The Three-Body Problem

Rating: 3.5/5

There's a grand scope to the story, one that feels cinematic and intricate in a lot of ways. On the other hand, the characterization could be more fleshed out and, for certain readers, the book leaning into dense scientific topics and jargon can be off-putting. This fits right at home in the hard sci-fi subcategory.

Three Body Problem does read like a prologue to a larger story, and in a way, that probably does more harm than good. But for what it lacks in characterization and breathing room, the book offers the opportunity to explore the first contact trope in a way that is intriguing and clever, to say the least. For those who are used to the “you have to read the next one to get the full story” angle in book reviews, this is such a book. YMMV.

All that being said, I'm curious to see how the Netflix adaptation will turn out. Like I said, this book feels cinematic, and may offer readers a fuller picture of what Liu set out to do here.