#74 👾 The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu (2006)

About The Book:

Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion.

About The Author:

Liu Cixin is a Chinese computer engineer and science fiction writer. He is a nine-time winner of China's Galaxy Award and has also received the 2015 Hugo Award for his novel The Three-Body Problem as well as the 2017 Locus Award for Death's End. He is also a winner of the Chinese Nebula Award. In English translations of his works, his name is given as Cixin Liu. He is a member of China Science Writers Association and the vice president of Shanxi Writers Association. He is sometimes called "Da Liu" ("Big Liu") by his fellow science fiction writers in China.

pisode Notes

0-5 min — Introduction

5-10 min — Science fiction and the author

10-15 min — On form and style

15-20 min — Plot summary

20-25 min — On translation

25-30 min — Tropes vs archetypes

30-35 min — Why people like this book

35-40 min — Meaning of 3 body problem

40-45 min — The VR game in the story

45-55 min — Closing thoughts

About The Show:

Hosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. In Season 5, we’re traveling through 2000-2010, year by year, because Dan couldn't remember what the world was like before ChatGPT.

Website

TikTok

Instagram

YouTube

Newsletter

Jeremy's Website

Dan's Website