The Three-Body Problem

I had high hopes for this book, and Gods was I right. The Three-Body Problem is an amazing science fiction novel, and a marvelous introduction to Chinese hard sci-fi. It made me wish I were more of a science geek, so I could understand everything this book's about—even though Liu Cixin does explain everything in a very clear way, I couldn't help but want to have proper knowledge of everything. It's also the most interesting, fascinating story of alien invasion I've ever read, and you can bet I'll ready its sequels.

Also this, from the author's afterword:

“As a science fiction writer who began as a fan, I do not use my fiction as a disguised way to criticize the reality of the present. I feel that the greatest appeal of science fiction is the creation of numerous imaginary worlds outside of reality. I've always felt that the greatest and most beautiful stories in the history of humanity were not sung by wandering bards or written by playwrights and novelists, but told by science. The stories told by science are far more magnificent, grand, involved, profound, thrilling, strange, terrifying, mysterious, even emotional, compared to the stories told by literature.”