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AnonymousThank you Clay for posting this. After The Three Body got the Hugo Awards, I asked around some American friends, but obviously not so many people really heard about it. I haven't finished this book yet. It was first serialized on a science fiction magazine when I was in college. I came to US afterwards, so it limited my access to the magazine. Anyway, I recommend this book highly. Even though I am not quite a sci fi person, it catches me with the great story and unbelievable imagination about the world outside of the earth. This book is about modern life, but the story should go back to Culture Revolution in China from 1966 to 1976. If you still remember Dr. Yu Yu mentioned that darkest time of China with the art work. The reason why human and the Three Body (a star in another solar system with has three suns) got connected in the story at the first place is Ye, a professor at Tsinghua University, saw her father got killed in Culture Revolution and got disappointed with the fact that human is a cold blood animal. I definitely will not use this book in my class since I teach elementary kids, but for high school and college students, this book can be a great supplement book which reflecting some of the Chinese history.
clay dubeThe Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin (translated by Ken Liu) was the top choice for the Hugo Awards. The announcement: http://www.thehugoawards.org/
We'd love to hear what you think of the book and whether or not it will appeal to young sci fi fans.
Articles and reviews:
NPR http://www.npr.org/2014/11/13/363123510/three-body-problem-asks-a-classic-sci-fi-question-in-chinese
An excerpt:
This is hard SF, full of lovingly lengthy passages of technical exposition about everything from quantum mechanics to artificial intelligence. But Cixin Liu supports all of that braintwisting theory with empathetic characters and a strong action-thriller backbone.
An excerpt:
In addition to the usual high school and college-age fans of science fiction, China’s aerospace and Internet industries have embraced the books. Many interpret the battle of civilizations depicted in the series as an allegory for the ruthless competition in the nation’s Internet industry.
Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-the-three-body-problem-by-cixin-liu-1418415619
An excerpt:
What makes Mr. Liu’s novel different from its Western competitors in the alien-invasion line is not its hardware (though it is full of strange ideas, like how to construct a human computer using 30 million people, each with a white and a black flag: Chairman Mao would have gone for that). The difference seems to be a kind of patience, seeing things long-term. The “madness years” were bad for individuals, but just a blip for the species. We’re told authoritatively, “The entire history of humanity has been fortunate.” That’s right, “From the Stone Age till now, no real crisis has occurred.” It’s only now that things have gotten serious.
Locus http://www.locusmag.com/Reviews/2014/12/gary-k-wolfe-reviews-cixin-liu/
AV Club http://www.avclub.com/review/cixin-lius-translated-three-body-problem-works-bet-211529
AnonymousThank you Clay for providing us with this link. While I have not read this book, I did read the excerpts provided in the link and it seems like a wonderful read. Sci-fi books are always a great interest among middle school students. I would have to look further into the lexile level and content to see if it would be appropriate reading level for my kids. It the language is too difficult they will not be able to understand and enjoy the story lines.