials, and life would go on as normal.

The idea that Earth is not worth saving is presented in this novel. However the Trisolarans believe that Earth is a superior planet, and they want to take over for the stability of the climate. Ye Wenjie tells the aliens that they can come, essentially throwing Earth under the bus because she thinks Earth's time is done.

Is Earth worth saving? If you had the opportunity to tell aliens to come here, and take over, would you? Ms. Hen doesn't know if she would. Some positive things exist on Earth, but she's not sure if the negative outweighs them. Is life on Earth worth fighting for? We've never been faced with this question, but if we were, we would have to work to figure out the answer.